markdown-viewer

# Live Markdown Viewer Live markdown viewer for AI pair-editing. When you collaborate, the updates render instantly. Works with any AI agent and web browser. GitHub: [wipcomputer/wip-markdown-viewer](https://github.com/wipcomputer/wip-markdown-viewer) npm: [@wipcomputer/markdown-viewer](https://www.npmjs.com/package/@wipcomputer/markdown-viewer) ## Install ```bash npm install -g @wipcomputer/markdown-viewer ``` This installs the `mdview` command globally. Zero runtime dependencies. Pure Node.js. ## Quick start Start the server (binds to 127.0.0.1 only, never exposed to the network): ```bash curl -s http://127.0.0.1:3000/ > /dev/null 2>&1 || mdview & ``` Open a file in your default browser: ```bash # macOS open "http://127.0.0.1:3000/view?path=/absolute/path/to/file.md" # Linux xdg-open "http://127.0.0.1:3000/view?path=/absolute/path/to/file.md" # Windows start "http://127.0.0.1:3000/view?path=/absolute/path/to/file.md" ``` ## How it works 1. Tell your AI coding tool to install `@wipcomputer/markdown-viewer` globally 2. Tell your AI to open a .md file in md view 3. AI opens the file in your default browser 4. Every save re-renders the page instantly. No refresh needed. Open multiple tabs to work on multiple documents at once. ## Security - Server binds to `127.0.0.1` only. It is not accessible from other machines. - The `/view?path=` parameter reads files from your local filesystem. Use `--root <dir>` to restrict access to a specific directory tree. Recommended for shared environments. - Zero npm dependencies. No supply chain risk beyond Node.js itself. ## Features - SSE-powered live reload (works in Safari, Chrome, Firefox) - Multi-file support (each tab watches its own file) - GitHub Flavored Markdown (tables, task lists, strikethrough) - Syntax highlighting (180+ languages) - Dark mode - Table of contents - Mermaid diagrams - KaTeX math equations ## Troubleshooting **Page shows the index instead of my file:** The server was started with `--root` restricting access. Restart without `--root`. **Safari stalls or shows blank page:** Hard refresh (Cmd+Shift+R) or restart the server. Safari caches SSE connections aggressively. **macOS `open` drops the query string:** Use AppleScript instead: ```bash osascript -e 'tell application "Safari" to open location "http://127.0.0.1:3000/view?path=/your/file.md"' ``` ## Notes - Server runs at `http://127.0.0.1:3000` by default. Use `mdview --port 8080` to change. - The server does not survive reboots. The curl check in quick start restarts it if needed. - Do NOT start the server with a file path argument. Always start bare (`mdview`). Starting with a path locks the server to that directory. - Drag and drop any .md file onto the homepage to view it. - Zero external requests. All dependencies bundled locally.