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mackenlylast Wednesday at 8:03 PM1 replyview on HN

I really like Mermaid, but I'm not seeing the value in this as is.

- Mermaid within .md is widely supported. The file format of .mmd, while supported in most integrations, is a standalone file rather than living within my documentation/markdown. I use Mermaid charts and graphs as visual aids to add to the documentation or notes rather than having them stand alone. If I wanted a standalone file, I'd use any other diagram tool with its proprietary file format. I like Meriamid because of how easy it is to integrate into markdown. The value isn't in having a Mermaid file; the value is in adding diagrams and charts to markdown.

- Within .md files there's a Mermaid logo added beside the Mermaid, but it doesn't seem to be clickable or have a context menu. Maybe this is a bug. It also weirdly highlights all of the Mermaid code. Why doesn't it syntax highlight within markdown? This extension works great for highlighting: https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items/?itemName=bpruitt...

- It doesn't add support for viewing mermaid within markdown preview. I currently use this extension for it. This is a key feature that is missing. https://marketplace.visualstudio.com/items/?itemName=bierner...

Overall, excited to see what this becomes. Hope this is useful feedback! It can only get better from here.


Replies

muboulast Wednesday at 11:10 PM

It's worth pointing out that mermaidchart.com is NOT the official Mermaid project (https://mermaid.js.org/).

They're a for-profit company using the Mermaid name.

This creates a lot of confusion whenever the name comes up, which I suspect is deliberate.

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