What does the include CSS option do?

When on (Shrynk default), the HTML file embeds a basic stylesheet so a double-click in Explorer is readable. Turn it off if you will paste the fragment into a CMS that already has styles.

Convert Markdown to HTML Locally (No Upload)

Q: Is Markdown-to-HTML the same as a static site generator?

No. A converter emits HTML from one file (optionally with a small default stylesheet). Hugo, Jekyll, or Astro add templates, routing, and a site. Use a converter for one page; use a generator to publish docs.

Q: Will fenced code blocks and tables work?

Yes for GitHub-flavored Markdown: fenced blocks become pre/code, pipe tables become HTML tables. Syntax colors and table borders still need your CSS unless you leave includeCSS on.

File conversion · about 9 min · Convert tab, includeCSS option

HTML is what browsers and many CMSes store. Markdown is what you would rather write. md → html is the step between a notes-app draft and a file you can drop into an email template, a help-center paste box, or a single static page. It is not a documentation website.

What the HTML should contain

A useful conversion is not one giant paragraph. You want real elements:

<h1> through <h3> from # headings
<ul> / <ol> from lists
<pre><code> from fenced code blocks
<table> from GitHub-flavored pipe tables
<a href> from Markdown links (relative links stay relative)

The converter should not invent a marketing theme. If you need nav, search, and 40 URLs, that is Hugo, Jekyll, or Astro. If you need an editable Word file for a human, use Markdown to Word.

The one Shrynk option: include CSS

On Markdown → HTML the panel has a boolean, default on:

On: the file embeds a small default stylesheet. Double-clicking it in Explorer looks like a page, not a wall of unstyled tags.
Off: structure only. Use this when you will paste into a CMS that already has CSS. Extra embedded styles fight the host theme.

There is no “syntax highlighting theme” picker. Colored code still needs your CSS or a generator.

Shrynk Convert tab: md → html selected. Include CSS toggle is on by default. — Convert tab, search md. md → html is the pair with the Include CSS switch (default on).

Steps

Install Shrynk for Windows. First run.
Convert → Document → md → html.
Leave include CSS on unless you know the destination provides styles.
Drop one .md. Open the HTML in a browser. Check a heading, a list, a table, and a code fence.

Free is one file. A docs/ folder is batch (Pro). Same mapping every time; do not mix “with CSS” and “without” in one run if you will publish both.

Relative images and leftover front matter

If the Markdown has ![alt](./images/a.png), the HTML will point at the same relative path. Copy the images folder with the HTML or the browser shows a broken icon. The converter does not inline every picture as a data URL.

YAML front matter (--- at the top of a Jekyll/Hugo file) is not a page title field in Shrynk. You will see those lines in the HTML unless you delete them from the .md first. That is expected for a file converter, not a bug in “title detection.”

When includeCSS is on and you paste into WordPress or Notion, you can get double margins and a foreign font. Turn the option off, convert again from the .md, and paste the second file. Do not hand-delete the <style> from a styled export unless you know what you are keeping.

What this will not do

Markdown → PDF on the desktop. Print from the HTML or Word if you need paper.
A multi-page site with a sidebar.
Compile Mermaid or custom shortcodes into diagrams.

FAQ

Is Markdown-to-HTML the same as a static site generator?

No. One file in, one HTML out. A generator builds a site.

Will fenced code blocks and tables work?

Yes for GFM. Colors and borders still need CSS unless includeCSS is on.

What does include CSS do?

Embeds a basic stylesheet (default on). Turn off for CMS paste.

Batch-convert a folder of Markdown to HTML: download Shrynk. Free install. $9 one-time for unlimited batches.