TL;DR

Astro 6.4 introduces a new Markdown processor option using Rust (Sätteri) to potentially speed up builds for sites with many Markdown/MDX files.

Breaking

• Deprecated markdown.remarkPlugins, markdown.rehypePlugins, markdown.remarkRehype, markdown.gfm, and markdown.smartypants options. Migrate plugins to the processor configuration instead. (Configuration settings for Markdown processing)

New

• Markdown Processor: You can now use the Sätteri processor for faster Markdown/MDX builds. (Alternative Markdown processing engine)
• Adapter Feature: Adapters can now preserve the dist/server/ directory structure. (Build output customization)

Fixes Worth Knowing

• Fixed issues with dynamic routes returning incorrect content or 500 errors in specific scenarios. (Dynamic route handling)
• Corrected issues with Astro.routePattern and Astro.currentLocale returning incorrect values. (Route information accuracy)
• Resolved problems with client-side component edits causing unnecessary full reloads during development. (Development experience)
• Fixed a crash when using older @astrojs/mdx versions with integrations. (MDX compatibility)

Before You Upgrade

• If you are using markdown.remarkPlugins, markdown.rehypePlugins, markdown.remarkRehype, markdown.gfm, or markdown.smartypants in your astro.config.mjs, migrate those plugins to the processor option (using unified or satteri) to avoid errors in future versions.

TL;DR

Astro’s Markdown support is updated with the latest Sätteri processor (a Markdown extension) and internal content pipeline helpers, improving Markdown handling and performance.

New

• New helper modules (markdown, frontmatter, shiki) improve Astro’s content processing (handling Markdown files).

Fixes Worth Knowing

• Updates to the Sätteri processor fix bugs and add features to Markdown rendering. See the Sätteri changelog for specifics.

TL;DR

Astro sites using the Node adapter in standalone mode will now correctly serve prerendered pages with clean URLs (e.g., /about.html) when built with build.format: 'file' or build.format: 'preserve'.

Fixes Worth Knowing

Prerendered pages failing to resolve with clean URLs when using the Node adapter and specific build formats have been resolved. This impacts sites relying on static HTML output for fast loading and SEO (search engine optimization).

TL;DR

Astro now supports alternative Markdown processors (like Sätteri - a Rust implementation) for faster builds, especially for sites with many Markdown files.

New

• Alternative Markdown Processors: You can now configure Astro to use a different Markdown processor beyond the default unified ecosystem, potentially improving build performance.
• Deprecated Options: Existing markdown.remarkPlugins, markdown.rehypePlugins, etc. are deprecated and should be moved to the processor configuration.

Fixes Worth Knowing

• Documentation link for reporting issues with the Netlify adapter has been corrected.

Before You Upgrade

• Migrate your existing markdown.remarkPlugins, markdown.rehypePlugins, etc. to the processor configuration to prepare for their removal in a future major update.

TL;DR

Astro projects using React or Preact now benefit from updated dependencies, improving overall stability and potentially resolving underlying issues within the framework.

Fixes Worth Knowing

Updated internal dependencies (@astrojs/internal-helpers) improve the reliability of Astro’s core functionality, though the impact is largely invisible to end users.

Before You Upgrade

No action is needed; these are dependency updates and should be compatible with existing Astro projects.