Type “/” for any block
On an empty line, “/” opens the block menu: a small drawing of each block, filtered as you type. Or click the “+” beside a line.
Writing with Markstage
63 features, all in the free self-hosted editor
Markstage features, in plain words.
Each feature below works today in the example blog that comes with the code, and links to the page of the docs that explains it. Planned work is on the roadmap, never here.
12 features
Writing
The block editor people already know from Notion, drawn on your real design instead of grey form fields.
Drag blocks by their grip
Every block has a grip. Drag it, or open its menu: move up, down, to the top, to the bottom or to a place you pick, duplicate or delete, with Undo.
Writing with Markstage
Find anything with ⌘K
One search box for pages, posts, the editor’s screens and settings. The ones you opened last come first.
Writing with Markstage
The outline of the page
Every block in a list, each section under its heading: fold sections, show headings only, drag rows or move several at once.
Writing with Markstage
A bar over selected words
Bold, italic, a link, a heading, a list or code. A link searches the site’s own pages, with new tab, nofollow and sponsored beside it.
Writing with MarkstageMarkdown shortcuts as you type
Start a line with # for a heading, - for a list or > for a quote, and type --- for a divider.
Writing with MarkstagePaste from Word, cleanly
Word’s lists and headings arrive as real blocks, and its office markup is left behind.
Writing with MarkstageTables you change in place
A Table menu adds, moves, sorts and deletes rows and columns; Alt and an arrow moves a row.
Writing with MarkstageFind and replace
⌘F finds in the article, ⌥⌘F replaces as well, and one ⌘Z takes a Replace all back.
Writing with MarkstageMDX too
Type the words of an .mdx file on the page; components show as cards with simple settings in a side panel, and the code stays exactly as written.
Editing MDXThe Markdown file itself
Source shows the file as it is written; Visual brings the page back with your changes.
Writing with MarkstageA guide inside the editor
Press ? for the keyboard shortcuts and “How do I…” topics, each able to point at the part of the screen it is about.
Writing with Markstage12 features
Pages, sections and media
Pages, posts and pictures, edited where they appear, with parts to use again.
Edit on the real page
Each entry is drawn inside its real page, with the site’s components, CSS and column width. JSON pages too, with each section’s fields in a side panel.
Writing with Markstage
A Library of parts
Page templates, sections and snippets in folders. A synced item is edited once and every page that uses it follows.
The Library
Images and files in one place
Upload, find and reuse; see which images have no alt text or are not used; replace one everywhere it appears.
Markstage API (contract)
Your site’s own boxes
FAQ, tips, steps and the other boxes your site defines are drawn as the page shows them; you type straight into them.
Writing with MarkstageDrag a section onto the live page
On a page made of sections, drag one from the Library onto the page itself; a line says where it will land, and Undo takes it out again.
Writing with MarkstageThe section gallery
Every section type and variation your site has, drawn alone by your site at 1440 and 390 pixels wide, light or dark.
Section gallery and “Edit this page”Alt text right on the image
Caption and alt text under the picture, a switch for decorative images, and widths, crop, rotate and replace in a bar over it.
Writing with MarkstageStock photos, with your own key
With an Unsplash or Pexels key on the server, the media library searches free stock photos and keeps each photographer’s name with the photo.
Deploying MarkstagePage frames and page types
Full width, reading or plain, and a page type with the checks that kind of page needs.
Page frames and page typesAuthors and co-authors
A profile per person, kept as a JSON file, linked from posts, with an author page each.
AuthorsTranslation status
For each region: which titles and descriptions are missing, outdated or done, newest change first.
Translation statusChoices from other systems
A setting whose options come from a product catalogue or a CRM, fetched from a JSON address on a schedule.
Integration fields13 features
Team, releases and publishing
Prismic-style releases, environments and roles, included and free to self-host.
A publish sheet that checks
What changes, the checks (the site’s rules, alt text, links, the page on a phone), then now or at a time. By default, a missing alt text or a broken link stops it.
Writing with Markstage
Releases
Put several changes into one release, preview the site as it will be, then publish now or at a time, in one commit. Roll it back if you need to.
Releases and share links
Local, staging, production
Each environment is a branch plus a server. Promote code and content together, with checks, screenshots and rules about who may do it.
Environments: local, staging, production
Forms in your own inbox
The site’s forms post to Markstage on your own host: spam checks, limits, team mail and a daily digest.
Forms, messages and alerts
Share links
A preview of a release or a draft for people with no account. It expires, can be turned off, stays out of search engines, and counts its views.
Releases and share links“Edit this page” on the live site
People signed in to Markstage get an edit link on the site’s own pages. Visitors see nothing of it.
Section gallery and “Edit this page”Every save is a commit in your name
With the Markstage server, a save is a git commit by the person who saved.
Markstage API (contract)Roles, as WordPress names them
Owner, Administrator, Editor, Author and Contributor, decided in one place on the server.
PermissionsCustom roles
A translator, a reviewer or an editor who may not upload: limited to collections, locales and even single fields.
Custom rolesSingle sign-on and two-factor
Sign in with Google Workspace, Microsoft Entra ID, Okta or any OpenID Connect provider; two-factor codes with recovery codes.
Single sign-on (OpenID Connect)Locks
Lock a block or a section against moving, deleting or changing; the site can set locks on every page.
Writing with MarkstageSee who else is editing
A line under the header says when someone else has the page open, and saves still check the version.
Markstage API (contract)Webhooks and imports
Signed webhooks for saves, publishes and new media; entries and media imported from JSON, with a dry run first.
Webhooks8 features
SEO and site health
Search checks while you write, and links that keep old pages and new ones together.
Search checks while you write
The search result as Google shows it, measured in pixels; headings in order (a skipped level is flagged); weak links and images without alt text.
Writing with Markstage
Search and social previews
Post settings shows the search result and the social card as you type the title, description and cover.
Writing with MarkstageSee it on a phone or a tablet
Pick a screen, and a list says what does not fit: too wide, too small to tap, text too small.
Writing with MarkstageLink suggestions both ways
Old pages learn about a new one, and the new one gets the right older pages, each with the sentence to link in.
Topics and internal linksLink health
Pages no page links to, vague link words, links to old addresses: worst first, each with a one-click fix.
Writing with MarkstageTopics and a topic map
Put a page in a topic and its group, so pages in a topic list each other on the site.
Writing with MarkstageRedirects that follow a move
When an address changes, the old one goes on working; moved addresses are listed in one place.
Writing with MarkstageSite check-up
Broken links, redirect chains, missing alt text and what the host serves for every address, for the whole site.
Markstage API (contract)7 features
Safety and history
A save changes only what you changed, and nothing you typed is lost.
History of every save
Compare any two saved versions side by side, and restore one block or the whole page.
Writing with Markstage
A save is a clean diff
Only the changed blocks are rewritten. Open and save with no edit, or move a block and move it back, and the file is byte for byte the same.
Markstage API (contract)Never lose typing
Your unsaved text is kept in this browser, so a closed tab or a crash loses nothing; the editor offers it again when you come back.
Writing with MarkstageA three-way merge
When two people change one page, what only one side changed comes in by itself; where both changed a block, you pick yours, theirs or both.
Markstage API (contract)Trash, backups and rollback
Deleted entries go to the trash first; the server keeps backups, and a release or a promotion can be rolled back.
Deploying MarkstageAn audit log
Who did what and when, for the owner and administrators.
Markstage server: securityPreviews kept apart
A page with unsaved changes is drawn on an origin of its own, so the page’s code never runs with your session.
Preview render11 features
AI and MCP
AI that drafts, people who publish. Bring your own key; nothing is saved until a person reads it.
An MCP server for AI agents
Claude or any MCP client reads the site and drafts as the person whose token it holds, with the same roles, locks and checks. It never deletes or promotes, and publishes only if you allow it.
The MCP server: AI agents
The markstage mcp relay
For a local client that speaks MCP over stdin and stdout: one command keeps the token and passes each message on.
The MCP server: AI agentsPublishing by an agent, only if you allow it
An owner or administrator may give an agent a publish token, with a plain warning. The site’s checks run first, then its publish rules and roles decide, as for you; each publish names the agent.
The MCP server: AI agentsWriting help on a selection
Select words, then Improve with AI: rewrite, shorten, fix the spelling or change the tone. The change shows beside the words; accept, edit or reject it.
AI suggestionsAlt text suggestions
Suggest on an image’s Alt line writes a description for you to accept, change or dismiss.
AI suggestionsSearch title and description
Suggest title and description in the SEO check, next to the result as Google shows it.
AI suggestionsLink suggestions to your own pages
Suggest links with AI in Post settings picks pages of your site and the words to link, each checked on the server: the page is there, not linked yet, and the words are in the text. Add link or dismiss each.
AI suggestionsFixes for search problems
Suggest a fix under a problem the SEO check found: a title or description too long or short, a heading out of order, “click here” link words, missing alt text. The fix shows as a diff to accept, edit or reject.
AI suggestionsTranslation drafts
Draft translation under a region in Post settings, for a person to read and save.
AI suggestionsA promotion summary
Summarize changes beside a promotion’s reason, in plain words, from what the plan changes.
AI suggestionsYour choice of AI provider
Anthropic, any OpenAI-compatible endpoint (OpenAI, Azure, OpenRouter, Together, LM Studio) or Ollama on your own machine with no key.
AI suggestionsTry it on the example blog
Clone the repository, install, and open the editor on the example blog: every feature above is there.