About the BBCode Converter
BBCode is the square-bracket markup used by forums and message boards, such as [b]bold[/b] and [url=...]link[/url]. This converter reads BBCode and writes HTML, Markdown or plain text. Text is escaped, so a stray angle bracket in a post cannot become live HTML, and link and image addresses are limited to web, mail and relative addresses. You can preview the HTML in a sandbox before you copy it. It covers the common tags: bold, italic, underline, strike-through, links, images, colour, size, quotes, code, lists, headings, tables, alignment and spoilers. The conversion runs on your device.
Updated September 2026
How to use the BBCode Converter
- 1Paste your BBCode into the left box, or press Try an example.
- 2Choose HTML, Markdown or Plain text.
- 3Adjust the small options: line breaks, link addresses in plain text, or the HTML preview.
- 4Check the result on the right.
- 5Copy it, or download it as a file.
When to convert BBCode
People move old forum posts to new websites, save conversations as documents, or clean pasted posts before sending them by email. BBCode is not understood outside forums, so it needs a conversion first. The three outputs cover those jobs: HTML for web pages, Markdown for notes and static sites, and plain text for email and documents.
What each output keeps
- HTML: all supported tags. Bold becomes strong, italic becomes em, quotes become blockquote, code becomes pre and code, lists become ul or ol.
- Markdown: bold, italic, strike-through, links, images, quotes, code, lists, headings and tables. Colour, size and alignment are dropped.
- Plain text: the words only, with bullets for lists, greater-than signs for quotes and optional link addresses in brackets.
Tips for clean results
Put each list item after its own [*]. The closing [/list] ends the list, and the closing tag for an item is not needed. Write links as [url=https://...]text[/url] so the text is kept. For code samples, use [code] so brackets inside it are not read as tags. If the output shows stray brackets, look for a tag that is misspelt or belongs to a forum extension.
Afterwards the Case Converter and the Word Counter help tidy and check the result. For Markdown, any Markdown editor will open the file.
Privacy
The conversion runs in your browser. The post is not uploaded or saved. The HTML preview runs inside a sandbox that blocks scripts, forms and navigation, so previewing untrusted text is safe. For forum posts, count the length with the Word Counter before you paste, and use the Slug Generator if you also need a clean link name.
Features
- Tags: b, i, u, s, url, email, img, color, size, quote, code, list, h1 to h3, table, center, left, right, hr, spoiler
- HTML output with escaped text and safe link and image addresses only
- Markdown output with links, lists, quotes, code and tables
- Plain text output that can keep link addresses in brackets
- Sandboxed HTML preview
- Copes with unclosed, mixed-up and unknown tags
Frequently asked questions
What is BBCode?
BBCode (Bulletin Board Code) is a simple markup language for forum posts. Tags in square brackets, such as [b] and [i], mark bold and italic text, links, quotes and more. Forum software turns them into HTML when a post is shown.
Is the HTML output safe?
It is built to be. Every piece of text is escaped, colours and sizes are checked, and links and images must start with http, https, ftp, mailto or a slash. A link such as javascript:alert(1) is dropped and only its text is kept. Still, review any HTML before you publish it on your own site.
What happens to tags the tool does not know?
They are left in the text exactly as written, so nothing is lost. Custom tags from a particular forum, such as [youtube], are not converted because their meaning depends on the software.
How are nested or unclosed tags handled?
A tag that is never closed is closed at the end of the post. If tags overlap, such as [b]x[i]y[/b]z[/i], the tool closes the inner tag when the outer one closes and leaves the last stray tag as text.
Why is there no Markdown for underline or colour?
Markdown has no underline, colour or size. In Markdown output the text stays and only the formatting that has a Markdown form is kept: bold, italic, strike-through, links, images, quotes, code, lists, headings and tables.
Does it convert HTML back to BBCode?
No. This tool goes from BBCode to HTML, Markdown or text only.