Documentation Index
Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://base.bangwu.me/llms.txt
Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
Markdown syntax
Markdown is a lightweight markup language for formatting text. It is simple, easy to learn, and widely used for documents, blogs, and forums.Basic Syntax
Headings
Emphasis
list
Unordered lists
Ordered lists
Link
Images
Blockquotes
Code
Inline code
Code blocks
Horizontal rules
Tables
| Left aligned | Centered | Right aligned |
|---|---|---|
| Content 1 | Content 2 | Content 3 |
Task lists
- FinishedTask
- Unfinished task
Footnotes
Github Flavored Markdown (GFM)
GitHub extends Markdown with several extra features.Syntax highlighting
Emoji
@mentions and issue references
Automatic links
GitHub automatically converts URLs into links:Diff code blocks
Collapsible content
Alert boxes (newer GitHub feature)
Mathematical formulas
Use LaTeX syntax:Mermaid diagrams
Advanced tips
HTML embedding
Markdown also supports raw HTML directly:Escaping characters
Use backslashes to escape special characters:Anchor links
Badges
Table of contents
Common tools
- Editors: Typora, VS Code, Obsidian
- Online editors: StackEdit, Dillinger
- Formatting: Prettier, markdownlint
- Conversion: Pandoc (Markdown to PDF/Word/HTML)
Best Practices
- Keep it simple: Markdown works best when it stays lightweight.
- Use headings well: keep the hierarchy clear.
- Use code highlighting: specify languages for better readability.
- Optimize images: keep image sizes under control.
- Preview often: check the rendered result after writing.
- Version control: Markdown works very well with Git.
- Check links: make sure all links work.
- Consider HTML for rich Agent output: When AI agents generate long documents with tables, diagrams, and interactive elements, HTML may be more expressive than Markdown (see below).
HTML vs Markdown for Agent Output
In the AI Agent era, the question of output format matters more than before. When agents write and modify documents, Markdown’s core advantage — “easy to manually edit” — disappears. Should you switch to HTML?When Markdown is still the right choice
- Short documents (under ~100 lines) — Markdown remains the simplest format
- Config files, READMEs, changelogs — Git-friendly, easy to diff
- Knowledge base pages (like this site) — Mintlify/Jekyll render Markdown beautifully
- Team wikis — Where version control and collaborative editing are important
When HTML has advantages
| Advantage | Example |
|---|---|
| Information density | Tables, SVG, CSS, charts, and images in one file — no ASCII art approximations |
| Readability | Tabs, illustrations, and responsive layouts for long documents |
| Shareability | Upload HTML, share link — colleagues open it without special tools |
| Interactivity | Sliders, buttons, form controls that feed back into the agent |
| Multi-source data | Agent reads code, Slack, Git history → produces unified HTML report |
| Pleasure | More engaging authoring experience for the human reviewer |
Five practical use cases for HTML
- Planning & exploration — Generate an “HTML file network”: 6 directions side-by-side, then mockups, then an implementation plan
- Code review — Render diff, inline annotations, and flow charts in one page
- Design prototyping — HTML as design intermediate language, then translate to React/Swift
- Reports & learning — Cross-source synthesis with interactive explanations or slides
- Disposable editors — A throwaway UI for one task (reorder 30 tickets, toggle feature flags, adjust system prompt) with an “Export as JSON/prompt” button
Tradeoffs
- Generation time — HTML takes 2–4× longer to generate than Markdown
- Token cost — Higher, but less relevant with 1M+ context windows
- Version control — HTML diff is noisy and hard to review — this is Markdown’s biggest remaining advantage
- Style consistency — Requires a “design system HTML file” as reference to constrain aesthetics
Based on Thariq’s analysis: HTML replacing Markdown in the Agent era — 6 advantages, 5 use cases, and tradeoffs. Original article at x.com/i/article/2052796100608974848.
