tread

A terminal reader for markdown, CSV, JSON and source code — less, but it understands what it is showing: collapsible headings, real tables, colored links, and navigation across a corpus of linked documents.

npx @viict/tread README.md

Or install it so the binary is on your PATH as tread:

npm install -g @viict/tread

What this package is

tread is a Rust program with no dependencies. This package is a small launcher that downloads the build for your machine on first run, verifies its SHA-256 against the checksums published with the release, and then gets out of the way. Nothing is downloaded at install time, so npm ci --ignore-scripts and pnpm's default script blocking are not a problem.

The binary is kept per version under your platform's data directory:

| Platform | Location | | --- | --- | | Linux | $XDG_DATA_HOME/tread/<version>/, else ~/.local/share/tread/<version>/ | | macOS | ~/Library/Application Support/tread/<version>/ | | Windows | %LOCALAPPDATA%\tread\<version>\ |

Older versions are removed once a new one has been fetched.

Using a binary you already have

Set TREAD_BINARY and nothing is ever downloaded:

export TREAD_BINARY=/usr/local/bin/tread

That is the right answer for a machine with several user accounts sharing one install, and for a CI runner with no route to the internet. If TREAD_BINARY names something that is not there, the run fails — it never falls back to downloading a second copy behind your back.

Other ways to install

cargo install tread          # from crates.io, builds from source

Prebuilt archives for every supported platform, and the SHA256SUMS this launcher verifies against, are on the releases page.

Licence

MIT OR Apache-2.0.