The Rich Markdown Editor: Write, Format & Share Visually

Outpost's editor is built for speed and expression. Whether you're writing a quick reply or a long-form guide, the toolbar, keyboard shortcuts, and visual features make it easy to create polished content without leaving your flow.

The Toolbar

The editor toolbar gives you one-click access to every formatting option:

Group	Actions
Text	Bold, Italic, Strikethrough, Heading 1, Heading 2
Insert	Link, Image Upload, Gallery Upload, Inline Code, Code Block
Blocks	Blockquote, Bullet List, Ordered List, Task List, Horizontal Rule
Extras	@Mention, Emoji Picker, Preview Toggle

Everything you need is right there � no memorizing syntax required.

Keyboard Shortcuts

For those who prefer to keep their hands on the keyboard, Outpost supports a full set of shortcuts:

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+B	Bold
Ctrl+I	Italic
Ctrl+Shift+X	Strikethrough
Ctrl+K	Insert Link
Ctrl+Shift+K	Code Block
Ctrl+Enter	Submit Reply
Tab	Indent list item
Shift+Tab	Unindent list item

All shortcuts work with Cmd on Mac.

Smart List Continuation

One of the editor's most satisfying features: lists continue automatically when you press Enter.

• Start a bullet list with - and hit Enter � the next line gets a bullet too
• Ordered lists auto-increment: 1., 2., 3....
• Task lists (- [ ]) continue with new unchecked items
• Press Enter on an empty list item to stop the list
• Use Tab and Shift+Tab to indent and unindent nested items

This makes writing structured content fast and natural.

Image Uploads

Adding images to your posts is effortless. You have three ways to upload:

1. Toolbar button � Click the image icon and select a file
2. Drag and drop � Drag an image onto the editor and release
3. Paste from clipboard � Copy an image and Ctrl+V directly into the editor

Supported formats: JPEG, PNG, GIF, and WebP (up to 5MB each). Images are inserted as markdown and rendered inline in your post.

Image Galleries & Slideshow

This is where things get visual. When you want to share multiple images together, use the Gallery feature.

Creating a Gallery

1. Click the Gallery button in the toolbar (the multi-image icon)
2. Select multiple images at once from the file picker
3. Outpost uploads them all and wraps them in a gallery block:

That's it � the :::gallery syntax tells Outpost to render these as a visual grid instead of stacked images.

How Galleries Display

Galleries automatically adapt their layout based on how many images you include:

Images	Layout
1	Full-width single image
2	Side-by-side (50/50)
3	Feature layout � one large image spanning two rows, two smaller on the right
4	2�2 grid
5+	3-column masonry-style grid

Images have a subtle hover zoom effect and are clickable.

Slideshow Lightbox

Click any image in a gallery to open the full-screen lightbox:

• Navigate between images with left/right arrows or arrow keys
• See the current position with the image counter (e.g., "3 / 7")
• Press Escape or click the ? button to close
• Navigation wraps around � go past the last image and you're back at the first

The lightbox works on both desktop and mobile, making galleries a great way to share screenshots, photos, or step-by-step visual guides.

Gallery Thumbnails in Topic Lists

When a topic contains images, Outpost automatically extracts a preview thumbnail and shows it in the topic list. This gives your community feed a visual, magazine-like feel that draws people in.

@Mentions

Type @ followed by a name to mention another community member:

• A search dropdown appears as you type, showing matching members
• Use arrow keys to navigate and Enter to select
• The mentioned user gets a notification so they don't miss it
• Results show avatars and display names for easy identification

Mentions are a great way to pull specific people into a conversation.

Emoji Picker

Click the emoji button in the toolbar to open the built-in emoji picker with 32 commonly-used emojis across categories like smileys, gestures, celebrations, and more. Click any emoji to insert it at your cursor position.

Live Preview

Toggle the preview mode (eye icon) to see a side-by-side live preview of your markdown as you type:

• On desktop: editor on the left, rendered preview on the right
• Markdown renders in real-time as you type
• YouTube and Vimeo links automatically embed as playable videos in the preview
• Gallery markers are hidden � you see the actual image grid
• Styled with your community's theme colors

This is especially useful when writing longer posts or checking that your formatting looks right before publishing.

Word & Character Count

The bottom-right corner of the editor shows a live word and character count � handy for keeping posts concise or meeting a target length.

Auto-Growing Editor

The editor automatically expands as your content grows. No fixed height box to scroll inside � you can see your full post as you write it.

---

The editor is designed to get out of your way while giving you the tools to create great content. Whether you're dropping in a quick emoji reaction, building a gallery of product screenshots, or writing a detailed tutorial with code blocks and task lists � it all happens in one place, with no plugins or extensions needed.