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Show HN: HyperMarkdown, streaming Markdown renderer for React

Æven released HyperMarkdown, a streaming-native Markdown renderer for React that caches settled content down to code lines, table rows, and list items, achieving 1.6×–10.6× faster rendering than the nearest streaming renderer in benchmarks. On a large streaming table, HyperMarkdown completed the workload in under one second, compared to 33 seconds for Streamdown, 56 seconds for DeepSeek Harness, and 30 seconds for react-markdown. The renderer is available as @aeven-ai/hypermarkdown on npm and supports React 18 and 19.

read14 min views3 publishedSep 1, 2026
Show HN: HyperMarkdown, streaming Markdown renderer for React
Image: Michielbdejong (auto-discovered)

Parse the change. Not the conversation.

HyperMarkdown is a streaming-native Markdown renderer built for LLM output. It caches settled content down to code lines, table rows, and list items, so growing responses do not keep paying to parse and render work that is already finished.

1.6×–10.6× faster than the nearest streaming renderer across our benchmark suite.

Workload HyperMarkdown Markstream Streamdown DeepSeek Harness react-markdown
Large code block 216 ms
769 ms 3,242 ms 4,416 ms 2,054 ms
Mixed prose 153 ms
313 ms 559 ms 249 ms 2,629 ms
Captured AI code stream (real-code-os )
659 ms
4,417 ms 12,511 ms 14,621 ms 8,008 ms
Captured AI table stream (real-table-head )
654 ms
4,948 ms 11,621 ms 19,644 ms 10,236 ms
Large table 874 ms
9,276 ms 33,142 ms 55,918 ms 29,747 ms

The captured model fixtures are not generated stress cases: their content is real AI output, replayed in controlled 8-character frames. HyperMarkdown renders the code stream in 659 ms versus 4,417 ms for the next closest streaming renderer, and the table stream in 654 ms versus 4,948 ms.

On a large streaming table, HyperMarkdown completes the workload in under one second.

  • Streamdown: 33 seconds - DeepSeek Harness strategy: 56 seconds - react-markdown: 30 seconds

Same Markdown. Same stream. Very different architecture.

Production React benchmark on an Apple M2 Max, including chunk processing and synchronous render/commit. Absolute timings vary; the ratios are the useful comparison.

Read the methodology · View the full benchmark results

Most streaming Markdown renderers optimize at the document or block level. HyperMarkdown goes further.

Traditional streaming renderer

new token
   ↓
growing active block
   ↓
parse the active block again
   ↓
render again

HyperMarkdown:

new token
   ↓
active block
   │
   ├── settled code lines    → cached
   ├── settled table rows    → cached
   ├── settled list items    → cached
   └── changing frontier     → parse

A 1,000-line code block does not become a 1,000-line parsing problem every time another token arrives.

Completed work stays completed.

  • Sub-block caching for code, tables, and lists
  • Streaming-safe handling of incomplete Markdown
  • GFM tables, task lists, autolinks, and footnotes
  • Reasoning blocks written as <think>

,<thinking>

, or<reasoning>

  • KaTeX math
  • Mermaid diagrams
  • Syntax highlighting
  • Raw HTML with sanitization
  • React 18 and React 19
  • SSR and hydration, including a Next.js App Router client boundary
  • Lightweight core with heavy features loaded as optional plugins
  • Production integration with DeepSeek Harness / DSH architecture

HyperMarkdown is the official Markdown component used by Æven and integrates with the DeepSeek Harness (DSH) architecture. It was built around the demands of an agent harness—long answers, dense code, wide tables, reasoning traces, and many small deltas—not adapted from a finished-document renderer after the fact.

The captured AI workloads in the benchmark suite come from that environment. They exercise the content shapes a renderer encounters in a real model response, with controlled chunk sizes that keep comparisons reproducible.

npm install @aeven-ai/hypermarkdown

React 18 or 19 is required as a peer dependency.

Import the component stylesheet once in your application entry point:

import "@aeven-ai/hypermarkdown/styles.css";

Then import the component:

import {
  HyperMarkdown,
  type HyperMarkdownHandle,
} from "@aeven-ai/hypermarkdown";

Use the md

prop when the complete document already exists:

<HyperMarkdown md={markdown} />

Updating md

replaces the document. This mode works naturally for stored messages, previews, and server-rendered content.

Mount one renderer for the active response and write each incoming delta to its imperative handle:

import { useRef } from "react";
import {
  HyperMarkdown,
  type HyperMarkdownHandle,
} from "@aeven-ai/hypermarkdown";

function Chat() {
  const renderer = useRef<HyperMarkdownHandle>(null);

  async function generate(prompt: string) {
    // Reuse the mounted component for a new response.
    renderer.current?.reset();

    const deltas = await createResponseStream(prompt);

    try {
      for await (const delta of deltas) {
        renderer.current?.write(delta);
      }
    } finally {
      // Flush the final open paragraph, fence, list, table, or reasoning block.
      renderer.current?.write("", true);
    }
  }

  return (
    <HyperMarkdown
      ref={renderer}
      streaming
      animation
    />
  );
}

createResponseStream()

above represents your SDK or transport. It only needs to yield the text fragments produced since the previous event.

write()

appends. Pass the new fragment exactly once:

renderer.current?.write(delta);     // correct
renderer.current?.write(fullText);  // wrong: repeats everything already written

When the stream ends, finalize it exactly once. Either form is valid:

renderer.current?.write("", true);          // separate finalization
renderer.current?.write(lastDelta, true);   // final delta and finalization

Finalization matters even when the visible text looks complete: it settles the active frontier and lets the renderer finish incomplete-block bookkeeping.

Before using the same mounted component for another response, call reset()

. Keep the component and its ref

mounted during a response; changing its React key

creates a new, empty renderer.

Some APIs emit "Hello"

, then "Hello world"

, rather than "Hello"

, then " world"

. Convert those snapshots to deltas at the boundary:

let previous = "";

function startSnapshotStream() {
  previous = "";
  renderer.current?.reset();
}

function writeSnapshot(next: string, final = false) {
  const handle = renderer.current;
  if (!handle) return;

  if (!next.startsWith(previous)) {
    // The provider revised an earlier prefix. Rebuild from the new snapshot.
    handle.reset();
    previous = "";
  }

  handle.write(next.slice(previous.length), final);
  previous = next;
}

Call startSnapshotStream()

before the first snapshot of each response.

Do not put the growing Markdown string in React state just to feed it back as a prop on every token. In streaming mode, HyperMarkdown owns that buffer so your component tree does not have to.

HyperMarkdown supports Next.js server rendering and hydration. Its public component entry includes "use client"

, so an App Router Server Component can import it directly. The Client Component is still prerendered into the initial HTML and hydrated in the browser.

Import the stylesheet once in the root layout:

// app/layout.tsx
import "@aeven-ai/hypermarkdown/styles.css";

export default function RootLayout({ children }: { children: React.ReactNode }) {
  return (
    <html lang="en">
      <body>{children}</body>
    </html>
  );
}

Then render finished Markdown from a Server Component:

// app/page.tsx
import { HyperMarkdown } from "@aeven-ai/hypermarkdown";

export default async function Page() {
  const markdown = await loadMarkdown();
  return <HyperMarkdown md={markdown} />;
}

The md

prop is serializable and can cross the Server Component boundary. Create plugins, component overrides, refs, and callbacks inside a Client Component because they contain functions. Streaming through the imperative handle also belongs in a Client Component.

HyperMarkdown does not normally need dynamic(..., { ssr: false })

; disabling SSR removes the rendered Markdown from the initial HTML.

See the full SSR, hydration, and Next.js guide for App Router plugins and streaming, Pages Router SSR, and hydration-mismatch guidance.

For finished documents, the migration is a component swap:

// Before
<ReactMarkdown>{markdown}</ReactMarkdown>

// After
<HyperMarkdown md={markdown} />

For streaming, the architectural change is more important. A typical prop-based loop rebuilds an accumulated string and reparses it on every chunk:

// Before: full document goes back through React on every delta.
const [markdown, setMarkdown] = useState("");

for await (const delta of stream) {
  setMarkdown((current) => current + delta);
}

<ReactMarkdown>{markdown}</ReactMarkdown>

Replace that state loop with one stable HyperMarkdown

instance:

// After: only the new fragment enters the renderer.
const renderer = useRef<HyperMarkdownHandle>(null);

for await (const delta of stream) {
  renderer.current?.write(delta);
}
renderer.current?.write("", true);

<HyperMarkdown ref={renderer} streaming />

Common migration mappings:

Previous pattern HyperMarkdown
Markdown passed as children
md={markdown} for finished content
Accumulated text prop updated per token write(delta) with streaming
Clear state before a new answer ref.current?.reset()
End-of-stream state flag write("", true)
GFM remark plugin Built in
Custom element renderers components={{ ... }}
Math, highlighting, Mermaid Optional plugins slots
Raw HTML plugin Built in; sanitized by default

HyperMarkdown does not accept arbitrary remarkPlugins

or rehypePlugins

through the component API. Use its typed feature plugins and component overrides; if you depend on a custom AST transform, verify that transform before replacing the old renderer.

MarkdownStream

remains exported for compatibility but is deprecated. Mount HyperMarkdown

, hold a HyperMarkdownHandle

, and replace direct engine calls with write(delta)

, write("", true)

, and reset()

. The component owns the store and subscribes React to it safely.

Math, syntax highlighting, diagrams, and CJK-friendly emphasis are optional. Install only what your application uses:

npm install katex remark-math rehype-katex
npm install rehype-highlight
npm install mermaid
npm install remark-cjk-friendly
js
import { katexPlugin } from "@aeven-ai/hypermarkdown/plugins/math";
import { highlightPlugin } from "@aeven-ai/hypermarkdown/plugins/code";
import { mermaidPlugin } from "@aeven-ai/hypermarkdown/plugins/mermaid";
import { cjkPlugin } from "@aeven-ai/hypermarkdown/plugins/cjk";
import "katex/dist/katex.min.css";

// Build this once. A new plugin object rebuilds the processing pipelines.
const plugins = {
  math: katexPlugin(),
  code: highlightPlugin(),
  diagram: mermaidPlugin({ theme: "neutral", fontFamily: "Inter" }),
  cjk: cjkPlugin(),
};

<HyperMarkdown md={markdown} plugins={plugins} />

Each missing plugin degrades gracefully:

Missing plugin Behavior
math
$x$ remains literal text
code
Code blocks retain caching, controls, and line numbers but are not highlighted
diagram
A mermaid fence renders as an ordinary code block
cjk
Standard CommonMark emphasis rules apply

Mermaid is dynamically imported. With preload

off, starts when an opening Mermaid fence appears, overlapping the rest of the stream. Set preload

when a view is very likely to contain diagrams and should begin the download on mount.

LLM chunks end in inconvenient places. HyperMarkdown treats partial syntax as a normal state, not an error:

  • Half-written links, autolinks, HTML tags, and math are withheld until safe to render.
  • Emphasis resolves eagerly when the CommonMark delimiter rules make it unambiguous.
  • Open code fences, tables, and lists render their stable content while the unfinished frontier continues changing.
  • A finalized stream matches the whole-document parse across the correctness fixture suite.

Model reasoning wrapped in <think>

, <thinking>

, or <reasoning>

becomes a collapsible block. It stays open while tokens arrive and collapses when the block finishes.

<think>
Checking the constraints first.
</think>

The answer is 42.

Markdown inside the reasoning block is rendered normally. A partial opening tag such as <thi

is withheld instead of flashing as text.

To place reasoning outside the answer container, provide a portal target:

const reasoning = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);

return (
  <>
    <div ref={reasoning} />
    <HyperMarkdown
      ref={renderer}
      streaming
      reasoningTarget={() => reasoning.current}
    />
  </>
);

Set controls={{ reasoning: false }}

to render the content without the collapsible wrapper. Override translations.thinking

and translations.thoughtFor

to localize its labels.

Markdown produced by a model is untrusted input. HyperMarkdown defaults to html="sanitize"

: raw HTML is parsed, then cleaned before math, syntax highlighting, diagrams, or animation run. Scripts, styles, iframes, forms, and event-handler attributes are removed.

Links and images are checked separately. By default, http

, https

, mailto

, and tel

protocols are allowed, as are data:

images.

Choose the policy explicitly when needed:

<HyperMarkdown md={markdown} html="literal" />

html mode | Behavior | |---|---| "sanitize" | Default. Parse raw HTML and remove anything outside the schema. | "literal" | Render raw HTML as visible text. Strongest option for untrusted output. | "raw" | Parse without sanitization. Use only for content you control. |

To widen the default policy without disabling it:

<HyperMarkdown
  md={markdown}
  allowedTags={{ mention: ["data-user-id"] }}
  linkSafety={{ allowedLinkPrefixes: ["https://docs.example.com/"] }}
/>

sanitize={false}

is retained for compatibility and selects raw mode when html

is not set. Prefer the clearer html

prop in new code.

The shipped stylesheet is scoped under .hypermarkdown

. Customize it with CSS variables rather than overriding internal selectors:

.assistant-message {
  --hm-font: Inter, sans-serif;
  --hm-font-mono: "Geist Mono", monospace;
  --hm-color: #171717;
  --hm-background: #f5f5f5;
  --hm-link-color: #2563eb;
  --hm-radius: 16px;
  --hm-max-width: 100%;
}
<HyperMarkdown className="assistant-message" md={markdown} />

The root always receives hypermarkdown

; className

is added alongside it. KaTeX requires its own stylesheet when the math plugin is enabled.

Replace rendered tags with stable React component references:

const components = {
  a: AppLink,
  img: ProxiedImage,
  code: Code,
};

<HyperMarkdown md={markdown} components={components} />

HyperMarkdown already provides specialized renderers for links, images, code blocks, tables, and diagrams. An override wins over the built-in component. Keep the object and component functions stable—recreating them on every render can remount rendered elements.

Prop Type Description
md
string
Finished Markdown. Ignored while streaming is true.
streaming
boolean
Receive content through the imperative handle.
animation
boolean
Fade arriving words in.
plugins
PluginConfig
Optional math, code, diagram, and CJK plugins.
preload
boolean
Begin the configured diagram engine on mount.
components
RendererComponents
Stable tag-to-component overrides.
html
`"sanitize" "literal" "raw"`
Raw HTML policy. Defaults to "sanitize" .
allowedTags
Record<string, string[]>
Additional sanitized tags and attributes.
linkSafety
LinkSafetyConfig
Allowed URL protocols and prefixes.
reasoningTarget
`HTMLElement null () => HTMLElement
Optional portal target for reasoning.
controls
ControlsConfig
Configure or hide reasoning, code, table, and diagram controls.
translations
Partial<Translations>
Override UI strings.
icons
Partial<IconMap>
Override toolbar icons with inline SVG strings.
lineNumbers
boolean
Show code line numbers. Defaults to true .
codeBlockMaxHeight
`number string`
Height at which code blocks scroll; numbers are pixels.
tableMaxHeight
`number string`
Height at which tables scroll; numbers are pixels.
scrollDown
() => void
Runs after each committed update for host scroll management.
onFullscreenChange
(fullscreen: boolean) => void
Reports code, table, or diagram fullscreen changes.
onAlert
(alert: HyperMarkdownAlert) => void
Lets the host present block alerts.
className
string
Additional class on the .hypermarkdown root.
Member Description
write(delta, finalize?)
Append one delta; pass true once at end of stream.
reset()
Discard rendered content and start a new stream.
store
The component's rendering store for advanced integrations.
stream
Deprecated alias for store .

CommonMark plus GitHub Flavored Markdown: tables, task lists, strikethrough, autolinks, and footnotes. Optional plugins add KaTeX math, Mermaid diagrams, syntax highlighting, and CJK-friendly emphasis. Raw HTML is supported under the selected safety policy.

npm install
npm test
npm run test:coverage
npm run typecheck
npm run lint
npm run build
npm run benchmark
npm run website:dev

The documentation site and playground live in website/

and deploy to GitHub Pages from .github/workflows/pages.yml

. Set the repository Pages source to GitHub Actions.

Pull requests and pushes to main

run lint, typecheck (React 18 and 19), unit and full coverage, and a production build. Both coverage gates are 100% statements, lines, functions, and branches. Coverage reports are uploaded as artifacts and posted on pull requests. Mark the CI job as a required status check on main

if you want GitHub to block merges on a red build.

The correctness suite compares finished streaming output with whole-document rendering across the fixture corpus. The benchmark harness validates DOM output and measures chunk processing plus synchronous React commits.

Publishing to npm is triggered by a GitHub Release whose tag matches package.json

:

  • Bump version

inpackage.json

(and the lockfile). - Commit, tag vX.Y.Z

, and push. - Create a GitHub Release from that tag.

The publish workflow re-runs the CI gates and publishes @aeven-ai/hypermarkdown

with npm trusted publishing (OIDC, no long-lived token, provenance generated automatically). Do not set NODE_AUTH_TOKEN

or setup-node

's registry-url

; those force classic auth and the publish fails with E404

.

One-time setup on npmjs.com → package Settings → Trusted Publisher:

Field Value
Organization or user Aeven-AI
Repository HyperMarkdown
Workflow filename publish.yml
Environment name npm
Allowed actions npm publish

Create a GitHub Environment named npm

if it does not exist. Optional required reviewers on that environment add a human approval step before npm sees the package.

Project layout #

index.tsx                     public React component and types

lib/
  renderer.tsx                buffers, caching, and incremental rendering
  processors.ts               Markdown and HTML processing pipelines
  stream/                     block detection and boundaries
  repair/                     safe handling of incomplete inline syntax
  cache/                      code-line, table-row, and list-item caches
  plugins/                    optional math, code, Mermaid, and CJK adapters
  code/  table/  mermaid/     rich block renderers and controls
  reasoning/                  streamed reasoning UI
  sanitize.ts                 HTML and URL safety policy

styles/hypermarkdown.scss     scoped component stylesheet
tests/                        correctness, streaming, API, UI, and security
benchmarks/                   fixtures, competing renderers, and results
example/                      browser example using the built package

MIT

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