Convert FB2 to MD

Why Convert FB2 to Markdown?

Converting FB2 ebooks to Markdown format is ideal when you want to extract text for easy editing, create web-friendly content, or share book excerpts on platforms that support Markdown. Markdown's simple, readable syntax makes it perfect for editing, version control, and publishing to websites, blogs, and documentation platforms.

FB2 (FictionBook 2) is an XML-based ebook format extremely popular in Russia and Eastern Europe. It excels at storing fiction with rich metadata including author information, cover images, annotations, and structured chapters. However, FB2's XML structure makes manual editing cumbersome, and the format is primarily designed for reading rather than content creation or modification.

Markdown provides the simplest possible alternative for text content. Created by John Gruber in 2004, Markdown has become the de facto standard for web writing, supported natively by GitHub, Reddit, Stack Overflow, and countless other platforms. By converting FB2 to Markdown, you get clean, editable text that can be easily modified, shared, and converted to HTML or other formats.

Key Benefits of Converting FB2 to Markdown:

• Simplicity: Clean, minimal syntax easy for anyone to edit
• Universal Support: Works everywhere - GitHub, blogs, wikis, forums
• Web-Ready: Converts to HTML instantly for web publishing
• Version Control: Perfect for Git and collaborative editing
• Portable: Pure text files work on any platform or device
• Future-Proof: Plain text format that will never become obsolete
• Easy Editing: Any text editor works, no special software needed

Practical Examples

Example 1: Book Chapter Conversion

Input FB2 file (book.fb2):

<section>
  <title>Chapter 1: The Beginning</title>
  <p>It was a dark and stormy night.</p>
  <p>The wind howled through the trees.</p>
  <emphasis>Important text</emphasis>
</section>

Output Markdown file (book.md):

## Chapter 1: The Beginning

It was a dark and stormy night.

The wind howled through the trees.

*Important text*

Example 2: Metadata Preservation

Input FB2 metadata:

<title-info>
  <book-title>The Great Adventure</book-title>
  <author>
    <first-name>John</first-name>
    <last-name>Smith</last-name>
  </author>
  <date>2024</date>
</title-info>

Output Markdown header:

# The Great Adventure

**Author:** John Smith
**Date:** 2024

---

Example 3: Text Formatting

Input FB2 with formatting:

<p>This is <strong>bold text</strong> and
<emphasis>italic text</emphasis>.</p>
<p>Here is a <code>code snippet</code>.</p>

Output Markdown:

This is **bold text** and *italic text*.

Here is a `code snippet`.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

Q: What is FB2 format?

A: FB2 (FictionBook 2) is an XML-based ebook format created in Russia in 2004. It's designed for storing fiction with rich metadata including author info, genres, cover images, and structured content. FB2 is extremely popular in Eastern Europe and CIS countries, supported by readers like FBReader, Cool Reader, and Calibre.

Q: What is Markdown?

A: Markdown is a lightweight markup language created by John Gruber in 2004. It uses simple plain text formatting that converts to HTML. Markdown is the most popular format for README files, documentation, blog posts, and notes. It's supported natively by GitHub, Reddit, Stack Overflow, and thousands of other platforms.

Q: Will chapter structure be preserved?

A: Yes! FB2's section and title elements are converted to Markdown headings (## for chapters, ### for subsections). The hierarchical structure of your book is maintained in a simple, readable format that's easy to navigate and edit.

Q: What happens to images in FB2?

A: FB2 stores images as Base64-encoded data within the XML. During conversion, images are extracted and saved as separate files, with Markdown image references () pointing to them. This allows you to manage images separately from the text.

Q: Can I convert Markdown back to FB2?

A: Yes, but indirectly. You can use Pandoc to convert Markdown to EPUB or HTML, then use Calibre to convert to FB2. However, some FB2-specific metadata may need to be added manually. The conversion chain would be: MD -> EPUB -> FB2.

Q: What tools can I use to edit Markdown?

A: Markdown can be edited in any text editor! Popular choices include VS Code, Typora, Obsidian, Notion, iA Writer, or even simple editors like Notepad. Many provide live preview and syntax highlighting. You can also edit directly on GitHub.

Q: How do I convert Markdown to other formats?

A: Use Pandoc, the universal document converter. Commands: `pandoc file.md -o file.html` (HTML), `pandoc file.md -o file.pdf` (PDF), `pandoc file.md -o file.docx` (Word). Many static site generators like Jekyll and Hugo also process Markdown.

Q: Is formatting preserved during conversion?

A: Yes! Bold, italic, and other text formatting from FB2 is converted to Markdown equivalents (**bold**, *italic*, `code`). Paragraphs, lists, and basic structures are preserved. Some complex FB2 elements may be simplified to match Markdown's simpler feature set.

Q: Which Markdown flavor is used?

A: The conversion produces standard CommonMark-compatible Markdown with GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) extensions. This ensures maximum compatibility across platforms. The output works on GitHub, GitLab, Reddit, and most Markdown processors.