ShowMarkdown — Markdown viewer for Windows

What you get

Built for the way AI actually works

Style profiles

GitHub docs look like GitHub docs. Technical reports look like reports. Switch rendering style to match what you're reading, or set your own heading style in the Windows app. Want complete custom profiles? markdownword handles custom style profiles.

Frontmatter, done right

YAML frontmatter isn't dumped as raw text. The title field becomes your heading, and everything else — status, owner, date — turns into a clean metadata strip.

Images, inline and remote

Relative image paths resolve automatically when a file is open. Paste Markdown with a remote image URL and it renders instantly — no file needed.

Mermaid diagrams

AI-generated flowcharts and sequence diagrams in fenced ```mermaid blocks render as real diagrams — not code.

Three ways to read

Toggle between rendered Preview, raw Source, or side-by-side Split view — in the Windows app. Find works in every mode.

Tabs and tab groups

Open several Markdown files in one window and save the set as a tab group to reopen later. Give a tab a name, a color and a note. Ctrl+Tab to switch, Ctrl+W to close — in the Windows app.

Dark mode

Follows your Windows system theme automatically. Light, dark, or auto — no restart needed, no configuration required.

Print and export

Take AI-generated documents to paper or PDF with Ctrl+P. Formatted output — not a wall of Markdown symbols.

Not Markdown yet?

Open or drop a Word, PDF, Excel, PowerPoint, or HTML file and ShowMarkdown offers to convert it with Markdownizer first — in the Windows app.

Free, always

ShowMarkdown costs nothing and will stay free. No subscription, no trial, no catch.

Mark Angel, the markdownheaven mascot, giving a thumbs up.

$ShowMarkdown with a saved tab group open: several Markdown files as named, colored tabs in one window$

Tabs

Keep it open beside your project

AI tools write plans, specs, notes and answers as Markdown files in your project folder — a code repo, an Obsidian vault, a Claude Cowork project. Keep ShowMarkdown open next to your editor or AI app and read them as documents.

Every file in one window — the README, the plan and the latest AI answer, each in its own tab. Switch with Ctrl+Tab, close with Ctrl+W.
Follows the AI as it writes — set file changes to reload automatically, and a tab updates the moment an agent rewrites the file.
Opens where you click — double-click a .md file in File Explorer and it joins the running window as a new tab. Drop several files and each gets its own tab.
Save the set — name the open files as a tab group and reopen them later, in this window or in a new one. Give a tab its own name, color and note; they are saved with the group, and the app asks before anything would be lost.
Several windows — move or copy a tab to another window or a new window from its right-click menu, and copy its path or open its folder.
Your call — prefer one document per window? Choose New window in Settings.

Available in the Windows app.

Diagrams

Diagrams, not code

Mermaid in the preview — a ```mermaid block renders as a real diagram: flowcharts, sequence diagrams and more.
Made for AI output — ChatGPT, Claude and Copilot often answer with Mermaid. Open the file and see the picture, not the syntax.
Works offline — the diagram engine is built into the app. Nothing is loaded from the internet.

Available in the Windows app and the web app. Offline in the Windows app.

Need it in Word? MarkdownWord for Windows keeps your Mermaid diagrams as real diagrams in the Word file.

$ShowMarkdown showing a Markdown document with a Mermaid flowchart rendered as a diagram: edge sensors feed an ingest service and TimescaleDB, which drives dashboards and alerts$

$ShowMarkdown in dark mode, showing a document with LaTeX formulas typeset as equations: a root-mean-square formula and a discrete Fourier transform$

Formulas

Math that reads like math

LaTeX in the preview — write $E = mc^2$ inside a sentence, or put $$ on its own lines for a centered equation. It is typeset, not shown as code.
Fenced math blocks — a ```math block renders as a display equation, the way many AI tools write them.
Works offline — the math engine is built into the app. Nothing is loaded from the internet.
Prices stay prices — text like "$5 and $10" is left alone and not mistaken for a formula.

Available in the Windows app.

Make it yours

Set it up once, then forget about it

Default profile and content width — pick how documents render by default, and how wide the page reads.
Auto-reload on file changes — save in your editor, see it update in ShowMarkdown instantly.
WikiLinks support — enable [[WikiLink]] syntax for Obsidian-style vaults.
Code highlight theme — auto-match your Windows light/dark setting, or lock in one theme.
Default save folder — point exports wherever your documents live.

ShowMarkdown settings dialog — startup, file watching, display, and file options

FAQ

Questions people ask

Mark Angel, the markdownheaven mascot, thinking.

Is ShowMarkdown free?

Yes. ShowMarkdown is free and will stay free — no subscription, no trial, no account. That goes for both the Windows app and the web app.

How do I read a Markdown answer from ChatGPT or Claude?

Save the answer as a .md file and open it in the Windows app, or paste the Markdown straight into the web app at app.showmarkdown.com. Headings, lists, tables and code blocks show up formatted instead of as symbols.

Does it show Mermaid diagrams?

Yes. A ```mermaid block renders as a real diagram — flowcharts, sequence diagrams and more — in both the Windows app and the web app. In the Windows app the diagram engine is built in, so it works offline.

Does it render LaTeX math?

Yes, in the Windows app. Inline $…$, display $$…$$ and ```math blocks are typeset as equations, and text like "$5 and $10" is left alone.

Can I print or save as PDF?

Yes. Press Ctrl+P to print the formatted document or save it as a PDF — not a wall of Markdown symbols.

Can I open several Markdown files at once?

Yes. The Windows app opens each file as a tab in one window: from File Explorer, by dropping several files on it, or with Open. Switch tabs with Ctrl+Tab and close them with Ctrl+W. Save the open files as a named tab group to reopen them later, in the same window or a new one. If you prefer one document per window, choose New window in Settings.

What does the Windows app add over the web version?

Tabs and tab groups for several files in one window, Preview, Source and Split views, LaTeX math, auto-reload when the file changes, WikiLinks for Obsidian vaults, offline use, and an offer to convert Word, PDF, Excel, PowerPoint or HTML files with Markdownizer first.

AI writes Markdown.
Now view it your way.

Built for the way AI actually works

Style profiles

Frontmatter, done right

Images, inline and remote

Mermaid diagrams

Three ways to read

Tabs and tab groups

Dark mode

Print and export

Not Markdown yet?

Free, always

Keep it open beside your project

Diagrams, not code

Math that reads like math

Set it up once, then forget about it

Works in the browser too

Questions people ask

Markdown is how AI communicates.
Here's how you work with it.

AI writes Markdown.Now view it your way.

Built for the way AI actually works

Style profiles

Frontmatter, done right

Images, inline and remote

Mermaid diagrams

Three ways to read

Tabs and tab groups

Dark mode

Print and export

Not Markdown yet?

Free, always

Keep it open beside your project

Diagrams, not code

Math that reads like math

Set it up once, then forget about it

Works in the browser too

Questions people ask

Markdown is how AI communicates.Here's how you work with it.

AI writes Markdown.
Now view it your way.

Markdown is how AI communicates.
Here's how you work with it.