What Are Markdown Editors?
Markdown editors are tools built for writing in markdown, a lightweight markup language. These editors simplify formatting by using plain text symbols like asterisks, underscores, and brackets. This approach allows users to focus on content creation without the distraction of complex formatting tasks.
Markdown’s design philosophy emphasizes easy readability and conversion to HTML, making these editors popular among writers, web developers, and content creators who need a simplified workflow.
Most markdown editors offer features beyond basic text editing. They include functionalities like live previews, syntax highlighting, and file management.
This is part of a series of articles about code documentation.
Key Features of Markdown Editors
Markdown editors typically include the following capabilities.
Real-Time Preview
Many markdown editors allow users to see their formatted text as they type, bridging the gap between writing and the final output. This feature helps catch formatting errors immediately, ensuring a smoother content creation process. Seeing changes in real time eliminates the need to switch between writing and preview modes repeatedly.
Real-time preview is particularly beneficial for less experienced users unfamiliar with markdown syntax. It offers reassurance and reduces learning curves. Some editors offer split-screen views, showing raw markdown and formatted output side-by-side.
Syntax Highlighting
Syntax highlighting involves emphasizing the different markdown elements within the text. By color-coding different components such as headers, links, and emphasis markers, it increases readability and helps users quickly navigate their documents. This function is especially useful in lengthy documents where visual differentiation aids in managing content.
Beyond improving readability, syntax highlighting aids in error detection. It highlights discrepancies or incorrect syntax that might disrupt document formatting. Users can catch mistakes early in the drafting process, reducing editing time. The feature is adaptable, with customizable themes to suit various user preferences.
Integrated File Management
Most markdown editors offer users the convenience of organizing documents directly within the application. This feature supports efficient handling of files, providing functions like folder organization, file searching, and version tracking. It ensures that users maintain a coherent file structure, which is particularly important for projects involving multiple documents.
This organizational tool is especially useful in collaborative environments. It enables easy sharing and retrieval of files, supporting teamwork processes. By managing documents within the editor, users can reduce the clutter on their devices.
Version Control
Version control aids in tracking changes and maintaining document integrity. It allows users to revert to previous document versions, offering security against accidental data loss or undesired edits. It logs each change, providing a complete edit history that users can review and manage.
For collaborative teams, version control is especially important. It ensures team members are working on the latest document version while retaining past iterations for reference. This reduces the risk of overwriting valuable changes and enables a more coordinated workflow.
Collaboration Features
Markdown editors with collaboration features enable multiple users to work on the same document simultaneously. This real-time co-editing improves efficiency and fosters teamwork by allowing immediate feedback and idea exchange. It eliminates the need for back-and-forth document revisions via email, speeding up project timelines.
Collaboration features often include comment functions or chat systems within the editor. These tools make communication easier, allowing users to discuss changes and provide context directly within the document. This interaction improves clarity and minimizes misunderstandings.
Tips from the expert
Notable Markdown Editors
1. HackMD
HackMD is an online markdown editor for developers, researchers, and startups. With its real-time co-editing features, users can create, share, and edit documents with others simultaneously. HackMD’s integration with GitHub allows for easy synchronization between notes and repositories, making it suitable for technical documentation.
License: AGPL-3.0 license
Repo: https://github.com/hackmdio/codimd
GitHub stars: 9k+
Contributors: 150+
Key features of HackMD:
- Real-time collaboration: Multiple users can work on the same document simultaneously, allowing for instant feedback and smoother teamwork.
- GitHub integration: Syncs notes with GitHub repositories to easily manage technical documentation across platforms.
- Version control: Helps keep track of document changes with a full edit history, allowing users to revert to previous versions.
- Team organization: Manages user roles and access permissions within the workspace for better collaboration and document security.
- LaTeX and UML support: Allows users to write scientific formulas and create UML diagrams directly in the editor using plain text.
Source: HackMD
2. StackEdit
StackEdit is a markdown editor for writers, developers, and content creators looking for a feature-rich writing tool. It combines markdown syntax highlighting with WYSIWYG-style controls for easy formatting. StackEdit’s layout is adaptable, catering to writing, reviewing, and collaboration tasks.
License: Apache-2.0
Repo: https://github.com/benweet/stackedit
GitHub stars: 20k+
Contributors: <10
Key features of StackEdit:
- Rich markdown editor: Offers enhanced markdown syntax highlighting that helps visualize the final rendering of files, ensuring accurate formatting.
- WYSIWYG controls: Provides formatting buttons and shortcuts, making markdown editing simple and intuitive with PageDown integration.
- Live preview with Scroll Sync: Keeps the editor and preview panels synchronized, allowing users to see live changes in real time while scrolling through the document.
- Cloud sync and publishing: Allows users to sync files with Google Drive, Dropbox, and GitHub, or publish them directly to platforms like Blogger, WordPress, and Zendesk in markdown, HTML, or other formats.
- Collaboration features: Enables real-time collaboration with automatic change merging, ensuring smooth teamwork on shared documents.
Source: StackEdit
3. Dillinger
Dillinger is a cloud-enabled markdown editor built with AngularJS, offering a mobile-ready, offline-compatible writing experience. Dillinger allows users to write in markdown on the left pane and instantly preview the HTML output on the right. It supports importing and exporting files from multiple cloud services like GitHub, Google Drive, and Dropbox.
License: MIT license
Repo: https://github.com/joemccann/dillinger
GitHub stars: ~8k
Contributors: 100+
Key features of Dillinger:
- Live markdown to HTML preview: Users write markdown on the left and view the HTML rendering on the right in real time.
- Cloud integration: Imports and exports files from GitHub, Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive, allowing easy access and management of documents across platforms.
- File import and export: Users can drag and drop markdown, HTML, and image files directly into Dillinger, and export documents in markdown, HTML, or PDF formats.
- Offline writing: Offers full functionality even when offline, with local file storage for uninterrupted writing.
- Open source and extensible: Built using open-source technologies like AngularJS and Ace Editor, making it customizable and community-driven.
Source: Dillinger
4. Typora
Typora is a markdown editor focusing on providing a distraction-free reading and writing experience. By eliminating the preview window and syntax symbols, Typora offers a real-time live preview, allowing users to focus on content creation. Its aim is to make it easy to format text, insert images, create lists, and work with tables or code blocks.
License: Commercial
Key features of Typora:
- Live preview: Removes the traditional preview pane and provides an uninterrupted writing experience where users can see the final output as they type.
- Rich formatting options: Supports a range of elements including images, headers, lists, tables, code fences, math equations, and diagrams.
- File organization: Offers a file tree and article side panels for managing documents, allowing integration with cloud services like Dropbox and iCloud for easy synchronization.
- Outline panel: Automatically generates a document outline, enabling quick navigation to different sections with a single click.
- Import & export: Allows exporting to multiple formats including PDF, docx, LaTeX, and Epub, as well as importing from various sources.
Source: Typora
5. Ghostwriter
Ghostwriter is a markdown editor to help writers focus on content creation. It allows users to write without interruptions, with features like live preview, navigation through a document outline, and export options. Additional tools like Focus Mode and Hemingway Mode further improve productivity.
License: GPL-3.0
Repo: https://github.com/KDE/ghostwriter
GitHub stars: 4k+
Contributors: 60+
Key features of Ghostwriter:
- Distraction-free writing: Offers a full-screen writing interface, helping users focus on content first and format later using markdown.
- Themes: Offers built-in light and dark themes, with options to create custom themes for personalized aesthetics.
- Live preview: Shows markdown rendered in HTML in real time, optimized for large documents, and allows users to easily export or copy the HTML output.
- Document navigation: Makes it easier to navigate large documents with a sidebar outline or via keyboard shortcuts for quick jumps between sections.
- Focus mode: Highlights only the current text around the cursor, with options to focus on a single line, sentence, or paragraph.
Source: Ghostwriter
6. MarkTwo
MarkTwo is a minimalist markdown editor to simplify the writing experience. It allows users to write in plain text and see it rendered in real time, making content creation fast and distraction-free. With support for GitHub-flavored markdown, MarkTwo is packed with essential features like formatting options, lists, and tables.
License: GPL-3.0
Repo: https://github.com/anthonygarvan/marktwo
Key features of MarkTwo:
- Formatting: Users can apply bold, italic, strike-through, inline code, and create links using simple markdown syntax.
- Bullet and numbered lists: Users can quickly format bullet points or ordered lists for clear, structured content.
- To-do lists and reminders: Supports the creation of interactive checklists and setting reminders with date and time stamps.
- Block quotes: Highlights important quotes or thoughts with block quote formatting.
- Tables: Allows users to insert tables to organize data, enabling customization for alignment and borders.
7. Bear
Bear is a markdown note-taking app that combines simplicity with features to help capture, write, and organize thoughts. It can be used for jotting down quick notes or planning complex projects, adapting to the workflow. Bear is available on Mac, iPhone, and iPad.
Key features of Bear:
- Seamless markdown: Easily combines text, images, tables, and to-do lists within the same note, using flexible markdown formatting.
- Flexible organization: Supports customizable tags and offers search tools to easily organize notes and projects, making it simple to navigate and manage content.
- Cross-device sync: Keeps notes up-to-date across all Apple devices with automatic iCloud syncing.
- Sketching and drawing: Allows users to add sketches to notes with Apple Pencil or with their finger, and easily edit them as part of text or attachments.
- Security and privacy (PRO): Encrypts notes for added privacy, ensuring only authorized users have access to the content via iCloud.
Source: Bear
8. Quiver
Quiver is a notebook built for programmers, enabling users to mix text, code, markdown, and LaTeX within a single note. With its integration of different cell types and an intuitive code editor, Quiver helps improve productivity and simplifies the note-taking process for developers.
License: MIT license
Repo: https://github.com/varkor/quiver
GitHub stars: 2k+
Contributors: <10
Key features of Quiver:
- Mixed cell types: Combine text, code, markdown, LaTeX, and diagrams within a single note, with the ability to set different programming languages for each code cell.
- Code editor: Uses the ACE code editor, featuring syntax highlighting for over 120 languages, automatic indentation, and customizable themes.
- Markdown and LaTeX support: Users can write in markdown with live preview and customize with CSS. Quiver also supports LaTeX math-mode macros via MathJax for writing complex equations.
- File and link management: Users can drag and drop images, files, and links into notes. Files are saved locally and URLs are auto-detected.
- Full-text search: Powered by Search Kit (the same tech behind Spotlight), allowing users to find notes instantly.
Source: Yliansoft
Automating Code Documentation with Swimm
Swimm is a documentation platform built to deal with the main challenges of documentation for software engineering teams that want to create and manage internal documentation about their project.
Swimm’s core features include:
- DaC (Documentation as code)—Swimm documents are written in Markdown form and saved within the codebase.
- “Live” code—To make documents easier to write and richer, Swimm enables adding code snippets, diagrams, and tokens taken directly from the codebase.
- Automatic sync—Using a dedicated application, Swimm integrates into CI to locate and automatically correct documents that become stale as relevant code changes. Developers are prompted if code changes are significant and demand their attention.
- Enhanced discoverability—Swimm enables various ways to find documentation when needed. Its web application is used to structure documents using tags and Playlists and to search documents across repositories. Swimm also integrates with IDEs to highlight relevant docs next to code they relate to, enabling you to read them from the IDE without switching contexts.
