GitHub - hawk-doc/hawkdoc: High performance document editor built on Lexical

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HawkDoc

A high-performance, open-source document editor built on Lexical.

CI License: MIT

⚠️ HawkDoc is currently in MVP stage. Feedback and contributions are welcome.

🚧 Latest changes are on the dev branch and not yet merged to main.

Screenshot

HawkDoc UI

UI is actively being improved. This is the current MVP version.

Overview

HawkDoc is a document editor focused on performance and template rendering. It is built on Lexical — Meta's editor framework — and designed to handle large documents, dynamic template variables, and document export without blocking the UI.

The project is currently MVP stage. The core editor is functional. The collaboration layer, auth, and DOCX pipeline are planned.

Features

  • Lexical editor with block types: H1, H2, H3, paragraph, bullet list, ordered list, code block, quote, divider
  • Slash / command menu with keyboard navigation
  • Formatting toolbar: Bold, Italic, Underline, Strikethrough, inline code, link
  • Floating bubble menu on text selection
  • Template variable injection — type {{variable_name}} to insert a styled placeholder chip
  • PDF export with watermark (via the Export menu in the toolbar)
  • Markdown and HTML export
  • Auto-save with 800ms debounce
  • Editable document title
  • Code block with copy-to-clipboard
  • Image upload — persists after refresh, included in PDF export

Quick Start

git clone https://github.com/hawk-doc/hawkdoc.git
cd hawkdoc

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start PostgreSQL and Redis
docker compose up -d

# Copy environment files
cp apps/api/.env.example apps/api/.env
cp apps/web/.env.example apps/web/.env

# Generate a JWT secret and paste it into apps/api/.env
node -e "console.log(require('crypto').randomBytes(32).toString('hex'))"

# Start both servers
npm run dev
Server URL
Frontend http://localhost:5173
API http://localhost:3001

See CONTRIBUTING.md for full setup guide, Windows instructions, and common errors.

Tech Stack

Layer Technology
Frontend React 18, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS v3, Vite
Editor Lexical (Meta)
Collaboration Yjs + Hocuspocus
PDF Export @react-pdf/renderer
Backend Node.js 20, Express, TypeScript
Database PostgreSQL 16
Cache Redis 7
Auth JWT
Validation Zod

Project Status

Area Status
Editor (Lexical) Working
PDF export Working
Markdown export Working
HTML export Working
Template variables Working
Image upload Working
Auto-save (localStorage) Working
Backend API (Express) Skeleton
Auth (JWT backend) Skeleton
Real-time collaboration (Yjs) Planned
DOCX import/export Planned

The UI is intentionally minimal at this stage. Design improvements will come later.

Roadmap

  • Real-time collaboration (Hocuspocus + Yjs)
  • User auth UI (JWT backend is ready)
  • Document list and workspace
  • DOCX import/export
  • Version history

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please read CONTRIBUTING.md before opening a PR.

License

MIT © HawkDoc Contributors