How to Build a Markdown Editor with DaisyUI and JavaScript

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If you’re learning JavaScript and want a fun way to build something practical and interactive, this beginner-friendly tutorial is for you! We’ll use DaisyUI, a plugin for Tailwind CSS, to build a clean and responsive Markdown editor with live preview, theme switching, and local storage support â€” all in a single HTML file.

📚 What You’ll Learn

How to use DaisyUI for beautiful UI components
How to implement a live Markdown preview using JavaScript and marked.js
How to switch between light and dark themes
How to save your content using localStorage

💻 Full HTML Code

Here’s the complete code you can copy and run in your browser:

<!DOCTYPE html>
<html lang="en" data-theme="dark">
<head>
  <meta charset="UTF-8" />
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1" />
  <title>DaisyUI Markdown Editor</title>

  <link href="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/daisyui@5" rel="stylesheet" />
  <script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/marked/marked.min.js"></script>

  <style>
    html, body { margin: 0; padding: 0; height: 100%; }
    main { flex: 1; display: flex; gap: 1rem; padding: 1rem; }
    textarea, #preview {
      flex: 1;
      min-height: 90vh;
      resize: none;
    }
    #preview { overflow-y: auto; padding: 1rem; }
  </style>
</head>
<body class="bg-base-200 text-base-content flex flex-col min-h-screen">

  <header class="navbar bg-base-300 shadow-md px-6 py-4">
    <div class="flex-1 text-xl font-bold"> DaisyUI Markdown Editor</div>
    <select id="themeSelector" class="select select-bordered w-40 max-w-xs">
      <option value="light">Light</option>
      <option value="dark">Dark</option>
    </select>
  </header>

  <main>
    <textarea id="editor" class="textarea textarea-bordered" placeholder="Write markdown here..."></textarea>
    <article id="preview" class="prose prose-invert bg-base-100 rounded-lg shadow-lg"></article>
  </main>

  <footer class="footer footer-center p-4 bg-base-300 text-base-content">
    <button id="clearBtn" class="btn btn-warning btn-sm">Clear</button>
    <button id="resetBtn" class="btn btn-error btn-sm">Reset</button>
  </footer>

  <script>
    const editor = document.querySelector('#editor');
    const preview = document.querySelector('#preview');
    const themeSelector = document.querySelector('#themeSelector');
    const clearBtn = document.querySelector('#clearBtn');
    const resetBtn = document.querySelector('#resetBtn');

    const STORAGE_KEY = 'markdown-editor-content';
    const THEME_KEY = 'markdown-editor-theme';

    function renderMarkdown() {
      preview.innerHTML = marked.parse(editor.value || '');
    }

    function loadContent() {
      const content = localStorage.getItem(STORAGE_KEY);
      if (content) {
        editor.value = content;
        renderMarkdown();
      }
    }

    function loadTheme() {
      const theme = localStorage.getItem(THEME_KEY) || 'dark';
      document.documentElement.setAttribute('data-theme', theme);
      themeSelector.value = theme;
    }

    editor.addEventListener('input', () => {
      localStorage.setItem(STORAGE_KEY, editor.value);
      renderMarkdown();
    });

    themeSelector.addEventListener('change', () => {
      const theme = themeSelector.value;
      document.documentElement.setAttribute('data-theme', theme);
      localStorage.setItem(THEME_KEY, theme);
    });

    clearBtn.addEventListener('click', () => {
      editor.value = '';
      renderMarkdown();
      localStorage.setItem(STORAGE_KEY, '');
    });

    resetBtn.addEventListener('click', () => {
      editor.value = '';
      renderMarkdown();
      localStorage.removeItem(STORAGE_KEY);
      localStorage.removeItem(THEME_KEY);
      themeSelector.value = 'dark';
      document.documentElement.setAttribute('data-theme', 'dark');
    });

    loadTheme();
    loadContent();
  </script>

</body>
</html>

Interactive Demo

Here’s a live example of the Markdown Editor in action:

HTML5 DaisyUI Markdown Editor

Web Browser Displaying HTML5 Markdown Editor Forest Theme

Web Browser Displaying HTML5 Markdown Editor Dracula Theme

🎬 Watch It

HTML5 Structure, Applying Tailwind CSS To Trigger Animations Video

📖 Learn More with My Book

If you’re serious about learning JavaScript step-by-step, check out my beginner-friendly book:
Learning JavaScript on Amazon.

🎓 Enroll in My Course

Prefer video lessons and guided exercises? Get access to my self-paced course:
Learning JavaScript at OjamboShop.

💻 One-on-One JavaScript Tutorials

Need extra help? I’m available for 1-on-1 programming tutorials including JavaScript, CSS, Tailwind, and more.
Contact me here to book a session.

📦 Final Thoughts

DaisyUI makes it super easy to build beautiful interfaces without writing a ton of CSS. Combined with JavaScript, it becomes a powerful tool for beginners and pros alike. Try building this Markdown editor and let me know how it goes!