Ask HN: Are there any messaging apps supporting Markdown?

19 points by 5986043handy 5 years ago | 12 comments
I'd like to easily send formatted code, and bullet points, etc. through a messaging app without having to resort to a heavy app like Slack.
  • westurner 5 years ago
    Mattermost supports CommonMark Markdown: https://docs.mattermost.com/help/messaging/formatting-text.h...

    Zulip supports ~CommonMark Markdown: https://zulip.readthedocs.io/en/latest/subsystems/markdown.h...

    Reddit supports Markdown. https://www.reddit.com/wiki/markdown

    Discourse now supports CommonMark Markdown.

    GitHub, BitBucket, GitLab and Gogs/Gitea support Markdown.

    • aciswhat 5 years ago
      I wouldn't consider Discourse/Reddit/Github/etc. to be a messaging app per se, even if some of those have messaging functionality between users...
      • westurner 5 years ago
        I digress on the category definition. Public messaging (without PM or DM features) is still messaging; and often far more useful than trying to forward 1:1 messages in order to bring additional participants onboard.

        It's worth noting that GH/BB/GL have all foregone PM features; probably for the better in terms of productivity: messaging @all is likely more productive.

    • walterbell 5 years ago
      Wire supports a subset of markdown syntax, https://support.wire.com/hc/en-us/articles/115002676029-Use-...

      You can register for a free personal account with only an email, no requirement for phone number or contacts upload.

      • shakna 5 years ago
        Riot seems to support a subset of Markdown. You should be able to use any Matrix client you feel like.
        • ta17711771 5 years ago
          And their encryption is audited!

          riot-desktop and Riot Android are solid.

          RiotX on Android quickly catching up, has very modern UI, but no room management/calls yet.

          People seem to love FluffyChat.

          Don't waste your time with Fractal.

          • oehtXRwMkIs 5 years ago
            RiotX is really nice. I wish the other clients would catch up in terms of UI/UX which I hear is getting a big update soon.
        • winrid 5 years ago
          To respond to OP: https://volt-app.com/

          Related discussion: I've built FastComments to be "realtime" and support markdown. Been thinking of reusing the infrastructure to launch a little chat app, but not sure what the killer feature would be aside from being lightweight...

          Edited to add Volt link.

          • Jugurtha 5 years ago
            WhatsApp supports italic, bold, strikethrough, and monospace using backticks you could use for source code, though no syntax highlighting[1].

            [1]: https://faq.whatsapp.com/general/chats/how-to-format-your-me...

            • wooptoo 5 years ago
              Telegram has some support. I believe it's an incomplete implementation.
              • saurik 5 years ago
                WhatsApp isn't "markdown", but supports code blocks using triple backquote (and uses underscore for italics and star for bold, which I think is a lot better than markdown anyway).
                • scrollaway 5 years ago
                  Discord works great, lighter than slack.