RST to HTML Converter

What happens when you convert RST to HTML

• The reStructuredText is read by pandoc, the open-source document converter, on our conversion server: headings, lists, tables, links, emphasis, code blocks and footnotes, and written as a standalone HTML page with pandoc's clean default style.
• The converter reads nothing but the file itself, so images linked from it are left out; only images embedded in the file as data URIs are kept. Raw HTML inside the file is dropped.
• Sphinx-only directives such as toctree and autodoc do nothing outside Sphinx, so a page built from them may look emptier than the Sphinx site.
• This conversion runs on our server: the file is uploaded, converted, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result has been sent back to you. Nothing is kept. Files up to 25 MB are accepted.

How to convert RST to HTML online

1. Press "Choose RST files" and select one or more files, or drag them onto the box. Files up to 25 MB each can be converted.
2. There are no settings to choose: the converter keeps everything the target format can hold.
3. Press "Convert to HTML". The file is uploaded to our conversion server, converted in a few seconds, and deleted together with the result as soon as the result is sent back.
4. Save each HTML with its download button. Our server has already deleted both your RST and the HTML by then.

Why convert RST to HTML?

RST files usually come from Python documentation, Sphinx sites and README files. People convert them to HTML because HTML opens in any browser and keeps headings, lists, tables and links.

In short, RST is good at what it was made for, and HTML is the more practical choice when the file has to open, upload or print somewhere else. RST shows as plain text in browsers; Sphinx, GitHub and many code editors render it, while HTML opens in every web browser.

How to convert RST to HTML on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android

On Windows

Open this page in Chrome, Edge or Firefox, drag your RST files in from File Explorer, and press Convert. Each HTML is saved to your Downloads folder.

On a Mac

Safari, Chrome and Firefox all work. Drag the RST files from Finder onto the drop zone and the HTML files land in Downloads.

On iPhone and iPad

Open the page in Safari and tap Choose RST files. You can pick from Photos or from the Files app. The converted HTML appears in Files, in the Downloads folder.

On Android

Open the page in Chrome, tap Choose RST files and pick them from Files or your gallery. The HTML is saved to the Download folder, where any file manager can find it.

Best settings for RST to HTML

There are no settings: pandoc's defaults give a clean, standard result that is easy to restyle.

If something is missing, check whether it depended on a file outside the RST; the converter reads the file alone.

RST vs HTML: the differences

About RST and HTML files

What is an RST file?

reStructuredText is the plain-text markup of the Python world: headings are underlined with = or - characters, and directives add notes, images and code. Sphinx builds the documentation of Python itself, and of thousands of other projects, from RST files.

What is an HTML file?

HTML is the language of web pages. A converted document saved as HTML keeps its headings, lists, tables and links and opens in any browser.

RST to HTML not working? Common problems

• "Files up to 25 MB can be converted." Server conversions have a size limit. Compress the images inside the file, or split it, and try again.
• "The conversion took too long and was stopped." Very long or complex files can pass the 90 second limit. Split the file and convert the parts.
• "This file is not really in RST format." The converter checks every file before it runs anything, so a file of another format renamed to .rst is refused. Choose the page for its real format.

Convert RST to HTML from the command line

pandoc does the same on your own computer:

pandoc input.rst -s -o output.html

Converting on your own computer keeps the file entirely local, which is worth it for very large or very sensitive documents. For everything else, the converter on this page does it without installing anything.