A Show HN project is trending at 224+ points: Email.md — write your emails in Markdown and get responsive, email-safe HTML.
If you've ever tried to send a formatted email programmatically, you know the pain:
- HTML email is a separate beast from web HTML
- Outlook ignores half of CSS
- Gmail strips styles
- Tables are still the layout primitive
- Every email client renders differently
Email.md tries to solve this by letting you write Markdown and generating HTML that actually works across email clients.
Why This Matters
For developers sending programmatic emails:
# Welcome to Our Service
Hi {{name}},
Your account is ready. Here's what you can do:
- **Dashboard**: View your metrics
- **API Keys**: Generate access tokens
- **Docs**: Read the documentation
| Plan | Price | Limits |
|------|-------|--------|
| Free | $0 | 100 req/day |
| Pro | $29 | 10K req/day |
[Get Started →](https://example.com/dashboard)
This Markdown gets converted to responsive HTML that works in Gmail, Outlook, Apple Mail, and Yahoo.
Current Solutions (And Their Problems)
| Tool | Approach | Problem |
|---|---|---|
| MJML | Custom markup | Learning curve, verbose |
| React Email | React components | Overkill for simple emails |
| Maizzle | Tailwind for email | Full build pipeline |
| hand-coded HTML | Manual tables | 1995 called |
| Email.md | Markdown | New — testing needed |
The Real Question
Email development is one of those problems that shouldn't still exist in 2026 but absolutely does. Every solution adds complexity:
- MJML → learn new syntax
- React Email → add React dependency for emails
- Maizzle → full Tailwind build pipeline
Markdown → HTML is the simplest possible abstraction. Write what you mean, get what works.
Discussion
- How do you handle email templates? Hand-coded HTML? MJML? React Email?
- Is Markdown too simple for complex email layouts? Where does it break down?
- What's the worst email rendering bug you've dealt with?
- Do you test email rendering across clients? What tools do you use?
I've been sending programmatic emails for years and I still dread the "check how it looks in Outlook" phase. Curious what workflows others have settled on.
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