Markdown TOC Generator Free Online Tool 2026

Last updated March 22, 2026

Markdown TOC Generator Examples

The Markdown TOC Generator creates a table of contents from your document's heading structure. Below are examples of input headings and the TOC output produced.

Simple Document TOC

Input headings:

# Getting Started
## Installation
## Configuration
## Usage
# API Reference
## Authentication
## Endpoints
## Error Codes
# Contributing
# License

Generated TOC:

## Table of Contents

- [Getting Started](#getting-started)
  - [Installation](#installation)
  - [Configuration](#configuration)
  - [Usage](#usage)
- [API Reference](#api-reference)
  - [Authentication](#authentication)
  - [Endpoints](#endpoints)
  - [Error Codes](#error-codes)
- [Contributing](#contributing)
- [License](#license)

Deep Nesting (H1–H4)

Input:

# Introduction
## Background
### History
#### Early Development
### Current State
## Goals

Generated TOC:

- [Introduction](#introduction)
  - [Background](#background)
    - [History](#history)
      - [Early Development](#early-development)
    - [Current State](#current-state)
  - [Goals](#goals)

Duplicate Heading Handling

Input (two sections with the same name):

# Installation
## macOS
### Prerequisites
## Windows
### Prerequisites
## Linux
### Prerequisites

Generated TOC (with deduplication):

- [Installation](#installation)
  - [macOS](#macos)
    - [Prerequisites](#prerequisites)
  - [Windows](#windows)
    - [Prerequisites](#prerequisites-1)
  - [Linux](#linux)
    - [Prerequisites](#prerequisites-2)

Headings with Special Characters

Input:

## What is `async/await`?
## Using the `--verbose` Flag
## C++ Integration
## FAQ & Troubleshooting

Generated TOC:

- [What is `async/await`?](#what-is-asyncawait)
- [Using the `--verbose` Flag](#using-the---verbose-flag)
- [C++ Integration](#c-integration)
- [FAQ & Troubleshooting](#faq--troubleshooting)

H2-Only TOC (Filtered)

For long documents, include only H2 headings to keep the TOC concise:

## Table of Contents

- [Installation](#installation)
- [Configuration](#configuration)
- [Usage](#usage)
- [API Reference](#api-reference)
- [Contributing](#contributing)

Numbered TOC Style

## Table of Contents

1. [Getting Started](#getting-started)
   1. [Installation](#installation)
   2. [Configuration](#configuration)
2. [API Reference](#api-reference)
   1. [Authentication](#authentication)
   2. [Endpoints](#endpoints)
3. [Contributing](#contributing)

README File Example

Paste this at the top of your README after the title and description:

# My Project

A brief description of what this project does.

## Table of Contents

- [Installation](#installation)
- [Usage](#usage)
- [Configuration](#configuration)
- [API Reference](#api-reference)
- [Contributing](#contributing)
- [License](#license)

## Installation

...rest of README...

Anchor ID Rules

• Heading text is converted to lowercase
• Spaces are replaced with hyphens
• Special characters (punctuation, symbols) are removed
• Backtick code spans have backticks removed
• Duplicate headings get -1, -2, -3 suffixes
• Leading and trailing hyphens are removed

Common Use Cases

• Adding navigation to long README files on GitHub
• Creating TOC for technical documentation and guides
• Generating navigation for wiki pages and knowledge bases
• Updating TOC after adding or reorganizing document sections
• Planning document structure by visualizing heading hierarchy

Paste your Markdown document to instantly generate a properly formatted TOC with correct anchor links. Choose heading depth, numbering style, and TOC title to match your document's needs.