Dunkel PDF Viewer brings calm, consistent PDF reading into Visual Studio Code. Open a document and you will find a focused interface that keeps the page front and centre while giving you quick controls for themes, zoom and lightweight annotations.
Highlights
Three handcrafted looks – Switch between Regular, Dark and Sand themes directly from the toolbar to match your lighting or preference.
Always-on toolbar – Jump pages, fine-tune zoom or bookmark your current view without leaving the editor.
Right-click annotations – Add notes, capture quotes, copy page text or mark a favourite page through an accessible context menu.
Auto-saved reading companion – Notes, quotes and bookmarks sync into a side panel and are written to a Markdown file next to your PDF for later review.
Global theme commands – Change every open Dunkel viewer at once from the Command Palette or your own keybindings.
Quick start
Open the Extensions view in VS Code (Ctrl + Shift + X / Cmd + Shift + X).
Search for Dunkel PDF Viewer and click Install.
Open any .pdf file. When prompted, choose Dunkel PDF Viewer as the editor (you can make it the default via Open With…).
Reading with Dunkel
Navigate with ease
Scroll naturally or use the ◀/▶ buttons to move one page at a time.
A live indicator shows the current page and the total number of pages so you always know where you are.
Control the view
Use the zoom slider for quick scaling between 50 % and 200 %; the percentage readout updates in real time.
Toggle between Regular, Dark and Sand themes from the toolbar. Dunkel remembers your last choice across workspaces.
Prefer commands? Run Dunkel PDF: Use Regular Theme, …Dark Theme, or …Sand Theme from the Command Palette to apply a theme to every open viewer simultaneously.
Capture what matters
Right-click anywhere on a page to open the context menu.
Add note and Add quote prompt for text and pin it to the selected page.
Toggle favourite bookmarks the page so it stands out in the viewer and toolbar button.
Copy page text places the page’s text on your clipboard when available.
An annotation column appears beside any page with saved notes or quotes, letting you skim your highlights as you read.
Dunkel stores everything in a Markdown file (<document>.dk.md) next to your PDF so your annotations are portable, searchable and shareable outside the editor.
Stay organised
The bookmark button in the toolbar mirrors the context-menu favourite toggle, making it easy to mark the page you are viewing.
Bookmarks, notes and quotes update instantly across all open tabs of the same document.
Requirements
Visual Studio Code 1.85.0 or newer
No additional dependencies needed
Need help?
Open an issue in the repository or contact the publisher through the VS Code Marketplace listing. Feedback on accessibility, readability or new theme ideas is always welcome.
License
Dunkel PDF Viewer is released under the MIT License.
