The Markdown framework

Markdown that runs

Not just pages — full websites. Routing, state, server calls, embeds, and reactive islands, all from plain Markdown files. No JavaScript or CSS required. Your docs and your code are all just text.

See a whole app in one file Read the docs

A whole framework, in text

Everything a site needs, expressed as Markdown directives. No components, no config, no JSX, no special files:

Routing — folders are routes. Drop a file in, it's a page. Prefix with . or - to hide it.
State & reactivity — :state, :button, :if, and keyed @loops patch the DOM directly. No virtual DOM.
Server calls — :fetch pulls JSON into state; :form action= round-trips to any backend and degrades to a native POST without JS.
Composition — @include embeds one Markdown file into another, passing values down Liquid-style.
Styling, optional — colocate a .skin file for design tokens, or ship none and let the browser default.

What to try

TryA whole live app in one .wd file: fetch, loops, nested ifs, a form TryThe docs route — a .wd page built from includes TryA plain .md page where directives stay inert text TryReactive page: state, keyed loops, scoped sections TryData page: fetch, forms, server round-trips, persistence TryA hidden route, to confirm it 404s

Loops that read like prose

@loop is the only loop. Point it at a JSON file, an in-scope value, or a :state list, and the body repeats once per row. Includes inside the loop inherit the loop value:

@loop /features.json into card
@include /feature-card.wd
@endloop

Folder routing without config

Pages come from site/pages, and hidden work is just dot or minus prefixed.

One loop, @loop

Loop a JSON file, an in-scope value, or a :state list — includes inside inherit the loop value.

Colocated behavior

A matching .skin or .js file beside the page is picked up automatically.

Colocated behavior

This button is powered by site/pages/index.js, discovered by matching the page basename:

Deploy in one click

npm run build emits a plain static dist/ — no server, no special runtime — so it deploys anywhere that serves files. This very site is a Darkmown build:

Deploy to Vercel Deploy to Cloudflare Star on GitHub

Built in the open

Darkmown itself was built by a small agent team. The board below is a live @loop over real data — itself a demo of the framework rendering this page:

PMactive lane

Developmentactive lane

Researchactive lane

Testingactive lane

Reviewactive lane

Long-running session sprinting

Darkmown treats sprinting as a visible operating loop, not as hidden recursion inside Markdown.

PM keeps the acceptance checklist and decides whether the demo proves the promise.
Development owns compiler, router, runtime, and demo integration.
Research checks the theory against prior art and keeps naming or platform drift from leaking in.
Testing owns route, include, asset, and browser smoke evidence.
Review inspects the final diff and blocks sloppy completion.

The standing team size is 4 to 6. If work expands, add a design or architecture lane; if work shrinks, keep PM, development, testing, and review active.