Markdown Import

Already have content in Markdown? Flow converts it to LaTeX automatically using Pandoc — running entirely on your machine.

How it works

Flow bundles Pandoc compiled to WebAssembly, so the conversion happens locally with no network requests. Your content never leaves your computer.

The converter handles Markdown's common features — headings, bold, italic, links, images, code blocks, lists, tables — and translates them to their LaTeX equivalents.

Three ways to import

1. Paste

Copy Markdown text from anywhere and paste it into the editor (Ctrl+V). If Flow detects Markdown syntax, it will offer to convert it to LaTeX (or do it automatically, depending on your settings).

2. Drag and drop

Drag a .md file directly onto the editor window. Flow will read the file and convert its contents.

3. File menu

Use File > Open and select a Markdown file. Flow will convert it and open the result in the editor.

Import behavior setting

You can control what happens when Flow detects Markdown in a paste. Go to Settings > Editor:

Frontmatter support

If your Markdown file includes YAML frontmatter (the --- block at the top), Flow extracts it and converts the fields to LaTeX commands:

---
title: My Research Paper
author: Jane Smith
date: February 2026
abstract: This paper explores...
---

# Introduction
Your content here...

This gets converted to:

\title{My Research Paper}
\author{Jane Smith}
\date{February 2026}

\begin{document}
\maketitle

\begin{abstract}
This paper explores...
\end{abstract}

\section{Introduction}
Your content here...

Supported frontmatter fields: title, author, date, and abstract.

Standalone vs. inline mode

The converter has two modes:

• Standalone — Generates a complete LaTeX document with preamble (\documentclass, \begin{document}, etc.). Used when opening a .md file or converting a full document.
• Inline — Generates just the LaTeX body content, without any preamble. Used when pasting Markdown into an existing document at the cursor position.

Remote images

If your Markdown references images via HTTP/HTTPS URLs (like ![alt](https://example.com/image.png)), Flow detects them in the converted output. The images will show as \includegraphics commands pointing to the remote URLs — you may want to download them locally for reliable compilation.