New Feature: Take Your Lists Anywhere with Markdown Export

Posted on April 5, 2025 by FreeTodoList Team

We're excited to announce a new feature that many of you have been requesting - Markdown exports for your todo lists!

What is Markdown?

Markdown is a lightweight markup language with plain text formatting syntax. It's widely used in applications like GitHub, Reddit, Notion, Obsidian, and many other modern note-taking and documentation tools. If you're not familiar with Markdown, it looks like this:

# My List Title

- [x] Completed task
- [ ] Task to do

How to Export Your Lists

Exporting a list to Markdown is simple:

1. Navigate to any of your lists
2. Look for the green MD button in the top right corner (next to the RSS and Share buttons)
3. Click the button, and your browser will display the Markdown version of your list
4. From there, you can copy the text and paste it anywhere that supports Markdown

What's Included in the Export

Our Markdown export is comprehensive and includes:

• List title and description
• Creation and last update dates
• Statistics about your list:
  • Total items
  • Completed and incomplete counts
  • Overdue items count
  • Archived items count
• All active list items with checkbox notation showing completion status
• Due dates for items that have them
• Completion dates for completed items
• A separate section for archived items

Example Export

Here's an example of what your exported list might look like:

# Weekly Grocery Shopping

Remember to bring reusable bags!

## List Information

- **Created**: 2025-03-21
- **Last Updated**: 2025-04-03
- **Total Items**: 8
- **Completed**: 3
- **Incomplete**: 5
- **Overdue**: 1

## Items

- [x] Milk *(Completed: 2025-04-01)*
- [x] Bread *(Completed: 2025-04-01)*
- [x] Eggs *(Completed: 2025-04-01)*
- [ ] Apples *(Due: 2025-04-05)*
- [ ] Bananas
- [ ] Coffee beans
- [ ] Pasta
- [ ] Tomato sauce *(Due: 2025-04-04)*

---
*Exported from FreeTodoList on 2025-04-05 09:30*

This format is clean, readable, and will display properly in any application that supports Markdown formatting.

Use Cases for Markdown Export

There are many ways you might use this new feature:

• Project Documentation: Include task lists in GitHub READMEs or project wikis to show progress or planned work
• Note-taking Integration: Copy lists into Obsidian, Notion, or other note-taking apps to integrate with your existing knowledge management system
• Collaboration: Share a snapshot of a list with colleagues via email, Slack, or other communication platforms without requiring them to create an account
• Print-ready Format: Use the markdown with any markdown-to-PDF converter for printing physical copies of your lists
• Project Reporting: Generate simple, clean reports showing completed work for stakeholders or clients
• Backup & Archiving: Create personal backups of important lists that can be stored independently of FreeTodoList
• Task Migration: Move lists to other task management systems that support Markdown imports, like certain project management tools
• Academic Organization: Students can export study plan lists for inclusion in research notes or assignment planning

Real-world Example: Using with GitHub

For developers, the Markdown export is particularly useful for GitHub project management. For example:

1. Create a Project Roadmap list in FreeTodoList
2. Add all your planned features and milestones with due dates
3. Export the list as Markdown
4. Copy the exported text into your project's README.md or ROADMAP.md file
5. Commit to your repository to share progress with contributors

When items are completed, you can update your FreeTodoList and re-export to keep the GitHub documentation current.

What's Next?

We're constantly working to improve FreeTodoList based on your feedback. If you have ideas for how we could enhance the Markdown export or suggestions for other export formats, please send us feedback.

Happy organizing!

The FreeTodoList Team