A long README or documentation file is much easier to navigate with a table of contents — but hand-writing anchor links that exactly match GitHub’s auto-generated heading slugs, and keeping them in sync as headings change, is tedious. This tool generates both instantly.
What Is the Markdown TOC Generator?
Paste markdown containing #-style headings, and get a correctly indented, linked table of contents using GitHub’s own heading-anchor slug algorithm — so the links actually work when pasted into a README rendered on GitHub.
How to Use It
- Open the tool at /tools/markdown-toc-generator.
- Paste your markdown document (or edit the default sample).
- Choose a max heading depth and bulleted or numbered format.
- Copy the generated TOC and paste it near the top of your document.
Key Features
- GitHub-compatible anchor slugs, matching the exact lowercase/strip/hyphenate algorithm GitHub uses for its own auto-linked headings.
- Duplicate-heading handling, appending
-1,-2, etc. just like GitHub does for repeated heading text. - Code-fence awareness, ignoring
#characters inside fenced code blocks so they aren’t mistaken for real headings. - Adjustable depth and numbering, to match the exact TOC structure you want.
When to Use This Tool
- Adding a table of contents to a long README or documentation page before publishing.
- Regenerating a TOC after restructuring or renaming headings in an existing document.
- Double-checking that your manually written anchor links match GitHub’s actual generated slugs.
Try It Now
Open Markdown TOC Generator directly, or press ⌘K and type the tool name from anywhere on the site.
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