Marklane

• You want to publish Markdown in WordPress

  You can reduce the work of moving between a Markdown editor and the WordPress editor to rebuild headings, images, and publishing details. Create a post from Markdown without opening the WordPress editor.

• You want to handle Markdown and images together

  Relative image paths in the body and featured images can be matched to existing Media Library items.

• You want to publish multilingual posts together

  When Polylang is active, Front Matter `lang` and `translations` fields can define translation relationships.

• You want to publish articles with diagrams and math

  Mermaid diagrams, `$$...$$` math, and notices such as `[!NOTE]` can be reflected on the published page from the Markdown.

• Import one or multiple Markdown files

  Select one or multiple Markdown files in the WordPress admin, run Dry Run or Import, and review individual results.

• Review with Dry Run

  Before saving, review whether the import will create or update a post, which post was matched, and how images and taxonomies will be handled.

• Update existing posts

  Existing posts can be matched and updated by `slug + post_type`. When Polylang is active, the language code is included in the match.

• Match images to the Media Library

  Relative image paths are resolved to existing Media Library items. Marklane checks the Markdown directory first, then falls back to matching filenames across uploads and the Media Library. `featuredImage` follows the same rule, and external URLs can be used when FIFU is active.

• Link multilingual posts with Polylang

  Set `lang` and `translations` in Front Matter to define relationships between posts in different languages.

• Set taxonomies, custom fields, and dates

  Set categories, tags, existing custom taxonomies, custom fields, and publication dates in Front Matter.

• Display diagrams, math, and notices

  Mermaid diagrams, `$...$` math blocks, GitHub-style alerts, and Zenn-style messages can be reflected on published pages from Markdown. Notices show type-specific icons and fixed English labels. Required scripts and styles load only on pages that use those features.

• Import without Front Matter

  When Front Matter is omitted, Marklane can derive the title from the first H1 and the slug from the filename, then import a draft.

• WordPress

  6.4 or later

• PHP

  8.2 or later

1. In the WordPress admin, go to `Plugins > Add New` and search for `Marklane`.
2. Activate `Marklane`.
3. Open `Tools > Marklane` and upload a Markdown file or select one from the Media Library.
4. Run Dry Run to preview the result, then run Import to create or update the post.

For manual installation, upload the plugin folder to `/wp-content/plugins/` and activate it from the WordPress `Plugins` screen.

Copy the AI prompt to add Marklane-compatible Front Matter to an existing article, or download the sample Markdown and run a Dry Run immediately.

Add YAML frontmatter that is compatible with Marklane to the following Markdown article.

Rules:
- Keep the existing body unchanged unless a change is strictly necessary. Do not rewrite headings, prose, links, image syntax, or code blocks.
- If YAML frontmatter already exists, validate and normalize only the supported fields while preserving the body.
- Put frontmatter at the very start of the file between standalone `---` lines.
- Use only these keys: `title`, `slug`, `excerpt`, `category`, `postType`, `tags`, `status`, `date`, `lang`, `translations`, `featuredImage`, `taxonomies`, `meta`.
- Prefer an existing `title` or the first H1. Do not rewrite the H1 in the body.
- Preserve an existing `slug`. If it is missing, create a short lowercase slug using letters, numbers, and hyphens based on the title.
- `category` and `tags` must be arrays of strings. Use only a few terms clearly supported by the article; do not guess site-specific taxonomy.
- `status` must be `draft` or `publish`. Use `draft` when no status is requested.
- Add `date` only when the article or instructions provide a date. Use ISO 8601 and do not invent the current date or time.
- Add `lang` and `translations` only when Polylang use is explicitly requested. `translations` must map language slugs to post slugs.
- Use `featuredImage` only for a relative path or Media Library URL known to exist. Use an external URL only when FIFU use is explicitly stated. Do not invent image references.
- Use `taxonomies` only to assign existing custom taxonomies and `meta` only to save custom fields. Add them only when the site's setup is explicitly stated; do not invent key names or values.
- Omit optional fields when information is insufficient instead of guessing. Marklane can derive `title` and `slug` when needed.
- Output only the complete Markdown document. Do not add explanations, a preface, or a Markdown code fence around the result.

I will paste the target Markdown after these instructions.

Copy the prompt, then paste your Markdown article after it in the same message.

Sample Markdown

A short draft sample that works without preparing images or extra settings.

Download sample Markdown

Add Front Matter to the beginning of your Markdown file to define WordPress publishing settings. Titles, slugs, categories, tags, language information, and other post settings can be applied together without opening the WordPress editor.

• Required fields

  `title` and `slug` can be supplied in frontmatter, but Marklane can derive them from the first H1 and filename when they are omitted.

• Basic post settings

  `postType`, `status`, and `excerpt` can be used for post type, publication status, and excerpts.

• Taxonomies, custom fields, and images

  Use `category`, `tags`, `taxonomies`, and `meta` to set terms and custom fields. `featuredImage` supports images from the Media Library.

• Multilingual fields

  `lang` defines the post language, and `translations` points to the slugs of related posts in other languages.

YAML Front Matter example

---
title: "Moonlit Garden Notes" # Optional / post title
slug: "moonlit-garden-notes" # Optional / base slug for the post URL
postType: "post" # Optional / post type
featuredImage: "./hero.jpg" # Optional / featured image
lang: "en" # Optional / Polylang post language
translations:
  ja: "yoru-no-niwa-no-kansatsu-kiroku" # Optional / related Japanese post slug
category:
  - "journal" # Optional / category taxonomy
  - "garden"
tags:
  - "seasonal-notes" # Optional / post_tag taxonomy
  - "greenhouse"
excerpt: "A short note from a weekend walk through the greenhouse and garden." # Optional / excerpt
status: "draft" # Optional / post status
---

![Greenhouse photo](./hero.jpg)

Front Matter keeps post settings close to the Markdown source. If Front Matter is omitted, Marklane can still create a draft from the filename and first H1.

These examples show how Markdown for Mermaid diagrams, math, and notices appears on the published page. Required scripts and styles load only on pages that use those features.

```mermaid
flowchart LR
  A[Write Markdown] --> B[Import with Marklane]
  B --> C[Publish in WordPress]
```

> [!NOTE]
> Use Dry Run to review the post before publishing.

:::message alert
Check your backup before publishing.
:::

$$
E = mc^2
$$

Marklane adds CSS classes to callouts, Mermaid diagrams, and math blocks, so your theme can override their spacing and presentation.

Adjust callout colors

Set one base color for each type and Marklane derives its background and border colors automatically. You only need to define the types you want to change.

:root {
  --marklane-callout-color-note: #3858e9;
  --marklane-callout-color-tip: #007a1c;
  --marklane-callout-color-info: #006ba1;
  --marklane-callout-color-important: #8250df;
  --marklane-callout-color-warning: #996800;
  --marklane-callout-color-caution: #b32d2e;
  --marklane-callout-color-danger: #b32d2e;
}

CSS class reference

The table lists the classes for non-color styling, along with their default CSS values and usage.

In browsers that support color-mix(), callout backgrounds and borders are generated from each color variable. The background and border colors in the table are the fallbacks used when it is not supported.

• Use unique filenames for Markdown files and image assets to avoid ambiguous image mapping.
• If you use relative image paths, the matching images need to be registered in the Media Library first.
• For predictable image matching, disabling WordPress year/month upload folders is recommended.

• 2.0.0

  • Raise minimum requirements to WordPress 6.4 and PHP 8.2.
  • Update the YAML parser to the Symfony 7.4 LTS series.
  • Update Mermaid to version 12 with its refreshed diagram rendering.
  • Import multiple Markdown files and review results for each file.
  • Import custom fields and custom taxonomies from frontmatter.
  • Restyle callouts to resemble GitHub Alerts with fixed English type labels.

• 1.9.0

  • Add Japanese translations for the admin interface and import results.
  • Add a dedicated button to open the Media Library and stop registering Markdown dropped into the dropzone as Media Library items.
  • Simplify admin settings and import result controls.
  • Warn about unsupported `meta` fields while importing other content.

• 1.8.0

  • Add an action to select another Markdown file after an import.
  • Move less frequently used options into advanced settings to simplify the import screen.
  • Load Mermaid on demand to reduce initial page loading.

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• Recent changesReview changes by version.
• ContactContact us with questions about using the plugin.

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