wowMD

中文说明

wowMD is a lightweight Chrome extension that turns long public GitHub README and Markdown pages into a cleaner, structured reading experience.

What It Does

wowMD focuses on one common workflow: reading long and complex README files or .md / .markdown documents on GitHub.

When a supported page is complex enough to benefit from structured reading, wowMD shows a Better View button near the document. Clicking it opens a right-side panel with an outline, section navigation, and a reading view. For longer sessions, Open full reader opens an extension-owned full-screen reader in a new browser tab.

Preview

These preview images and video are included only to demonstrate wowMD. They are brand-identifying assets and are not licensed for reuse.

Install

Chrome Web Store

The Chrome Web Store version is currently under review. Store submission materials are not included in this public repository.

Load Locally

Until the Chrome Web Store listing is approved, load the extension locally:

1. Download or clone this repository.
2. Open Chrome and go to chrome://extensions/.
3. Enable Developer mode.
4. Click Load unpacked.
5. Select the extension/ directory.
6. Open a public GitHub README or .md page.

Key Features

• Appears only when useful: short README pages stay clean and undisturbed.
• Outline first: the panel opens with a structured outline instead of duplicating the full document.
• Outline navigation: clicking an outline item switches to Read and scrolls to the matching heading.
• Clear return path: the Read view includes Back to outline.
• Right-side reading panel: GitHub remains the main page, while wowMD acts as a reading aid.
• Full-screen reader: Open full reader opens a local structured reader in a new tab.
• Independent H2 folding: long documents can be collapsed section by section.
• Code highlighting: code blocks stay readable whenever possible.
• Horizontal table scrolling: wide tables do not break the panel layout.
• Relative image path fix: common README image paths are rewritten so images can render.
• Safe rendering: rendered HTML is sanitized before insertion.
• Friendly error states: technical errors such as 403, 404, TypeError, or stack traces are not shown directly to users.

Product Scope

wowMD v0.x is a reading aid, not a full documentation platform.

Currently supported:

• Public GitHub repository README pages.
• Public GitHub .md file pages.
• Public GitHub .markdown file pages.
• Right-side reading panel.
• Extension-owned full-screen reader tab.
• Document outline, reading view, H2 folding, code blocks, tables, and image path fixes.

Not currently supported:

• Private repositories.
• Non-GitHub websites.
• GitHub Issues, Pull Requests, Wiki pages, or other GitHub surfaces.
• Non-Markdown files.
• AI summaries, translation, editing, bookmarks, cloud sync, accounts, or settings.

Future premium features may be provided through the wowmd.app API, but the current full-screen reader remains local and does not upload document content.

How to Use

1. Open a public GitHub repository README or Markdown file page, for example:
   • https://github.com/facebook/react
   • https://github.com/owner/repo/blob/main/README.md
2. If the document is complex enough, Better View appears near the document.
3. Click Better View to open the right-side panel.
4. Browse the Outline.
5. Click an outline item to switch to Read and scroll to the matching section.
6. Use Back to outline at the top of Read to return to the outline.
7. Click Open full reader at the bottom of the panel to open the full-screen reader in a new tab.

Privacy

wowMD is designed to access as little as possible.

• It does not collect personal information.
• It does not upload document content to third-party services.
• It does not use AI, cloud analysis, or remote configuration.
• It does not read browsing history, cookies, account information, or local files.
• It does not request Raw Markdown or GitHub API content before the user clicks Better View.
• After the user clicks the entry, wowMD may request the current public Markdown document so it can render the reading panel or full-screen reader.
• The full-screen reader asks the background service worker to write the current document into chrome.storage.session temporarily; the data stays in browser session memory and is not persisted.

Permissions

Host permissions declared in manifest.json:

• https://github.com/*: detect supported GitHub README / Markdown pages and inject the entry point.
• https://raw.githubusercontent.com/*: fetch public Markdown content after the user clicks the entry.
• https://api.github.com/*: fallback for public README / content retrieval when the Raw URL is unavailable.

Chrome permissions declared by the extension:

"permissions": ["storage"]

storage is used only to pass the current document to the extension-owned full-screen reader tab through the background service worker and chrome.storage.session.

Development

The extension is a Manifest V3 Chrome extension. The loadable extension root is extension/.

There is no build step for the current version. Edit the files under extension/, then reload the unpacked extension from chrome://extensions/.

Before release, verify:

• Long README pages show Better View.
• Short README pages do not show the entry.
• No raw.githubusercontent.com or api.github.com/repos/... request happens before the user clicks the entry.
• The panel opens on Outline by default.
• Outline item clicks switch to Read.
• Open full reader opens the full-screen reader in a new tab.
• Outline navigation, active-section highlighting, H2 folding, images, tables, and code blocks work in the full-screen reader.
• GitHub SPA navigation does not leave stale entries behind.
• The console has no obvious extension errors.

Repository Layout

• extension/: Chrome extension source.
• docs/media/: preview images and demo video for this repository.
• CHANGELOG.md: release history.
• THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md: bundled library license notices.
• TRADEMARKS.md: wowMD brand asset usage policy.

License

Source code and documentation are licensed under the MIT License. The wowMD name, logos, icons, screenshots, promotional images, store listing artwork, and other brand-identifying assets are not licensed for reuse. See LICENSE, TRADEMARKS.md, and THIRD_PARTY_NOTICES.md.

If you fork or redistribute this project, replace the wowMD name, icons, screenshots, promotional images, and store listing artwork with your own brand assets.

Status

• Current version: 0.1.0
• Recommended release stage: Beta