Lightweight Bidirectional Markdown Parser/Editor

Tiny, secure markdown for browsers and Node. Drop-in editor with fence plugins for code, SVG, Mermaid, MathJax, CSV, GeoJSON, and STL. Pick the layer you need.

9.8 KB parser • 14.6 KB bidirectional • 84.3 KB editor • BSD-2 · parser & bd have zero deps

Try the Editor

↑ live editor — edit either pane. Open full editor → · Browse examples →

Use only what you need

Three modules, each a superset of the previous. Install just the layer your app needs.

quikdown 9.8 KB

Markdown → HTML parser. XSS-safe by default. Fence callbacks for custom rendering. Themed CSS or inline styles. Use it when you just need to render markdown.

import quikdown from 'quikdown';

const html = quikdown('# Hello\n\n**world**');
document.body.innerHTML = html;

Parser examples →

quikdown_bd 14.6 KB

Everything in quikdown, plus HTML → Markdown round-trip. Use this when users edit a rendered preview and you need the markdown back.

import quikdown_bd from 'quikdown/bd';

const md = quikdown_bd.toMarkdown(
  document.querySelector('#preview')
);

Bidirectional examples →

quikdown_edit 84.3 KB

A complete markdown editor in one <div>. Live preview, bidirectional editing, fence plugins, toolbar, themes, undo/redo. Or run it headless and supply your own UI.

import QuikdownEditor from 'quikdown/edit';

new QuikdownEditor('#editor', {
  mode: 'split', showUndoRedo: true
});

Editor examples →

Capabilities

Shaped by real use: streaming LLM output, in-app document editors, and standalone markdown tools.

↔

Bidirectional editing

Edit either pane. Both stay in sync. Round-trip preserves formatting, fences, and tables. Nobody else does this well.

⚙

Headless mode

showToolbar: false and the editor becomes a pure component. Wire your own buttons to editor.undo(), editor.removeHR(), editor.setTheme(). Embed it in your app shell, your design system, your keyboard map.

⊞

Deep fence support

Code (with hljs), SVG, MathJax, Mermaid, CSV/TSV/PSV tables, GeoJSON maps, STL 3D, raw HTML. All bidirectional.

⧉

Copy as rich text

Copies the rendered preview to your clipboard with images, tables, and rendered fences intact. Paste into Gmail, Word, Slack, Notion — it just works.

◑

Light, dark, auto

Built-in theme support with runtime setTheme('dark'). Honors system preference. CSS custom properties or inline styles, your choice.

TypeScript ready

Hand-maintained .d.ts files for all six modules. Complete API surface, no any.

Real apps, real markdown

quikchat — themable chat with built-in markdown

quikchat uses quikdown to render inline fenced markdown in LLM chat widgets. When an LLM streams back a code block, table, or diagram, quikdown turns it into HTML in milliseconds — without a heavyweight framework dragging down a chat bubble.

See the integration example →

quikchat
screenshot

Quikdown At a Glance

Parser & editor

Markdown → HTML in one function call
HTML → Markdown round-trip (bidirectional)
Drop-in editor with source, split, and preview modes
Headless mode — bring your own UI
Undo / redo with configurable history
Copy rendered preview as rich text
Light, dark, and auto themes at runtime
TypeScript definitions for all modules

Fence plugins

Syntax-highlighted code blocks (highlight.js)
Mermaid diagrams
MathJax / LaTeX equations
Inline SVG rendering
CSV, TSV, and PSV → HTML tables
GeoJSON → interactive Leaflet maps
STL → 3D model viewer (Three.js)
Raw HTML pass-through

Open source, BSD-2 licensed. Contributions welcome →

One import, no build step

Pick the layer, drop a script tag (or import), and you're done.

<script type="module">
  import quikdown from 'https://unpkg.com/quikdown';

  // Render markdown into a div — that's it.
  document.getElementById('out').innerHTML = quikdown(`
# Hello

This is **markdown**, parsed in the browser.

\`\`\`js
console.log('with syntax highlighting via fence_plugin');
\`\`\`
  `);
</script>

<script type="module">
  import quikdown_bd from 'https://unpkg.com/quikdown/dist/quikdown_bd.esm.min.js';

  // Render markdown to HTML
  preview.innerHTML = quikdown_bd('# Editable\n\nClick to edit me.');

  // Round-trip: convert the (possibly edited) HTML back to markdown
  document.getElementById('save').onclick = () => {
    const markdown = quikdown_bd.toMarkdown(preview);
    console.log(markdown);
  };
</script>

<div id="editor" style="height: 500px;"></div>

<script type="module">
  import QuikdownEditor from 'https://unpkg.com/quikdown/dist/quikdown_edit.esm.min.js';

  const editor = new QuikdownEditor('#editor', {
    mode: 'split',           // 'source' | 'split' | 'preview'
    theme: 'auto',           // 'light' | 'dark' | 'auto'
    showRemoveHR: true,
    showLazyLinefeeds: true,
    showUndoRedo: true,
    plugins: { highlightjs: true, mermaid: true }
  });

  editor.setMarkdown('# Welcome\n\nStart typing...');
</script>

npm install quikdown

unpkg jsdelivr GitHub →