Many people stick to plain text documents for their notes. Markdown fits kindly into this logic, and there are numerous Linux Markdown tools you can use in case you need to follow it.
Markdown it’s a markup language that gives you format text documents without the requirement for complex software like word processors. When writing in Markdown, you use symbols like * and # to add structure to your document and underline parts of text. You can insert links, code blocks, and lists, footnotes, quotes, create tables, and write math formulas. Related with HTML, Markdown looks much cleaner and more readable even when seen in an basic text editor:
[ad type=”banner”]
This makes Markdown easier to learn than most markup languages. If you’ve not anything posted on Reddit, you’ve used Markdown. Additionally, you can use it in WordPress, Tumblr, Squarespace and a few other blogging platforms to format your posts. Many software developers write documentation in Markdown, and you’ll additionally discover it in several online forums. If you don’t have any knowledge with Markdown, start by reading this convenient cheatsheet.
The plain and convenient nature of Markdown allows to modify your files in any text editor. However, to really observe what the formatting looks like, you’ll need a Markdown editor that can interpret the markup syntax. In other words, the app will translate your formatting instructions into a fully formatted text.
1. CuteMarkEd
CuteMarkEd is a powerful Linux Markdown editor due to its extra features. Apart from the essentials which include live Markdown preview and syntax highlighting, CuteMarkEd has a spell checker, a file explorer, and a dialogue that allows insert tables. CuteMarkEd displays a word and character count as you type, lets you export Markdown files to PDF and HTML, and makes it possible to write math formulas.
2. LightMdEditor
A useful interface makes LightMdEditor stand out. All Markdown formatting choices are only a click away, in the toolbar, or you could apply them from the Edit menu. There are various keyboard shortcuts, and you can define custom ones as well.
LightMdEditor makes it easy to insert images into Markdown documents and helps multiple tabs, so that you can work on several files at once. The application window can be break up vertically or horizontally, and you can also toggle a Table of Contents for every file. At the end, the interface can be converted into one of two modes such as Focus and Full Screen for maximum productivity.
3. ReText
ReText is a good option if we need to convert your Markdown files into other file formats. It can export to PDF, ODT, HTML and also it supports the reStructuredText markup language.
It’s a well-equipped Linux Markdown editor with support for tabs, math formulas, and live preview. We can enable line numbers and highlight the current line, autosave documents, and insert special symbols from the practical drop-down menu.
[ad type=”banner”]
4. Ghostwriter
Ghostwriter maintains the whole thing but text out of the way. This makes it a great Markdown editor for writers who struggle with writer’s block. Real-time word count allows for progress tracking. If Focus Mode doesn’t help, try the Hemingway Mode that prevents from deleting and infinitely editing your work.
With Ghostwriter we can quickly jump from one heading to another within a document, and highlight the current paragraph, line, or multiple lines. Another feature is the option to insert images by simply drag-and-dropping them into the application window.
5. Remarkable
Remarkable is a Linux Markdown editor with a user-friendly interface perfect for beginners who may be overcome by other apps on this list. We can customize the live Markdown preview with CSS styles, format text using keyboard shortcuts, hide toolbars and toggle the fullscreen mode, and export Markdown files to PDF and HTML.
Two comparatively minor things make Remarkable efficient it automatically converts links to hypertext and shows inserted images in the live preview.
6. MarkMyWords
MarkMyWords supports live Markdown preview with images and gives export files to PDF and HTML. we can switch on line numbers and syntax highlighting, as well as modify the interface with themes and stylesheets.
It is very simple and this editor can serve as a playground for learning Markdown, or as a lighter alternative to the previously mentioned Remarkable.
[ad type=”banner”]
7. Moeditor
Moeditor looks beautiful, but comes in a huge package because it’s built with Electron. If this doesn’t discourage you from using Moeditor, you’ll be rewarded with an app that supports syntax highlighting, custom line height and font size, live preview mode, and math formulas.
8. Mango
Mango offers the same features which including Moeditor with a splash of color. Code highlighting and support for LaTeX expressions count as its selling points, but the customizable layout may be the best entity about Mango. We can also reorganize the interface to suit your needs.
9. Uncolored
Uncolored is a work-in-progress application with an ambitious approach to content creation. Now Uncolored only works on 64-bit systems. Like the previous two apps, it is built with Web-based technologies. It supports multiple tabs and dozens of keyboard shortcuts and mouse gestures.
We can navigate within a document with the Table of Contents tool, insert emojis, and embed interactive content such as YouTube, Vimeo, and Twitch videos, or even Facebook posts. Text formatting is specially practical, since it’s always accessible through floating icons.
10. Abricotine
Abricotine is the most advanced of all Electron-based Markdown editors on our list. Instead of showing the live preview in a separate pane, Abricotine renders it in the text input area. It can create a table of contents for your document, and assist in editing Markdown tables. Abricotine supports syntax highlighting and comes with several presets for exporting Markdown to HTML.
If your writing usually includes a lot of images, Abricotine can really come in convenient. It gives insert images from URLs, add all images from a folder, and even embed YouTube videos into your Markdown documents.
[ad type=”banner”]
Use Your Favorite Text Editor
The favorite Linux text editor supports Markdown, so we don’t have to install yet another new app. In most cases, all we need is a plugin.
Geany and Gedit offer plugins with live Markdown preview and syntax highlighting. And the KDE text editor, supports Markdown syntax highlighting. Atom has dozens of Markdown-related add-ons that we can install, and Sublime Text employs a similar approach with its Markdown Packages.
This article would be imperfect without Vim and Emacs. Both text editors have several Markdown plugins that introduce various features from exporting to LaTeX and realtime preview to syntax highlighting and code folding.
For Emacs:
Markdown Preview
Markdown Mode Plus
Emacs Markdown Mode
For Vim:
Markdown for Vim
Vim Markdown
Create Markdown Documents in the Browser
Another choice for people who don’t need a separate Linux Markdown app simply use the web browser. Web-based Markdown editors are a quick and easy solution. Some require you to stay online, while others work just as well offline.
StackEdit looks minimalistic, but sports a bunch of useful features such as spell checker, live preview, Dropbox and Google Drive synchronization, and direct document publishing to GitHub, Tumblr, WordPress, and other services.
Dillinger is another sleek-looking online Markdown editor. Options include exporting your files to PDF and HTML, saving them to Dropbox, GitHub, Medium, Google Drive, and One Drive, as well as autosaving changes.
If you don’t care about bells and whistles, try Minimalist Online Markdown Editor. To improve the way Firefox displays Markdown documents, consider installing the Markdown Viewer add-on. Chrome users can try the Markdown Preview Plus extension for the same purpose.
Bonus: 5 Advanced Linux Markdown Tools
Markdown editors for Linux got you interested, and that you’ll quickly start creating your own documents. If you’re already capable in Markdown, check out these helpful tools:
- Pandocis a markup conversion utility with an impressive list of supported file formats. Though most Markdown editors support only a couple of formats (usually PDF and HTML), Pandoc lets you convert your Markdown files to DOCX, EPUB, DocBook, OPML, LaTeX, and more. If we don’t need to use it in the terminal, Panconvert is probably the best GUI frontend that will make it easier.
- NoteHubis a pastebin service for Markdown files. we can share your documents with everyone, or protect them with a password.
- mdpcan transform your Markdown documents into slides for a presentation. Since it’s a CLI application, the presentation is displayed in the terminal.
- Remarkis a collection of plugins that can improve your Markdown documents. We can use them to clean up code in Markdown files, remove empty lines and paragraphs, modify headings, links, and images in files, and more.
- Allmarkruns as a web server on your computer and renders Markdown files from a selected folder in your browser. It’s mostly useful if we writing an ebook in Markdown, as we can test the navigation and links between different pages.