The workflow: Google Docs → DOCX → Markdown
Step 1: In your Google Doc, click File → Download → Microsoft Word (.docx). Google generates a .docx export that preserves your headings, lists, tables, bold/italic, and embedded images. Step 2: Drop the .docx file into mdisbetter's Word to Markdown converter. Step 3: Download the .md file. Done — your Google Doc is now clean Markdown with full structural fidelity.
Why not use a Google Docs add-on?
Add-ons like "Docs to Markdown" or "GD2md-html" work, but they require granting the add-on access to read and modify all your Google Docs (or in some cases, your entire Drive). For users who care about Drive privacy, that permission scope is a hard no. The DOCX intermediate route bypasses add-ons entirely — Google's built-in Download function needs no third-party permissions.
What survives the round-trip
Headings (Title, Heading 1-6 in Google Docs map to #-###### in Markdown). Paragraphs. Bulleted and numbered lists with nesting. Tables. Bold, italic, underline. Hyperlinks. Inline code. Code blocks (if you used the Code blocks formatting in Google Docs). Embedded images (extracted and linked). What doesn't survive: Google Docs comments (dropped), suggested edits (accepted version only), drawings and charts (rendered as images), Google Docs equations (best-effort fallback to LaTeX).