mdread

The fast Markdown (MD) reader for Windows.
Double-click a .md file. Read it. That's it.

⬇ Download for Windows (1.5 MB)  ·  Website  ·  Features  ·  Shortcuts

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Why mdread?

To read a README or some notes on Windows, you usually reach for an editor: Notepad (Windows 11 formats basic Markdown, Windows 10 shows raw # and **), VS Code's preview pane, or a full note app. mdread is built only for reading: a tiny, focused Markdown viewer that opens .md files instantly, renders them the way GitHub does, and gets out of your way.

Features

• ⚡ Opens instantly. Markdown is rendered natively in Rust and shown through the WebView2 built into Windows, with no bundled browser. A 1 MB file opens as fast as a tiny one.
• 🌗 Light & dark. Follows your Windows theme, or switch with Ctrl+T. It never flashes white when it opens.
• 🔄 Live reload. Save in VS Code, Notepad or Obsidian and the page updates where you were reading.
• ✅ GitHub-flavored Markdown. Tables, task lists, footnotes, strikethrough, autolinks and > [!NOTE] alerts. YAML front matter is hidden.
• 🔗 Linked notes. Relative images just work. Links to other .md files open in mdread, with back and forward.
• 🛡️ Safe by default. Scripts inside Markdown never run, and links to local programs are revealed in Explorer, never executed.
• 🪶 Tiny. A 1.5 MB installer with no account, no telemetry and no settings screen.

Download

Installer (recommended)	Per-user install, no admin rights. Registers mdread for .md, .markdown, .mdown, .mkd, .mkdn.
Portable .exe	A single file with no install: mdread.exe notes.md

Requires Windows 10 or 11 (WebView2 is built in; the installer fetches it if missing). The builds aren't code-signed yet, so SmartScreen may warn: choose More info → Run anyway. Checksums are in every release.

How to open .md files on Windows

1. Install mdread.
2. Double-click any .md file, drag it onto the window, or press Ctrl+O.
3. (Optional) Make it the default: right-click a .md file → Open with → Choose another app → mdread → Always.

Keyboard

Keys	Action
Ctrl+O	Open a file
Ctrl+T	Cycle theme: system → light → dark
Ctrl+= / Ctrl+- / Ctrl+0	Text size up / down / reset
F5	Reload
Alt+← / Alt+→	Back / forward through linked notes

How fast?

	Release build, one Windows 11 machine
Double-click to readable window	~0.45–0.6 s (mostly WebView2 startup, same as an empty window)
1 MB Markdown file	opens as fast as a small one: the first screen is sent before the window shows, the rest streams in after
Rendering 1 MB of dense Markdown (Rust)	~22 ms

Your numbers will vary. The measuring method is in SPEC.md.

Build from source

Requirements: Windows 10/11, Rust (stable, MSVC toolchain with Visual Studio Build Tools), and Node.js (only for the Tauri CLI and UI tests).

npx @tauri-apps/cli@2 build              # installer in src-tauri\target\release\bundle\nsis\
npx @tauri-apps/cli@2 build --no-bundle  # just src-tauri\target\release\mdread.exe

Tests:

cargo test --manifest-path src-tauri/Cargo.toml
node --test "tests/ui/*.test.mjs"
cargo test --release --manifest-path src-tauri/Cargo.toml -- --ignored --nocapture perf

The UI is plain HTML, CSS and JS in src/, with no bundler and no npm dependencies. The design and the Rust-to-UI contract are in SPEC.md.

Roadmap ideas

Find in page · syntax highlighting · table of contents · print/PDF export · macOS and Linux builds. Open an issue if you want one of these sooner.

License

MIT. Free for any use. If mdread saves you a few seconds every day, a ⭐ helps others find it.