Create Markdown Editor on QuillJs

Integrating Markdown with Quill is a really cool idea and could significantly improve the user experience for those who like to write quickly.

Here are some options you can consider, from the simplest to the more advanced:

🎯 Option 1:

Use the Quill Markdown Library (Most Recommended)

There's a dedicated library that enables Quill to understand and generate Markdown.

Library: quilljs-markdown

Link: https://github.com/benrbennett/quilljs-markdown

Implementation:

Install via npm: npm install quilljs-markdown

Import and initialize in your Vue component:

import Markdown from 'quilljs-markdown';

// After the Quill editor is initialized
const quill = new Quill('#editor', { ... });

 // Initialize Markdown for the Quill instance
new Markdown(quill, {
/* optional: configuration */
});

Benefits:

Users can paste Markdown text directly, and Quill will render it correctly.

Users can also type using Markdown syntax (e.g., typing **text** will automatically become text).

Very smooth and directly integrated.

🎯 Option 2:

Hybrid Mode (WYSIWYG Editor + Markdown Preview)

Add a tab or panel that displays a live preview in Markdown.

Implementation:

Use a library like marked (npm install marked) to convert HTML from Quill to Markdown.

Create two columns: one for the Quill editor and one for the Markdown preview.

 <template>
   <div class="editor-container">
     <div ref="editor"></div> <!-- Quill Editor -->
     <div class="preview">
       <h3>Markdown Preview</h3>
       <div v-html="compiledMarkdown"></div> <!-- Preview conversion results -->
     </div>
   </div>
 </template>

 <setup script>
 import { ref, watch } from 'vue';
 import Quill from 'quill';
 import { marked } from 'marked';  // Library for HTML conversion -> Markdown

 const editor = ref(null);
 const compiledMarkdown = ref('');

 // Watch for changes in Quill and update the preview
watch(editor, (newContent) => {
compiledMarkdown.value = marked(newContent); // Convert HTML to Markdown
});
</script>

Benefits:

Gives users the flexibility to view the results in Markdown format.

Suitable for advanced users.

Option 3:

Export as Markdown

Give users the option to export their journals as Markdown (.md) files. This is a feature that is highly appreciated by technical users.

Implementation:

Use the turndown library (npm install turndown) to convert HTML (from Quill) into clean Markdown text.

import TurndownService from 'turndown';

function exportToMarkdown() {
const html = quill.root.innerHTML; // Get HTML from Quill
const turndownService = new TurndownService();
 const markdown = turndownService.turndown(html); // Convert to Markdown

// Create a download file
const blob = new Blob([markdown], { type: 'text/markdown' });
const link = document.createElement('a');
link.href = URL.createObjectURL(blob);
link.download = 'my-journal.md';
link.click();
}

Advantages:

Portability. Users can open the file in other apps like Obsidian, VS Code, etc.

Relatively easy to implement.

✅ Recommendation:

I recommend starting with Option 1 (quilljs-markdown).

Reason:

It has the cleanest implementation and integrates directly with the editor.

It provides the best experience for users who like Markdown without disrupting users who don't use Markdown.

It doesn't require major UI changes.

If you want more advanced features, you can add them later with Option 3 (Export).