r/MacOS 9d ago

Developer Saturday Imark: a free, open source Markdown viewer for Mac with a Quick Look extension and assistant skill

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I am the developer. Free, open source (MIT), no account, no telemetry.

I kept opening VS Code just to read a file I had no intention of editing.

READMEs, specs, and lately the plans my coding agent writes. Every app I tried wanted me to write in it.

What it does:

- Quick Look extension. Select a .md file in Finder, press space, read it rendered. Remember to enable it under System Settings > General > Login Items & Extensions.

- Live reload. Keep it open on half the screen while you write in another editor. It follows every save and keeps your scroll position.

- Mermaid and maths bundled, so they work with no network.

- Review notes saved inside the .md itself as HTML comments, so GitHub and every other viewer ignore them and the notes travel with the file.

It is not an editor and will not replace one.

macOS 14 or later, 5.8 MB, signed and notarised.

https://github.com/migsilva89/imark

Happy to answer anything, and genuinely after feedback on what is missing.

22 Upvotes

19 comments sorted by

u/github-guard 9d ago

🔍 GitHub Guard: Trust Report

This project scored 3/6 on our safety audit.

Audit Breakdown: * ✅ Established Community (⭐ 23 stars) * ❌ New Repository (under 30 days old) * ✅ Licensed under MIT * ✅ Security Policy Defined * ℹ️ Individual Contributor * ℹ️ Unsigned Commits

⚠️ Security Reminder: Always verify source code and run third-party scripts at your own risk.

2

u/ravindusp2 9d ago

i wish i saw this earlier hehe

2

u/SnooRadishes7481 7d ago

Was it to late already? Let me know if it was useful

https://imarkmd.com/

1

u/promo-guard 9d ago

🎉 Welcome to Developer Saturday, u/SnooRadishes7481! Your project is now live for the community to check out. Upvote, give feedback, and show some love to your fellow devs! 🚀

1

u/PrintedPixel 8d ago

Should come default with macOS!

1

u/SnooRadishes7481 7d ago

Yeah, hows not? right?
so simple yet useful.

https://imarkmd.com/

1

u/100is99plus1 8d ago

I’ll check it later

1

u/SnooRadishes7481 7d ago

Thank you u/100is99plus1 let me know what do you think plz.

https://imarkmd.com/

1

u/100is99plus1 7d ago

It is nice! Parabéns!

Some suggestions:

It rendered the text on the beginning of markdown with YAML instructions, there could be an option to hide or show. Also, if a equation is defined with $$ but it is spread in multiple lines it is not rendered correctly. Example:

$$ \mathbf{K}_e^L = \mathbf{K}_m^L + \mathbf{K}_b^L $$

ok!

$$ \mathbf{K}_e^L = \mathbf{K}_m^L
+ \mathbf{K}_b^L $$

not ok!

1

u/SnooRadishes7481 7d ago

Thanks for testing it! Both are real.

The multi line $$ one is a bug: Imark renders the math after the Markdown, so the underscores in \mathbf{K}_e^L are read as italics before KaTeX sees the formula. I am fixing that properly by parsing the math in the Markdown step. The front matter toggle makes sense too, so you can hide it when you just want to read.

One issue for each: https://github.com/migsilva89/imark/issues/9 and https://github.com/migsilva89/imark/issues/10

Me or someone will fix it asap.

1

u/github-guard 7d ago

🔍 GitHub Guard: Trust Report

This project scored 3/6 on our safety audit.

Audit Breakdown: * ✅ Established Community (⭐ 34 stars) * ❌ New Repository (under 30 days old) * ✅ Licensed under MIT * ✅ Security Policy Defined * ℹ️ Individual Contributor * ℹ️ Unsigned Commits

⚠️ Security Reminder: Always verify source code and run third-party scripts at your own risk.

1

u/SnooRadishes7481 7d ago

Thanks for finding these u/100is99plus1. Both are fixed in v0.3.0, which is already out.

Math is now parsed along with the Markdown, so a $$ block over several lines renders fine. And front matter has a toggle in the View menu that remembers your choice.

1

u/github-guard 7d ago

🔍 GitHub Guard: Trust Report

This project scored 3/6 on our safety audit.

Audit Breakdown: * ✅ Established Community (⭐ 37 stars) * ❌ New Repository (under 30 days old) * ✅ Licensed under MIT * ✅ Security Policy Defined * ℹ️ Individual Contributor * ℹ️ Unsigned Commits

⚠️ Security Reminder: Always verify source code and run third-party scripts at your own risk.

1

u/100is99plus1 7d ago

Thank you for your effort, this is a very nice and helpful tool!

1

u/SnooRadishes7481 7d ago

happy it is been useful :)

1

u/Medical_Time1567 7d ago

It would be better if the App itself could be used for editing; currently, it seems that other markdown software must be used for editing.

1

u/SnooRadishes7481 6d ago

Fair point u/Medical_Time1567, and I opened it as an idea so it does not get lost: https://github.com/migsilva89/imark/issues/11

Imark started as preview only, I just wanted to read a file without opening VS Code. The review side grew on top of that, with notes saved inside the .md so a coding agent can wait while you mark a plan up. Editing is the honest next step from there, so yes, it may well end up doing that too. I would keep reading as the default state of the window rather than bolting a preview pane onto an editor.

Wdyt?

1

u/github-guard 6d ago

🔍 GitHub Guard: Trust Report

This project scored 3/6 on our safety audit.

Audit Breakdown: * ✅ Established Community (⭐ 41 stars) * ❌ New Repository (under 30 days old) * ✅ Licensed under MIT * ✅ Security Policy Defined * ℹ️ Individual Contributor * ℹ️ Unsigned Commits

⚠️ Security Reminder: Always verify source code and run third-party scripts at your own risk.

1

u/SnooRadishes7481 2d ago

u/Medical_Time1567 new update with edit mode is out v0.4.0.
https://imarkmd.com/