mdprev

Small local Markdown preview server with live reload.

Features

• Renders GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM): tables, strikethrough, autolink literals, and task lists.
• Auto-reloads the browser when the file changes.
• Sanitizes HTML output via DOMPurify.
• Supports multiple Markdown files with in-browser navigation.

Install

Install it globally from npm:

npm install -g mdprev

Install from local source during development:

pnpm install
pnpm link --global

Usage

mdprev README.md

Multiple files:

mdprev README.md docs/notes.md README-GFM.md

You can also run it directly:

node main.mjs README.md

Options:

• --port <number>: Bind to a specific port (default is random).
• --no-open: Do not auto-open a browser tab.

Examples:

mdprev docs/notes.md --port 3456
mdprev README.md --no-open
mdprev chapter1.md chapter2.md chapter3.md --port 3456

The server only binds to 127.0.0.1 and prints the URL on startup.

Release and npm Publish Automation

This repo is configured to publish to npm when you publish a GitHub Release.

One-time setup:

1. In npm, create an automation token:
   • npmjs.com -> Account Settings -> Access Tokens -> Generate New Token -> Automation
2. In GitHub, add the token as a repository secret:
   • Settings -> Secrets and variables -> Actions -> New repository secret
   • Name: NPM_TOKEN
3. Ensure your npm package name (mdprev) is available to your npm account/org.

How to release:

1. Bump version in package.json (or run npm version patch|minor|major).
2. Commit and push to GitHub.
3. Create and publish a GitHub Release with tag vX.Y.Z (example: v0.0.4).
4. GitHub Actions workflow .github/workflows/release-npm.yml publishes that version to npm.

Notes:

• The workflow requires the release tag version to match package.json version.
• Pre-releases are skipped by default (prerelease == false).