Improve paragraph handling in Gutenberg to mimic Mastodon-style line breaks

[Jiwoon-Kim]

Description / Suggestion:
Mastodon implements a simple yet intuitive method for paragraph separation:

• A single Enter key press inserts a <br> tag.
• Two consecutive Enters insert a <p> tag, automatically creating paragraphs.

Currently, in WordPress/Gutenberg, a single Enter behaves like the old-school WordPress approach, which may feel outdated for users accustomed to modern microblogging interfaces.

Proposal:
Consider adding an optional editor mode or block behavior that follows this Mastodon-style line break convention. This would improve the writing experience for short-form posts or notes, aligning Gutenberg more closely with contemporary web UX expectations.

Rationale:

• Simplifies composition for users who expect automatic paragraph handling.
• Bridges the gap between traditional WordPress editing and modern federated or microblogging workflows.
• Could serve as a foundation for more frontend-friendly Fediverse interactions in the future.

[Mamaduka]

WordPress tries to use established shortcuts/patterns for writing flow, which is usually a Shift+Enter for a line break and Enter for a new paragraph.

Changing this would be more confusing for the existing user base or people who're used to writing in other tools like Word or G Docs.

Happy to keep this open for a while, but I think this is a "won't fix" issue.

cc @ellatrix, @karmatosed

[Jiwoon-Kim]

@Mamaduka Yes, exactly. My suggestion was based on user feedback comparing Mastodon’s behavior with the WordPress editor. Fundamentally, it’s not inconvenient for desktop usage. The friction mainly appears on mobile Gutenberg.

[Jiwoon-Kim]

Exactly. Personally, I think enabling merge cells with a flexible HTML table in the official Gutenberg blocks is far more important than changing the paragraph/line break behavior. Aki Hamano has already created a plugin that addresses this.

[Mamaduka]

@Jiwoon-Kim, not sure if I'm following. Block Editor is a web app first; its behavior matches established patterns for writing documents. The WP mobile app will use patterns that are more suited for them.

P.S. The second comment seems to be unrelated.

[Jiwoon-Kim]

Have you ever tried writing a post on your own site using the Block Editor from a mobile browser like Edge or Chrome?
The experience there feels quite different from the WP app or desktop, and that’s where the lack of lightweight "note-style" editing becomes more noticeable.

[t-hamano]

but I think this is a "won't fix" issue.

I agree with this.

Mastodon implements a simple yet intuitive method for paragraph separation:

• A single Enter key press inserts a <br> tag.
• Two consecutive Enters insert a <p> tag, automatically creating paragraphs.

Generally, when creating content, don't we create a new paragraph more often than inserting a br tag? Personally, I find it easier to create a new paragraph with a single Enter key.

[Jiwoon-Kim]

Generally, when creating content, don't we create a new paragraph more often than inserting a br tag? Personally, I find it easier to create a new paragraph with a single Enter key.

Hmm, on mobile it’s not possible to insert a line break with Shift+Enter.
Of course, I agree that we should avoid hardcoding exceptions and aim for simpler, more consistent rules.
That said, the posting experience on mobile could definitely benefit from some improvements compared to the current state.

Personally, I think it could be a good idea to bring a GitHub-style Markdown writing experience into the mobile web version of Gutenberg.

One thing I find a bit curious is that when you copy text from GPT, it is saved in Markdown format on the clipboard, and Gutenberg automatically converts that into block editor format when pasted. Yet, Gutenberg itself doesn’t natively support a Markdown block — it only provides that functionality through Jetpack.

[t-hamano]

@Jiwoon-Kim It's best to focus on one problem per issue as much as possible. Otherwise, it's unclear what you're reporting, how we should test it, and what decisions we should make.

Just to be sure, are you proposing to change the line break behavior only on mobile?

It would also be helpful for those testing the bug if you could include the WordPress version, Gutenberg version, etc.

[Jiwoon-Kim]

Yes, I saw some feedback from users comparing the behavior of Gutenberg and Mastodon, which is why I originally created this issue.

As the discussion evolved, I realized that the meaningful conclusion here would be to propose changing the line break behavior specifically on mobile. So yes, the scope of this issue should be limited to mobile devices only.

This is a bit different from my initial intention, but I think narrowing it down this way makes the issue more useful and testable.

[t-hamano]

As the discussion evolved, I realized that the meaningful conclusion here would be to propose changing the line break behavior specifically on mobile. So yes, the scope of this issue should be limited to mobile devices only.

What is the reason that you want to change the behaviour only on mobile? I believe the line break behaviour should be consistent across all devices as much as possible.

[Jiwoon-Kim]

On mobile it’s not possible to insert a line break with Shift+Enter.
You can easily verify this by opening dev tools (F12), toggling device emulation to a mobile device, and testing it there.