MDVu · macOS & WindowsMarkdown
viewer.

A superfast, ultracompact Markdown viewer. Mermaid, PlantUML, ZenUML and LaTeX built in. Open your files and folders, follow links, search and zoom. All rendered locally.

macOS · DMG ↓Windows · MSI ↓

Other versions · portable ZIPs ↗

macOS 13+ · Windows 10/11 x64 · Free · MIT

brew install --cask stpork/tap/mdvu

MDVu on macOS showing Markdown, math, callouts and diagrams, with a table of contents and file navigator

MDVu on Windows showing Markdown, math, callouts and diagrams, with a table of contents and file navigator

Comparison

Application	Size · MiB	RAM · MiB	Render · Page	Formats ↗
MDVu	7	143	0.7 s	73/73
Typora	45	343	1.4 s	29/73
Obsidian	527	418	1.2 s	28/73
MacDown	17	201	1.1 s	26/73
MarkViewer	58	356	1.2 s	29/73
MD Viewer	410	448	N/A	0/73
VS Code	1389	1272	2.5 s	38/73
Marked	145	309	2.9 s	37/73

01 /

macOS & Windows

Native windows, standard shortcuts and file dialogs. Open a document or folder, use the outline, search and zoom.

AppKit · Win32

02 /

Diagrams and math

Mermaid, PlantUML, ZenUML and LaTeX formulas render offline. No plugins, diagram server or Java installation.

Mermaid · PlantUML · ZenUML

03 /

Local files

Read your existing Markdown files and Obsidian vaults. Updates appear when you save. No account or telemetry.

MIT · open source

FEATURES

Markdown, diagrams
and math.

From notes and formulas to software architecture. Markdown dialects and diagram engines built in, with local rendering on Mac and Windows.

More…

PlantUML · ArchiMate · three layers

```plantuml
@startuml
!include <archimate/Archimate>
left to right direction
Business_Actor(reader, "Reader")
Business_Process(reading, "Read document")
Application_Component(app, "MDVu")
Application_Service(render, "Render Markdown")
Technology_Node(device, "Mac / Windows")
Technology_Service(runtime, "WebKit / WebView2")
Rel_Assignment(reader, reading)
Rel_Serving_Up(render, reading, "supports")
Rel_Assignment(app, render)
Rel_Serving_Up(runtime, app, "renders")
Rel_Assignment(device, runtime)
@enduml
```

PlantUML · Class diagram

```plantuml
@startuml
interface Renderer<T> {
  +render(source: T): String
}
abstract class Block {
  +language: String
}
class MermaidBlock
class PlantUMLBlock
class Document {
  +id: String
  +title: String
}
Renderer <|.. MermaidBlock
Renderer <|.. PlantUMLBlock
Block <|-- MermaidBlock
Block <|-- PlantUMLBlock
Document "1" *-- "1..*" Block
@enduml
```

Mermaid · Flowchart

```mermaid
flowchart LR
    Author["Author / Reviewer"] --> Repo["Content Repository"]
    Repo --> CI["Validation & Build"]
    CI --> Publish["Publication Service"]
    Publish --> Search[("Search Index")]
    Publish --> CDN["Artifact / CDN"]
    Reader["Reader"] --> Web["Web / Desktop Viewer"]
    Web --> Search
    Web --> CDN
    Admin["Platform Operator"] --> Observe["Observability"]
    CI --> Observe
    Publish --> Observe
    Web --> Observe
```

Mermaid · Sequence diagram

```mermaid
sequenceDiagram
    autonumber
    actor Reader
    participant Viewer
    participant API
    participant Search
    participant Store
    Reader->>Viewer: Search "identity federation"
    Viewer->>API: GET /search?q=identity+federation
    API->>Search: Query index
    Search-->>API: Ranked results
    API-->>Viewer: Result metadata
    Reader->>Viewer: Open result
    Viewer->>API: GET document release
    API->>Store: Read immutable artifact
    Store-->>API: Markdown + manifest
    API-->>Viewer: UTF-8 document
    Viewer-->>Reader: Render text and diagrams
```

research.md

## A little mathematical beauty

Euler’s identity: $e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0$

$$
\int_{-\infty}^{\infty} e^{-x^2} dx
  = \sqrt{\pi}
$$

LaTeX → KaTeX → MathML

MATHEMATICS, NOT SCREENSHOTS

e^{i π} + 1 = 0

\int_{- \infty}^{\infty} e^{- x^{2}} d x = \sqrt{π}

Inline equations and display math, rendered with native browser MathML. No formula-font downloads.

notes.md

> [!NOTE] Stay in context
> Your best ideas deserve a little space.

> [!TIP] Keep exploring
> Follow [[Architecture|the bigger picture]].

Obsidian · MkDocs · Docusaurus · VuePress

GIVE THE IMPORTANT BITS A VOICE

ⓘ Stay in context

Your best ideas deserve a little space.

◇ Keep exploring

Follow the bigger picture.

Familiar syntax, readable structure. Your notes keep their meaning when you open them here.

Diagram formats

Mermaid ↗

Flowcharts, sequences, ER models, Gantt, pie charts, timelines and more.

PlantUML ↗

UML, networks, JSON/YAML, wireframes and mind maps. No Java required.

ZenUML ↗

Sequence diagrams with calls, conditions and loops in concise code-like syntax.

Graphviz · DOT ↗

Directed graphs with Graphviz layout via Viz.js, inside @startdot blocks.

C4 ↗

Context, containers, components and deployment. Mermaid and C4-PlantUML syntax.

ArchiMate ↗

Business, application and technology layers, with the ArchiMate library included.

Markdown dialects

CommonMark / GFM

Tables, tasks, footnotes, autolinks and strikethrough. Shared Rust parser.

Obsidian

Callouts, collapsible notes, wikilinks and media embeds.

MkDocs

Admonitions with !!!, ??? and ???+ syntax.

Docusaurus / VuePress

Fenced :::note, :::tip, :::warning and :::danger containers.

CriticMarkup

Additions, deletions, substitutions, highlights and review comments.

And the useful details

YAML frontmatter, GitLab TOC tokens, subscript, superscript and underline.

INSTALLATION

Download MDVu

DMG for Mac. MSI for Windows. Portable archives on GitHub Releases.