# Kraa

13 Hacker News commenters recommended Kraa and 11 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 6 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Minimal Markdown editor with real-time collaboration and chat; people praise its clean interface, though critics report lag and vague security details.

## Why people recommend it

- Clean, minimal UI (5 comments): "it's refreshing to see an editor that aims for minimalism without sacrificing collaboration features" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46178782)) "combination of minimal UI, plentiful features and some unique stuff like real-real-time chat" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48530644)) "Mine got laggy after refresh, however have to commend them for such slick UI" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46165337))
- Real-time collaboration and chat (4 comments): "it's refreshing to see an editor that aims for minimalism without sacrificing collaboration features" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46178782)) "combination of minimal UI, plentiful features and some unique stuff like real-real-time chat" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48530644)) "Real time chat makes it so even with few users, there is so much happening." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46161529))
- Write immediately without login (2 comments): "you can write immediately even without login" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48193291)) "With Kraa this is a matter of one click." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46168026))
- Many features, extensive customization (2 comments): "combination of minimal UI, plentiful features and some unique stuff like real-real-time chat" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48530644)) "a markdown editor I've been working on with extensive customization options" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46561376))

## What people warn about

- Slow, laggy, or overheating (3 comments): "Mine got laggy after refresh, however have to commend them for such slick UI" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46165337)) "my phone is overheating after just a few minutes watching the live chat" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46161463)) "Loads slow on my gigabit fiber connection. But it looks nice" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46179411))
- Editor focus and wrapping bugs (5 comments): "Timestamp overlaps with the edge of messages on Safari 18.6 on MacOS 14.8.2." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46168846)) "Kraa breaks words anywhere to wrap to the next line, really a no go for me" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46564892)) "Unless you click that specific rectangle, the editor doesn't focus" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46162354))
- Vague security and encryption details (2 comments): "I think it's too vague on the security details." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46562432)) "They'll surely wouldn't implement a local/client-first E2E encryption, so in the end they'll be holding the keys anyways." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46161891))
- Trying to do too much (2 comments): "jack of all trades, master of none" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46165395)) "i see a lot of bells and whistles" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46161743))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [SmallDocs](https://hackerapproved.com/p/smalldocs.md): 21 recommend
- [OpenKnowledge](https://hackerapproved.com/p/openknowledge.md): 20 recommend
- [Typora](https://hackerapproved.com/p/typora.md): 19 recommend
- [Margin Markdown editor](https://hackerapproved.com/p/markdown-editor-for-mac-ios-and-web.md): 15 recommend
- [iA Writer](https://hackerapproved.com/p/ia-writer.md): 14 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Kraa", https://hackerapproved.com/p/kraa/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).