Google Docs adding Markdown import and export

After expanding Markdown syntax support in 2022, Google Docs is adding some “highly-requested features” to improve interoperability “with other Markdown supporting tools.”

Markdown is a “lightweight markup language for applying formatting using plain text.” Google Docs on the web is now getting the ability to:

Convert Markdown to Docs content on paste
Copy Docs content as Markdown

To enable those two features, Tools > Preferences > Enable Markdown. Then there’s:

Export a Doc as Markdown: Go to File > Download
Import Markdown as a Doc: Go to File > Open. Or “Open with Google Docs” from Drive

Google Docs can already “Automatically detect Markdown.” This update is aimed at technical content writers: “For example, developers can collaborate on software documentation in Docs and then export it as Markdown for use in other Markdown supporting tools.”

The new Markdown tools in Docs are rolling out starting today for “all Google Workspace customers, Workspace Individual Subscribers, and users with personal Google accounts.”