I always hated opening markdown files in VS Code or Cursor or whatever bloated editor just to read a
.mdfile. Like, why do I need a whole IDE for that? So I tried to build a separate app that respects us more when it comes to these.mdfiles.It was made by me (a guy who doesn't fully know what he's doing) and AI. This is pure AI slop-sluppy-shit-show and I'm sorry for the app, but it works for me so maybe it works for you too.
Give it a try. Or don't. Probably better not to look at the code. If it works, let it work. If it doesn't, report it to Claude Code or something, idk, that's how I do it. Sorry again for the app.
mark-dawn is a fast, minimal Markdown editor and viewer for Windows. Split-pane, live preview, dark/light theme, RTL support, the whole deal. It opens .md files and makes them look nice. That's it. That's the app.
- Split-pane editor — write on the left, see the rendered result on the right
- Live preview — updates as you type (with a small debounce so your CPU doesn't cry)
- Dark & Light themes — toggle from the toolbar, follows your system theme by default
- RTL support — full right-to-left text support for Farsi, Arabic, Hebrew, etc.
- Scroll sync — editor and preview scroll together, with a button to unlink them if you want
- System fonts — pick any font installed on your system, not just the usual suspects
- Adjustable font size — from 10px to 32px, your eyes will thank you
- Syntax highlighting — in the editor, because raw markdown deserves colors too
- Word wrap & line numbers — toggleable from the View menu
- Toolbar — bold, italic, headings, links, images, code blocks, tables, lists, quotes, horizontal rules
- Keyboard shortcuts — Ctrl+S, Ctrl+O, Ctrl+N, Ctrl+Z, Ctrl+Y, Ctrl+F... you know the drill
- Drag & drop — drop a
.mdfile on the window and it opens - File association — installer registers itself as the default app for
.mdfiles - Focus mode — F11 for distraction-free writing
- Word count & cursor position — in the status bar, because why not
Grab the latest mark-dawn Setup X.X.X.exe from the Releases page and run it. That's it. It will:
- Install mark-dawn on your system
- Set itself as the default app for
.mdand.markdownfiles - Add the app icon to all your markdown files in Explorer
If you're brave enough to look at the code (I warned you):
git clone https://github.com/mathofdynamic/mark-dawn.git
cd mark-dawn
npm install
npm run dev # run in development mode
npm run dist # build the installerBecause someone will ask:
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Shell | Electron |
| UI | React 18 |
| Editor | CodeMirror 6 |
| Markdown | marked (GFM) |
| Build | Vite + vite-plugin-electron |
| Installer | electron-builder (NSIS) |
| Language | TypeScript |
| Styling | Pure CSS (no frameworks, we're not animals) |
Coming soon, or just install it and see for yourself.
Look, I'm not going to pretend this is a serious open-source project with contribution guidelines and a code of conduct. If you want to fix something, open a PR. If you want to add something, open a PR. If you want to tell me the code is bad, I already know, but open an issue anyway.
MIT License. Do whatever you want with it. I'm not responsible for anything.
Built with questionable decisions, mass amounts of AI, and an unreasonable hatred for opening VS Code just to read a README.