Markdown for AI

Give AI tools a cleaner version of your content

A well-structured article may be easy for a person to read, but its HTML source contains much more than the article itself. Navigation, layout elements, scripts, cookie notices, and theme markup all sit alongside the content that actually matters.

Markdown for AI creates a lightweight Markdown version of every eligible Publii post and page. A post published at /post/ receives a companion file at /post.md, containing its title, optional metadata, and main content in a clean, readable format.

You do not need to change the way you write or publish. The plugin works with Publii’s Markdown, WYSIWYG, and block editors, handling each source format separately during the normal site generation process.

Using LLMS.txt Generator? Markdown for AI integrates with it automatically when both plugins are active. Together, they provide a structured website index and clean Markdown versions of individual posts and pages. See how the integration works.

Built around your existing Publii workflow

Markdown content is preserved whenever possible. WYSIWYG documents are converted from HTML, while block editor content is processed block by block. Headings, links, lists, images, galleries, tables, quotations, and code blocks remain useful and readable. Scripts, styles, automatically generated tables of contents, and navigation-only elements are left out.

Each generated document begins with the post or page title as a visible H1 heading. You can also include the original HTML address, publication and update dates, description, author, and assigned tags. This provides useful context without reproducing the entire webpage.

A generated file may look like this:

# Post title

- URL: https://example.com/post/
- Published: 2026-08-11T10:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-11T12:00:00.000Z
- Description: A short description of the post
- Author: Jane Smith
- Tags: AI, Publii

Post content...

Page hierarchies are preserved, so a page available at /page/about/ receives its Markdown representation at /page/about.md.

Discoverable from the original HTML page

Once a Markdown file has been successfully created, the plugin adds an alternate-document link to the corresponding HTML page:

<link rel="alternate" type="text/markdown" href="https://example.com/post.md"/>

This gives tools inspecting the HTML source a direct way to discover the Markdown representation without having to guess its address. The link is added only when the corresponding file actually exists.

The original HTML page remains the primary public version of the document. Markdown for AI does not replace or modify its title, canonical URL, meta description, robots settings, structured data, or sitemap entry. Generated Markdown files are not added to Publii’s sitemap.

Sensible defaults, with room for control

Posts and pages marked noindex are excluded by default. If an existing document is later changed to noindex, its previously generated Markdown file is removed the next time Publii renders that content.

Generation can be controlled separately for posts and pages. Metadata is optional, and local Preview support can be enabled when you want to inspect the converted files before publishing.

During Preview, the plugin uses Publii’s local file:/// addresses. During a normal site generation, the files and discovery links use the website’s public address.

Works with LLMS.txt Generator

Markdown for AI works independently, but it can also be paired with the LLMS.txt Generator plugin. Together, the two plugins provide two related layers of content discovery:

• LLMS.txt Generator creates a concise index introducing the website and pointing to selected posts and pages.
• Markdown for AI provides complete Markdown versions of those individual documents.

When both plugins are active for the same website, each generated Markdown document includes a short notice pointing back to the main llms.txt content index:

> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://example.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

LLMS.txt Generator can also prefer Markdown addresses for eligible Publii posts and pages. Before using a .md link, it checks that the file exists. If Markdown is unavailable because a document is excluded, marked noindex, or could not be generated, the original HTML address is retained automatically. Manually added custom links are never changed.

Neither plugin depends on the other. You can use Markdown for AI on its own, add LLMS.txt Generator later, or enable both as part of the same publishing workflow.

Static files, generated with your website

Markdown for AI does not run an additional application on your server. There is no runtime database connection, API request, or client-side JavaScript. The plugin creates ordinary static .md files while Publii renders the website and updates them whenever the related content is regenerated.

This makes the output easy to inspect, host, cache, and deploy using the same process as the rest of your Publii website.

At a glance

• Creates Markdown versions of eligible posts and pages.
• Supports the Markdown, WYSIWYG, and block editors.
• Preserves headings, links, images, galleries, tables, quotes, and code blocks.
• Adds optional dates, descriptions, author information, tags, and the original HTML URL.
• Advertises existing Markdown files through HTML document metadata.
• Excludes noindex content by default.
• Supports local Preview without affecting deployment settings.
• Integrates automatically with LLMS.txt Generator.
• Generates static files with no runtime overhead.

A note about AI services

Publishing a Markdown representation gives external tools a cleaner and more direct way to access your content. It does not guarantee that a particular AI service will crawl, index, cite, or use it. Those decisions remain with the individual service.

For configuration instructions, hosting examples, and troubleshooting information, see the Markdown for AI documentation.