A fast, native Markdown viewer that opens .md files instantly without launching an editor.
Markdown Preview is a lightweight, native viewer for .md files — double-click a README or notes file and get clean, properly rendered Markdown instead of a wall of raw syntax in a text editor.
Why it makes the list
Most Markdown files get opened in a full code editor just to be read, which is overkill for simply checking a README. Markdown Preview renders files natively with WKWebView, adds a document outline for quick navigation, and can hand off to your real editor the moment you actually need to edit.
Standout features
- Native rendering — fast WKWebView pipeline with heading anchors and link handling
- Document outline — sidebar table of contents that mirrors your headings
- Open With — jump straight to VS Code, Cursor, Zed, Sublime, BBEdit, and more
- Quick Look extension — preview
.mdfiles from Finder's spacebar or Spotlight without launching the app - Share as source — copying feeds the raw Markdown text, ready to paste into a chat or another editor
- Default
.mdhandler — can register itself to open Markdown files system-wide
Pricing
Completely free and open source.
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