Utilities

Excellent Utilities: Abricotine – open source Markdown editor

Last Updated on May 22, 2022

Summary

Abricotine is a simple, effective, and genuinely useful utility for anyone who writes documentation in Markdown. The automatic preview is convenient.

The software isn’t particularly lightweight, consuming over 200MB of RAM even with only a small document open. This isn’t that surprising considering the software is based on web technologies (including Electron and Node.js).

The software offers built-in spellchecking but there’s no option to add custom words to the dictionary, or suggest alternative words. And if you like suggested word completions as you type, you’ll be disappointed.

We’d also like the ability to insert a current timestamp into a document, which is very useful when writing reports. But we’re pretty satisfied with what’s on offer.

Website: github.com/brrd/Abricotine
Support:
Developer: Thomas Brouard and contributors
License: GNU General Public License v3.0 or (at your option) any later version

Abricotine is written in JavaScript. Learn JavaScript with our recommended free books and free tutorials.

Pages in this article:
Page 1 – Introduction / Installation
Page 2 – In Operation
Page 3 – Other Features
Page 4 – Summary


Complete list of articles in this series:

Excellent Utilities
AES CryptEncrypt files using the Advanced Encryption Standard
AnanicyShell daemon created to manage processes’ IO and CPU priorities
brootNext gen tree explorer and customizable launcher
CerebroFast application launcher
cheat.shCommunity driven unified cheat sheet
CopyQAdvanced clipboard manager
crocSecurely transfer files and folders from the command-line
DeskreenLive streaming your desktop to a web browser
dufDisk usage utility with more polished presentation than the classic df
ezaA turbo-charged alternative to the venerable ls command
Extension ManagerBrowse, install and manage GNOME Shell Extensions
fdWonderful alternative to the venerable find
fkillKill processes quick and easy
fontpreviewQuickly search and preview fonts
horcruxFile splitter with encryption and redundancy
KoohaSimple screen recorder
KOReaderDocument viewer for a wide variety of file formats
ImagineA simple yet effective image optimization tool
LanguageToolStyle and grammar checker for 30+ languages
Liquid PromptAdaptive prompt for Bash & Zsh
lnavAdvanced log file viewer for the small-scale; great for troubleshooting
lsdLike exa, lsd is a turbo-charged alternative to ls
Mark TextSimple and elegant Markdown editor
McFlyNavigate through your bash shell history
mdlessFormatted and highlighted view of Markdown files
naviInteractive cheatsheet tool
notiMonitors a command or process and triggers a notification
NushellFlexible cross-platform shell with a modern feel
nvitopGPU process management for NVIDIA graphics cards
OCRmyPDFAdd OCR text layer to scanned PDFs
Oh My ZshFramework to manage your Zsh configuration
PaperworkDesigned to simplify the management of your paperwork
pastelGenerate, analyze, convert and manipulate colors
PDF Mix ToolPerform common editing operations on PDF files
pecoSimple interactive filtering tool that's remarkably useful
ripgrepRecursively search directories for a regex pattern
RnoteSketch and take handwritten notes
scrcpyDisplay and control Android devices
StickySimulates the traditional “sticky note” style stationery on your desktop
tldrSimplified and community-driven man pages
tmuxA terminal multiplexer that offers a massive boost to your workflow
TuskAn unofficial Evernote client with bags of potential
UlauncherSublime application launcher
WatsonTrack the time spent on projects
Whoogle SearchSelf-hosted and privacy-focused metasearch engine
ZellijTerminal workspace with batteries included
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7 Comments
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sid_sloth_1st (@sid_sloth_1st)
sid_sloth_1st (@sid_sloth_1st)
5 years ago

You mention that the app is installed using npm — but how does one launch the app? Is it installed as a regular GNU/Linux app on the system, or…?

joie
joie
5 years ago

Do we really need to use another markdown editor with electron-based app? I’ve already see 4 electron-based markdown editor article in just two weeks. Seriously folks… why do we need a full-fledged google chome web-browser only to use a markdown editor? Isn’t it better just to install the markdown plugin from Chrome Web Store ?

I really don’t get the electron-based developer mindset. It really beyond my comprehension.

Joshua B
Joshua B
5 years ago
Reply to  joie

Complaints like jole’s are rarely justified. He might not need *another* Markdown editor, but that’s irrelevant.

Markdown is very popular for documentation, so it’s not surprising there’s many Markdown editors available. In the same way, there’s 900+ Linux distributions. Critics will cite duplication of effort. Of course, there’s some, but again that’s largely irrelevant. Each Markdown editor offers different functionality, uses different toolkits etc. With more choice, there’s more likely something that meets the specific needs of an individual. And Abricotine is a very good editor with great inline preview.

Should anyone be criticized for developing open source software? It’s a great way of learning to code, collaborate with others, learn how to lead a project, etc etc.

Why should we be restricted to using a plugin for Chrome? A big proportion of users don’t even use Chrome / Chromium.

joie
joie
5 years ago
Reply to  Joshua B

“Complaints like jole’s are rarely justified. He might not need *another* Markdown editor, but that’s irrelevant.”

I complaint about using Electron as a the base of the application. Not about creating another yet Markdown Editor. Please re-read my comment.

“Why should we be restricted to using a plugin for Chrome? A big proportion of users don’t even use Chrome / Chromium.”

You’re already contradict yourself here. Don’t you know that Electron is based on Chrome? So the Abricotine is using Electron internally, and then eventually the user is restricted with Chrome. And didn’t you know that Electron is also using Node.js which is a full framework for web server development? Do we need a Web Browser + Web Server only to use a markdown editor?

Joshua B
Joshua B
5 years ago
Reply to  joie

Thanks for clarifying your opening ambiguous statement.

I made no contradiction. I’m fully aware Electron uses Chromium and Node.js, save your patronizing diatribe for someone else. I’ve been a developer for 30 years.

The point you failed to grasp is that recommending a Chrome plugin restricts the end user by forcing him/her to use a specific web browser, one that is proprietary (did you know Chrome is mostly based on Chromium, which is open source? — see I can be patronizing too 🙂

And you’re NOT running a web browser / web server with Abricotine.

And Abricotine’s RAM requirements are modest, nothing like the much bigger RAM dollop required by Chrome or Chromium.

Sorry to expose your fallacies.