mdast-util-to-string

What is mdast-util-to-string?

The mdast-util-to-string package is a utility to extract plain text strings from an MDAST (Markdown Abstract Syntax Tree) node. It is commonly used when working with markdown processing or AST manipulation to get the string representation of a node without any markdown syntax.

What are mdast-util-to-string's main functionalities?

Extracting string from MDAST node

This feature allows you to pass an MDAST node to the `toString` function and receive a plain text string in return. It's useful for extracting readable text from markdown content.

const toString = require('mdast-util-to-string');
const mdast = {
  type: 'paragraph',
  children: [{type: 'text', value: 'Hello, world!'}]
};

const text = toString(mdast);
console.log(text); // 'Hello, world!'

Other packages similar to mdast-util-to-string

hast-util-to-text

Similar to mdast-util-to-string, hast-util-to-text is a utility for converting HAST (Hypertext Abstract Syntax Tree) nodes to plain text strings. While mdast-util-to-string works with markdown, hast-util-to-text is used for HTML content.

unist-util-stringify-position

This package is similar in that it also operates on AST nodes, specifically UNIST nodes, to stringify the position of a node. It's different from mdast-util-to-string as it focuses on the position rather than extracting the text content.

remark-stringify

Remark-stringify is part of the remark ecosystem and is used to serialize markdown. It is similar to mdast-util-to-string in that it deals with markdown content, but it focuses on converting the entire MDAST back to a markdown string, rather than extracting plain text.

README

mdast-util-to-string

mdast utility to get the text content of a node.

Contents

• What is this?
• When should I use this?
• Install
• Use
• API
  • toString(value[, options])
  • Options
• Types
• Compatibility
• Security
• Related
• Contribute
• License

What is this?

This package is a tiny utility that gets the textual content of a node.

When should I use this?

This utility is useful when you have a node, say a heading, and want to get the text inside it.

This package does not serialize markdown, that’s what mdast-util-to-markdown does.

Similar packages, hast-util-to-string and hast-util-to-text, do the same but on hast.

Install

This package is ESM only. In Node.js (version 14.14+ and 16.0+), install with npm:

npm install mdast-util-to-string

In Deno with esm.sh:

import {toString} from 'https://esm.sh/mdast-util-to-string@3'

In browsers with esm.sh:

<script type="module">
  import {toString} from 'https://esm.sh/mdast-util-to-string@3?bundle'
</script>

Use

import {unified} from 'unified'
import {fromMarkdown} from 'mdast-util-from-markdown'
import {toString} from 'mdast-util-to-string'

const tree = fromMarkdown('Some _emphasis_, **importance**, and `code`.')

console.log(toString(tree)) // => 'Some emphasis, importance, and code.'

API

This package exports the identifier toString. There is no default export.

toString(value[, options])

Get the text content of a node or list of nodes.

Prefers the node’s plain-text fields, otherwise serializes its children, and if the given value is an array, serialize the nodes in it.

Parameters

• value (unknown) — thing to serialize, typically Node
• options (Options, optional) — configuration

Returns

Serialized value (string).

Options

Configuration (TypeScript type).

Fields

• includeImageAlt (boolean, default: true) — whether to use alt for images
• includeHtml (boolean, default: true) — whether to use value of HTML

Types

This package is fully typed with TypeScript. It exports the additional type Options.

Compatibility

Projects maintained by the unified collective are compatible with all maintained versions of Node.js. As of now, that is Node.js 14.14+ and 16.0+. Our projects sometimes work with older versions, but this is not guaranteed.

Security

Use of mdast-util-to-string does not involve hast, user content, or change the tree, so there are no openings for cross-site scripting (XSS) attacks.

Related

• hast-util-to-string — get text content in hast
• hast-util-to-text — get text content in hast according to the innerText algorithm

Contribute

See contributing.md in syntax-tree/.github for ways to get started. See support.md for ways to get help.

This project has a code of conduct. By interacting with this repository, organization, or community you agree to abide by its terms.

License

MIT © Titus Wormer