Creating a Simple Markdown-Based Knowledge Base with Tailwind CSS

#markdown #tailwindcss #webdev #programming

A lightweight, searchable knowledge base can make a huge difference when managing personal notes, project documentation, or customer support content. By combining Markdown with Tailwind CSS, you can create a fast, minimal, and elegant system without relying on complex CMS platforms.

Step 1: Why Markdown?

Markdown is a lightweight markup language that’s:

📝 Easy to write and read
🌐 Portable across platforms
🔍 Great for version control (especially with Git)

It's ideal for storing knowledge base content in plain files while keeping your workflow simple.

Step 2: Basic Layout with Tailwind

Here’s a simple HTML structure that loads and displays Markdown content using a minimal UI built with Tailwind CSS.

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1.0">
  <title>Knowledge Base</title>
  <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/marked/marked.min.js"></script>
  <script src="https://cdn.tailwindcss.com"></script>
</head>
<body class="bg-gray-100 text-gray-800 font-sans">

  <div class="max-w-4xl mx-auto p-6">
    <h1 class="text-3xl font-bold mb-6">📚 Markdown Knowledge Base</h1>

    <div class="bg-white shadow-md rounded p-4">
      <textarea id="markdown-input" class="w-full h-40 p-2 border rounded mb-4" placeholder="Write your markdown here..."></textarea>
      <button onclick="renderMarkdown()" class="bg-blue-600 text-white px-4 py-2 rounded hover:bg-blue-700">Render</button>
    </div>

    <div id="markdown-preview" class="prose prose-lg mt-6 bg-white p-6 rounded shadow-sm"></div>
  </div>

  <script>
    function renderMarkdown() {
      const raw = document.getElementById("markdown-input").value;
      document.getElementById("markdown-preview").innerHTML = marked.parse(raw);
    }
  </script>

</body>
</html>

Step 3: Add Markdown Files

Instead of writing Markdown in a textarea, you can host .md files and load them dynamically with fetch():

<script>
  fetch('docs/getting-started.md')
    .then(res => res.text())
    .then(text => {
      document.getElementById("markdown-preview").innerHTML = marked.parse(text);
    });
</script>

This allows you to keep your docs modular and version-controlled, just like a static wiki.

Step 4: Tailwind Tips for Markdown Styling

Tailwind's Typography Plugin (@tailwindcss/typography) adds beautiful styles to your rendered Markdown. Add the class prose to your output container for elegant defaults.

Example:

You can also customize heading sizes, link styles, and blockquotes with Tailwind utilities.

Summary

With just a bit of HTML, Tailwind CSS, and the Marked.js library, you can build a fast, responsive Markdown knowledge base that looks great and is easy to maintain. Whether you're creating internal docs, product FAQs, or personal notes — Markdown + Tailwind is a winning combo.

📘 Want to go further?

Download my 20-page guide, Creating a Flexible Markdown Knowledge System, to learn how to: