cwMarkdown — a calm Markdown reader for macOS
A native macOS Markdown **viewer** — no editing, no clutter, just a beautiful reading experience close to Typora. Open any `.md` file and read it the way it was meant to be read.
Documents render in a centered reading column with carefully tuned typography, a live _outline_ that follows your scroll, syntax-highlighted code, and crisp _KaTeX_ math — all offline, all native. Light, dark, and system appearance; vim-style navigation; and automatic reload when the file changes on disk.
Read‑only
A pure viewer.
Presentation first,
nothing to configure
Offline
marked · highlight.js
· KaTeX bundled in,
no network needed
Native
SwiftUI app with a
WKWebView reader,
Apple-Silicon ready
**macOS 13+ · Apple Silicon**
1.6 MB · signed DMG installer · unverified-developer gatekeeper: right-click _Open_ the first time
The reading view — live outline on the left, a calm centered column on the right.
What it is
cwMarkdown is a focused, **read-only** Markdown viewer for macOS. It deliberately has no editor: the entire surface area is given to presentation, so a document looks as good as the writing in it. The goal is the reading experience of **Typora** — clean measure, comfortable line height, a native system font — in a small, fast, native app.
Under the hood it’s a SwiftUI app that renders Markdown in a `WKWebView`, which gives pixel-level control over typography while keeping the window chrome, toolbar, and outline fully native. Parsing is done with **marked**, code is highlighted with **highlight.js**, and math is typeset with **KaTeX** — everything bundled, so the viewer works with no network access at all.
Features
Typora-style reading
A centered column with a balanced measure, generous line height, and the native system font. Headings, blockquotes, tables, task lists, footnotes, `kbd` keys, and `==highlight==` are all styled with care in both light and dark.
Live outline
A sidebar auto-generated from your headings. The current section highlights as you scroll, and clicking any entry jumps straight to it. Toggle it with ⌘\.
Code & math
Fenced code blocks get language labels, syntax highlighting, and a hover-to-copy button. Inline and display equations render with KaTeX — fonts included for fully offline math.
Light / Dark / System
Switch appearance instantly from the toolbar, or follow the system automatically. The reading theme and code palette both adapt.
Live reload
Edit the file in your editor of choice and cwMarkdown refreshes the view automatically — an ideal preview pane that stays out of your way.
Open anything
⌘O, drag-and-drop onto the window, or “Open With” from Finder. Handles `.md`, `.markdown`, `.mdown`, `.txt`, and more.
Keyboard
Standard macOS shortcuts, plus vim-style navigation once you click into the reading area.
⌘O Open a file
⌘\Toggle outline
⌘+ / ⌘−Zoom text in / out
⌘0 Actual size
j / k Scroll down / up
d / u Half page down / up
f / b / Space Full page down / up
g g / G Jump to top / bottom
Install & use
cwMarkdown runs natively on Apple Silicon and is tiny — the whole installer is under 2 MB.
**macOS 13+ · Apple Silicon · 1.6 MB**
Open the DMG and drag `cwMarkdown.app` into Applications. First launch: right-click the app and choose _Open_ (the DMG is signed but not notarised by Apple yet, so Gatekeeper asks once).