Feather MD

Important

Attention existing users (v1.2.7 and older): We have introduced native Over-the-Air Auto-Updates in version 1.3.0. To enable automatic updates moving forward, please download and install the latest release manually one last time. Download v1.3.1 Here

A native-feeling, zero-bloat dual-pane Markdown editor for Windows and Linux. Built with Tauri 2, CodeMirror 6, and Marked.js. No Electron, no Node.js runtime, and no background services.

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Performance Budget & Design Constraints

Feather MD is engineered strictly around performance budgets to guarantee a lightweight, instantaneous editing experience.

• Cold Start Time: Under 100ms from double-click to fully loaded content.
• Installer Size: Under 10MB (typically ~3.5MB binary size).
• Runtime RAM: Under 60MB when handling a 10,000-word file (under 30MB at idle with empty file).
• Keystroke-to-Preview Latency: Under 200ms (150ms debounce + <50ms render).
• CPU Idle: Under 1% (no polling loops or active timers run without user activity).
• Data Privacy: Zero telemetry, zero external network calls.

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Tech Stack

Layer	Component	Description / Advantage
Shell & Native	Tauri 2 (Rust)	Bypasses Chromium by leveraging the OS WebView.
WebView Runtime	WebView2 (Win) / WebKitGTK (Linux)	Native OS system libraries with zero setup overhead.
Auto-Updater	Tauri Updater & Process Plugins	Secure Over-The-Air updates with Ed25519 signatures.
Editor Pane	CodeMirror 6	Tree-shaken bundle (~300KB) providing precise line-based scroll control.
Markdown Engine	Marked.js 9 + DOMPurify	Fast synchronous Markdown parser with built-in XSS sanitization.
Bundler	Vite 6	Generates a single, highly optimized ~400KB production asset.
Themes	CSS Custom Properties	Fast, zero-JS style transitions using standard document attributes.

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Core Features

File Handling & System Integration

• Over-the-Air Auto-Updater: Pure native update check on startup with cryptographically signed installers and seamless in-app relaunch.
• Command Line Launch: Execute feathermd <path> to open files instantly.
• OS File Associations: Automatic integration with .md and .markdown files.
• Smart Guard Dialog: Reliable local Save / Don't Save / Cancel flows upon close, new, or open operations on modified files.
• Offline First: Complete local operations with zero cloud or background synchronization.

Editor & Layout

• CodeMirror 6 Core: Full Markdown syntax styling, auto-close brackets/quotes, and clean line numbers.
• Keyboard Navigation: Native commands alongside an optional lazy-loaded Vim input mode (~40KB payload).
• Vibrant Layout Split: 50/50 split resizable divider (20% to 80% boundaries) with double-click reset to center.
• Passive Synchronized Scrolling: Scroll ratio calculation matches view positions instantly, driven by passive event listeners.
• Custom UI Frame: Borderless window layout using HTML title bar controls and inline SVG sprites.

Styling & Theming

• Color Schemes: 10 curated CSS themes (5 light, 5 dark) tailored for readability.
• System Schemes: Automatic detection matching prefers-color-scheme.
• Instant Transitions: Style variables change instantaneously without layout recalculation.

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Key Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl + N	Create a new file
Ctrl + O	Open an existing file
Ctrl + S	Save current file
Ctrl + Shift + S	Save file as new target
Ctrl + L	Toggle line numbers
Alt + Z	Toggle word wrap
Alt + S	Toggle scroll synchronization
Ctrl + ,	Toggle inline settings panel

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Setup & Local Development

Requirements

• Node.js: v18 or later
• Rust Toolchain: Stable release channel
• System Dependencies:
  • Windows: WebView2 runtime (pre-installed on Windows 10/11)
  • Linux: libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev, build-essential, curl, wget, file, libssl-dev, libgtk-3-dev, libayatana-appindicator3-dev, librsvg2-dev

Running the Application

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Start the dev server & hot-reloading Tauri shell
npm run tauri dev

Building the Production Executable

To compile optimized release builds, run the appropriate target commands:

# Build the production executable and installer
npm run tauri build

The resulting binaries will be located under:

• Windows: src-tauri/target/release/bundle/nsis/Feather MD_<version>_x64-setup.exe
• Linux: src-tauri/target/release/bundle/deb/ or src-tauri/target/release/bundle/appimage/