Textile
Hacker ApprovedRanked 6 of 9 markup languages by recommenders
A lightweight markup language that some people prefer to Markdown for its syntax and intuitiveness. Critics note the text on the site can be cut off in some browsers.
A lightweight markup language that some people prefer to Markdown for its syntax and intuitiveness. Critics note the text on the site can be cut off in some browsers.
13 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 11
- criticize it
- 2
- approval share
- 85%
Recommended in 5 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 11 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 5 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Preferred to Markdown
“I liked Textile a lot better initially, and it came out first.”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “How Markdown Took over the World” “Textile was the superior Sony Betamax to Markdown's VHS”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “How Markdown Took over the World” “Textile was better, but less popular IIRC”
Comment from 4 Apr 2026 in “Why the heck are we still using Markdown?” Better syntax, more intuitive
“I thought textile had the better syntax”
Comment from 9 Jan 2026 in “How Markdown Took over the World” “I find it generally more intuitive.”
Comment from 30 May 2026 in “Textile Markup Language Documentation”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Text cut off in some browsers
“The text on your site is cut off on both left and right”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Show HN: Textile – A desktop app for weaving together bits of text” “Same on Android, duck browser”
Comment from 1 Jun 2026 in “Show HN: Textile – A desktop app for weaving together bits of text”
Other markup languages people recommend
The four most recommended other markup languages, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Markdown | 155 | 73 | 68% | 12 | 10 yrs3 owners | Approved |
| AsciiDoc | 38 | 11 | 78% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Djot | 21 | 4 | 84% | 7 | — | Approved |
| reStructuredText | 19 | 9 | 68% | 8 | — | Approved |
| TextileThis page | 11 | 2 | 85% | 5 | — | Approved |
What people said
11 of the 13 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“No sync but you own your data completely.”
“So no matter which branch I'm on, I'll always get a proper preview link without having to construct it manually myself.”
“This could be useful for writing report card comments!”
“This looks really cool and right up my alley.”
“Same on Android, duck browser”
“The text on your site is cut off on both left and right”
“I find it generally more intuitive.”
“Textile was better, but less popular IIRC”
“I thought textile had the better syntax”
“Textile was the superior Sony Betamax to Markdown's VHS”
“I liked Textile a lot better initially, and it came out first.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.