Textile to OPML Converter
Processing entirely on your device — large files may take a moment.
Textile Markup and Outline Processor Markup exist for different jobs: Textile is a lightweight markup language from 2002 that powered Redmine, Textpattern and a decade of forums: h1. headings, *bold*, _italic_ and bq. quotes — readable as plain text, renderable to HTML. Convert OPML outlines into Markdown or Word documents, or turn bullet lists back into an importable outline.
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 Textile compares to OPML
| Textile | OPML | |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Plain-text markup (h1., *b*, bq.) | XML <outline> tree |
| Types / schema | UTF-8 text, no binary payload | XML, text + attributes |
| Compatibility | Redmine, Textpattern, Pandoc | RSS readers, outliners, Pandoc |
| Best for | Legacy wiki and CMS migration | Subscriptions lists and mind maps |
How to convert Textile to OPML
- 1
Select your files
Select your Textile 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 OPML — structure preserved, heavy layout simplified.
About the Textile format
Textile, written by Dean Allen in 2002, is the lightweight markup that taught the web that plain text could become HTML. Its grammar is compact and humane: "h1." makes a heading, "*bold*" and "_italic_" style inline, "bq." quotes, "* " builds lists, and "!image.png!" embeds pictures. Textpattern and Redmine standardized it, and thousands of forum posts and issue trackers were written in it through the 2000s.
Reading Textile back into an editable format is the real migration problem: the content is fine, the syntax is just no longer what new tools accept. Pandoc parses the full grammar — tables, footnotes, definition lists — and re-emit it as Markdown, Word, HTML or anything modern. Structure survives; only the plumbing changes.
+Strengths
- ✓Human-readable plain text — diffs and version control work naturally
- ✓Full-featured: tables, footnotes, definition lists, code blocks
- ✓Still the native format of Redmine and Textpattern installs
!Limitations
- −Effectively frozen since the 2000s — few new tools accept it
- −Smaller ecosystem than Markdown for converters and editors
- −Flavors differ slightly between Textpattern and Redmine
About the OPML format
OPML (Outline Processor Markup) is XML for hierarchies: nested <outline> elements, each with text and optional attributes. It is the silent standard behind podcast and RSS subscription lists — every "export subscriptions" button produces one — and the interchange format for outliners like Workflowy, Dynalist and OmniOutliner.
An outline is already half a document: Pandoc turns OPML hierarchies into Markdown headings, Word outlines or HTML pages with the nesting preserved, and can write OPML back out so a bulleted plan becomes an importable tree in your outliner of choice.
+Strengths
- ✓Universal outline exchange between outliners
- ✓The RSS/podcast subscription standard
- ✓Trivially parseable XML
!Limitations
- −Hierarchies only — no rich text per node
- −Attribute conventions vary between apps
- −Rarely rendered directly for humans
Why convert Textile to OPML?
Converting makes sense where the strengths of OPML meet what Textile cannot give you. Universal outline exchange between outliners Meanwhile Effectively frozen since the 2000s — few new tools accept it One pass through the converter above puts your file on the right side of that trade-off.
Frequently asked questions
Is this Textile to OPML 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 Textile to OPML?
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 OPML result afterwards?
That depends on the target: OPML 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.