Dillinger vs HackMD

Dillinger is a free web-based Markdown editor with live preview, cloud sync, and no signup requirement. Its Monaco editor includes syntax highlighting, multiple cursors, find and replace, and autocompletion. A side-by-side preview renders Markdown as you type and keeps scrolling aligned with the editor. Documents can be imported by drag and drop and exported as Markdown, styled HTML, or PDF. Dillinger also imports and saves files through GitHub, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, and Bitbucket; GitHub support covers public and private repositories and lets users save edits back. After the initial load, the editor works offline and keeps drafts in local storage, although cloud sync requires connectivity. Other options include dark mode, fullscreen Zen mode, and Vim and Emacs keybindings. The site describes use by developers, technical writers, and AI builders writing READMEs, documentation, blog posts, and LLM prompts. Documents save automatically in the browser, and the features page says data is not stored on Dillinger’s servers. The Free plan is free, with no signup, paywall, or usage limits.

HackMD has no write-up on Specifiction yet; its figures are above.