Markdown42

A Typora-style live Markdown editor for VS Code — no split panes, just your document.

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Why Markdown42?

VS Code's built-in Markdown support requires a split pane — one pane to type raw syntax, another to preview. Markdown42 eliminates that entirely.

	VS Code built-in	Markdown42
Edit raw Markdown	✅	✅ (Source tab)
Live rendered preview	Side pane only	✅ Inline, always
Click to edit any block	❌	✅
Document outline	❌	✅ Live, scroll-synced
Copy button on code blocks	❌	✅
Auto-save	❌	✅

Features

Inline WYSIWYG editing

Click any paragraph, heading, list, table, or blockquote to edit it in place. The rest of the document stays rendered. Press Escape to commit and return to preview.

Preview / Source tab bar

A [ Preview ] [ Source ] tab bar lives at the top of every file. Switch modes with a click or with `Ctrl+`` — the tab stays in sync either way.

Copy button on code blocks

Hover over any fenced code block to reveal a Copy button in the top-right corner. Click it — "Copied!" confirms the raw code is in your clipboard (no fences, no language tag).

GitHub-accurate rendering

Powered by markdown-it with full GFM support: task lists (- [ ]), tables, strikethrough, emoji (:tada:), and nested blockquotes.

Smart document outline

A live heading tree appears in the Explorer sidebar whenever a Markdown42 file is active. It scrolls in sync with your document as you read.

Auto-save

Every inline edit is written to disk automatically (Typora-style). Disable in settings if you prefer Ctrl+S.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+\`` / Cmd+``	Toggle Preview ↔ Source
`Ctrl+S` / `Cmd+S`	Save
Click any block	Enter inline edit mode
`Escape`	Commit edit, return to preview

Settings

Setting	Default	Description
`markdown42.defaultMode`	`preview`	Open files in `preview` or `source` mode
`markdown42.fontSize`	`16`	Base font size in px
`markdown42.lineWidth`	`860`	Max content width in px
`markdown42.autoSave`	`true`	Save automatically after every edit
`markdown42.syncScrollOutline`	`true`	Highlight active heading in Explorer outline
`markdown42.renderDelay`	`150`	Debounce delay before re-render (ms)

License

MIT — built with love for everyone who just wants to write.

Markdown42 — Live Markdown Editor

Shaf