Navigation
Folders, trees, and nested docs
Open single files or entire documentation folders, pin the ones you keep coming back to, and browse the whole forest instead of pecking at one file at a time.
Reference
Vanilla Markdown focuses on local file reading: full Markdown rendering, folder browsing, local link resolution, table of contents navigation, search, and keyboard-first movement.
Open one file, a folder, or the whole docs tree. The app stays focused on reading and navigation.
What’s in the tub
Built for reading real documentation trees.
Reading
Full Markdown rendering
Tables, task lists, autolinks, fenced code blocks, strikethrough, the works. Your README should look like your README, not like it got melted on the way over.
Structure
Live table of contents
Generate navigation from headings, jump between sections, and keep the active one in view while you scroll or search. Honestly a bit of a show-off.
Links
Local links that resolve correctly
Follow relative file paths, absolute paths, home-directory links, and heading anchors so your docs behave like connected docs instead of little isolated puddles.
Search
Fast find-in-document
Search the current file, highlight every match, and hop through results with wrap-around behavior and section-aware context. No treasure hunt required.
Workflow
Keyboard-first shortcuts
Jump sections, switch files, move back and forward, and tune the shortcuts to your liking because yes, of course you have opinions about key bindings.
The nice part
Readable first. Fiddly later.
The point of the app is to make Markdown pleasant to read from the first open. Rendering quality, search, and section navigation show up immediately. The controls are there, they just don’t stomp around like they own the place.
- Full Markdown rendering for tables, task lists, links, and code blocks
- Search with match highlighting and jump navigation
- Theme and zoom controls for long-form reading comfort
And also
The small things that quietly make it better.
Dual rendering engines
Vanilla includes a native rendering path plus an HTML-based fallback so weirdly ambitious Markdown still lands on the plate looking decent.
Document links panel
Collect every link and file reference in the current document and filter them from a dedicated panel instead of hunting through the source by hand.
Session memory
Restore your open files, folders, zoom level, and reading context after relaunching the app. Like a good bookmark, not a goldfish.
Theme and zoom controls
Choose system, light, or dark mode and adjust text size without touching the underlying Markdown or fiddling with your files.
More scoops
Keep wandering the freezer aisle
Open Markdown files on Mac
Explain the practical file-opening workflow and supported extensions.
Read README collections locally
Show how the app fits project docs, knowledge bases, and linked folder trees.
Viewer vs editor
Clarify why a read-only app can be a better fit than a Markdown editor.
Marked 2 alternative
Compare Vanilla with a preview-focused viewer companion built for writers.
One last scoop
No waffle. No spoon. Just the reader.
Vanilla keeps the feature list centered on local file access, rendering, search, and movement through documentation, then stops before it becomes another all-purpose Markdown app.