Markdown Live
Live-preview (WYSIWYG-style) Markdown editing for VS Code. You edit the real Markdown source — but syntax markers hide and block elements (headings, tables, images, diagrams, math) render inline as you type. Because it always edits the source directly, it can never silently reformat or corrupt your files.
Status: early development.
How it works
Markdown Live registers a custom editor for .md files, backed by CodeMirror 6. It does not hijack your Markdown files by default.
Open Markdown files in Markdown Live
- Per file: right-click a
.md file → Reopen Editor With… → Markdown Live.
- Automatically: enable the setting
Markdown Live: Open Markdown As Rendered. This manages the workbench.editorAssociations entry for *.md so every .md opens in Markdown Live.
Settings
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
markdownLive.openMarkdownAsRendered |
false |
Auto-open all .md files in Markdown Live (manages workbench.editorAssociations). |
markdownLive.fontFamily |
"" |
Reading font for the editor content. Empty = VS Code UI font. Code always uses editor.fontFamily. |
markdownLive.fontSize |
0 |
Content font size in px. 0 = VS Code editor font size. |
markdownLive.showLineNumbers |
false |
Show a line-number gutter (useful with Go to Line). |
Navigation
| Action |
Keybinding |
| Find |
Ctrl+F |
| Find next / previous |
F3 / Shift+F3 |
| Replace |
Ctrl+H |
| Go to Line |
Ctrl+G |
Find/Replace is a floating widget with Match Case / Whole Word / Regex toggles, a match count, and replace / replace-all. The editor toolbar also has 🔍 Find, ⇄ Replace, ☰ Go-to-Line, and ⚙️ Settings buttons.
Known limitations
Because Markdown Live is a webview-based custom editor, some native VS Code integrations can't drive it:
- Find-in-files results and the global Go to Line open the file but don't scroll/select inside the rendered view (VS Code #211351). Use the built-in Find (
Ctrl+F) and Go to Line (Ctrl+G) above, or Reopen With → Text Editor for global-search navigation.
Development
npm install
npm run build # or: npm run watch
Press F5 in VS Code to launch the Extension Development Host, then open any .md file.
License
MIT
