Ghostwriter vs HedgeDoc

Ghostwriter is a free Markdown text editor for distraction-free writing, available on Linux and Windows, with unofficial community-provided macOS support. It stores documents as local files and previews Markdown as HTML, which can be copied or exported. GitHub-flavored Markdown is supported, and export options include HTML, Pandoc, MultiMarkdown, and commonmark. Focus Mode highlights a selected area around the cursor, such as a line, sentence, paragraph, or three lines. Full-screen mode and Hemingway Mode provide other writing setups; Hemingway Mode disables backspace and delete. The editor includes light and dark themes, with options to create custom themes. Writers also get live word counts, document and session statistics, a document outline, autosave, and file backups. Linux installation instructions cover Ubuntu, Fedora, and Arch Linux. The Windows download page lists a portable 64-bit version for Windows 10. On macOS, users must compile the source because an installer is not available. Ghostwriter is distributed under the GNU General Public License version 3.0.

HedgeDoc is a free, open-source Markdown editor for collaborative notes, diagrams, and presentations. It runs in a browser and can be self-hosted. People can edit notes together in real time by sharing a link, and guests can access notes. Notes can include graphs, diagrams, and embedded content; Markdown slides can be presented using reveal.js. Revision history records changes and lets users restore earlier versions. HedgeDoc 1.x offers six note-permission settings, from open editing to private access, and only the note owner can change a note’s permission. Its documentation describes authentication integrations such as LDAP, OAuth, SAML, GitHub, GitLab, Keycloak, Mattermost, Nextcloud, and Microsoft Entra ID. Image uploads can use filesystem, Imgur, S3, MinIO, Azure, or Lutim storage. Deployment options include a ready-to-use bundle and an official Docker image for amd64 and arm64. Built-in PDF export is deactivated after security vulnerabilities; browser print-to-PDF is suggested instead. The source code is licensed under AGPL 3.0.