Is there a way to use Markdown (or similar) in Jira's text fields?

Question

I'm using Jira for issue tracking and would like to be able to write issue descriptions and comments using Markdown. Is there a way to do that? If not Markdown, wiki syntax, Textile, whatever -- just a way to get some mild html formatting into the page.

FWIW, something with a live preview, like SO would be great, but I'm really talking about on the rendering side. (Obviously, I can type all the Markdown I want :)

Answer 1

There is now an unofficially supported plugin to support just this.

• Atlassian announcement of markdown support
• Plugin download page

Now all we need to do is get Atlassian to support it properly (:

Answer 2

You need to change the field's renderer to 'Wiki Style Renderer'. You can do this by editing the field configuration for your project and click the renderers link next to the field you want to change. You can apply this rendering to both default and custom text fields. Of course, once you switch a field to wiki, you won't be able to go back very easily. Fortunately, this can be configured on a per project basis.

See the following documentation for detailed instructions:

https://confluence.atlassian.com/display/JIRA/Specifying+Field+Behavior

Answer 3

You can use Confluence Wiki syntax in description and comment fields. You'll see a Help icon next to the field when you're in edit mode where you can look at the syntax; there is also a preview button to look at your changes before you save.