Install mdmdview using Winget - wingetCollections
Go back Packages mdmdview Use this command to install mdmdview:
winget install --id=0x4D44.mdmdview -e Copy WinGet command to clipboard mdmdview is a high-performance markdown viewer built with Rust and egui, designed to provide a smooth and efficient experience for reading and editing markdown content. It combines speed, simplicity, and reliability in a single, lightweight binary.
Key Features:
Syntax highlighting for over 100 programming languages.
Rendering of Mermaid, Pikchr, and D2 diagrams for visualizing complex concepts.
Emoji support with shortcode expansion.
Keyboard-driven navigation for seamless document exploration.
Built-in editor for quick edits directly within the viewer.
Audience & Benefit:
README mdmdview
A fast, standalone markdown viewer built with Rust and egui
π Overview
mdmdview is a professional markdown viewer designed for speed, simplicity, and reliability. Built entirely in Rust with the egui framework, it delivers a native, responsive experience with zero external dependencies. Perfect for viewing documentation, notes, technical specs, or any markdown content with beautiful formatting and syntax-highlighted code blocks.
Why mdmdview?
π Blazing Fast - Instant startup and rendering with efficient Rust implementationπ¦ Single Binary - No installation, no dependencies, just run the executableπ¨ Beautiful Rendering - Professional formatting with syntax highlighting for 100+ languagesβ¨οΈ Keyboard-First - Comprehensive shortcuts for power usersπ Smart Search - Unicode-aware search with accent normalizationπ· Live Images - Automatic refresh when linked images changeπ Drag & Drop - Drop files or folders to open instantlyπ Cross-Platform - Works on Windows, Linux, and macOS
β¨ Features
Core Functionality
Pure Rust Implementation - Single executable (~4.8MB) with all assets embeddedFast Markdown Rendering - CommonMark compliant parsing with pulldown-cmarkSyntax Highlighting - 100+ languages supported via syntectNative File Dialogs - Seamless OS integration with rfdEmbedded Examples - Built-in sample files demonstrating all featuresCommand Line Support - Open files directly: mdmdview document.mdCustom Application Icon - Distinctive markdown document icon with full Windows metadata
Advanced Features
1.14.2
Copy WinGet command to clipboard 1.13.3
Copy WinGet command to clipboard 1.13.0
Copy WinGet command to clipboard
π Navigation History - Browser-like back/forward through files and samples (Alt+β/Alt+β)π Accent-Aware Search - Finds matches across case and diacritics (e.g., "istanbul" matches "Δ°stanbul")π· Live Image Refresh - Automatically reloads textures when linked images change on diskπ Raw Mode with Edit - View and edit source markdown (Ctrl+R to toggle, Ctrl+E to edit)π Internal Anchors - In-document navigation via [link](#anchor) syntaxπ Table Support - Professional grid layout with headers and striped rowsπ¨ Mermaid Diagrams - Render flowcharts, sequence diagrams, and moreπ Emoji Support - Embedded Twemoji assets with shortcode expansion (:rocket: β π)π Encoding Fallback - Opens non-UTF-8 legacy files via lossy decodingπΎ Window State Persistence - Remembers position, size, and zoom level across sessionsπ Zoom Support - Adjustable font sizes (Ctrl++/Ctrl+-/Ctrl+0)π Multi-File Queue - Drag multiple files to queue them for sequential viewing
Drag and Drop Support Drop files and folders directly from your file explorer:
Single File - Drop a .md file to open it immediatelyMultiple Files - Drop multiple files to open the first and queue the rest
Navigate through queue with Alt+β / Alt+β
Status bar shows: "π N files in queue"
Folders - Drop a folder to open all markdown files within (non-recursive, top-level only)Visual Feedback - Blue overlay appears during drag operationsSupported Extensions - .md, .markdown, .mdown, .mkd, .txtProtection - 50 file maximum per drop (prevents accidental large drops)
π Getting Started
Prerequisites
Rust 1.70+ - Install from rustup.rs Operating System - Windows 10/11, Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+, Fedora 35+), or macOS 10.15+
Installation
Option 1: Windows MSI Installer (Recommended for Windows)
Go to Releases
Download mdmdview-vX.Y.Z-windows-x86_64.msi
Run the installer β it will:
Install to C:\Program Files\mdmdview\
Create a Start Menu shortcut
Register .md and .markdown file associations
Add an entry in Add/Remove Programs
Upgrading: run a newer MSI and the old version is removed automatically
Option 2: Download Portable Binary
Go to Releases
Download the ZIP for your platform:
mdmdview-vX.Y.Z-windows-x86_64.zip (Windows)
Extract and run the executable β no installation required
Option 3: Build from Source # Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/0x4D44/mdmdview.git
cd mdmdview
# Build in release mode (optimized, ~4.8MB binary)
cargo build --release
# Run the application
./target/release/mdmdview
Mermaid Rendering (Default) Embedded Mermaid rendering (QuickJS, offline) is enabled by default.
On Windows, QuickJS builds require a patch tool in PATH (e.g., Git for Windows or MSYS2).
# Build without embedded Mermaid rendering
cargo build --release --no-default-features
π Usage
Opening Files
Use File > Open or press Ctrl+O
Drag and drop .md files into the window
Explore File > Samples for built-in examples
# Open with welcome screen
mdmdview
# Open a specific file
mdmdview document.md
mdmdview "C:\path\to\my document.md"
# Works with relative paths
mdmdview ../README.md
Screenshot Mode (PNG) Render a markdown file directly to an image:
mdmdview --screenshot document.md --output out.png
--width / --height : viewport size (default 1280x720 in screenshot mode)--theme light|dark: override theme for render--zoom : scale factor (e.g., 1.25)--content-only: hide window chrome in the capture--scroll : scroll ratio from 0.0 (top) to 1.0 (bottom)--wait-ms : delay before capture to allow assets to load--settle-frames : extra frames to wait for layout stability--test-fonts : load fonts from a directory (QA/automation use)
Windows Shell Integration Associate mdmdview with .md files for double-click opening:
Right-click any .md file in Windows Explorer
Select "Open with > Choose another app"
Click "More apps" β "Look for another app on this PC"
Browse to mdmdview.exe and select it
Check "Always use this app to open .md files"
Click OK
Now all .md files will open in mdmdview by double-clicking!
View Modes
Rendered Mode (default) - Formatted markdown with styling and imagesRaw Mode (Ctrl+R) - Source text in monospace editor
Write Mode (Ctrl+E in Raw mode) - Edit and auto-save changes
Search Functionality Press Ctrl+F to open the search panel:
Unicode-aware matching - Finds "resume" and "rΓ©sumΓ©" from single queryCase-insensitive - "istanbul" matches "Istanbul" and "Δ°stanbul"Grapheme-aware highlighting - Preserves emoji and accent marksNavigation - Use Enter/Shift+Enter or F3/Shift+F3 to cycle resultsReal-time highlighting - Matches highlighted as you type
β¨οΈ Keyboard Shortcuts
File Operations Shortcut Action Ctrl+OOpen file dialog Ctrl+WClose current file F5Reload current file from disk Ctrl+QQuit application
Navigation Shortcut Action Alt+βNavigate back in history Alt+βNavigate forward in history HomeJump to top of document EndJump to bottom of document Page UpScroll up one page (~80% viewport) Page DownScroll down one page (~80% viewport) β / βScroll up/down (small increment)
View Controls Shortcut Action Ctrl+FToggle search panel Ctrl+RToggle Rendered/Raw view Ctrl+EToggle edit mode (in Raw view) F11Toggle fullscreen Ctrl++Zoom in (increase font size) Ctrl+-Zoom out (decrease font size) Ctrl+0Reset zoom to default
Search Navigation Shortcut Action EnterNext search result Shift+EnterPrevious search result F3Next search result Shift+F3Previous search result EscClose search panel
π¨ Markdown Support mdmdview supports all CommonMark elements with professional formatting:
Text Formatting
Bold (**text** or __text__)Italic (*text* or _text_)Strikethrough (~~text~~)Inline code with proper inline renderingLinks that open in browserInternal anchors: [Section](#section) for in-document navigation
Structure
Headers (H1-H6) with proper hierarchy and sizingLists - Bulleted and numbered with nesting supportTables - Professional grid with headers and striped rowsBlockquotes - Styled with orange accent barHorizontal rules (---) for section separation
Code Blocks
Syntax highlighting for 100+ languages
Rust, Python, JavaScript, C++, Go, TypeScript, SQL, and more
Proper indentation and color schemes
Line-based rendering for readability
Rich Content
Images - PNG, JPEG, GIF, BMP, ICO, WebP, SVG
Relative paths resolved from markdown file location
Live refresh when source files change
Graceful fallback for missing images
Emoji - Color Twemoji assets embedded
Shortcode expansion: :rocket:, :tada:, :heart:
Native Unicode emoji rendering
Mermaid Diagrams - Flowcharts, sequence diagrams, gantt charts, etc.
Embedded renderer is built by default (disable with --no-default-features)
Theme selection via View menu: Auto, Dark, Default, Forest, Neutral
Special Features
Line break preservation - Single newlines respected (perfect for poetry/lyrics)Header IDs - Auto-generated for anchor navigationNested structures - Lists within blockquotes, tables with formatting, etc.
π§ Configuration
Mermaid Theme Select the Mermaid diagram theme via View > Mermaid Theme :
Auto (default) - resolves to Dark or Default based on the app's dark/light modeDark - Mermaid's dark themeDefault - Mermaid's light themeForest - Mermaid's green/forest themeNeutral - Mermaid's neutral/grayscale theme The theme setting persists across sessions.
Environment Variables Variable Purpose Default RUST_LOGLogging level (error, warn, info, debug, trace) warn
# Enable debug logging
RUST_LOG=debug mdmdview document.md
Window State Persistence Window position, size, and maximized state are automatically saved:
Windows : %APPDATA%\MarkdownView\window_state.txt + Registry backupLinux : ~/.config/mdmdview/window_state.txt (respects XDG_CONFIG_HOME)macOS : ~/Library/Application Support/MarkdownView/window_state.txt State is saved every second (throttled) and on exit.
ποΈ Architecture
Project Structure mdmdview/
βββ src/
β βββ main.rs # Entry point, eframe setup, CLI args
β βββ app.rs # Main app state, UI logic, shortcuts
β βββ markdown_renderer.rs # Parsing, rendering, syntax highlighting
β βββ sample_files.rs # Embedded markdown examples
β βββ window_state.rs # Cross-platform state persistence
β βββ emoji_catalog.rs # Emoji shortcode mappings
β βββ emoji_assets.rs # Embedded Twemoji PNGs
β βββ lib.rs # Library interface for testing
βββ build.rs # Windows resources, version metadata
βββ assets/
β βββ icon.ico # Application icon
β βββ vendor/
β βββ mermaid.min.js # For embedded Mermaid renderer
βββ wix/
β βββ main.wxs # WiX installer source (stable GUIDs)
β βββ License.rtf # License shown during install
βββ Cargo.toml # Dependencies and build config
βββ README.md # This file
βββ tests.md # Comprehensive testing guide
Core Components
Main Entry Point (src/main.rs)
eframe/egui application setup
Command-line argument parsing
Window configuration with icon
Cross-platform initialization
Application Logic (src/app.rs)
MarkdownViewerApp struct manages all stateUI rendering (menu bar, status bar, content area)
Keyboard shortcut handling
Navigation history (back/forward stack)
View mode switching (Rendered/Raw/Write)
Search state and result navigation
File operations and error handling
Markdown Renderer (src/markdown_renderer.rs)
Parsing with pulldown-cmark into MarkdownElement enum
Conversion to egui widgets
Syntax highlighting with syntect
Image loading and texture caching
Mermaid diagram rendering (embedded QuickJS)
Table layout with proper sizing
Search result highlighting
Emoji rendering with Twemoji assets
Window State (src/window_state.rs)
Platform-specific persistence
Geometry validation and sanitization
Registry storage on Windows
Config file storage on Linux/macOS
Build Script (build.rs)
Windows resource file generation
Version info from Cargo.toml
Icon embedding
Mermaid.js embedding for embedded renderer
Key Design Decisions
Single Binary - All dependencies embedded for zero-config distributionImmediate Mode GUI - egui provides responsive, native-feeling interfaceCommonMark Compliance - pulldown-cmark ensures standard compatibilityEfficient Rendering - Texture caching, incremental updates, scroll optimizationCross-Platform - Platform-specific code isolated, core logic portableZero Warnings - Strict compilation standards for code quality
π οΈ Development
Building # Development build (faster compilation, larger binary)
cargo build
# Release build (optimized, ~4.8MB)
cargo build --release
# Without embedded Mermaid renderer
cargo build --release --no-default-features
# Run in development mode
cargo run
# Run with specific file
cargo run -- document.md
# Build MSI installer (requires WiX Toolset v3 + cargo-wix)
cargo wix # full: build release + create MSI
cargo wix --no-build # MSI only (if release binary already built)
MSI Installer Prerequisites Building the MSI installer requires:
WiX Toolset v3.14.1 β install and ensure candle.exe/light.exe are in PATHcargo-wix β install with cargo install cargo-wix The WiX source file (wix/main.wxs) is checked into the repository. Do not regenerate it β it contains a stable UpgradeCode GUID required for upgrade detection across versions.
Testing The project has 1,100+ tests across four categories: unit tests, D2 conformance tests, visual regression tests, and Mermaid visual tests. See tests.md
# Run all unit tests (~8 minutes)
nice -n 10 mdtimeout 600 cargo test
# Run a specific module (seconds)
cargo test markdown_renderer
cargo test app
cargo test window_state
# Run with output
cargo test -- --nocapture
# Pre-release validation
.\scripts\prerelease.ps1
Visual Regression (Optional) python -m pip install -r tools/regression/requirements.txt
python -m playwright install chromium
cargo build --release
python tools/regression/runner.py update-reference
python tools/regression/runner.py update-baseline
python tools/regression/runner.py run
Code Quality # Format code (required before commits)
cargo fmt --all
# Lint with Clippy (zero warnings policy)
cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings
# Check compilation without building
cargo check
# Run all quality checks
cargo fmt --all && cargo clippy --all-targets -- -D warnings && cargo test
Release Process # Create and push a version tag
git tag v1.0.0
git push origin v1.0.0
This triggers the Release workflow which:
Builds release binary and MSI installer on Windows
Creates release artifacts:
mdmdview-vX.Y.Z-windows-x86_64.msi (installer)mdmdview-vX.Y.Z-windows-x86_64.zip (portable)
Attaches artifacts to GitHub release
Go to Actions β Release β Run workflow
Choose toolchain (stable, beta, or nightly)
File Metadata (Windows) Version information is auto-generated from Cargo.toml:
ProductName/InternalName : package.nameFileDescription : package.descriptionFileVersion : package.version (e.g., 0.3.3.0)CompanyName : First entry in package.authorsBuildDateTime : ISO-8601 timestamp at build time Update Cargo.toml before release, then rebuild to refresh metadata.
π€ Contributing Contributions are welcome! Please follow these guidelines:
Code Standards
Zero Warnings Policy - Code must compile cleanly with no warningsDocumentation - Each .rs file needs a descriptive block comment explaining:
File's purpose and functionality
Key components/structures defined
How it fits in the overall architecture
Comments - Public functions and complex logic must be well-commentedTest Coverage - New features should include unit testsFormatting - Run cargo fmt before committingLinting - Run cargo clippy and address all warnings
Contribution Workflow
Fork the repository
Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/my-feature
Make your changes following code standards
Run quality checks: cargo fmt && cargo clippy && cargo test
Test both debug and release builds
Commit with clear, descriptive messages
Push to your fork and submit a pull request
Testing Checklist
π Supported File Types mdmdview recognizes these file extensions:
.md - Standard markdown.markdown - Alternative markdown extension.mdown - Common variation.mkd - Short markdown extension.txt - Plain text files All files are processed as UTF-8 with lossy fallback for legacy encodings.
π Troubleshooting
Images Not Displaying
Check file path - Relative paths resolved from markdown file locationVerify format - Supported: PNG, JPEG, GIF, BMP, ICO, WebP, SVGPress F5 - Manually reload if live refresh doesn't triggerCheck console - Error messages printed to stderr
Non-UTF-8 Files Show Strange Characters mdmdview uses String::from_utf8_lossy for legacy encodings:
Replacement characters (U+FFFD) mark invalid bytes
Save file as UTF-8 in text editor to fix permanently
Warning emitted once to console/stderr
Mermaid Diagrams Not Rendering
Ensure you did not build with --no-default-features
Ensure assets/vendor/mermaid.min.js exists before building
Check that diagram syntax is valid
Window Position Lost State file may be corrupted:
Windows : Delete %APPDATA%\MarkdownView\window_state.txtLinux : Delete ~/.config/mdmdview/window_state.txtmacOS : Delete ~/Library/Application Support/MarkdownView/window_state.txt App will recreate with default centered window.
Performance Issues
Large files - Files with 1000+ elements may render slowlyMany images - Texture memory usage grows with image countSyntax highlighting - Code blocks in very large files may lag Try breaking large documents into smaller files.
π Security Considerations
Safe Markdown Rendering
No script execution - JavaScript in markdown is not executedSafe link handling - External links open in browser, not in-appImage loading - Only from local filesystem or explicit URLsNo remote code - All rendering done locally
Mermaid Rendering
JavaScript sandboxed in QuickJS runtime
No network access during rendering
Security level is hardcoded to strict
Strict mode still allows inline Mermaid label tags: <i>, <b>, <em>, <strong>, ``
Recommended for sensitive/confidential content
π License
Third-Party Assets Emoji Graphics:
Β© 2020 Twitter, Inc and other contributors
Licensed under CC-BY 4.0 (Twemoji)
See https://github.com/twitter/twemoji for details
Images embedded in executable for offline use
Dependencies All Rust crates used are listed in Cargo.toml with their respective licenses (mostly MIT/Apache-2.0).
π Acknowledgments
egui - Excellent immediate-mode GUI frameworkpulldown-cmark - Fast, CommonMark-compliant parsersyntect - Comprehensive syntax highlightingTwemoji - Beautiful open-source emoji setRust Community - Amazing ecosystem and tooling
π¬ Contact & Support
