mdread 0.1.0

The first release of mdread, a fast, minimal Markdown reader for Windows.

Download

File	What it is
mdread_0.1.0_x64-setup.exe	Installer (per-user, no admin needed). Registers mdread for .md, .markdown, .mdown, .mkd, .mkdn.
mdread-0.1.0-x64-portable.exe	Single exe, no install. Run mdread-0.1.0-x64-portable.exe file.md.

These builds aren't code-signed, so Windows SmartScreen may warn on first run: choose More info → Run anyway. Checksums are in SHA256SUMS.txt.

Requires Windows 10 or 11 with the WebView2 runtime, which is preinstalled on Windows 11. The installer fetches it if it's missing.

What's in 0.1.0

• GitHub-flavored Markdown rendered in Rust (pulldown-cmark): tables, task lists, strikethrough, footnotes, autolinks, alerts (> [!NOTE]). YAML front matter is hidden.
• Open by command-line argument, double-click (installer), drag and drop, or Ctrl+O.
• Light, dark and system themes (Ctrl+T), remembered between runs; text zoom (Ctrl+= / Ctrl+- / Ctrl+0).
• Live reload when the file changes on disk, including editors that save via a temp file, keeping your scroll position.
• Relative images and links: links to other Markdown files open in mdread, with back/forward (Alt+← / Alt+→). Web links open in your browser.
• Safe by default: scripts embedded in Markdown never run, and links to local non-Markdown files are revealed in Explorer, never executed.
• Fast startup: the window appears only once content is painted (no white flash), and big files show their first screen immediately. On the test machine a 1 MiB file opens as fast as a small one (~450–600 ms, mostly WebView2 startup).

Known limitations

• No find-in-page, syntax highlighting, editing, export, or tabs yet.
• Windows only for now.
• Not yet verified by hand: the Open dialog, drag and drop, external-link opening, and mouse back/forward buttons. The automated end-to-end checks cover rendering, links, history, live reload and the CSP.