Smart TOC
Navigate long Markdown docs without leaving preview — a floating table of contents that tracks where you are, jumps on click, and stays out of your editor's way. Free to use.
Quick start
- Open a Markdown file.
- Open the built-in preview (
Ctrl+Shift+V / Cmd+Shift+V).
- The TOC panel appears automatically — click any heading to jump.
Why Smart TOC
- Floating panel — overlays the preview; no sidebar slot required
- Live scroll tracking — current section stays highlighted as you read
- Drag, resize, dock — place the panel where it works for you; position is remembered
- Collapse to a pill — one click hides the panel; click the edge pill to bring it back
- Copy outline — export headings as plain text, Markdown, HTML, or JSON
- Light & dark — follows your VS Code theme
Controls
| Action |
How |
| Jump to heading |
Click a heading in the TOC |
| Move panel |
Drag the panel header |
| Resize |
Drag an edge; double-click an edge to reset width or height to auto |
| Collapse |
Click × — a small TOC pill stays on the preview edge |
| Expand |
Click the pill |
| Copy headings |
⋮ menu → Copy as… |
| Configure keys |
⋮ menu → General… → Shortcuts…; choose Record, then press a modifier key and another key |
Keyboard shortcuts are stored in the Markdown preview and are not registered in VS Code's Keyboard Shortcuts editor. No shortcuts are assigned by default. Available actions include TOC visibility, heading navigation, search, theme, expand/collapse, and switching between floating and side-panel layouts. The settings panel lets you record, clear, or clear all mappings; duplicate mappings are rejected.
Known limitations
- Built-in Markdown preview only — not Markdown Preview Enhanced or other custom previews
- Outline starts at
h2 — the top-level # title is treated as the document title
Release notes
1.1.0
Polish and shared panel improvements:
- Panel stays fully on screen when the preview window is resized
- Double-click a resize edge to reset width or height to auto; the opposite edge stays fixed
- Sharper panel text rendering (positioning tweak)
- More stable scroll sync after internal architecture cleanup
- README refresh and link to the Chrome extension
1.0.0
Initial release: floating TOC panel, scroll tracking, click-to-jump, pill collapse, persisted layout, theme sync, copy/export.
Like this? Try Smart TOC for Chrome — the same floating TOC for any website. Free to use; optional in-app purchases for Pro.
