Show HN: Ferrite – Markdown editor in Rust with native Mermaid diagram rendering

Ferrite dropped into the scene claiming fast writing, split screens, a calm “Zen” mode, and—headliner moment—live Mermaid diagrams right inside your notes. Built in Rust (a popular programming language), it supports Markdown (plain text with simple formatting), plus JSON/YAML/TOML for structured data. But the comment section turned into a detective show: one user pressed for receipts on whether the diagrams are truly native or secretly running JavaScript, and others shared war stories about big documents choking on lots of charts. The vibe: curiosity with a side of “show me the engine.”

Then came the comparison battles. A Typora fan chimed in, saying they happily paid for that polished editor and calling this space “ripe,” especially now that AI tools churn out piles of structured text with diagrams. Obsidian loyalists peeked over the fence, calling Ferrite “promising” but flagging missing double‑bracket links and backlinks—the glue that makes notes connect. Meanwhile, Rust diehards threw rose petals at the interface, cheering that it doesn’t scream “egui” and celebrating a “new era of Rust apps.” Windows‑first raised a few brows, but most eyes stayed on features: the tree viewer, Git badges, and native diagram claims. The verdict from the crowd? Excited, cautious, and very ready to test it themselves via GitHub.