Maden
Write Markdown documents, AI skills, prompts, and agent instructions in VS Code without fighting Markdown syntax.
Maden is a Notion-inspired visual editor for real *.md files. It gives you a document-first writing surface while keeping Markdown on disk, so your files still work with Git, agents, CLIs, docs tooling, and normal text editors.
How to use
Maden opens automatically as the default Markdown editor.
If needed, you can still use VS Code's native Markdown editor via Reopen Editor With....
What You Can Do
Draft structured Markdown without memorizing syntax
Use Maden when you want to write a skill, prompt, spec, README, checklist, or project note quickly, but still save it as plain Markdown.
- Write headings, paragraphs, quotes, code blocks, dividers, tables, and lists from a visual editor.
- Insert blocks from the toolbar or slash menu instead of typing Markdown markers.
- Drag blocks, use floating formatting controls, and keep common writing actions close to the selection.
- Paste GitHub-style Markdown and common HTML snippets without cleaning everything by hand.
Use AI on selected text
Use Maden when you want AI help for a specific fragment, not a broad rewrite of the whole file.
- Select text and run actions such as improve writing, comment, emojify, make longer, make shorter, fix spelling and grammar, simplify language, insert below, and try again.
- Maden sends focused Markdown context around the selected fragment so the model can stay coherent while editing only the target text.
- AI settings live in the editor UI. API keys are stored by the VS Code extension host in
SecretStorage and are not persisted in the webview.
- CLI-based providers can use your local CLI auth/session without requiring an API token in Maden.
Work with richer document blocks
Use Maden when a Markdown file needs more than paragraphs and headings.
- Build tables, task lists, toggles/details, callouts, columns, and document outlines.
- Add images, videos, audio, file blocks, web embeds, links, dates, emoji, math, and inline equations.
- Create Excalidraw blocks that roundtrip through Markdown/MDX.
- Add Code Drawing blocks for diagram-style code fences, including Mermaid, Graphviz, and Flowchart.
Review and refine content in place
Use Maden when you want review-style editing inside a Markdown document.
- Switch between editing, viewing, and suggestion modes.
- Add comments and suggestions while reviewing a document.
- Open the raw Markdown beside the visual editor with the source-view split button.
Shape the editor for the current task
Use Maden when you want the same Markdown file to feel like a clean writing surface, a dense editing surface, or a review surface.
- Choose theme mode: inherit VS Code, light, dark, or Confluence.
- Switch typography between default, serif, and mono.
- Toggle wide mode for larger documents.
- Hide or show the topbar.
Use Maden when a Markdown draft needs to become a shareable document.
- Export from the editor menu to HTML, PDF, or DOCX.
- Save exported files through the normal VS Code save dialog.
Requirements
For Contributors
npm install
npm run build:extension
Use npm run build only when you explicitly need both extension and webview
assets rebuilt.
Markdown conversion diagnostics:
npm run debug:markdown -- <file.md>
npm run debug:plate -- <plate.json> --compare <file.md>
serialized.md is the save-stable output. serialized.raw.md is the raw Plate serializer output for debugging serializer noise.
Watch mode:
npm run watch:extension
npm run watch:webview
Unit tests:
npm run test:unit
Type checks:
npm run typecheck:extension
npm run typecheck:webview
License
MIT
