GitBook
GitBook is an online tool with Markdown support that hosts documentation sites.
Overview
As a online tool, GitBook has a Markdown editor that runs directly in your browser, so the tool offers a lot of practicality for you to create your documentation.
If you need more control over your content, GitBook also supports integration with GitHub repositories.
With GitBook you can create your website and then publish it using a custom domain.
But it is worth mentioning that, GitBook started as an open source project and had only a small commercial offer to raise funds for the company.
Today the tool is closed and proprietary, so keep that in mind if you plan to adhere to the use of GitBook.
The open source project still exists and can be used by anyone, but GitBook no longer supports this project, so only the Markdown elements compatible with the proprietary tool will be listed.
Even though GitBook is a closed application, it still has advantages over other tools of this type.
For example, the construction and hosting of the website is the responsibility of the program itself.
GitBook provides a very intuitive Markdown editor, with easy-to-use WYSIWYG controls.
Thus, even novice users are comfortable editing Markdown documents.
Another interesting feature of the tool is that it hides the Markdown markups as you type.
The editor may seem odd at first, but over time you get the hang of it.
GitBook is also compatible with copying and pasting, take your Markdown content and paste it directly into the tool interface.
The official GitBook website is https://www.gitbook.com/.
GitBook Markdown Support
Table 1.1 presents the Markdown elements compatible with GitBook.
| Element | Support | Information |
|---|---|---|
| Titles | Yes | |
| Paragraphs | Yes | |
| Line breaks | Yes | |
| Bold | Yes | |
| Italic | Yes | |
| Blockquote | Yes | |
| Ordered lists | Yes | |
| Unordered lists | Yes | |
| Code | Yes | |
| Horizontal lines | No | |
| Links | Yes | |
| Images | Yes | |
| Tables | Yes | |
| Fenced code blocks | Yes | You can also highlight the syntax of the code block content. |
| Footnotes | No | |
| Title Id | Yes | |
| Definition lists | No | |
| Strikethrough | Yes | |
| Task lists | Yes | |
| Emoji (copy and paste) | Unknown | |
| Emoji (access codes) | Unknown | |
| automatic URL Link | Yes | |
| Disable automatic link from URL | No | |
| HTML | Yes |