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Usage

Viewer and editor

MDown opens as a viewer. Add -e (or --editor, or --edit) to start in the editor instead, which puts the markdown source in a pane on the left and the live render on the right. -v and --viewer ask for the viewer explicitly.

mdown notes.md            # viewer
mdown -e notes.md         # editor, split view
mdown --edit notes.md     # the same

From the viewer, the pen button in the bottom-right corner opens the file for editing, as do Ctrl+E and F2. Ctrl+Shift+E, F3, and Esc go back. Typing re-renders the preview as you go, and Ctrl+S writes the file. An unsaved file is marked with * in the window title. Drag the divider between the panes to resize them.

Long lines wrap to the pane, so prose stays readable without scrolling sideways, and Ctrl+Z takes back a whole typed run rather than one letter.

Opening files

Pass one or more files on the command line:

mdown README.md
mdown notes.md todo.md spec.md

Each file opens in its own tab. You can also open a file from inside MDown with Ctrl+O, which brings up your system file dialog (it filters for .md, .markdown, and .txt).

Single instance

If MDown is already running, opening more files hands them to that window as new tabs instead of starting a second process. This keeps everything in one place, which is handy when Markdown files are wired to open with MDown from your file manager.

Tabs

When more than one file is open, a tab bar appears at the top.

  • Click a tab to switch to it.
  • Click the × on a tab, or middle-click the tab, to close it.
  • Ctrl+Tab / Ctrl+Shift+Tab cycle forward and backward.
  • Ctrl+W closes the active tab.

Selecting and copying text

MDown lets you select rendered text and copy it as plain text.

  • Click and drag to select a range.
  • Double-click to select a word.
  • Triple-click to select a line.
  • Shift+click to extend the current selection to where you click.
  • Ctrl+A selects the whole document.
  • Ctrl+C copies the selection to the clipboard.
  • Esc clears the selection (and, if there is no selection, closes MDown).

You can also move a caret through the text with the keyboard and hold Shift to select as you go. See Keybindings for the full list.

Exporting and printing

Press Ctrl+P to export the active tab to HTML and open it in your default browser, themed to match the on-screen view. From the browser you can print it or save it as a PDF. The exported file is written to MDown's per-user data directory and overwritten on each export.

Themes

MDown renders in a light or dark theme, covering headings, code blocks, inline code, block quotes, list markers, and syntax-highlighted code.