Marksmith is a new open-source, WYSIWYG Markdown editor specifically designed for Ruby on Rails applications. Inspired by GitHub's editor, it offers a clean and intuitive interface for writing and previewing Markdown content. Marksmith boasts features like live previews, syntax highlighting, and seamless integration with ActionText, making it easy to incorporate rich text editing into Rails projects. It aims to provide a superior editing experience compared to existing solutions by focusing on performance, ease of use, and a familiar, GitHub-like interface.
AvoHQ has announced the release of Marksmith, a new Markdown editor specifically designed for Ruby on Rails applications. Mimicking the familiar and intuitive editing experience of GitHub's Markdown editor, Marksmith offers a seamless and user-friendly way to compose and preview Markdown content directly within Rails projects.
This WYSIWYG (What You See Is What You Get) editor provides real-time rendering of Markdown as it's being typed, eliminating the need to constantly switch between edit and preview modes. This live preview functionality facilitates a more efficient and streamlined workflow for developers and content creators working with Markdown within a Rails environment. Furthermore, Marksmith boasts a highly performant implementation, ensuring a smooth and responsive editing experience even with large or complex Markdown documents.
Marksmith seamlessly integrates with existing Rails applications through a straightforward installation process leveraging the familiar Rails asset pipeline. It’s distributed as a Ruby gem, simplifying integration and dependency management for developers. The editor itself is built using ViewComponent, a modern and maintainable approach to building reusable UI components within Rails applications, further enhancing its integration and flexibility.
Beyond its core functionality, Marksmith offers a range of customizable features. Developers can tailor the editor's appearance and behavior to align with their application's specific styling and requirements. This includes options for customizing the toolbar, adding custom buttons and actions, and fine-tuning the overall look and feel of the editor.
AvoHQ emphasizes that Marksmith is open-source and available under the MIT license, encouraging community contributions and further development of the project. They position Marksmith as a powerful and versatile solution for incorporating a robust and user-friendly Markdown editing experience into any Ruby on Rails application, benefiting both developers and end-users.
Summary of Comments ( 15 )
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42917712
Hacker News users discussed Marksmith's features, licensing, and alternatives. Some praised its clean interface and GitHub-flavored Markdown support, seeing it as a good option for simple Rails apps. Others questioned the need for another editor, pointing to existing solutions like ActionText and Trix. The MIT license was generally welcomed. Several commenters debated the merits of client-side vs. server-side rendering for Markdown previews, with performance and security being key concerns. Finally, some users expressed interest in a JavaScript version independent of Rails. The discussion overall was positive, but with some pragmatic skepticism about its niche.
The Hacker News post about Marksmith, a GitHub-style Markdown editor for Ruby on Rails, has generated several comments. Many users express appreciation for the project and its clean implementation.
One commenter highlights the pleasant editing experience, praising the speed and responsiveness of the editor, comparing it favorably to other JavaScript-heavy solutions. They specifically mention the lack of lag or delay, which they find refreshing. This commenter also points out the clever use of Stimulus and Turbo Frames, which contributes to the smooth performance.
Another comment focuses on the licensing aspect, asking for clarification on whether Marksmith is open-source. The author of the post (and presumably the project) responds, confirming that Marksmith is indeed open-source and licensed under the MIT license. They also clarify that it's available as a gem for easy integration into Rails projects.
A further comment delves into the technical details, inquiring about the approach taken for preview rendering. The author replies, explaining that they use a hidden iframe for rendering the preview, leveraging the existing Rails application's Markdown rendering pipeline. This approach allows them to avoid any client-side Markdown parsing or JavaScript dependencies for the preview functionality.
Several other commenters express general approval, using phrases like "Looks nice!" and "This is awesome!". One user specifically mentions appreciating the demo and the project's overall aesthetic.
The conversation also touches upon alternatives and comparisons. One comment mentions using the
actiontextgem with Trix editor, while another suggests Tipster as a potential alternative. The original poster acknowledges these alternatives, positioning Marksmith as a lighter-weight and more performant option specifically designed for simpler Markdown editing needs.Overall, the comments reflect a positive reception for Marksmith, praising its performance, ease of use, and clean implementation. The discussion also highlights some of the technical choices made in the project and explores comparisons with existing solutions in the Rails ecosystem.