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Native Markdown / MDX parsing and processing#1364

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feat/satteri
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Native Markdown / MDX parsing and processing#1364
Princesseuh wants to merge 1 commit into
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feat/satteri

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@Princesseuh

@Princesseuh Princesseuh commented May 12, 2026

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Summary

Astro's Markdown pipeline is slow and heavy, I'd like to make it faster and smaller.

Replace Astro's default Markdown / MDX pipeline with Sätteri, a native (Rust) Markdown / MDX compiler, and add a pluggable markdown.processor config so users that depend on the remark / rehype ecosystem can opt back into it.

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- Mixing multiple Markdown processors in the same project.
- Prism support under the new pipeline, at least at first.
- Built-in support for MDX or any other formats from third-party processors. They have to opt into MDX themselves.

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Probably a non-goal would be to process markdown at runtime?

Comment thread proposals/0056-native-markdown.md
Comment thread proposals/0056-native-markdown.md
- `hastPlugins`: HAST plugins
- `features`: optional Sätteri parser feature toggles (directives, definition lists, etc.)

The MDX integration recognizes the Sätteri processor by name and merges these plugins and features into the MDX pipeline, so a single `markdown.processor` config drives both file types without duplicating plugins, much like how it works right now with remark/rehypePlugins between Markdown and MDX.

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recognizes the Sätteri processor by name

Can you expand this part, here in the comment? I don't really understand it


The MDX integration recognizes the Sätteri processor by name and merges these plugins and features into the MDX pipeline, so a single `markdown.processor` config drives both file types without duplicating plugins, much like how it works right now with remark/rehypePlugins between Markdown and MDX.

## `unified()` and `@astrojs/markdown-remark`

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The paragraph doesn't explain what unified() is, it goes straight to what it needs.

We should also have a code snippet how things are used (the inline code isn't enough to frame it)


# Adoption strategy

This lands in the Astro 7 major. The breaking changes are scoped:

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Have we ever had an adoption strategy like this? It's very unsafe. Swap to a new thing without proper testing in a major isn't going to play very well imho.

Comment on lines +161 to +165
## Deprecation: top-level `remarkPlugins` / `rehypePlugins` / `remarkRehype`

The top-level `markdown.remarkPlugins`, `markdown.rehypePlugins`, and `markdown.remarkRehype` options are deprecated but continue to work for now. During config validation, Astro checks if any of them are set and `markdown.processor` is not. If so, it dynamically imports `@astrojs/markdown-remark`, wraps the legacy options in `unified({...})` and prints a deprecation warning.

If `@astrojs/markdown-remark` is not installed, the user gets an error telling them to install it and optionally migrate to the new processor API.

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Shouldn't this be part of the adoption strategy? Also, when do we intend to deprecate the options? v6, 7?


The `extendMarkdownConfig` integration option still controls whether `.mdx` inherits from `markdown.*` or starts from defaults.

# Testing Strategy

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I would like to add more testing strategies if possible. The plugin system (and perser + compiler) we have today is battle tested and used in production by many users/frameworks. It's normal, it's been around for years.

This new engine isn't, so I would like have a gracing period where we test it across various Astro projects.


- Native syntax highlighting; we'll keep using Shiki.
- Mixing multiple Markdown processors in the same project.
- Prism support under the new pipeline, at least at first.

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Does that mean that syntax highlighting won't work with CSP? By design, shiki doesn't work with CSP, but Prism does work with CSP. That's unfortunate

@princemuel

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how would one access file.data?.astro?.frontmatter? or does sateri have its own api for that?

also here

const { Content, remarkPluginFrontmatter, ...rest } = await render(entry);

what's sateri's alternative for remarkPluginFrontmatter? or is it the same?

@Princesseuh

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how would one access file.data?.astro?.frontmatter? or does sateri have its own api for that?

also here

const { Content, remarkPluginFrontmatter, ...rest } = await render(entry);

what's sateri's alternative for remarkPluginFrontmatter? or is it the same?

At this time Sätteri doesn't have an equivalent of that, I'm working on adding a data bag similar to file.data to support this usecase

dadezzz pushed a commit to dadezzz/university_notes that referenced this pull request Jun 1, 2026
This PR contains the following updates:

| Package | Change | [Age](https://docs.renovatebot.com/merge-confidence/) | [Confidence](https://docs.renovatebot.com/merge-confidence/) |
|---|---|---|---|
| [astro](https://astro.build) ([source](https://github.com/withastro/astro/tree/HEAD/packages/astro)) | [`6.3.8` → `6.4.2`](https://renovatebot.com/diffs/npm/astro/6.3.8/6.4.2) | ![age](https://developer.mend.io/api/mc/badges/age/npm/astro/6.4.2?slim=true) | ![confidence](https://developer.mend.io/api/mc/badges/confidence/npm/astro/6.3.8/6.4.2?slim=true) |

---

### Release Notes

<details>
<summary>withastro/astro (astro)</summary>

### [`v6.4.2`](https://github.com/withastro/astro/blob/HEAD/packages/astro/CHANGELOG.md#642)

##### Patch Changes

- [#&#8203;16889](withastro/astro#16889) [`b94bcfd`](withastro/astro@b94bcfd) Thanks [@&#8203;Princesseuh](https://github.com/Princesseuh)! - Fixes a `plugins is not iterable` crash when using a pre-6.0 `@astrojs/mdx` alongside integrations (e.g. Starlight) that set `markdown.remarkPlugins`, `markdown.rehypePlugins`, or `markdown.remarkRehype`.

- [#&#8203;16878](withastro/astro#16878) [`b9f6bb9`](withastro/astro@b9f6bb9) Thanks [@&#8203;fkatsuhiro](https://github.com/fkatsuhiro)! - Fixes an issue where on-demand (SSR) dynamic routes would return 404 when a prerendered dynamic route with the same URL pattern was sorted first alphabetically. In production builds with `@astrojs/node` adapter, if `[a_prebuild].astro` (prerender=true) came before `[b_ssr].astro` alphabetically, requests to URLs not in the prerendered route's static paths would 404 instead of falling through to the SSR route. The fix adds fallthrough logic so that when a prerendered dynamic route matches but can't serve the request, Astro tries subsequent matching routes.

### [`v6.4.1`](https://github.com/withastro/astro/blob/HEAD/packages/astro/CHANGELOG.md#641)

##### Patch Changes

- [#&#8203;16883](withastro/astro#16883) [`eeb064c`](withastro/astro@eeb064c) Thanks [@&#8203;Princesseuh](https://github.com/Princesseuh)! - Restores the `astro/jsx/rehype.js` entry point so that older versions of `@astrojs/mdx` continue to work when used with Astro 6.x. This entry point will be removed in Astro 7.0.

### [`v6.4.0`](https://github.com/withastro/astro/blob/HEAD/packages/astro/CHANGELOG.md#640)

[Compare Source](https://github.com/withastro/astro/compare/astro@6.3.8...astro@6.4.0)

##### Minor Changes

- [#&#8203;16468](withastro/astro#16468) [`4cff3a1`](withastro/astro@4cff3a1) Thanks [@&#8203;matthewp](https://github.com/matthewp)! - Adds a new `preserveBuildServerDir` adapter feature

  Adapters can now set `preserveBuildServerDir: true` in their adapter features to keep the `dist/server/` directory structure for static builds, mirroring the existing `preserveBuildClientDir` option. This is useful for adapters that require a consistent `dist/client/` and `dist/server/` layout regardless of build output type.

  ```js
  setAdapter({
    name: 'my-adapter',
    adapterFeatures: {
      buildOutput,
      preserveBuildClientDir: true,
      preserveBuildServerDir: true,
    },
  });
  ```

- [#&#8203;16848](withastro/astro#16848) [`f732f3c`](withastro/astro@f732f3c) Thanks [@&#8203;Princesseuh](https://github.com/Princesseuh)! - Adds a new `markdown.processor` configuration option, allowing you to choose an alternative Markdown processor.

  Websites with many Markdown/MDX files tend to be slow to build because the unified ecosystem (e.g., remark, rehype) is slow to process. This feature introduces the ability to replace this part of the build pipeline with another processor.

  The default processor is `unified()`. This means that existing configurations remain unchanged and your remark/rehype plugins continue to work.

  ```js
  // astro.config.mjs
  import { defineConfig } from 'astro/config';
  import { unified } from '@&#8203;astrojs/markdown-remark';
  import remarkToc from 'remark-toc';

  export default defineConfig({
    markdown: {
      processor: unified({
        remarkPlugins: [remarkToc],
      }),
    },
  });
  ```

  In addition to this new configuration option, Astro provides a new alternative processor based on Rust: [Sätteri](https://satteri.bruits.org/). You can choose to use it now by installing `@astrojs/markdown-satteri`, importing the `satteri()` processor, and adapting your existing configuration:

  ```js
  // astro.config.mjs
  import { defineConfig } from 'astro/config';
  import { satteri } from '@&#8203;astrojs/markdown-satteri';

  export default defineConfig({
    markdown: {
      processor: satteri({
        features: { directive: true },
      }),
    },
  });
  ```

  This processor does not support the remark and rehype plugins. This means you may need to convert them to [MDAST or HAST plugins](https://satteri.bruits.org/docs/plugins/) to retain your current functionality.

  The existing top-level `markdown.remarkPlugins`, `markdown.rehypePlugins`, `markdown.remarkRehype`, `markdown.gfm`, and `markdown.smartypants` options still work, but are now deprecated and will be removed in a future major update. The matching `remarkPlugins`, `rehypePlugins`, and `remarkRehype` options on the MDX integration are also deprecated for the same reason. To anticipate their removal, move them onto `unified({...})` (or your preferred plugin processor) :

  ```diff
  // astro.config.mjs
  import { defineConfig } from 'astro/config';
  import remarkToc from 'remark-toc';
  import rehypeSlug from 'rehype-slug';
  + import { unified } from '@&#8203;astrojs/markdown-remark';

  export default defineConfig({
    markdown: {
  +    processor: unified({
  +      remarkPlugins: [remarkToc],
  +      rehypePlugins: [rehypeSlug],
  +      remarkRehype: true,
  +      gfm: true,
  +      smartypants: true,
  +    }),
  -    remarkPlugins: [remarkToc],
  -    rehypePlugins: [rehypeSlug],
  -    remarkRehype: true,
  -    gfm: true,
  -    smartypants: true,
    },
  });
  ```

  For more information on enabling and using this feature in your project, see our [Markdown guide](https://docs.astro.build/en/guides/markdown-content/). To give feedback on this new Rust processor, see the [Native Markdown / MDX parsing and processing RFC](withastro/roadmap#1364).

##### Patch Changes

- [#&#8203;16468](withastro/astro#16468) [`4cff3a1`](withastro/astro@4cff3a1) Thanks [@&#8203;matthewp](https://github.com/matthewp)! - Skips the static preview server when an adapter provides its own `previewEntrypoint`, allowing the adapter to handle both static and dynamic routes

- [#&#8203;16811](withastro/astro#16811) [`e0e26db`](withastro/astro@e0e26db) Thanks [@&#8203;matthewp](https://github.com/matthewp)! - Fixes `X-Forwarded-Host` and `X-Forwarded-Proto` headers being ignored when set in a custom `src/app.ts` fetch handler before creating `FetchState`

- [#&#8203;16468](withastro/astro#16468) [`4cff3a1`](withastro/astro@4cff3a1) Thanks [@&#8203;matthewp](https://github.com/matthewp)! - Fixes the static preview server to respect `preserveBuildClientDir`, serving files from `build.client` instead of `outDir` when the adapter requires it

- [#&#8203;16770](withastro/astro#16770) [`1e2aa11`](withastro/astro@1e2aa11) Thanks [@&#8203;matthewp](https://github.com/matthewp)! - Fixes a race condition where the Vite dep optimizer could lose React dependencies in dev mode when using Astro Actions

- [#&#8203;16468](withastro/astro#16468) [`4cff3a1`](withastro/astro@4cff3a1) Thanks [@&#8203;matthewp](https://github.com/matthewp)! - Exempts internal routes (e.g. server islands) from `getStaticPaths()` validation, fixing server island rendering on static sites

- [#&#8203;16468](withastro/astro#16468) [`4cff3a1`](withastro/astro@4cff3a1) Thanks [@&#8203;matthewp](https://github.com/matthewp)! - Fixes preview for static sites that contain non-prerendered routes. Previously, the preview command ignored SSR routes discovered during route scanning and always used the static preview server.

- Updated dependencies \[[`f732f3c`](withastro/astro@f732f3c), [`f732f3c`](withastro/astro@f732f3c)]:
  - [@&#8203;astrojs/internal-helpers](https://github.com/astrojs/internal-helpers)@&#8203;0.10.0
  - [@&#8203;astrojs/markdown-remark](https://github.com/astrojs/markdown-remark)@&#8203;7.2.0

</details>

---

### Configuration

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🔕 **Ignore**: Close this PR and you won't be reminded about this update again.

---

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---

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