title: Integrated Markdown WYSIWYG text editor
body: <p>In looking for a straightforward WYSIWYG editor for Markdown code, I am not finding a comparible UI to that of CkEditor, TinyMCE, ect.   </p>
  
  <p>Specifically, the Markdown "WYSIWYG" editors that are often recommended (such as posts like <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/questions/4843649/wysiwyg-edit-with-markdown-output">this</a> ) are not pure WYSIWYG editors in the sense that users either still write raw Markdown ( <a href="http://markitup.jaysalvat.com/examples/markdown/" rel="noreferrer">MarkItUp</a> ) or go to the other extreme of having in-line editing without standard controls ( <a href="http://hallojs.org/demo/markdown/" rel="noreferrer">Hallo</a> ).  </p>
  
  <p>I need something in-between.</p>
  
  <p>I'm looking for a Markdown editor that looks and functions like a stripped down CkEditor text box, and that accepts and outputs Markdown.   There should be a toolbar with a minimum set of formatting options (B, I, U, lists, ect), and the text entry area should show the converted Markdown, not the raw code.  There should be a Source button that will allow users to edit the raw Markdown, but even that is optional.   Ex:</p>
  
  <p><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/SxSJd.png" alt="enter image description here"></p>
  
  <p>I get the reason for Markdown/wiki, ect - the security it offers.  I don't mind entering raw code like here at SE, but my users are not geeks and do not find this enjoyable.  They don't want to see * *  * ___ and spaces mixed in with their text.   They are used to "Word" style editing, and are most productive in that environment. </p>
  
  <p>So - is there a truly integrated WYSIWYG editor for Markdown?   I'm writing in a PHP, so something that I can invoke with a class would be perfect.</p>
  
  <hr>
  
  <p><strong>Sept 23, 2015 Update</strong></p>
  
  <p>CKEditor now has a <strong>Markdown</strong> <a href="http://ckeditor.com/addon/markdown" rel="noreferrer">addon</a> that does this exact thing.  The addon project is <a href="https://github.com/hectorguo/CKEditor-Markdown-Plugin" rel="noreferrer">hosted on github</a>.</p>
  
  <p>Screenshots:</p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/24CXH.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/24CXH.png" alt="markdown WYSIWYG"></a></p>
  
  <p><a href="https://i.stack.imgur.com/KcZQs.png" rel="noreferrer"><img src="https://i.stack.imgur.com/KcZQs.png" alt="markdown source"></a></p>
  
  <hr>
  
  <p><strong>Apr 13, 2015 Update</strong><br>
  Someone professing to develop CKEditor says that the appearance of <a href="http://commonmark.org/" rel="noreferrer">CommonMark</a> is a game changer, and we could possibly see a proper <a href="https://stackoverflow.com/a/22271265/721073">markup interface for CKEditor</a> (read comments for the full story). </p>
  
  <hr>
  
  <p><strong>Feb 6, 2015 Update</strong></p>
  
  <p>CKEditor now comes with a plugin that outputs (and accepts as input) BBCode. </p>
  
  <p>Demo: <a href="http://ckeditor.com/demo#bbcode" rel="noreferrer">http://ckeditor.com/demo#bbcode</a></p>