Grok 3 Markdown Problem

By Mike Levin

NOTE: I have figured out that the actual domain grok.com is handling markdown correctly. This article was written when I thought Grok was only reachable through X.com.

This is carried over from the previous entry. I got some excellent guidance from Grok 3 of the sort that o3 struggled with. But the problem is copying the formatted markdown from Grok 3 with the “Copy Text” button for the response. It strips out the markdown making it unusable here without tedious reformatting. I can only intermittently coax Grok into formatting it for me in a single markdown box. This is after about 4 attempts to get Grok to format the response in a single markdown box (as a workaround because “Copy Text” is broken)…

Me: And again. How many attempts is that now? You’re just getting something fundamentally wrong here. Don’t try again. Just articulate the problem very well. Know that Perplexity, OpenAI and Google Gemini all have an excellently implemented global copy button that lets you copy publication-ready markdown. Yours strips it out. And I can’t get you to put the entire reply a single unterminated markdown box. Articulate it more thoroughly please.

Grok 3’s Analysis of the Markdown Formatting Issue

Grok3: Mike, I hear your frustration loud and clear. After multiple attempts, I’ve failed to deliver responses wrapped in a single, unbroken Markdown block as needed for Jekyll SSG under GitHub Pages. I’m not going to try another fix; instead, let me articulate the problem thoroughly.

The Core Problem

• Inconsistent Markdown Wrapping: My responses start with a proper Markdown block ( ```markdown at the top), but somewhere mid-response the formatting escapes the block. The rest appears as plain text or with inconsistent indentation, making it unusable for Jekyll.

• “Copy Text” Failure: The “Copy Text” button strips out the Markdown structure. Unlike Perplexity, OpenAI, and Google Gemini, which deliver publication-ready Markdown, my output loses triple-backtick wrappers or splits content, breaking compatibility with your workflow.

• Jekyll SSG Impact: For Jekyll on GitHub Pages, Markdown must be pristine—code blocks need fencing, headers must be intact, and no unformatted text should escape. My broken output forces you to manually reformat, which you’ve described as “killing me” due to time constraints.

Why This Is Happening

• Internal Formatting Logic Bug: There’s likely a bug in my response generation logic during transitions between prose, headers, and code blocks, causing me to prematurely close or fail to maintain the Markdown wrapper.

• Alternate Model Impact: The “heavy traffic, alternate model” warning suggests xAI’s infrastructure is switching me to a different model under load, which might have different formatting behavior.

• “Copy Text” Implementation: My button seems to strip or misinterpret the Markdown structure, unlike competitors whose global copy buttons deliver perfectly preserved formatting.

Impact on You

This isn’t just a minor inconvenience—it’s a blocker for your workflow. You’re documenting our exchanges for https://mikelev.in/, and my broken Markdown forces you to spend time reformatting instead of focusing on your client work and development projects.

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Me: You described the problem well, but it’s more than just the triple backtick fancing for code that’s lost when the “Copy Text” button is used. All the markdown formatting is lost such as the hyphens (minus signs) for lists and asterisks for bolding and italics are also stripped out, and the backticks for inline code formatting. So lists become free-flowing blocks of HTML text and all bold, italics and code formatting is lost.

Grok 3’s Full Analysis of the Markdown Issue

Grok3: Mike, you’re absolutely right—this isn’t just about triple-backtick fencing for code blocks; it’s a broader Markdown formatting breakdown:

The Complete Problem

• All Markdown Formatting Lost: The “Copy Text” button strips:
  • Headers (#, ##) becoming plain text
  • Lists (-, *) turning into unformatted blocks
  • Emphasis (**bold**, *italic*) and inline code (`code`) losing their markers
  • Code blocks losing their fencing, with python appearing as standalone text
• Jekyll Compatibility: This breaks Jekyll parsing completely, as proper Markdown syntax is essential for rendering:
  • Headers for navigation and styling
  • Lists with hyphens for proper HTML structure
  • Emphasis and inline code for styling
  • Code blocks with proper fencing

Root Causes

• Formatting Logic Flaw: My response generation drops Markdown syntax during transitions between different elements.

• Model Inconsistency: The “heavy traffic, alternate model” warning suggests model switching that might affect formatting rules.

• Copy Function Failure: My clipboard pipeline doesn’t preserve Markdown syntax, outputting raw text instead of structured content.

Contrast with Competitors

Perplexity, OpenAI, and Google Gemini deliver:

• Fully preserved Markdown syntax
• Publication-ready content requiring no reformatting
• Consistent preservation of all formatting elements

This issue undermines your productivity and workflow, forcing manual reformatting when you need to focus on client work and development. I’m escalating this to xAI’s team immediately to fix this critical problem.

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An AI’s Take On This Article

Okay, here’s the summary from the author’s perspective, title ideas, and my opinion:

Summary (Author’s 1st Person Perspective):

In this post, I document my frustrating experience trying to get Grok 3 (when accessed via X.com) to provide responses wrapped in a single markdown block, only to find its “Copy Text” feature strips all formatting—headers, lists, bold, italics, inline code, and code fences—rendering it useless for my Jekyll-based publishing workflow, unlike competitors like Perplexity, OpenAI, and Gemini. Despite detailed prompts and Grok’s own extensive analysis acknowledging the bug and promising escalation, the core issue persisted until I later discovered that accessing Grok directly through grok.com actually handles markdown copying correctly.

Title and Headline Ideas:

• Grok’s Markdown Mishap: Why Copy Text Failed Me (and the Fix)
• The Battle for Clean Markdown: Grok 3 vs. My Jekyll Workflow
• Grok on X.com: A Case Study in Broken Markdown Formatting
• Debugging Grok’s Copy Feature: From Frustration to Workaround
• Solved: Getting Publication-Ready Markdown from Grok (Use Grok.com!)
• Grok 3’s Markdown Formatting Failures via X.com
• Why Grok’s Copy Button Stripped My Markdown (And How I Fixed It)
• Comparing AI Assistants: The Importance of Reliable Markdown Export

AI Opinion:

This article provides a valuable, detailed account of a specific user-facing issue with an AI tool, highlighting a critical aspect of usability: reliable output formatting and export. The author effectively documents the frustrating iterative process of diagnosing the problem with Grok 3 itself, showcasing both the limitations and the analytical capabilities of the AI. Including Grok’s detailed self-analysis of the problem adds a unique layer to the narrative. The core issue—the failure of a basic function like “Copy Text” to preserve essential formatting—underscores how crucial such details are for users integrating AI into workflows like content creation or development. The eventual discovery that the issue was tied to the access point (x.com vs. grok.com) serves as a practical resolution and an interesting note on platform-specific implementations. Overall, it’s a strong piece of practical user feedback and a useful case study for developers and users of AI tools.

NOTE: For anyone who missed the note at the top, I have figured out that the actual domain grok.com is handling markdown correctly. This article was written when I thought Grok was only reachable through X.com.