Djot

Lightweight markup language

.dj^[1]

Internet media typeunknown valueDeveloped byJohn MacFarlaneLatest release

0.2.0^[2]

3 January 2023; 15 months ago (3 January 2023)

Type of formatLightweight markup languageExtended fromCommonMarkOpen format?YesFree format?YesWebsitedjot.net

Djot (/dʒɑt/) is a lightweight markup language that aims to improve on CommonMark's syntax where it is complex and difficult to parse efficiently.^[3] It was created in 2022 by John MacFarlane, the author of Pandoc and a member of the CommonMark standardization group.^[4]^[5]

It derives most of its features from CommonMark, but includes a wider set of features, including description lists, footnotes, tables, several new kinds of inline formatting, math and smart punctuation.^[3]

The original reference implementation is written in a scripting language (Lua), but the language is designed to parse efficiently, so it is very fast.^[6]

The code and documentation are released under the MIT License.^[7]

Difference from CommonMark

Djot's syntax is similar to CommonMark's, but there are some differences.^[8]

Blank lines

CommonMark does not need blank lines around block-level elements, but Djot does.

Example:

Input	Corresponding HTML produced by a CommonMark processor	Corresponding HTML produced by a Djot processor
# Heading Paragraphs.	<h1>Heading</h1> <p>Paragraphs.</p>	<h1>Heading Paragraphs.</h1>
# Heading Paragraphs.	<h1>Heading</h1> <p>Paragraphs.</p>	<h1>Heading</h1> <p>Paragraphs.</p>

Input	Corresponding HTML produced by a CommonMark processor	Corresponding HTML produced by a Djot processor
* fruits * apple * banana	<ul> <li>fruits <ul> <li>apple</li> <li>banana</li> </ul> </li> </ul>	<ul> <li>fruits * apple * banana </li> </ul>
* fruits * apple * banana	<ul> <li><p>fruits</p> <ul> <li>apple</li> <li>banana</li> </ul> </li> </ul>	<ul> <li>fruits <ul> <li>apple</li> <li>banana</li> </ul> </li> </ul>

Input

Corresponding HTML produced by a CommonMark processor

Corresponding HTML produced by a Djot processor

* fruits
  * apple
  * banana

<ul>
  <li>fruits
    <ul>
      <li>apple</li>
      <li>banana</li>
    </ul>
  </li>
</ul>

<ul>
  <li>fruits
  * apple
  * banana
  </li>
</ul>

* fruits

  * apple
  * banana

<ul>
  <li><p>fruits</p>
    <ul>
      <li>apple</li>
      <li>banana</li>
    </ul>
  </li>
</ul>

<ul>
  <li>fruits
    <ul>
      <li>apple</li>
      <li>banana</li>
    </ul>
  </li>
</ul>

Headings

Djot has no setext (= or -) headings, only ATX (#) headings.

Example:

Text using CommonMark syntax	Text using Djot syntax	Corresponding HTML produced
Heading ======= Sub-heading -----------	# Heading ## Sub-heading	<h1>Heading</h1> <h2>Sub-heading</h2>

Emphasis

CommonMark uses single * or _ for emphasis, and double * or _ for strong emphasis. Djot uses single _ for emphasis, and single * for strong emphasis.

Example:

Text using CommonMark syntax	Text using Djot syntax	Corresponding HTML produced
Text attributes _italic_, bold.	Text attributes _italic_, bold.	<p>Text attributes <em>italic</em>, <strong>bold</strong>.</p>

Links

Unlike CommonMark, Djot has no special syntax for adding a title to a link. A title can be added by using the general attribute syntax instead.

Example:

Text using CommonMark syntax	Text using Djot syntax	Corresponding HTML produced
A [link](http://example.com "title").	A [link](http://example.com){title="title"}.	<p>A <a href="http://example.com" title="title">link</a>.</p>

Examples

Text using Djot syntax	Corresponding HTML produced by a Djot processor	Text viewed in a browser
# Heading ## Sub-heading Paragraphs are separated by a blank line. The backslash at the end of a line\ produces a line break.	<h1>Heading</h1> <h2>Sub-heading</h2> <p>Paragraphs are separated by a blank line.</p> <p>The backslash at the end of a line<br> produces a line break.</p>	Heading Sub-heading Paragraphs are separated by a blank line. The backslash at the end of a line produces a line break.
Text attributes _italic_, bold, `monospace`. Horizontal rule: * * *	<p>Text attributes <em>italic</em>, <strong>bold</strong>, <code>monospace</code>.</p> <p>Horizontal rule:</p> <hr>	Text attributes italic, bold, `monospace`. Horizontal rule:
Bullet lists nested within a numbered list: 1. fruits * apple * banana 2. vegetables - carrot - broccoli	<p>Bullet lists nested within a numbered list:</p> <ol> <li>fruits <ul> <li>apple</li> <li>banana</li> </ul> </li> <li>vegetables <ul> <li>carrot</li> <li>broccoli</li> </ul> </li> </ol>	Bullet lists nested within a numbered list: fruits apple banana vegetables carrot broccoli
A [link](http://example.com). ![Image](Icon-pictures.png){title="icon"} > Djot uses email-style characters for blockquoting. > > Multiple paragraphs need to be prepended individually. Raw content such as inline `<abbr title="Hypertext Markup Language">HTML</abbr>`{=html} tags must be explicitly marked.	<p>A <a href="http://example.com">link</a>.</p> <p><img alt="Image" title="icon" src="Icon-pictures.png"></p> <blockquote> <p>Djot uses email-style characters for blockquoting.</p> <p>Multiple paragraphs need to be prepended individually.</p> </blockquote> <p>Raw content such as inline <abbr title="Hypertext Markup Language">HTML</abbr> tags must be explicitly marked.</p>	A link. Djot uses email-style characters for blockquoting. Multiple paragraphs need to be prepended individually. Raw content such as inline HTML tags must be explicitly marked.

Implementations

Implementations of Djot
Name	License	Language	Repository	Description
djot.js	MIT License	TypeScript	https://github.com/jgm/djot.js	This is a TypeScript rewrite of the original reference implementation.
djot.lua	MIT License	Lua	https://github.com/jgm/djot.lua	The original reference implementation.
Jotdown	MIT License	Rust	https://github.com/hellux/jotdown	Pull parser implemented as a Rust library
Djota	BSD 3-clause license	Prolog	https://github.com/aarroyoc/djota	Implementation in Prolog
djoths	MIT License	Haskell	https://github.com/jgm/djoths	Haskell library and command-line tool
godjot	MIT License	Go	https://github.com/sivukhin/godjot	Implementation in Go

Uses

Starting from version 3.1.12, Pandoc supports Djot as an input format and an output format.^[9]

References

^ "File extension". github.com. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
^ "Release 0.2.0". 3 January 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2023.
^ ^a ^b "Djot (/dʒɑt/)". djot.net. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
^ MacFarlane, John (2022-07-11). "Initial commit". github.com. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
^ MacFarlane, John. "Tools". johnmacfarlane.net. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
^ "README.md". github.com. Retrieved 2023-01-24.
^ "License". github.com. Retrieved 2022-08-13.
^ "Quick Start for Markdown users". github.com. Retrieved 2022-08-14.
^ "pandoc 3.1.12 (2024-02-14)". pandoc.org. Retrieved 2024-03-05.