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Mayank Kumar Chaudhari
Mayank Kumar Chaudhari

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🔥 Blazing Fast Markdown Rendering for React – Benchmarked & Battle-Tested

#react #markdown #opensource #performance

We just benchmarked @m2d/react-markdown against the popular react-markdown — and the results are in:

✅ Competitive speed,
✅ Cleaner architecture,
✅ Purpose-built for MDAST-first workflows like mdast2docx

🚀 Why Another Markdown Renderer?

Most renderers are great at one thing: rendering. But if you’re working on docx/pdf export, hybrid output (MDX/HTML/JSX), or unified pipelines, you need something:

  • Fast 🏎
  • Extensible 💡
  • MDAST-respecting 🧠
  • SSR/Streaming/Edge-ready 💪

That's exactly what @m2d/react-markdown is for.

📊 Real Benchmarks — No Hype

We ran thorough benchmarks with various markdown types: simple notes, complex nested GFM, large tutorials, and even full-site markdown dumps.

Key Takeaways:

  • 🟢 @m2d/react-markdown outperformed or matched react-markdown in several medium/complex files
  • 🔁 Bulk rendering (all files in one go) saw better JSX tree handling
  • 📉 Slightly slower in very short/simple cases (which don't matter much in real apps)

Check out the full results here:
👉 benchmark.md

Includes tables, deltas, and even visual charts!

🔌 Perfect Companion for mdast2docx & Export Tooling

If you're building tools like:

  • mdast2docx (Markdown → Word)
  • Hybrid export systems (PDF/HTML from a single source)
  • Local-first writing tools with output control

Then @m2d/react-markdown is your new best friend.
It retains the full MDAST, supports plugin injection, and gives you full control over rendering + export paths.

💬 Join the Discussion – Shape the Future

We’re actively planning support for:

  • Inline JSX support in markdown
  • Better handling of reusable ASTs
  • Declarative hydration markers for SSR/Edge use

💬 Engage, vote, or suggest improvements here:
👉 https://github.com/md2docx/react-markdown/discussions/3

🛠 Build Your Own Library Like This

This library was scaffolded using react18-tools/turborepo-template — a production-grade template for building and publishing modern React libraries.

If you want to:

  • Build & test across Next.js/Vite
  • Auto-generate docs & examples
  • Publish fast and right

💡 Use this template to create your own library in minutes.

🤝 Call for Contributors

If you:

  • Love performance and clean architecture
  • Use React with Markdown in any serious way
  • Care about maintainable DX and OSS karma

…then jump in!

Star, fork, or file issues here → https://github.com/md2docx/react-markdown

Or explore mdast2docx to see how this library integrates into real export workflows.

🧘‍♂️ Built with Care

This isn’t just a library — it’s a piece in a larger mission to simplify dev workflows and bridge content with output in meaningful ways.

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