Markdown or Chalk

Print through a single interface as Markdown or terminal output (ansi / chalk).

Usage

The core idea: keep your formatting calls the same, and decide output style at runtime.

import { getOutputStyler } from 'markdown-or-chalk';

const printAsMarkdown = true;

const format = getOutputStyler(printAsMarkdown);

format.header('Wow');

This lets one code path support terminal UX and markdown/report output.

API

getOutputStyler(style)

Returns a formatter for one of these styles:

• 'markdown' – Markdown output
• 'ansi' – ANSI terminal output
• 'chalk' – Chalk-flavored terminal output (legacy compatibility; prefer 'ansi')

getMdastOutputter(style)

Returns only the fromMdast renderer function for the selected style.

Instance Methods

| Method | Description | | -------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | | header(text, level?) | Heading (1-6, default 1). Markdown: # text. Terminal: bold+underline | | bold(text) | Bold. Markdown: **text**. Terminal: bold | | dim(text) | Dim/italic. Markdown: _text_. Terminal: dim | | italic(text) | Italic. Markdown: _text_. Terminal: italic | | strikethrough(text) | Strikethrough. Markdown: ~~text~~. Terminal: strikethrough | | code(text) | Inline code. Markdown: `text`. Terminal: plain text | | hyperlink(text, url, options?) | Link. Markdown: [text](url) (options ignored). Terminal: terminal link. Options: { fallback?: boolean, fallbackToUrl?: boolean } | | list(items) | Bullet list. Markdown: * item. Terminal: - item | | indent(text, level?) | Indent by level × 2 spaces (default level is 1) | | json(value) | JSON output. Markdown: fenced code block. Terminal: plain JSON | | table(rows, align?, options?) | Table. Markdown: GFM table (supports { tablePipeAlign?: boolean }). Terminal: aligned columns | | fromMdast(node, options?) | Render any mdast node to string |

Getters

| Getter | Returns | | ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------- | | type | 'markdown', 'ansi', or 'chalk' | | logSymbols | {info, success, warning, error} — emoji or styled symbols | | logSymbolsMdast | {info, success, warning, error} — mdast-compatible symbols | | chalk | ChalkInstance in chalk mode (deprecated, prefer 'ansi') |

Exported Helpers

| Helper | Description | | -------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- | | mdastTableHelper(rows, align?) | Build an mdast Table node | | mdastListHelper(items) | Build an mdast List node | | mdastLinkify(value, url, skipLinks?) | Build an mdast Link or Text node |

Advanced: mdast helpers

Compose fromMdast with the mdast helpers to build rich structured output:

import { getMdastOutputter, mdastListHelper, mdastLinkify } from 'markdown-or-chalk';

const fromMdast = getMdastOutputter('markdown');

const list = mdastListHelper([
  [mdastLinkify('chalk', 'https://www.npmjs.com/package/chalk')],
  [mdastLinkify('mdast', 'https://www.npmjs.com/package/mdast')],
  ['plain text item'],
]);

console.log(fromMdast(list));
// * [chalk](https://www.npmjs.com/package/chalk)
// * [mdast](https://www.npmjs.com/package/mdast)
// * plain text item

Migration: 0.2.x → 0.3.x

What changed

• Constructor-based usage was replaced with a selector function:
  • getOutputStyler('markdown' | 'ansi' | 'chalk')
• getMdastOutputter('markdown' | 'ansi' | 'chalk') was added as a convenience for mdast-only flows.
  • Existing getOutputStyler(style).fromMdast(node) usage still works.
• Style is now selected using explicit string modes ('markdown', 'ansi', 'chalk').
• type is the mode discriminator.
• chalk getter is legacy (deprecated) and only relevant in 'chalk' mode (prefer 'ansi').

Before / after

// Before (0.2.x)
import MarkdownOrChalk from 'markdown-or-chalk';

const formatMd = new MarkdownOrChalk(true);
const formatCli = new MarkdownOrChalk(false);

// After (0.3.x)
import { getOutputStyler } from 'markdown-or-chalk';

const formatMd = getOutputStyler('markdown');
const formatCli = getOutputStyler('ansi');

// After (0.3.x), mdast-only outputter
import { getMdastOutputter } from 'markdown-or-chalk';

const fromMdast = getMdastOutputter('markdown');
const output = fromMdast(node);

Migration checklist

• Replace constructor usage with getOutputStyler() / getMdastOutputter().
• Replace boolean mode selection with explicit style strings.
• If branching by mode, check .type.
• Keep .chalk usage only for legacy paths.
• Re-check output-sensitive behavior:
  • hyperlink() in markdown mode
  • list() formatting
  • table() formatting

Used by

• @voxpelli/pretty-ts-errors-cli
• compare-eslint-configs

See also

• chalk
• mdast
• mdast-util-to-markdown