Read Markdown files without an editor
Markdown files are plain text, so opening a README.md in a basic text editor shows all the raw symbols: hashes, asterisks, pipes and backticks. This Markdown viewer renders the file as a formatted document, so you can read it the way its author intended. It is handy when you download a project, receive documentation as an attachment or want to check a file before committing it.
What the viewer renders
- Headings, paragraphs, bold, italics and strikethrough.
- Bulleted, numbered and nested lists, including task lists with checkboxes.
- Tables with column alignment.
- Fenced and indented code blocks, and inline code.
- Links, autolinked URLs and images (from absolute URLs).
- Block quotes and horizontal rules.
The preview uses GitHub Flavored Markdown by default, so most READMEs look the same as on GitHub or GitLab. Platform-specific extras such as emoji shortcodes (:rocket:), Mermaid diagrams, math blocks and footnotes are shown as plain text.
Markdown viewer options
- GitHub Flavored Markdown – on for tables, task lists, strikethrough and autolinks; off for classic Markdown rules.
- Line breaks – treat every single newline as a line break, as GitHub does in issues and comments (but not in README files).
Safe preview
Markdown can contain raw HTML, and a file from the internet could include scripts. The viewer sanitizes the rendered HTML with DOMPurify, which removes scripts, event handlers and other active content, and it displays the result in an isolated frame. You can open unknown files without them running code on this page.
Why images might not appear
Images referenced with relative paths, such as , point to files inside the original repository. Because the viewer only receives the text of your file, it cannot load them. Images with full URLs (https://…) display normally.
Example
## Installation
1. Clone the repository
2. Run `npm install`
> **Note:** Node.js 20 or newer is required.
| Command | Description |
|---------|-------------|
| `npm test` | Run the test suite |The viewer shows this as a heading, a numbered list with inline code, a highlighted note and a two-column table.
Where Markdown files come from
You will find Markdown in almost every software project: README.md, CHANGELOG.md, CONTRIBUTING.md and documentation folders. It is also the storage format of many note-taking apps, static site generators and knowledge bases, and it is increasingly used in exported chats and AI-generated documents. All of these open here without installing anything.
The viewer is also useful for reviewing: paste a colleague's draft, read it rendered, and spot structural problems such as a heading at the wrong level or a list that accidentally turned into a code block because of indentation.
Viewer, editor or converter?
- Use this viewer to read existing files quickly.
- Use the Markdown editor to write or change a document with a side-by-side preview and the generated HTML.
- Use Markdown to HTML when you need the HTML code itself.
- Use the Markdown formatter to clean up inconsistent syntax.
Files are read locally by your browser and are never uploaded.