Markdown Artifact

A Markdown artifact is a first-class artifact type in Obvious that stores and renders raw markdown — distinct from a Document, which uses a rich block-based editor. Use a Markdown artifact when you want full control over the raw text, portability across tools, or a clean writing surface without formatting menus.

Creating a Markdown Artifact

1. In any project, click the + button in the sidebar or artifact area.
2. In the creation modal, select Markdown.
3. The artifact opens immediately in Edit mode, ready to write.

Note: Markdown artifacts are user-created only. Obvious agents create Documents, not Markdown artifacts.

Edit Mode

By default, a new Markdown artifact opens in Edit mode — a full CodeMirror 6 editor with markdown syntax highlighting.

The editor shows placeholder text ("Start writing markdown...") until you begin typing. Write standard markdown: headings, bold, lists, links, code blocks — the full spec.

Auto-save — Obvious saves your changes automatically two seconds after you stop typing. You don't need to hit Save.

View Mode

To see your markdown rendered, click the Eye icon in the artifact header. Obvious displays a formatted preview of your content.

If the artifact is empty, View mode shows: "No content yet. Switch to editing to add some."

To switch back to editing, click the Pencil icon.

Tip: Obvious remembers your last-used mode for each artifact. If you prefer reading over editing, switch to View mode once and it'll open that way next time.

Real-Time Sync

If an agent writes to a Markdown artifact — or if you have the same artifact open in another tab — Obvious applies those updates automatically, as long as you haven't started typing. Once you begin editing, incoming changes are held so they don't interrupt your work.

Permissions

Users with view-only access to a project see the Markdown artifact in View mode and cannot switch to Edit mode.

Markdown vs. Documents

Both artifact types let you write and share content, but they serve different purposes:

	Markdown Artifact	Document
Editor	Raw markdown (CodeMirror)	Rich block editor
Format	Plain .md text	Formatted blocks
Collaboration	Real-time sync	Live collaborative editing
Best for	Portability, code-adjacent writing	Polished team documents

Use a Markdown artifact when you want to paste raw markdown, write something you'll export or version-control, or work in a format that's easy to move between tools.

If something isn't working as expected, reach out at help@obvious.ai.