Open the classic directory browser picker

August 3, 2026 · View on GitHub

Terminal Markdown previewer — GUI-like experience.

leaf
_{See more screenshots in the features demo}

Install

Install the latest published binary.

macOS / Linux / Android / Termux:

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RivoLink/leaf/main/scripts/install.sh | sh

Windows:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RivoLink/leaf/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex

npm:

npm install -g @rivolink/leaf

Homebrew:

Install the leaf formula from Homebrew:

brew install leaf-markdown-viewer

Cargo:

Install the leaf crate from crates.io:

cargo install leaf-markdown-viewer

Scoop (Windows):

Install the leaf app from Scoop:

scoop install leaf-markdown-viewer

ArchLinux (AUR):

Use an AUR helper, such as yay:

yay -S leaf-markdown-viewer

Verify the installation:

leaf --version

Update

Update an existing installation to the latest published release.

Self:

leaf --update

leaf --update downloads the matching published asset, verifies it against the published checksums.txt SHA256, and then installs it.

On Windows, if replacing the running .exe is blocked by the OS, rerun the PowerShell installer from the install section.

npm:

npm update -g @rivolink/leaf

Homebrew:

brew upgrade leaf-markdown-viewer

Cargo:

cargo install leaf-markdown-viewer --force

Scoop (Windows):

scoop update leaf-markdown-viewer

Usage

# Open a Markdown file
leaf TESTING.md

# Watch mode — reloads automatically on save
leaf --watch TESTING.md
leaf -w TESTING.md

# Open the fuzzy Markdown picker
leaf

# Open the classic directory browser picker
leaf --picker

# Open the fuzzy Markdown picker, then watch the selected file
leaf -w

# Open the classic directory browser picker, then watch the selected file
leaf -w --picker

# Open a dash-prefixed filename
leaf -- -notes.md

# Pick a color theme
leaf --theme forest TESTING.md

# Set the external editor
leaf --editor nvim TESTING.md
leaf -e code TESTING.md

# Cap the content width (min: 20)
leaf --width 100 TESTING.md

# Stream Markdown from another CLI tool
claude "explain Rust lifetimes" | leaf

# Preview a local file through stdin
cat TESTING.md | leaf

Inline Mode

Render Markdown directly to stdout without the interactive TUI:

# Render to terminal with colors
leaf --inline README.md

# Force plain text, no ANSI codes (no colors)
leaf --inline plain README.md

# Force ANSI colors even when piping
leaf --inline ansi README.md

# Set a specific width
leaf --inline 60 README.md
leaf --inline ansi:60 README.md

# Pipe from stdin
cat README.md | leaf --inline

# Use as a fzf preview
fzf --preview 'leaf --inline ansi {}'
fzf --preview 'leaf --inline ansi:$FZF_PREVIEW_COLUMNS {}'

Shell Completions

Enable Tab completion for all arguments:

leaf --auto-complete

Supports bash, zsh, fish, and PowerShell. Restart your shell to activate.

Vim Integration

Add the following to your ~/.vimrc to preview the current Markdown file in a vertical split:

" Preview the current Markdown file in a vertical split using leaf
nnoremap <Leader>md :vertical botright terminal leaf -w %<CR>

Once added, use \md to open a live preview. To switch focus back to the Markdown buffer, press Ctrl+w,h.

Configuration

Set default values for theme, editor, watch mode and extra file types via config.toml:

leaf --config

This opens the configuration file in your editor. If the file does not exist yet, leaf creates it with documented defaults.

theme = "ocean"            # arctic, forest, ocean, solarized-dark, or a custom theme file
editor = "nano"            # any editor in PATH
watch = false              # auto-reload when opening a file
width = 80                 # maximum content width (min: 20, default: terminal width)
extras = ["txt", "rs"]     # extra file types shown in the picker
file-picker-width = "75%"  # width of the file picker (fuzzy + file browser)
code-line-numbers = true   # show line numbers inside fenced code blocks
tab-title-length = -1      # terminal tab title truncation (min: 20, -1: no truncation)

To reset the configuration to defaults:

leaf --config reset

To remove the configuration directory and all its contents:

leaf --config remove

All settings are optional. CLI arguments always take priority. See config.toml for details.

Open in Editor

Press Ctrl+E to open the current file in the configured editor.

Use {$line} in editor to open at the line currently visible in leaf:

editor = 'nano +{$line}'
editor = 'nvim +{$line} +"normal! zz"'

For further customization, {$path} is also available for the file path:

editor = 'code -g {$path}:{$line}'

Without {$line}, the editor opens at the top of the file.

Extra Files

Non-Markdown files can be listed in the file picker by adding their extensions to config.toml:

extras = ["txt", "csv", "rs", "java", "json", "yaml"]

Code files get syntax highlighting; text files are rendered as plain Markdown.

Any file can also be opened directly from the command line, regardless of the extras setting:

leaf main.rs

Browse and preview code files with fzf:

find . -name '*.rs' | fzf --preview 'leaf --inline ansi {}'

Custom Themes

Create a .toml file that inherits from a built-in theme and overrides specific colors:

theme = "/path/to/custom-theme.toml"

Relative paths are resolved from the config file directory.

# custom-theme.toml
base = "ocean"
syntax = "base16-ocean.dark"

[ui]
content_bg = "#282828"
toc_accent = "#fe8019"

[markdown]
text = "#ebdbb2"
heading_1 = "#fabd2f"

See gruvbox.toml for a complete example with all available color keys.

Keybindings

Key	Action	Key	Action
`j` / `↓`	Scroll down	`?`	Show help popup
`k` / `↑`	Scroll up	`t`	Toggle TOC sidebar
`d` / PgDn	Page down (20 lines)	`p`	Show file path
`u` / PgUp	Page up (20 lines)	`Shift+L`	Toggle line numbers
`g` / Home	Top	`Shift+T`	Open theme picker
`G` / End	Bottom	`Shift+E`	Open editor picker
`1-9` / `0+1-9`	Jump / reverse jump (TOC)	`Shift+P`	Open file browser
`J/K` / `U/D`	Navigate TOC	`Shift+M`	Toggle mouse capture
`y/Y` / `c/C`	Focus code block	`Ctrl+P`	Open fuzzy picker
`Ctrl+L`	Go to line	`Ctrl+E`	Open in editor
`Ctrl+F` / `/`	Find	`Ctrl+Click`	Open link
`n` / `N`	Next / prev match	`Double-Click` (link)	Copy link
`w`	Toggle watch mode	`Double-Click` (code)	Copy code block
`r`	Force reload (watch mode)	`Shift+Drag`	Select text
`q`	Quit	`Option+Drag`	Select text (iTerm2)

Features

Live preview : Watch mode with automatic reload and visual feedback.
File picker : Fuzzy Markdown picker, directory browser, and watch after selection.
Editor integration : Open the current file in your preferred editor.
Frontmatter support : YAML frontmatter rendered as a table (horizontal or vertical based on key count).
Rich Markdown rendering : Tables, lists, blockquotes, rules, bold, italic, and strikethrough.
GitHub extras : Alert callouts, task list checkboxes, and ==mark== text highlighting.
Extra file types : Open any file; code files get syntax highlighting, text files render as Markdown.
Syntax highlighting : Common aliases like py, cpp, json, toml, ps1, dockerfile.
Line numbers : Toggle display with Shift+L, jump to a line with Ctrl+L.
LaTeX support : Inline, block, and latex / tex code blocks rendered as formulas.
Mermaid diagrams : mermaid code blocks rendered as ASCII diagrams.
Clickable links : Ctrl+Click to open, double-click to copy, hover feedback.
Code block interactions : Focus and copy with y/Y / c/C, or double-click on a block.
Mouse capture : Shift+M to toggle mouse capture and let the terminal handle selection.
Navigation : TOC sidebar, active section tracking, heading jumps, and search.
Terminal UX : Theme picker, help popup, file path popup, mouse and keyboard support.
Custom themes : TOML theme files inheriting from built-in presets with color overrides.
Inline mode : Render to stdout with --inline for pipes and fzf previews.
Shell completions : Tab completion for bash, zsh, fish, and PowerShell via leaf --auto-complete.
CLI friendly : stdin support and leaf --update with SHA256 verification.

Typical AI Workflow

# Terminal 1: generate the file
aichat "..." > notes.md

# Terminal 2: live watch
leaf --watch notes.md

Troubleshooting

Windows: missing Visual C++ runtime

If leaf.exe does not start on Windows or reports a missing MSVC runtime, install the latest supported Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable from Microsoft Learn:

https://learn.microsoft.com/fr-fr/cpp/windows/latest-supported-vc-redist?view=msvc-170

Direct download for the latest supported X64 Microsoft Visual C++ Redistributable:

https://aka.ms/vc14/vc_redist.x64.exe

For leaf-windows-x86_64.exe, the relevant package is the latest supported X64 Visual C++ v14 Redistributable.

Windows: update or file replacement error

If leaf --update fails on Windows with an error about replacing, renaming, or writing leaf.exe, the running executable was likely locked by the OS.

Close any terminal session still running leaf, then rerun the PowerShell installer from the install section:

irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RivoLink/leaf/main/scripts/install.ps1 | iex

Windows: auto-complete execution policy error

If PowerShell reports that running scripts is disabled on this system after leaf --auto-complete, allow local scripts and restart PowerShell:

Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned -Scope CurrentUser

Uninstall

The uninstall script removes the leaf configuration, shell auto-completion, and binary. It is interactive, so download first and run locally.

macOS / Linux / Android / Termux:

# Download
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RivoLink/leaf/main/scripts/uninstall.sh -o uninstall.sh

# Run
sh uninstall.sh

Windows:

# Download
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/RivoLink/leaf/main/scripts/uninstall.ps1 -OutFile uninstall.ps1

# Run
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File .\uninstall.ps1

npm:

leaf --config remove
leaf --auto-complete remove

npm uninstall -g @rivolink/leaf

Homebrew:

leaf --config remove
leaf --auto-complete remove

brew uninstall leaf-markdown-viewer

Cargo:

leaf --config remove
leaf --auto-complete remove

cargo uninstall leaf-markdown-viewer

Scoop (Windows):

leaf --config remove
leaf --auto-complete remove

scoop uninstall leaf-markdown-viewer

Contributors

Thanks to all contributors.

Contributors

Support

Contributions are welcome. Feel free to open an issue or submit a pull request.

See the CONTRIBUTING.md file for details.

If you like leaf, consider giving the project a star ⭐

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License.

See the LICENSE file for details.