Write in structured Markdown
Use headings, outline navigation, numbered sections, and long-document structure without losing the plain-text source of your work.
Academic writing
Write your thesis in Markdown, review in Word, submit as PDF
mdedit.io gives you one browser workflow for long academic writing: structured Markdown as the source of truth, review-ready DOCX for supervisors, and clean PDF for submission without moving the document through a fragile desktop stack.
Why mdedit fits thesis work
Word is familiar, but long academic documents often become fragile once headings, references, layout, and review all fight inside one visual editing surface. LaTeX is powerful, but many authors do not want a full desktop toolchain just to write and export a thesis.
mdedit.io sits in the middle: Markdown as the source of truth, a browser-based editor for day-to-day writing, a DOCX handoff for supervisor review, and a production path that stays close to the final thesis output.
---
title: "My Thesis"
author:
- Jane Doe
number-sections: true
citation-source: embedded
reference-section-title: References
---
# Introduction
As shown by Smith [@smith2023] ...What you can do
Use academic metadata
Define title, author, language, bibliography behavior, and reference-section output in frontmatter instead of formatting everything by hand.
Add citations and references
Work with embedded bibliography data, Pandoc-style citation keys, linked references, and scientific output presets.
Review in DOCX, submit in PDF
Use the same source document for review-ready DOCX handoff in Word and print-ready PDF when it is time to submit.
How it works
1. Start from Markdown
Write the thesis in one reproducible source format instead of managing layout manually in the editing phase.
2. Add scientific metadata
Enable numbered sections, bibliography handling, and reference output in frontmatter.
3. Preview while writing
Check structure, citations, diagrams, and layout continuously before final export.
4. Export for the right job
Create DOCX when supervisors need comments or Track Changes in Word, and export PDF when the thesis needs a stable submission format.
Mini FAQ
Do I need LaTeX?
No. mdedit.io is designed for authors who want a structured writing workflow without adopting a full LaTeX toolchain.
Can I still hand in DOCX?
Yes. The same Markdown source can be exported to review-ready DOCX when supervisors need comments or Track Changes in Word, while PDF remains the final submission path.
Does it support citations?
Yes. mdedit.io supports embedded bibliography data, citation rendering, and reference-list generation for scientific workflows.
Can I self-host it?
Yes. If you prefer a private deployment, use the Docker path and keep the same browser-based workflow on infrastructure you control.