GitHub's markdown editor doesn't have a built-in spell checker.

[biswalneelam]

Select Topic Area

Question

Body

Hi Team,

I wanted to propose enabling a spell check feature in the GitHub markdown editor. I believe this would greatly benefit non-technical authors who use the editor online, similar to the spell check functionality in Microsoft Word.

Currently, many users have to copy their content into Word to identify spelling errors, which can be cumbersome. An integrated spell check feature would streamline the writing process and enhance usability.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on this idea!

Thanks

[samueltexa]

Hi @biswalneelam,

I completely agree with your suggestion about adding a built-in spell checker to the GitHub markdown editor. It would indeed be a valuable addition, especially for non-technical users and contributors who may not want to switch between applications just to check for spelling errors.

A spell check feature could help avoid minor mistakes and improve the overall quality of documentation, issues, and pull requests. Perhaps GitHub could consider integrating browser-based spell check options directly into the markdown editor, making it both efficient and user-friendly.

Great proposal!

[biswalneelam]

Thanks @samueltexa. I hope this is under consideration.

[github-actions[bot]]

🕒 Discussion Activity Reminder 🕒

This Discussion has been labeled as dormant by an automated system for having no activity in the last 60 days. Please consider one the following actions:

1️⃣ Close as Out of Date: If the topic is no longer relevant, close the Discussion as out of date at the bottom of the page.

2️⃣ Provide More Information: Share additional details or context — or let the community know if you've found a solution on your own.

3️⃣ Mark a Reply as Answer: If your question has been answered by a reply, mark the most helpful reply as the solution.

Note: This dormant notification will only apply to Discussions with the Question label. To learn more, see our recent announcement.

Thank you for helping bring this Discussion to a resolution! 💬

[GioByte10]

I think adding the spell checker would be an excellent idea too.

[github-actions[bot]]

🕒 Discussion Activity Reminder 🕒

This Discussion has been labeled as dormant by an automated system for having no activity in the last 60 days. Please consider one the following actions:

1️⃣ Close as Out of Date: If the topic is no longer relevant, close the Discussion as out of date at the bottom of the page.

2️⃣ Provide More Information: Share additional details or context — or let the community know if you've found a solution on your own.

3️⃣ Mark a Reply as Answer: If your question has been answered by a reply, mark the most helpful reply as the solution.

Note: This dormant notification will only apply to Discussions with the Question label. To learn more, see our recent announcement.

Thank you for helping bring this Discussion to a resolution! 💬

[github-actions[bot]]

🕒 Discussion Activity Reminder 🕒

This Discussion has been labeled as dormant by an automated system for having no activity in the last 60 days. Please consider one the following actions:

1️⃣ Close as Out of Date: If the topic is no longer relevant, close the Discussion as out of date at the bottom of the page.

2️⃣ Provide More Information: Share additional details or context — or let the community know if you've found a solution on your own.

3️⃣ Mark a Reply as Answer: If your question has been answered by a reply, mark the most helpful reply as the solution.

Note: This dormant notification will only apply to Discussions with the Question label. To learn more, see our recent announcement.

Thank you for helping bring this Discussion to a resolution! 💬

[biswalneelam]

Can this feature be integrated into GitHub Markdown? It would be especially useful for non-technical users who don't work in IDE environments. Has there been any update on this?

[samueltexa]

Hi @biswalneelam 👋 — that's a great question.

If you're referring to integrating something like a WYSIWYG editor into GitHub Markdown, you're definitely not alone. This would make GitHub a lot more approachable for non-technical users who aren't comfortable writing raw Markdown.

[spackows]

The original request is a good one. It's bizarre that GitHub doesn't have simple spell checking in the Markdown editor.

[biswalneelam]

Could someone from the GitHub team please confirm if this request is being reviewed for implementation?

[Rknilkant]

Hey @biswalneelam

Enabling a built-in spell check feature in the GitHub Markdown editor is a great idea — especially considering how widely it's used not just by developers, but also by technical writers, educators, and contributors from non-technical backgrounds.

While most modern browsers do offer native spell check support, it’s true that the experience can vary across browsers and platforms, and it may not always be obvious to users that it's available or how to enable it. A dedicated or clearly integrated spell check feature within the Markdown editor would certainly improve usability and reduce the need to switch between applications like Microsoft Word.

Your feedback aligns well with GitHub's goal of improving collaboration and accessibility for all users. I’d recommend opening a formal feature request via the GitHub Feedback Form if you haven’t already, as that ensures it gets visibility from the product and engineering teams.

Thanks again for raising this — it's ideas like these that help make GitHub better for everyone.

[vstoykovbg]

The problem is not that Github does not have a spellchecker, the problem is the browser's spellchecker does not work when editing .md files.

Here, on the comment box, it works. But when I edit .md files it does not.

It is enabled from the browser's settings, but it does not work:

I enabled the spellcheck by setting "true" for spellcheck:

<div spellcheck="true" ....

But there should be option to enable it permanently somewhere in settings.

Here is the spellcheck working:

[willshulman]

That works for me too but is such a pain to constantly have to re-apply this hack.
+1 on this issue, it may seem like a small feature but it is a big usability blocker.

[GreatSealUSA]

Anyone able to make a Chrome extension that only rewrites on Github website - and does this div change?

[GreatSealUSA]

Ok, I created an extension to automate this for Google Chrome browser, quick and dirty. Works on my Ubuntu 24.04 64 bit system.

   git clone https://github.com/GreatSealUSA/GitHub_Website_MarkDown_Chrome_Extension.git

Happy Holidays!

[HelderMagalhaes]

The current "hack" proposal does feel like... A hack. Already done it a couple times in the past but keep forgetting and feeling frustrated about this. 🙄

Just noticed on Gist editor as well, so proposing a boolean setting, Enable/Disable, default disabled, linked to the already mentioned HTML attribute. Could be persisted and/or default overridden in user preferences as an extra. Sample mock-up:

@biswalneelam: please refine the report, as placeholders (Select Topic Area/Question/Body) are not intended to go in the content. thanks.

[MoserMichael]

Each gist is a separate git repository. You can check it out to a local directory, edit it in your favorite editor (that will naturally have a spell checker) and push it back to the repo.

Instructions for cloning the git repo of a gist can be found here: https://docs.github.com/en/get-started/writing-on-github/editing-and-sharing-content-with-gists/forking-and-cloning-gists

Or you can use my shell script to check out all of your gists, in one step. https://gist.github.com/MoserMichael/b4fec70c95a558ac7cd7bdcdcd2c911a

[itsrakesshchauhan]

yes, But for now we can use some web extensions or third party applications

[GreatSealUSA]

Yes, but now we have demonstrated that a single line of code can address the issue. Showing the Microsoft corporation how trivial the change can be.