MDLook

<p align="center"> <picture> <source media="(prefers-color-scheme: dark)" srcset="mdlook-logo-light.svg" /> <img src="mdlook-logo-svg.svg" alt="MDLook" width="400" /> </picture> </p> <p align="center"><strong>A portable, fully offline Markdown editor for Windows.</strong><br>Unzip. Run. No install, no internet, no Electron.</p> <p align="center"> <a href="https://github.com/djosci/MDLook/releases/latest"><img src="badges/download-button.svg" alt="Download MDLook" /></a> </p> <p align="center"> <a href="#why-mdlook">Why MDLook?</a> &middot; <a href="#screenshots">Screenshots</a> &middot; <a href="#features">Features</a> &middot; <a href="#comparison">Comparison</a> &middot; <a href="#faq">FAQ</a> &middot; <a href="https://github.com/djosci/MDLook/issues">Issues</a> </p>

Why MDLook?

Most Markdown editors are either bloated (Electron), need internet for fonts and math, or force you into a vault/project system just to open a file. MDLook is none of those.

• Double-click and read. Register .md files once, then double-click any Markdown file and it opens beautifully rendered. No project setup, no vault, no config folders.
• Live preview as you type. Split-pane editor with real-time rendering. What you write on the left appears formatted on the right, instantly.
• Math and diagrams built-in. KaTeX for LaTeX equations, Mermaid for flowcharts and diagrams. No plugins, no config. Just works.
• Zero install, 100% offline. Unzip a folder, run MDLook.exe. Professional typography, syntax highlighting, everything embedded. No internet required, ever.
• 42 MB total. Not 300 MB of Chromium. Uses native Windows WebView2.
• Dark mode and Zen mode. Full dark theme. Zen mode strips the UI for distraction-free writing.
• Outline sidebar. Hierarchical table of contents for navigating long documents. Click any heading to jump, collapse or expand all sections at once.
• Teleprompter. Auto-scroll your document at adjustable speed. No other Markdown editor has this.
• Always ready. Lives in the system tray. Close the window, it stays running. Next file opens instantly. Ctrl+S saves directly to disk.

Screenshots

<table> <tr> <td><a href="screenshots/screenshot-edit-1.png"><img src="screenshots/screenshot-edit-1.png" width="100%" alt="Edit mode" /></a><br /><strong>Edit mode</strong> — split-pane with live preview</td> <td><a href="screenshots/screenshot-read-2.png"><img src="screenshots/screenshot-read-2.png" width="100%" alt="Math and diagrams" /></a><br /><strong>Math & Diagrams</strong> — KaTeX + Mermaid, built-in</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="screenshots/screenshot-edit-2.png"><img src="screenshots/screenshot-edit-2.png" width="100%" alt="Math and diagrams, edit mode" /></a><br /><strong>Math in Edit mode</strong> — source on the left, render on the right</td> <td><a href="screenshots/screenshot-color-tokens.png"><img src="screenshots/screenshot-color-tokens.png" width="100%" alt="Color tokens" /></a><br /><strong>Color tokens</strong> — adaptive colored text with swatches</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="screenshots/screenshot-read-3.png"><img src="screenshots/screenshot-read-3.png" width="100%" alt="Tables and lists" /></a><br /><strong>Tables & Checklists</strong> — with blockquotes</td> <td><a href="screenshots/screenshot-collapse.png"><img src="screenshots/screenshot-collapse.png" width="100%" alt="Collapsible sections" /></a><br /><strong>Collapsible sections</strong> — fold any heading, block counts</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="screenshots/screenshot-dark-night-mode.png"><img src="screenshots/screenshot-dark-night-mode.png" width="100%" alt="Dark mode" /></a><br /><strong>Dark mode</strong> — full theme, easy on the eyes</td> <td><a href="screenshots/screenshot-dark-wide.png"><img src="screenshots/screenshot-dark-wide.png" width="100%" alt="Dark wide layout" /></a><br /><strong>Wide layout</strong> — dark mode + syntax highlighting</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="screenshots/screenshot-zen-mode.png"><img src="screenshots/screenshot-zen-mode.png" width="100%" alt="Zen mode" /></a><br /><strong>Zen mode</strong> — distraction-free writing</td> <td><a href="screenshots/screenshot-source-1.png"><img src="screenshots/screenshot-source-1.png" width="100%" alt="Source view" /></a><br /><strong>Source view</strong> — raw Markdown, monospace</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="screenshots/screenshot-outline-light.png"><img src="screenshots/screenshot-outline-light.png" width="100%" alt="Outline sidebar" /></a><br /><strong>Outline sidebar</strong> — hierarchical TOC for navigation</td> <td><a href="screenshots/screenshot-outline-dark.png"><img src="screenshots/screenshot-outline-dark.png" width="100%" alt="Outline sidebar dark" /></a><br /><strong>Outline (dark)</strong> — click any heading to jump</td> </tr> <tr> <td><a href="screenshots/screenshot-help-modal.png"><img src="screenshots/screenshot-help-modal.png" width="100%" alt="Help modal" /></a><br /><strong>Help & shortcuts</strong> — built-in reference</td> <td><img src="screenshots/demo-teleprompter.gif" width="100%" alt="Teleprompter demo" /><br /><strong>Teleprompter</strong> — auto-scroll at adjustable speed</td> </tr> </table>

Features

• ✏️ Live split-pane editor with formatting toolbar
• 🧮 LaTeX math via KaTeX (inline $E=mc^2$ and display $$blocks$$)
• 📊 Mermaid diagrams (flowcharts, sequence diagrams, Gantt charts)
• 🎨 Syntax highlighting for 30+ languages
• 🌙 Dark/light theme toggle
• 🧘 Zen mode for distraction-free writing
• 📐 Wide/narrow layout toggle
• 🧭 Outline sidebar (hierarchical TOC for navigating long documents)
• 📂 Collapsible sections (click any heading to fold)
• 🎬 Teleprompter mode (auto-scroll for presentations)
• 📤 Export to standalone HTML
• 🔗 File association (register .md files with a custom document icon)
• 🚀 Start with Windows (silent, in tray)
• 🪟 Single-instance (second launch opens files in the existing window)
• 💾 Direct save to disk (Ctrl+S, no download dialogs)
• 🔎 Find and replace (Ctrl+F)
• 🎨 Color tokens for adaptive colored text

See GUIDE.md for the full feature reference with examples.

Comparison

| | MDLook | Typora | Obsidian | VS Code | |---|---|---|---|---| | Portable (no install) | Yes | No | No | No | | Fully offline | Yes | Partial | Partial | No | | Double-click to open .md | Yes | Yes | No | No | | Math (KaTeX) | Built-in | Built-in | Plugin | Plugin | | Diagrams (Mermaid) | Built-in | Built-in | Plugin | Plugin | | Teleprompter mode | Yes | No | No | No | | Size | 42 MB | ~80 MB | ~300 MB | ~500 MB | | Free | Yes | $15 | Free* | Free | | Electron | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |

*Obsidian Sync and Publish are paid.

Download

Portable zip (31 MB) - Unzip anywhere, run MDLook.exe. Works from a USB stick.

Installer (22 MB) - Standard Next > Next > Finish setup.

FAQ

Will MDLook support macOS or Linux?

It's on the radar. MDLook started as a personal tool I built to solve my own problem as a physician. Windows is what I use daily, so that's where it runs today. If there's enough demand, cross-platform is the natural next step. Open an issue if this matters to you; that's how I gauge interest.

Is MDLook free?

MDLook is currently free to use.

My antivirus flagged MDLook as suspicious.

This is a known false positive. MDLook is built with PyInstaller, which bundles a Python runtime into a single executable. Many antivirus engines flag PyInstaller apps by default because malware authors sometimes use the same tool. You can verify the app is safe by checking the VirusTotal scan linked in each release.

How do I report a bug or request a feature?

Open an issue on this repository.

License

Copyright 2026 Henrique Djosci Coêlho de Sá. All rights reserved.