mdv-ts

Terminal-first Markdown visualizer/editor — TypeScript + OpenTUI port of mdv.

Open a file, type on the left, see the formatted preview on the right. First run opens a Home screen and an in-app guide.

Install

bun add -g @dhruv2mars/mdv-ts
# or
npm i -g @dhruv2mars/mdv-ts

Binary command: mdv-ts

The interactive TUI needs Bun, because OpenTUI ships its native renderer bindings for Bun only. If you install with npm, mdv-ts re-runs itself under Bun automatically whenever Bun is on your PATH.

Without Bun the non-interactive commands still work anywhere Node 18+ runs:

mdv-ts --help
mdv-ts notes.md | less   # piped/non-TTY preview

Quickstart

mdv-ts

• Type a file name like notes.md
• Press Enter
• Start typing
• Press Ctrl+S to save

Open an existing file:

mdv-ts README.md

In-app docs:

• macOS: Cmd+,
• Windows/Linux: Ctrl+,

Everyday Tasks

Read without editing:

mdv-ts --readonly README.md

Stream Markdown from another command:

tail -f notes.md | mdv-ts --stream

Update the installed package:

mdv-ts update

Keybinds

In-app docs: Cmd+,/Ctrl+, (Docs + Settings modal).

Quick ref:

• Ctrl+Q quit
• Ctrl+S save
• Ctrl+R reload from disk
• Shift+Tab or Ctrl+T switch between typing and preview scrolling
• Ctrl+F search, Ctrl+H replace, Ctrl+G goto line
• F3/Shift+F3 next/prev search result
• Conflict flow: Ctrl+J/Ctrl+U hunk nav, Ctrl+E apply, Ctrl+K keep local, Ctrl+M merge

Flags

• --readonly disable editing
• --no-watch disable file watcher
• --stream read markdown from stdin (no PATH arg)
• --perf show perf info in status line
• --theme <auto|default|high-contrast> set color theme
• --no-color disable ANSI color
• --focus <editor|view> initial focused pane

Env

• MDV_FORCE_TUI=1 force TUI even when not a TTY
• MDV_STREAM_MAX_BYTES stdin buffer cap in stream mode (default 4MB)
• MDV_INSTALL_ROOT override ~/.mdv for onboarding state
• COLUMNS non-TTY preview width (default 80)

Dev

bun install
bun test
bun run dev -- README.md
bun run build
bun run selftest

License

MIT