markdown-it vs react-markdown
Markdown Parsing Libraries Comparison
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What's Markdown Parsing Libraries?

Markdown parsing libraries are essential tools in web development that convert Markdown syntax into HTML. They enable developers to easily render formatted text, making it suitable for applications like blogs, documentation, and content management systems. These libraries provide flexibility in how Markdown is processed and displayed, catering to different frameworks and use cases. By leveraging such libraries, developers can enhance user experience by allowing content authors to write in a simple, readable format while ensuring the output is visually appealing and consistent across platforms.

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markdown-it8,330,37419,387767 kB54a year agoMIT
react-markdown4,130,86314,09752.6 kB2a month agoMIT
Feature Comparison: markdown-it vs react-markdown

Customization

  • markdown-it:

    markdown-it offers extensive customization options through a plugin architecture. Developers can create or use existing plugins to add features like syntax highlighting, custom rendering rules, and more. This flexibility allows for tailored Markdown processing to fit specific project needs.

  • react-markdown:

    react-markdown provides limited customization compared to markdown-it, focusing on rendering Markdown as React components. While it supports some customization through props and renderers, it does not have a plugin system, making it less flexible for advanced use cases.

Integration

  • markdown-it:

    markdown-it is a standalone library that can be integrated into any JavaScript project, regardless of the framework. It can be used in Node.js applications, static site generators, or any environment where Markdown processing is required.

  • react-markdown:

    react-markdown is specifically designed for React applications, making it easy to integrate into React components. It leverages React's rendering capabilities, allowing developers to treat Markdown content as part of their component tree.

Performance

  • markdown-it:

    markdown-it is optimized for performance and can handle large Markdown documents efficiently. Its parsing speed is generally fast, making it suitable for applications that require quick rendering of Markdown content without significant delays.

  • react-markdown:

    react-markdown is also performant but may introduce overhead due to React's reconciliation process. For smaller Markdown content, this is negligible, but for larger documents, performance considerations may arise depending on how components are structured.

Learning Curve

  • markdown-it:

    markdown-it has a moderate learning curve, especially for developers who want to leverage its full potential through plugins and customization. Understanding its API and how to create plugins may require additional time investment.

  • react-markdown:

    react-markdown is relatively easy to learn for developers already familiar with React. Its API is straightforward, allowing developers to quickly render Markdown with minimal setup, making it accessible for those new to Markdown processing.

Community and Support

  • markdown-it:

    markdown-it has a robust community and a variety of plugins available, which can be beneficial for developers looking for support or additional features. Its popularity ensures that many resources, tutorials, and examples are available online.

  • react-markdown:

    react-markdown is also supported by a strong community within the React ecosystem. It has good documentation and examples, making it easy for developers to find help and integrate it into their projects.

How to Choose: markdown-it vs react-markdown
  • markdown-it:

    Choose markdown-it if you need a highly customizable Markdown parser that can be extended with plugins. It is suitable for projects where you want fine-grained control over the parsing process and the ability to add custom rules or features.

  • react-markdown:

    Choose react-markdown if you are working within a React application and want a straightforward way to render Markdown as React components. It is ideal for projects that prioritize ease of use and integration with React's component-based architecture.

Similar Npm Packages to markdown-it

markdown-it is a powerful Markdown parser and compiler for JavaScript. It allows developers to convert Markdown text into HTML, making it a popular choice for applications that require rich text formatting. With its extensible architecture, markdown-it supports a variety of plugins that can enhance its functionality, such as adding support for tables, footnotes, and custom syntax. Its performance and flexibility make it suitable for both small projects and large applications that need to render Markdown content efficiently.

While markdown-it is a robust option, there are other libraries available that also provide Markdown parsing capabilities. Here are a few alternatives:

  • remark is a Markdown processor powered by plugins. It is part of the unified ecosystem, which allows for a wide range of transformations on Markdown content. remark focuses on the syntax tree, enabling developers to manipulate Markdown in a more programmatic way. This makes it an excellent choice for projects that require extensive customization and processing of Markdown content, such as static site generators or documentation tools. With its plugin architecture, remark can be tailored to fit specific needs, making it highly versatile.

  • showdown is another popular Markdown to HTML converter. It is lightweight and easy to use, making it a great choice for simple applications that need to convert Markdown to HTML without the overhead of additional features. showdown is particularly useful for projects where performance is a priority, as it has a minimal footprint and straightforward API. If you need a quick and efficient way to render Markdown in your application without the need for extensive customization, showdown is an excellent option.

To compare these packages, check out the following link: Comparing markdown-it vs remark vs showdown.

Similar Npm Packages to react-markdown

react-markdown is a popular library for rendering Markdown content as React components. It allows developers to easily convert Markdown text into a format that can be displayed in React applications, making it an excellent choice for blogs, documentation, and any application that requires Markdown support. With its simple API and customizable rendering options, react-markdown provides a flexible way to integrate Markdown into your React projects.

While react-markdown is a robust solution, there are other libraries that also offer Markdown rendering capabilities. Here are a few alternatives:

  • markdown-to-jsx is a lightweight library that converts Markdown into JSX components. It is designed to be simple and easy to use, allowing developers to specify how different Markdown elements should be rendered as React components. If you prefer a straightforward approach to rendering Markdown with the ability to customize the output, markdown-to-jsx is a great option. Its flexibility makes it suitable for projects where you want to control the rendering of specific Markdown elements without the overhead of a more complex library.

  • remark-react is a plugin for the remark Markdown processor that allows you to render Markdown as React components. It provides a powerful way to parse and transform Markdown content into React elements, giving you fine-grained control over how the content is rendered. If you are already using remark for processing Markdown and want to integrate it with React, remark-react is an excellent choice. It allows you to leverage the full capabilities of remark while seamlessly rendering the output as React components.

To see how these libraries compare, check out the comparison: Comparing markdown-to-jsx vs react-markdown vs remark-react.

README for markdown-it

markdown-it

CI NPM version Coverage Status Gitter

Markdown parser done right. Fast and easy to extend.

Live demo

  • Follows the CommonMark spec + adds syntax extensions & sugar (URL autolinking, typographer).
  • Configurable syntax! You can add new rules and even replace existing ones.
  • High speed.
  • Safe by default.
  • Community-written plugins and other packages on npm.

Table of content

Install

node.js:

npm install markdown-it

browser (CDN):

Usage examples

See also:

Simple

// node.js
// can use `require('markdown-it')` for CJS
import markdownit from 'markdown-it'
const md = markdownit()
const result = md.render('# markdown-it rulezz!');

// browser with UMD build, added to "window" on script load
// Note, there is no dash in "markdownit".
const md = window.markdownit();
const result = md.render('# markdown-it rulezz!');

Single line rendering, without paragraph wrap:

import markdownit from 'markdown-it'
const md = markdownit()
const result = md.renderInline('__markdown-it__ rulezz!');

Init with presets and options

(*) presets define combinations of active rules and options. Can be "commonmark", "zero" or "default" (if skipped). See API docs for more details.

import markdownit from 'markdown-it'

// commonmark mode
const md = markdownit('commonmark')

// default mode
const md = markdownit()

// enable everything
const md = markdownit({
  html: true,
  linkify: true,
  typographer: true
})

// full options list (defaults)
const md = markdownit({
  // Enable HTML tags in source
  html:         false,

  // Use '/' to close single tags (<br />).
  // This is only for full CommonMark compatibility.
  xhtmlOut:     false,

  // Convert '\n' in paragraphs into <br>
  breaks:       false,

  // CSS language prefix for fenced blocks. Can be
  // useful for external highlighters.
  langPrefix:   'language-',

  // Autoconvert URL-like text to links
  linkify:      false,

  // Enable some language-neutral replacement + quotes beautification
  // For the full list of replacements, see https://github.com/markdown-it/markdown-it/blob/master/lib/rules_core/replacements.mjs
  typographer:  false,

  // Double + single quotes replacement pairs, when typographer enabled,
  // and smartquotes on. Could be either a String or an Array.
  //
  // For example, you can use '«»„“' for Russian, '„“‚‘' for German,
  // and ['«\xA0', '\xA0»', '‹\xA0', '\xA0›'] for French (including nbsp).
  quotes: '“”‘’',

  // Highlighter function. Should return escaped HTML,
  // or '' if the source string is not changed and should be escaped externally.
  // If result starts with <pre... internal wrapper is skipped.
  highlight: function (/*str, lang*/) { return ''; }
});

Plugins load

import markdownit from 'markdown-it'

const md = markdownit
  .use(plugin1)
  .use(plugin2, opts, ...)
  .use(plugin3);

Syntax highlighting

Apply syntax highlighting to fenced code blocks with the highlight option:

import markdownit from 'markdown-it'
import hljs from 'highlight.js' // https://highlightjs.org

// Actual default values
const md = markdownit({
  highlight: function (str, lang) {
    if (lang && hljs.getLanguage(lang)) {
      try {
        return hljs.highlight(str, { language: lang }).value;
      } catch (__) {}
    }

    return ''; // use external default escaping
  }
});

Or with full wrapper override (if you need assign class to <pre> or <code>):

import markdownit from 'markdown-it'
import hljs from 'highlight.js' // https://highlightjs.org

// Actual default values
const md = markdownit({
  highlight: function (str, lang) {
    if (lang && hljs.getLanguage(lang)) {
      try {
        return '<pre><code class="hljs">' +
               hljs.highlight(str, { language: lang, ignoreIllegals: true }).value +
               '</code></pre>';
      } catch (__) {}
    }

    return '<pre><code class="hljs">' + md.utils.escapeHtml(str) + '</code></pre>';
  }
});

Linkify

linkify: true uses linkify-it. To configure linkify-it, access the linkify instance through md.linkify:

md.linkify.set({ fuzzyEmail: false });  // disables converting email to link

API

API documentation

If you are going to write plugins, please take a look at Development info.

Syntax extensions

Embedded (enabled by default):

Via plugins:

Manage rules

By default all rules are enabled, but can be restricted by options. On plugin load all its rules are enabled automatically.

import markdownit from 'markdown-it'

// Activate/deactivate rules, with currying
const md = markdownit()
  .disable(['link', 'image'])
  .enable(['link'])
  .enable('image');

// Enable everything
const md = markdownit({
  html: true,
  linkify: true,
  typographer: true,
});

You can find all rules in sources:

Benchmark

Here is the result of readme parse at MB Pro Retina 2013 (2.4 GHz):

npm run benchmark-deps
benchmark/benchmark.mjs readme

Selected samples: (1 of 28)
 > README

Sample: README.md (7774 bytes)
 > commonmark-reference x 1,222 ops/sec ±0.96% (97 runs sampled)
 > current x 743 ops/sec ±0.84% (97 runs sampled)
 > current-commonmark x 1,568 ops/sec ±0.84% (98 runs sampled)
 > marked x 1,587 ops/sec ±4.31% (93 runs sampled)

Note. CommonMark version runs with simplified link normalizers for more "honest" compare. Difference is ≈1.5×.

As you can see, markdown-it doesn't pay with speed for its flexibility. Slowdown of "full" version caused by additional features not available in other implementations.

markdown-it for enterprise

Available as part of the Tidelift Subscription.

The maintainers of markdown-it and thousands of other packages are working with Tidelift to deliver commercial support and maintenance for the open source dependencies you use to build your applications. Save time, reduce risk, and improve code health, while paying the maintainers of the exact dependencies you use. Learn more.

Authors

markdown-it is the result of the decision of the authors who contributed to 99% of the Remarkable code to move to a project with the same authorship but new leadership (Vitaly and Alex). It's not a fork.

References / Thanks

Big thanks to John MacFarlane for his work on the CommonMark spec and reference implementations. His work saved us a lot of time during this project's development.

Related Links:

  • https://github.com/jgm/CommonMark - reference CommonMark implementations in C & JS, also contains latest spec & online demo.
  • http://talk.commonmark.org - CommonMark forum, good place to collaborate developers' efforts.

Ports

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