Troff Preview
Preview Troff and roff documents in a side-by-side VS Code editor pane. The extension renders the current editor contents with GNU groff and refreshes the preview as you edit, including unsaved changes.
Features
- Side-by-side HTML preview for Troff, roff, and numbered man pages.
- Live refresh while editing.
- Configurable groff macro package, with
man as the default.
- Uses groff's safer mode when rendering documents.
Requirements
Install GNU groff and make sure groff is available on the extension host's PATH. The HTML output device must be installed. Verify it by running:
groff -S -Thtml -m man
For remote workspaces, install groff in the environment where the VS Code extension host runs.
Usage
Open a .tr, .troff, .roff, or numbered man-page file, then run Troff: Open Preview from the Command Palette or press Ctrl+Shift+V (Cmd+Shift+V on macOS). The preview opens beside the editor and follows unsaved edits.
Settings
troffPreview.macroPackage selects the groff macro package. It defaults to man; set it to ms, me, another installed package, or an empty string for plain Troff.
Development
npm ci
npm run compile
npm run lint
Press F5 in VS Code to launch an Extension Development Host.
