Open Markdown in Chrome
Right-click any Markdown file in the VSCode Explorer and open it instantly in Google Chrome.
No configuration needed to get started. One click, zero friction.
How It Works
This extension adds a single context menu item — Open in Chrome — to any .md file in the Explorer panel. When clicked, it runs the macOS open -a command under the hood, sending your file directly to Chrome exactly as if you had typed:
open -a "Google Chrome" /path/to/your/file.md
Chrome receives a file:// URI and handles the file natively. If you have a Markdown rendering extension installed in Chrome (such as Markdown Viewer), it will render the file beautifully — and auto-reload it every time you save from VSCode.
Usage
- Open any folder containing
.md files in VSCode
- In the Explorer panel, right-click any
.md file
- Select Open in Chrome from the context menu
That's it. Chrome opens (or focuses an existing window) and loads your file.
Requirements
- macOS only — this extension uses the macOS
open command
- Google Chrome installed (or see Configuration to use a different browser)
- Recommended: A Chrome Markdown extension to render
.md files as HTML
Recommended Chrome Extension
For the best experience, install Markdown Viewer in Chrome, then:
- Go to
chrome://extensions
- Find Markdown Viewer → click Details
- Enable Allow access to file URLs
Chrome will now render any file:///*.md URL as formatted Markdown with live reload on save.
Configuration
Open Settings (⌘,) and search for md-in-chrome, or edit your settings.json directly.
| Setting |
Default |
Description |
md-in-chrome.browserApp |
"Google Chrome" |
The macOS app name passed to open -a. Change this to use a different browser. |
Examples
Use Chrome Canary instead of stable Chrome:
"md-in-chrome.browserApp": "Google Chrome Canary"
Use Chromium:
"md-in-chrome.browserApp": "Chromium"
Use Microsoft Edge:
"md-in-chrome.browserApp": "Microsoft Edge"
Note: The value must match the exact .app bundle name as it appears in your /Applications folder, without the .app suffix.
Troubleshooting
"Failed to open the file" error
This means the open -a command failed — most commonly because the browser app name in your settings doesn't match an installed application.
- Click Open Settings in the error notification
- Verify
md-in-chrome.browserApp matches your installed browser name exactly
- Check that the app exists in
/Applications/ — for example, /Applications/Google Chrome.app
The file opens but renders as plain text
Chrome does not natively render Markdown. You need a Chrome extension that intercepts file:// URIs and renders them. See Recommended Chrome Extension above.
- Confirm the file has a
.md extension
- Make sure you're right-clicking in the Explorer panel (the file tree), not in the editor tab bar or the editor itself
Why This Extension?
VSCode's built-in Markdown preview is great for quick checks, but it doesn't behave like a real browser. If you're writing documentation, README files, or anything destined for GitHub or a static site, previewing it in Chrome gives you the most accurate representation of how it will actually look — including your own CSS, Chrome extensions, and browser rendering quirks.
This extension removes the friction of manually navigating to a file in Chrome. Right-click → done.
License
MIT
