MarkdownReader

Desktop Markdown Workspace for Windows

Engineered for distraction-free technical writing, mathematical typesetting, interactive diagrams, and Windows desktop integration.

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Table of Contents

• Overview
• Features
  • Performance and Startup
  • KaTeX Math Formulas
  • Mermaid Diagrams
  • PDF and Print Studio
  • Typography and Personalization
  • Windows Integration
  • Asset Pipeline and Lightbox
  • Document Opening Modes
• Quick Start
  • Installation
  • Windows Setup Assistant
• Keyboard Shortcuts
• Building from Source
  • Prerequisites
  • Development Setup
  • Production Build
• Security Architecture
• License

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Overview

MarkdownReader is a desktop Markdown application developed for Windows 10 and Windows 11. Built with Electron, React 19, TypeScript, and the Tiptap rich-text editing engine, it combines distraction-free document viewing with a technical editing suite.

The application supports mathematical typesetting via offline-bundled KaTeX, interactive diagrams via Mermaid.js, clean PDF export without user interface bleed, system font discovery, and deep Windows shell integration.

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Features

Performance and Startup

• Zero White-Flash Startup: Inline scripts apply theme and background styles before first paint to prevent flashes in dark and light modes.
• Asynchronous File Operations: High-throughput document streaming powered by Node.js asynchronous filesystem APIs (fs.promises).
• Large Document Optimization: ProseMirror indexing and search highlights are capped and optimized to maintain smooth scrolling and editing on large files.
• Background Task Indicators: Progress indicators in the header and status bar inform the user during heavy file operations and large text processing.

KaTeX Math Formulas

• Support for inline equations ($E=mc^2$) and display equation blocks ($$\sum_{i=0}^n i$$).
• Bundled offline vector fonts (WOFF2 and TTF) for mathematical rendering without network connectivity.
• WYSIWYG equation rendering with automatic Markdown serialization.

Mermaid Diagrams

• Render flowcharts, sequence diagrams, state machines, Gantt charts, mindmaps, C4 architecture, and entity-relationship diagrams in fenced mermaid code blocks.
• Dual-Mode Widget: Switch between the rendered SVG diagram and raw source code at any time.
• Color schemes automatically match the active application palette and accent settings.

PDF and Print Studio

• Isolated Print Renderer: Print and PDF rendering runs in a separate background renderer to guarantee that editor toolbars, dialogs, and sidebars never appear in exported documents.
• Scaled Paper Preview: Live preview with page format selection (A4, US Letter, A3, Legal, Tabloid), orientation, margin controls, and zoom settings.
• Standalone HTML Export: Export single-file HTML documents with embedded offline stylesheets and typography.

Typography and Personalization

• Windows System Font Discovery: Real-time listing of installed Windows fonts with instantaneous search filtering and hover preview.
• Apply Font to Entire App UI: Optional setting to extend the chosen typeface across all tabs, sidebar tree, toolbars, buttons, and dialogs.
• Pangram Preview: Live interactive preview card displaying the active font, configured font size, and line height.
• Animation Speed Multiplier: Configurable interface transition speeds from 0.25x to 3.0x, or disable animations entirely.
• Theme Palettes and Custom Accents: Choose from preset palettes (Zinc, Cobalt, Emerald, Violet, Rose, Amber) or specify any custom HEX accent.

Windows Integration

• Windows Setup Assistant: Automatic prompt on launch checks for missing associations or shortcuts with one-click configuration.
• File Association: Register .md and .markdown file extensions in the Windows Registry with dedicated application icons.
• File Explorer Context Menu: Right-click context actions to "Edit with MarkdownReader" on files and "Open Folder in MarkdownReader" on directories.
• Start Menu and Desktop Shortcuts: Automatic deployment of high-resolution shortcuts to the Windows Start Menu and Desktop.
• Application User Model ID: Registered as com.adamk.markdownreader for taskbar pinning, window grouping, and system notification handling.
• Frameless Titlebar: Custom header with double-click maximize/restore, window snapping support, and minimize/maximize/close controls.

Asset Pipeline and Lightbox

• Direct Screenshot Pasting: Pressing Ctrl+V pastes clipboard images directly into the active document, saving the file to ./assets/ with relative Markdown paths.
• Drag-and-Drop Files: Dragging local images into the editor copies them into the document asset directory.
• Fullscreen Lightbox: Zoom towards the mouse cursor and pan using middle-click to inspect diagrams and images.

Document Opening Modes

• Smart Mode: Automatically opens external Markdown files in Reading Mode and newly created or edited files in Editing Mode.
• Configurable Default: Option to enforce Always Reading, Always Editing, or Smart Mode via Settings.

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Quick Start

Installation

1. Go to the Releases page.
2. Download MarkdownReader-v2.0.3-win32-x64.zip.
3. Extract the archive and launch MarkdownReader.exe.

Windows Setup Assistant

When launched for the first time, MarkdownReader displays an integration assistant in the bottom-right corner. Click "Fix All & Apply" to configure .md file associations, create Start Menu shortcuts, and enable Explorer context menu actions. These options can also be adjusted under Settings (Ctrl+,) > Windows.

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Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action	Description
Ctrl + N	New Document	Opens a new blank document tab
Ctrl + O	Open File	Select and open a local Markdown file
Ctrl + S	Save File	Save the active document
Ctrl + Shift + S	Save As	Save document with a new file path
Ctrl + W	Close Tab	Close the active document tab
Ctrl + E	Toggle Mode	Switch between Reading and Editing modes
Ctrl + P	Export Studio	Open the PDF and Print export dialog
Ctrl + ,	Settings	Open application configuration
Ctrl + F	Find and Replace	Open search drawer
Ctrl + </kbd>	Toggle Sidebar	Show or hide the file explorer sidebar
Ctrl + Shift + L	Toggle Outline	Show or hide the document headings outline
Ctrl + B	Bold	Toggle bold styling on selection
Ctrl + I	Italic	Toggle italic styling on selection
Ctrl + K	Insert Link	Insert or edit a hyperlink

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Building from Source

Prerequisites

• Windows 10 or Windows 11 (64-bit)
• Node.js version 18.0.0 or higher
• npm version 9.0.0 or higher

Development Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/lapisecek/MarkdownReader.git
cd MarkdownReader

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start Vite development server and Electron concurrently
npm run electron:dev

Production Build

# Compile frontend, package app.asar, build executable, create release zip,
# and register Windows Start Menu shortcut
npm run electron:build

Generated outputs:

• dist-electron/MarkdownReader-win32-x64/
• dist-electron/win-unpacked/
• dist-electron/MarkdownReader-v2.0.3-win32-x64.zip

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Security Architecture

MarkdownReader follows Electron security guidelines:

• Renderer Isolation: contextIsolation: true is enabled across all windows.
• Node Integration Disabled: nodeIntegration: false in all renderer processes.
• Secure Preload Bridge: Inter-process communication runs exclusively through typed channels defined in preload.cjs.
• Isolated Background Print Worker: Document printing is handled by an ephemeral background window without access to application state.

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License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for the full text.