✦ Open Source · Free · Cross-Platform

Markdown Preview
Done Right

A lightweight, fast, open-source desktop Markdown previewer with Obsidian-style rendering

Windows · Linux · macOS (planned)

⬇ Download Now ★ GitHub
README.md — md2u
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md2u preview
Pain Points

Sound familiar?

Every Markdown tool out there is either macOS-only, bloated, ugly, or closed-source

Windows

Windows Notepad renders Markdown terribly

Windows 11 Notepad technically supports Markdown, but the rendering is rough — bad fonts, poor spacing, ugly code blocks. Reviewing docs in it feels like punishment.

macOS Only

Marked2 is great — but macOS only

Marked2 is the gold standard for Markdown preview on macOS: rich themes, powerful export. But switch to Windows or Linux and that experience disappears entirely.

🐘
Too Heavy

Other tools are overkill

VS Code, Typora, Obsidian are powerful but slow to start and memory-hungry. You just want to quickly preview a .md file — not launch an entire editor ecosystem.

🔒
Closed Source

Closed-source, limited, and expensive

Many cross-platform Markdown tools are closed-source — limited features, slow updates, subscription fees. When something breaks, you can only wait.

PDF
UX Gap

Opening MD should be as easy as opening PDF

Double-click a PDF: clean, beautiful, readable. Double-click a .md file: a wall of #, **, and ``` symbols. Same document format, completely different experience.

So I just built one ✦

md2u — a cross-platform Markdown previewer built with Tauri,
using the same rendering engine as Obsidian by default. Lightweight, open-source, runs on Windows and Linux.
No more compromises.

Features

Everything you need

No bloat. Just great Markdown preview.

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Instant Preview

Drag a .md file to the window, or run md2u file.md. Renders instantly, auto-updates on save.

🎨

10 CSS Themes

Built-in Obsidian, GitHub, Swiss, Ink, Multi-Column, Grump and more. Custom CSS supported. Switch with ⌘1–⌘9.

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Full-Text Find

Ctrl+F / Cmd+F opens Find Bar with live highlight. Supports Whole words, Case sensitive, Regex.

📊

Mermaid Diagrams

Render flowcharts, sequence diagrams, Gantt charts inline. SVG preserved in exports.

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One-Click Export

Export to HTML (with CDN), PDF (A4 paginated), DOCX, MD, OPML with one click.

🔓

Open Source, Free for Everyone

GNU GPL v3 — free for any use including commercial. Source on GitHub, PRs welcome.

Screenshots

Here's what it looks like

Clean, sharp — identical to how Obsidian renders your notes

Find Bar
Find Bar — Ctrl+F full-text search with live highlight, Regex support
Themes
10 Themes — From Obsidian to Grump, switch with keyboard shortcuts
Export
Export Panel — HTML, PDF, DOCX, MD, OPML — triggered by the share icon
Download

Choose your platform

Free download. Open source. No account required.

🐧
Linux
.deb (Debian / Ubuntu)
.rpm (Fedora / RHEL)
⬇ Download
Windows
.exe / .msi (x64)
.exe / .msi (ARM64)
✦ NVIDIA RTX Spark supported
⬇ Download

All releases are built by GitHub Actions and scanned by ClamAV / Windows Defender before publishing.
Build Log · Source · GNU GPL v3

⚠️ If your antivirus shows a warning: This app is not yet code-signed. Some heuristic scanners may flag unsigned open-source binaries as suspicious. We are currently applying for code signing through SignPath Foundation — thank SignPath Foundation for supporting open source projects like ours. Windows Defender and ClamAV both pass. Source code is fully public — verify it yourself or build from source.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

md2u is a lightweight, open-source, cross-platform Markdown previewer built with Tauri. It uses the same rendering engine as Obsidian, supports syntax highlighting, Mermaid diagrams, 10 CSS themes, find-in-document, and one-click export to HTML, PDF, DOCX, and more.
Windows (x64, ARM64) and Linux (.deb, .rpm) are available now. macOS support is planned.
macOS requires all distributed apps to be signed and notarized by an Apple Developer account ($99/year). Unsigned .dmg files are blocked by Gatekeeper on macOS 13+. macOS support is planned once code signing is in place.
This app is not yet code-signed. Some heuristic scanners may flag unsigned open-source binaries as suspicious. We are currently applying for code signing through SignPath Foundation — thank SignPath Foundation for supporting open source projects like ours. Windows Defender and ClamAV both pass. Source code is fully public — verify it yourself or build from source.
Yes. md2u is completely free and open-source under the GNU General Public License v3.0. No account required.
No. md2u is a local desktop application. It collects no data, makes no network requests, and never sends anything anywhere. See the Privacy Policy.