Lilly Tech Systems
Markdown Tools & Editors
A comprehensive guide to editors, converters, static site generators, linters, and other tools for working with Markdown files.
Desktop Editors
| Editor | Platform | Price | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|
| VS Code | Win/Mac/Linux | Free | Developers who want Markdown alongside code |
| Obsidian | Win/Mac/Linux | Free (personal) | Knowledge management, note-taking, wiki-style linking |
| Typora | Win/Mac/Linux | $14.99 | WYSIWYG editing, seamless preview |
| Mark Text | Win/Mac/Linux | Free | Distraction-free writing with real-time preview |
| iA Writer | Mac/iOS/Win | $49.99 | Focused writing, typography-first design |
VS Code for Markdown
VS Code is the most popular editor for Markdown among developers. It has built-in Markdown preview and can be enhanced with extensions:
# Built-in features (no extension needed) - Markdown preview: Ctrl+Shift+V - Side-by-side preview: Ctrl+K V - Syntax highlighting - Outline view in sidebar # Recommended extensions Markdown All in One - Shortcuts, TOC generation, auto-preview, list editing markdownlint - Linting and style checking Markdown Preview Enhanced - Extended preview with math, diagrams, export Paste Image - Paste screenshots directly into Markdown files Mermaid Preview - Preview Mermaid diagrams
Obsidian
Obsidian is a powerful knowledge management tool built on Markdown. Its key differentiator is bidirectional linking between notes, creating a personal knowledge graph.
- Wiki-style links: Use
[[page name]]to link between notes - Graph view: Visualize connections between your notes
- Plugins: Hundreds of community plugins for extended functionality
- Templates: Create reusable note templates
- Local-first: All data stored as plain .md files on your disk
Online Editors
Dillinger
Browser-based Markdown editor with live preview. Connects to GitHub, Dropbox, and Google Drive. Great for quick editing without installing anything.
HackMD / CodiMD
Collaborative Markdown editor. Multiple people can edit simultaneously. Supports slides, diagrams, and math. Perfect for team documentation.
StackEdit
Feature-rich browser editor with sync to Google Drive and GitHub. Supports UML diagrams, math, and multiple workspaces.
Notion
All-in-one workspace that uses Markdown-like syntax. Rich editing with databases, kanban boards, and collaboration. Exports to Markdown.
Converters: Pandoc
Pandoc is the "Swiss Army knife" of document conversion. It converts Markdown to and from dozens of formats.
# Markdown to PDF pandoc document.md -o document.pdf # Markdown to Word document pandoc document.md -o document.docx # Markdown to HTML pandoc document.md -o document.html --standalone # Markdown to slides (reveal.js) pandoc slides.md -o slides.html -t revealjs # Word document to Markdown pandoc document.docx -o document.md # Markdown to EPUB (ebook) pandoc book.md -o book.epub
Static Site Generators
Static site generators convert Markdown files into complete websites. They are used for documentation, blogs, and project sites.
| Generator | Language | Best For | Used By |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jekyll | Ruby | GitHub Pages, blogs | GitHub Pages (built-in) |
| Hugo | Go | Fast builds, large sites | Kubernetes docs, Cloudflare |
| MkDocs | Python | Project documentation | FastAPI, Pydantic |
| Docusaurus | JavaScript | Developer documentation | React, Jest, Supabase |
| Astro | JavaScript | Content-rich websites | Modern blogs and docs |
Linters
Markdown linters check your files for style issues, inconsistencies, and potential rendering problems:
# Install markdownlint CLI npm install -g markdownlint-cli # Lint a single file markdownlint README.md # Lint all Markdown files in a directory markdownlint 'docs/**/*.md' # Auto-fix issues markdownlint --fix README.md # Configure rules in .markdownlint.json { "MD013": false, // Disable line length "MD033": false, // Allow inline HTML "MD041": true // First line must be H1 }