Markdown Comment Block

Comments that only render in the block editor

I honestly enjoy drafting articles either locally in Ulysses, or on my blog using the Iceberg Editor. While I do love Iceberg, once I publish an article I typically bring back the default Gutenberg experience — thus removing any comments I previously added.

Having the ability to add, and keep, any relevant editing comments within my posts, without rendering them on the front-end, means that I am freed up to mentally jot any idea down without thinking about it. It is simply natural and convenient.

Learn more about Markdown Comment →

What’s interesting about Markdown Comment:

1. Editor only

The block only renders within the editor. For developers reading this, that means there’s no save function. I don’t want my unfinished ideas, reminders, and notes rendered within my post – even if they’re hidden by CSS.

2. Helpful block transforms

I added a couple transforms, to and from headings and paragraphs, and a raw shortcut when you type %% and hit the [space] key. This lets me quickly add comments, and even convert whole paragraphs or headings to a comment.

3. Easily resolve comments

To support that path towards simplicity, I wanted a method to quickly resolve — i.e. banish — a comment entirely. So, I added a toolbar control to quickly resolve the comment, removing the block entirely.

4. No rich text support

Comments need to have minimal impact on editing, and feel as natural as possible. That’s why there are no typical RichText controls (although you can still bold, italicize and add hyperlinks). And while you can change the color of the comment — there are no other typographic controls.

5. Entirely CSS Variable ready

Global styles and full site editing are opening the door for themes to be heavily powered by CSS variables. Blocks should be designed with that same mentality, which is exactly what I did here. I added simple CSS variables with fallbacks that are the default values. To further theme the comment, there’s no need to override any styles with classes, just write a few CSS variables.