MarkdownObserver

March 31, 2026 ยท View on GitHub

A native macOS Markdown reader focused on fast preview, practical workspace workflows, and reliable file/folder watching.

Download on the App Store

Website: lars-pohlmann.de/markdownobserver

MarkdownObserver

More screenshots

Install

Features

  • Open and preview Markdown files in a native macOS app with syntax highlighting and rendered output.
  • Show breadcrumb context and watch details in the top bar.
  • Organize workspace files by subfolder with collapsible, pinnable sidebar groups.
  • Sort sidebar groups and files independently to match your workflow.
  • Save folder watches as favorites, then rename, reorder, edit, and reopen them quickly.
  • Handle large watched folders with a file selection dialog when many files are available.
  • Open multiple files at once and use window-local drag-and-drop routing.
  • Track live document changes with gutter indicators and comparison highlighting.

Requirements

  • macOS
  • Xcode (latest stable recommended)
  • Command line developer tools installed (xcode-select --install)

Quick Start (Source Build)

git clone https://github.com/larspohlmann/markdownobserver.git
cd markdownobserver
xcodebuild -resolvePackageDependencies -project minimark.xcodeproj -scheme minimark
xcodebuild -project minimark.xcodeproj -scheme minimark -configuration Debug -destination 'platform=macOS' build

Run tests:

xcodebuild test -project minimark.xcodeproj -scheme minimark -destination 'platform=macOS' -only-testing:minimarkTests

More details: docs/BUILDING.md

Project Layout

  • minimark/: App source code (views, stores, services, models, support types)
  • minimarkTests/: Unit and integration-style tests
  • minimarkUITests/: UI tests
  • Config/: Build and signing configuration
  • scripts/: Utility scripts for release/export workflows

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md for local setup, pull request flow, and quality checks.

Security

See SECURITY.md for how to report vulnerabilities.

Code of Conduct

See CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md.

Author

Lars Pohlmann

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE.

Third-Party Notices

MarkdownObserver includes third-party components distributed under their respective licenses. For full attributions and license links, see THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.