Haddock to Man page Converter
Processing entirely on your device — large files may take a moment.
Haddock Documentation and Unix Man Page (roff) exist for different jobs: Haddock is the documentation markup of the Haskell ecosystem: -- comment blocks attached to functions, rendered into the API docs every Hackage package ships. Convert man pages into Markdown, HTML or Word when CLI documentation needs to live on the web or in print.
Because the whole conversion happens on your device, it is instant, unlimited and genuinely private — no accounts, no watermarks, no files on anyone's server. Multiple files are converted in one go.
How Haddock compares to Man page
| Haddock | Man page | |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Comment markup (--, 'links', @mono@) | roff macros (.TH/.SH, \fB escapes) |
| Types / schema | UTF-8 text | Plain text, troff grammar |
| Compatibility | Haskell, Hackage, Pandoc | groff, mandoc, Pandoc |
| Best for | Haskell API documentation | CLI reference manuals |
How to convert Haddock to Man page
- 1
Select your files
Select your Haddock file.
- 2
Convert instantly
The file is first converted to markdown (an interchange format that keeps headings, lists and paragraphs), then rebuilt into the target format.
- 3
Download results
Download the Man page — structure preserved, heavy layout simplified.
About the Haddock format
Haddock is how Haskell explains itself: documentation comments in -- blocks, marked up with 'links' to identifiers, @monospace@ and /italics/, compiled into the API reference pages every package on Hackage publishes. The markup lives inside source files, but the format is its own small language.
Converted out of source comments, Haddock text becomes ordinary structured prose: Pandoc maps headings, code blocks and identifier links onto Markdown or HTML, so API knowledge can move into handbooks, wikis or static-site generators without retyping.
+Strengths
- ✓Documents live next to the code they describe
- ✓Identifier-aware linking across the API
- ✓Standard for the entire Haskell ecosystem
!Limitations
- −Meaningful only inside Haskell projects
- −Small grammar, few writers outside Haddock itself
- −Embedded in comments — needs extraction first
About the Man page format
The man page is Unix's oldest living document format: roff source with .TH title macros, .SH section headers and backslash font escapes like \fB, rendered by troff/groff into the terminal pages every developer reads with `man ls`. It predates most programming languages still in use — and it still ships with every Linux and macOS install.
Modern docs teams rarely author roff by hand anymore, but the format remains the entry gate for anything that must appear in the terminal. Pandoc converts man pages into Markdown, HTML or Word, freeing CLI documentation for the web — and can generate fresh roff from Markdown sources.
+Strengths
- ✓Universal on every Unix-like system
- ✓Compactly expresses structured manuals
- ✓Typesets beautifully to terminal and print
!Limitations
- −Cryptic macro syntax for newcomers
- −roff toolchain is archaic
- −Poor fit for rich media or web-first docs
Why convert Haddock to Man page?
Converting makes sense where the strengths of Man page meet what Haddock cannot give you. Universal on every Unix-like system Meanwhile Meaningful only inside Haskell projects One pass through the converter above puts your file on the right side of that trade-off.
Frequently asked questions
Is this Haddock to Man page converter really free?
Yes — completely free, with no sign-up, no watermark and no daily conversion limits. The site is supported by advertising.
Are my files uploaded to a server?
No. The conversion runs entirely inside your browser using WebAssembly, so your files never leave your device — that is what makes it instant and private.
Does it work on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android?
Yes. Anything with a modern browser works: Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS. No software installation is required.
Is there a file size limit for Haddock to Man page?
The only limit is your device's memory, since nothing is uploaded. Files up to a few hundred megabytes work fine on a modern desktop browser; very large files simply take a little longer.
Does the conversion work offline?
Yes. Once the page has loaded, the conversion itself runs entirely inside your browser — you can even disconnect and keep converting. No file ever touches a server.
Can I edit the Man page result afterwards?
That depends on the target: Man page is designed for what it does, and this converter reproduces its content faithfully rather than inventing editable structure. For heavy re-editing, work from a format built for editing and export the final version here.