Markdown editor

What this tool does

A Markdown editor that runs entirely in your browser. Type on the left and see the formatted document on the right as you write; on a phone, switch between Edit and Preview. A toolbar and keyboard shortcuts insert the syntax for you, the draft is saved on this device as you type, and when you are done you can download a .md file, a standalone .html page, or print to PDF through your browser's print dialog. Nothing you write is uploaded.

Writing faster

The toolbar covers the common syntax: bold, italic, strikethrough, inline code, links, three heading levels, quotes, bulleted, numbered and task lists, code blocks, tables and horizontal rules. Select text first to format it; with nothing selected the button inserts a placeholder that is already selected, so you can type over it. Pressing a button again on formatted text removes the formatting.

Shortcuts work with Ctrl on Windows and Linux or ⌘ on a Mac: B bold, I italic, K link (the URL is selected so you can paste over it), E inline code, Shift X strikethrough, Shift 8 bullets, Shift 7 numbered list, Shift 9 task list, and S downloads the .md file. Toolbar edits go through the browser's own editing, so Ctrl/⌘ Z undoes them like typing.

What Markdown it understands

The preview uses the same parser as our Markdown to HTML converter: a CommonMark-like core plus the GitHub extensions people use most. That means ATX and underlined headings, emphasis, strikethrough, inline and fenced code, block quotes, nested lists, task lists (- [ ] and - [x]), tables with column alignment, links, images and horizontal rules. Raw HTML is shown as text rather than run, every link is checked (no javascript: or data: URLs), and images from other sites are only loaded if you tick Load images, because loading one tells that site you opened the page. Code blocks are shown in a monospace font without syntax colouring. Reference-style links and footnotes are not supported.

Your draft is kept on this device

Each time you pause typing, the text is saved in your browser's local storage on this device. Close the tab or lose power and it is there the next time you open the editor. It is never sent to a server, which also means it does not follow you to another browser or device, and it is erased if you clear site data. Some private windows and locked-down browsers refuse storage; the editor then says so, and you should download the .md before closing the tab. New document asks for a second click before it clears the text.

Exporting

• .md saves exactly what you typed, named after the first heading.
• .html saves a complete page with simple readable styles: the same tree of elements as the preview, so it contains nothing you did not write.
• Print / PDF opens the print dialog with only the rendered document on the page, in black on white, avoiding page breaks inside tables and code blocks. Choose "Save as PDF" as the printer.

The article on Markdown flavours and a crash-proof writing workflow explains which syntax works where. Counting words for a submission? The text analyzer gives word frequency and reading time too.