MDVIEW

SETUP GUIDE

How to open .md files
with a double-click

If opening a browser and dragging a file in every time is getting old, install MDVIEW as an app and make it the default program for .md files. There is no installer to download — the browser registers it directly. Two minutes.

  1. 01

    Open it in Chrome or Edge

    File handling exists only in Chromium-based desktop browsers. Firefox and Safari stop at this step — though dragging a file in to read it works everywhere.

  2. 02

    Install it as an app

    Press Install app at the top. If you cannot see it, use the install icon at the right edge of the address bar, or the browser menu ⋮ → Cast, save and share → Install page as app.

    Nothing is downloaded. The browser registers it directly and an icon appears in your taskbar and start menu.

  3. 03

    Make MDVIEW the default for .md

    The one manual step. Pick any .md file in your file manager:

    Right-click → Open with → Choose another app → MDVIEW → tick Always use this app

    On macOS it is Get Info → Open with → MDVIEW → Change All. If MDVIEW is not in the list, use Choose an app on your PC to locate it.

  4. 04

    Allow it on first launch

    The first time it opens, the browser asks “Allow MDVIEW to open .md files?” once. Allow it and it never asks again.

Checking it worked

Double-click any .md file. If the rendered document appears in its own window — no address bar, no tabs — you are done.

Removing it

Use ⋮ → Uninstall MDVIEW in the app window, or Windows Settings → Apps. Because the browser registered it rather than an installer, there is no uninstaller and nothing left in the registry. Point the file association wherever you like afterwards.

Does it work on macOS and Linux?

Yes. Install through Chrome or Edge and set the default application the same way — only the menu names differ.

Will it work on a work computer?

Usually. It needs no administrator rights and downloads no installer. If your organisation blocks web app installs by policy the install button simply never appears — drag files onto the site instead.

Does it work offline?

Yes. Once installed the app is stored by the browser and runs without a network. Files were never sent anywhere to begin with, so nothing needs a connection.

Once this is set up you will not need the home page again — just double-click the file.