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Add plugin for simple inline text styling #139
Description
It would be useful to support lightweight text styling directly in Markdown without falling back to HTML.
Proposed syntax:
[text]{color=#ff00ff | font=Poppins}
Examples:
Hello [world]{color=#ff00ff}
[Important]{color=red | weight=bold}
[Code]{font=monospace | bg=#f5f5f5}
Why this helps:
- Keeps Markdown clean and readable
- Avoids inline HTML
- Easy to extend with more properties later
- Simple to parse and implement
Supported properties (initial):
color,bgfont,sizeweight,style
This could be implemented as an optional plugin that converts the syntax into a <span style="..."> under the hood.
Happy to help with implementation if this direction makes sense.
Activity
farnabaz commentedon Apr 21, 2026
This syntax is already supported in Comark and you can create span using
[content]{attributes}syntax. Checkout https://comark.dev/syntax/attributes#span-attributesThere is not alias for styling to fonts, you can simply pass class, id, styles or any html attribute to span elements.
xMrAfonso commentedon Apr 21, 2026
Oh interesting, I somehow missed that. Thanks @farnabaz !
How does this work in terms of security and limiting. For instance, if I allow user generated content, then I want to limit which attributes they can use. Additionally, would also like to limit use of url(), etc to avoid injections.
xMrAfonso commentedon Apr 21, 2026
I just had a deeper look at attributes.
They are quite cool, but it gives more power than it should. I am proposing for a styling only specific syntax/plugin.
The current syntax for styling something would be essentially inline css, which is both annoying and may be unwanted by administrators/devs which only want to give users very limited and specific power.
atinux commentedon Apr 22, 2026
Hey @xMrAfonso
I can see it as a community plugin at first, if you want to create one and publish it as
comark-plugin-text-stylingfor example, I would be happy to add a Community Plugins section to list it 😊This is a very good comment and I believe we could also improve the Security Plugin in this area
xMrAfonso commentedon Apr 22, 2026
Hey @atinux
Yeah, would gladly do one when I have some free time.
I was actually also looking into adding a plugin that adds support for minimessage-js. Looks like a cool syntax, specially the way it handles colors.
Regarding the improvement, I would really love if there were more configurations into core features like being able to disable attributes fully without having to configure the security plugin...
xMrAfonso commentedon Apr 30, 2026
Hey @atinux,
Played around a bit with the initial proposal and noticed it was trying to cover too much. So, I choose to just go with just text coloring in specific.
I created this quick demo to show how it would work (thanks codex)
Would there be interest in making this an official plugin or should I continue the community plugin route?
xMrAfonso commentedon May 18, 2026
Could I get a potential update on this?
atinux commentedon Jun 11, 2026
Sorry about not answering before @xMrAfonso, I found the demo nice! I think a community plugin to start would be great! Would you need help somehow for a comark plugin starter repo maybe?
xMrAfonso commentedon Jun 11, 2026
@atinux I mean, if there is a standard structure/template you'd prefer for me to use, sure. Otherwise I can look into it.
atinux commentedon Jun 13, 2026
We don't at the moment but I think you can use something like https://tsdown.dev/guide/getting-started#starter-templates
farnabaz commentedon Jun 18, 2026
@xMrAfonso we just created a plugin template, you can use this template to create and publish your plugin.
Checkout: https://github.com/comarkdown/comark-plugin-template
xMrAfonso commentedon Jun 18, 2026
Hey, did you by any chance read the rest of the conversation? You suggested that already and I already explained it is not what I am speaking about nor use case.
farnabaz commentedon Jun 18, 2026
@xMrAfonso What is your goal and use case? I don't see this feature as part of Comark core and it can be a community plugin and documented in docs.
xMrAfonso commentedon Jun 18, 2026
@farnabaz yes, that has been mentioned already and is the current plan.
In terms of goal, the demo I have sent shows a pretty good example, which is firstly usability/user experience for coloring texts. And secondly meant to be used in user generated contexts
farnabaz commentedon Jun 18, 2026
Indeed I saw your demo. I agree with rest of conversation and just sent you a plugin starter, it is your decision to use or not.