CONVERT
MAN → OPML
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Fast, secure MAN to OPML conversion. No registration required.
Starting point: MAN is a document format oriented around a particular office suite or publishing pipeline. Natural next step, a OPML. Move a document from MAN into OPML while keeping structure and formatting intact. OPML is usually the better target when you need to email, sign, archive or hand the file to a tool that does not natively parse MAN. Conversion happens server-side in seconds and both files delete automatically. Context: MAN is a document format oriented around a particular office suite or publishing pipeline. OPML is a document format oriented around a particular office suite or publishing pipeline.
Unix Man Page
Source formatMan (manual) pages are the standard documentation format for Unix and Linux command-line tools, written in troff/groff markup. They follow a structured layout with NAME, SYNOPSIS, DESCRIPTION, and OPTIONS sections for consistent reference.
OPML Outline
Target formatOPML (Outline Processor Markup Language) is an XML format for structured outlines and lists. It is most widely used for exchanging RSS feed subscription lists between podcast apps and feed readers, and for hierarchical note-taking.
Why convert MAN to OPML
The driver for a MAN to OPML conversion is almost always the downstream audience: the editor, archivist, signer or reader who expects a OPML. Doing the conversion in a proper rendering pipeline, rather than hoping the receiving tool will figure it out, avoids layout drift and font substitutions.
HOW TO CONVERT
MAN → OPML
Provide the document
Select a MAN file. Very large documents (100+ pages) may take a few extra seconds to render completely.
Render to OPML
LibreOffice plus supporting filters translate the MAN into a fully-formed OPML with no structural drift.
Save the result
The converted OPML streams back over HTTPS; open in the target application to verify formatting.
Common Use Cases
Share across platforms
Send OPML files to anyone without worrying about whether they have the right software for MAN.
Embed in documents
Drop OPML output into Word, Google Docs, PowerPoint, Notion or a website without conversion warnings.
Optimize size
OPML often produces smaller files than MAN for web, email and storage.
Archive & future-proof
Store in a widely-supported format that will still open on future operating systems without legacy plugins.
MAN vs OPML — Strengths and limitations
What each format does best, and where it falls short.
MAN Strengths
- Universal Unix-like OS documentation since 1971.
- Plain text with simple troff markup — tiny files.
- Section system cleanly separates commands from APIs from config files.
- Renders to terminal, PostScript, HTML, or PDF.
- Every Unix programmer knows the format.
Limitations
- Terse by design — bad for tutorials or beginner-friendly intros.
- Troff syntax is arcane and difficult for modern authors.
- No interactive examples or live-editable snippets.
OPML Strengths
- Standard RSS subscription interchange format.
- Simple XML — easy to parse and generate.
- Highly extensible via arbitrary attributes.
- Supported by every major outline and RSS tool.
Limitations
- XML verbosity — larger than a JSON-based equivalent.
- Specification is loose — different tools disagree on edge cases.
- Primary use (RSS reading) has shrunk dramatically since Google Reader.
MAN vs OPML — Technical specifications
Side-by-side comparison of the technical details.
MAN
- MIME type
- text/troff
- Extensions
- .man, .1, .2, .3, .4, .5, .6, .7, .8
- Markup
- troff / groff with mdoc or man macro package
- Renderer
- groff + less (terminal), groff → PostScript/PDF/HTML
- First shipped
- Unix First Edition (1971)
OPML
- MIME type
- text/x-opml
- Extension
- .opml
- Format
- XML with nested <outline> elements
- Standard
- OPML 2.0 (2006)
- Primary use
- RSS subscription interchange
| Specification | MAN | OPML |
|---|---|---|
| MIME type | text/troff | text/x-opml |
| Extensions | .man, .1, .2, .3, .4, .5, .6, .7, .8 | — |
| Markup | troff / groff with mdoc or man macro package | — |
| Renderer | groff + less (terminal), groff → PostScript/PDF/HTML | — |
| First shipped | Unix First Edition (1971) | — |
| Extension | — | .opml |
| Format | — | XML with nested <outline> elements |
| Standard | — | OPML 2.0 (2006) |
| Primary use | — | RSS subscription interchange |
MAN vs OPML — Typical file sizes
Approximate file sizes for common scenarios.
MAN
- Single command man page 2-15 KB
- Complex tool (e.g., bash man) 80-200 KB
OPML
- Typical RSS reader export (50 feeds) 5-30 KB
- Deep outline (Scrivener novel plan) 20-200 KB
Quality & Compatibility
The conversion preserves document structure rather than pixel-perfect rendering: a paragraph in MAN is a paragraph in OPML, not a bitmap snapshot. That means you can still edit and search the OPML. If you need exact visual fidelity (for legal or print workflows), export to PDF as the final step.
Tips for Best Results
- Run a spell-check in the OPML after conversion — occasionally hyphenation or language tagging shifts and typos become invisible to the original checker.
- Include fallback generic fonts (sans-serif, serif) in your style definitions so the OPML degrades gracefully when a font is missing on a viewer device.
- For archive-quality output, export to PDF/A after converting to OPML; this locks the document against future rendering drift.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, as long as the fonts are standard (system fonts or common office fonts like Arial, Calibri, Times, Helvetica). Custom corporate fonts survive if they are embedded in the source document; otherwise the conversion substitutes the closest available match, which can shift line breaks by a character or two.
Yes. Inline images are embedded into the OPML at full resolution, editable tables become native OPML tables, and hyperlinks keep their URLs. Complex features unique to MAN — macros, form fields, track-changes — are mapped where an equivalent exists in OPML and flattened into static content otherwise.
All uploads go over TLS, files are processed in isolated containers and both the source and the output are deleted within two hours. No account is required, file contents are never indexed or used for training, and the paid plan adds a signable data-processing agreement for regulated workflows.
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Your files are encrypted during transfer, processed in isolated containers, and automatically deleted within 60 minutes. We never read, share, or store your data.