livecodes-markdown-integration

name	livecodes/markdown-integration
description	Integrate LiveCodes with documentation sites using remark-livecodes, markdown-it-livecodes, gatsby-remark-livecodes, or marked-livecodes for Docusaurus, Astro, VitePress, Next.js, and Storybook.
type	composition
library	livecodes
library_version	0.13.0
requires	["sdk-embedding"]
sources	["live-codes/livecodes:docs/docs/markdown-to-livecodes.mdx"]

This skill requires sdk-embedding. Read it first for foundational concepts.

LiveCodes — Integrate with Documentation Sites

Convert Markdown/MDX code blocks to interactive LiveCodes playgrounds using plugins for popular documentation frameworks.

Setup

Docusaurus (remark-livecodes)

npm install -D remark-livecodes

// docusaurus.config.js
module.exports = {
  presets: [
    [
      'classic',
      {
        docs: {
          remarkPlugins: [
            [
              require('remark-livecodes'),
              {
                /* options */
              },
            ],
          ],
        },
      },
    ],
  ],
};

Astro (remark-livecodes)

npm install -D remark-livecodes

// astro.config.mjs
import { defineConfig } from 'astro/config';
import mdx from '@astrojs/mdx';
import remarkLivecodes from 'remark-livecodes';

export default defineConfig({
  integrations: [mdx()],
  markdown: {
    remarkPlugins: [
      [
        remarkLivecodes,
        {
          /* options */
        },
      ],
    ],
  },
});

VitePress (markdown-it-livecodes)

npm install -D markdown-it-livecodes

// .vitepress/config.js
import { defineConfig } from 'vitepress';
import markdownItLivecodes from 'markdown-it-livecodes';

export default defineConfig({
  markdown: {
    config: (md) => {
      md.use(markdownItLivecodes, {
        /* options */
      });
    },
  },
});

Next.js (remark-livecodes)

npm install -D remark-livecodes

// next.config.js
import createMDX from '@next/mdx';
import remarkLivecodes from 'remark-livecodes';

const nextConfig = {
  pageExtensions: ['js', 'jsx', 'md', 'mdx', 'ts', 'tsx'],
};

const withMDX = createMDX({
  options: {
    remarkPlugins: [
      [
        remarkLivecodes,
        {
          /* options */
        },
      ],
    ],
  },
});

export default withMDX(nextConfig);

react-markdown

npm install remark-livecodes

import Markdown from 'react-markdown';
import remarkLivecodes from 'remark-livecodes';

const markdown = '```jsx livecodes\nexport default () => <h1>Hello</h1>\n```';

<Markdown
  remarkPlugins={[
    [
      remarkLivecodes,
      {
        /* options */
      },
    ],
  ]}
>
  {markdown}
</Markdown>;

Storybook (remark-livecodes)

// storybook/main.js
import remarkLivecodes from 'remark-livecodes';

export default {
  addons: [
    {
      name: '@storybook/addon-docs',
      options: {
        mdxPluginOptions: {
          mdxCompileOptions: {
            remarkPlugins: [
              [
                remarkLivecodes,
                {
                  /* options */
                },
              ],
            ],
          },
        },
      },
    },
  ],
};

Gatsby (gatsby-remark-livecodes)

npm install -D gatsby-remark-livecodes

// gatsby-config.js
module.exports = {
  plugins: [
    {
      resolve: 'gatsby-transformer-remark',
      options: {
        plugins: [
          {
            resolve: 'gatsby-remark-livecodes',
            options: {
              /* options */
            },
          },
        ],
      },
    },
  ],
};

Usage

Basic code block → Playground

```jsx livecodes
import { useState } from 'react';

function App() {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0);
  return <button onClick={() => setCount((c) => c + 1)}>{count}</button>;
}

export default App;
```

Add livecodes to the code block language to render as an interactive playground.

Button or Link instead of embed

```jsx livecodes render=button
console.log('Edit in LiveCodes');
```

```jsx livecodes render=link
console.log('Edit in LiveCodes');
```

render	Behavior
playground (default)	Embed playground in page
button	Show code block + "Edit in LiveCodes" button
link	Show code block + "Edit in LiveCodes" link
meta	Add URL to data-livecodes-url attribute

Options

Configure plugin options to apply to all code blocks:

remarkPlugins: [
  [remarkLivecodes, {
    // Embed options
    loading: 'lazy',
    params: { console: 'open' },

    // Plugin options
    render: 'playground',  // 'playground' | 'button' | 'link' | 'meta'
    height: '400px',
    className: 'my-playground',
    auto: false,  // Auto-enable for all code blocks
  }],
],

Meta Parameters

Configure individual code blocks with meta parameters:

```jsx livecodes height=500px console=open theme=light
console.log('Hello World');
```

Parameter	Description
livecodes	Enable playground rendering
render	Render mode: playground, button, link, meta
height	Iframe height
className	CSS class for iframe/button/link
lang	Override language
<param>	Any LiveCodes query parameter (e.g., console=open, theme=light)

Common Meta Parameters

```jsx livecodes render=button
// Button opens in LiveCodes
```

```py livecodes lang=py-wasm console=open
# Force Python (Wasm) language
print("Hello from Python")
```

```typescript livecodes theme=light editor=monaco
// Light theme, Monaco editor
const x: number = 1;
```

Common Mistakes

MEDIUM Not installing peer dependencies

# Each plugin requires its host library
npm install remark remark-livecodes     # remark-livecodes
npm install marked marked-livecodes     # marked-livecodes
npm install markdown-it markdown-it-livecodes  # markdown-it-livecodes
npm install gatsby-plugin-remark gatsby-remark-livecodes  # Gatsby

Install the host library alongside the LiveCodes plugin. Each plugin wraps a specific Markdown processor.

Source: docs/docs/markdown-to-livecodes.mdx — Installation sections

LOW Forgetting livecodes parameter in code block

```jsx
// This is just a static code block (no livecodes parameter)
export default () => <h1>Hello</h1>;
```

```jsx livecodes
// This becomes an interactive playground
export default () => <h1>Hello</h1>;
```

Without the livecodes parameter, the code block renders as static Markdown. Add it to enable the playground.

Set auto: true in options to convert all code blocks automatically.

Source: docs/docs/markdown-to-livecodes.mdx — Meta Parameters section

Plugin Packages

Package	Use With	Install
remark-livecodes	Docusaurus, Astro, Next.js, Storybook, react-markdown	npm install -D remark-livecodes
markdown-it-livecodes	VitePress, Eleventy	npm install -D markdown-it-livecodes
marked-livecodes	Marked	npm install -D marked-livecodes
gatsby-remark-livecodes	Gatsby	npm install -D gatsby-remark-livecodes