Pretty Markdown

A beautiful and feature-rich Markdown preview and PDF export extension for Visual Studio Code.

Features

• Beautiful Preview: Clean, professional styling with syntax highlighting
• PDF Export: One-click export to high-quality PDF files
• Web PDF Download: Export PDF directly in vscode.dev
• Live Preview: Real-time preview updates as you type
• Syntax Highlighting: Code blocks with vibrant, readable colors
• Responsive Design: Optimized for both screen and print
• Zero Configuration: Works out of the box with sensible defaults
• Action Explorer: Detect runnable commands in Markdown files and execute them safely from the sidebar

Quick Start

1. Install the extension from the VS Code Marketplace
2. Open any .md file
3. Use Ctrl+Shift+P (or Cmd+Shift+P on Mac) to open the command palette
4. Type "Pretty Markdown" and select your desired action

Commands

Action Commands

Usage Examples

Opening Preview

# Method 1: Command Palette
Ctrl+Shift+P > "Pretty Markdown: Preview"

# Method 2: Right-click context menu
Right-click in markdown file > "Open Preview"

Exporting to PDF

# Command Palette
Ctrl+Shift+P > "Pretty Markdown: Export PDF"

Action Execution

Pretty Markdown now surfaces runnable actions inside the tree view. When you select a Markdown file that contains action code blocks, action comments, or an Actions section, an Actions group appears beneath the file entry with every discovered command. Use the Pretty Markdown: Run Action command (or the play icon next to the action) to execute that entry in the dedicated Pretty Markdown Actions terminal. The extension prompts you before running anything when confirmations are enabled and also remembers which action sources you prefer when multiple styles are detected in the same file.

While an action is running, the status bar displays pause/resume, stop, and restart controls so you can manage the terminal without switching windows. The runner also keeps track of the last action so the Restart Action command can re-run the latest command quickly.

Action Settings

Open Pretty Markdown: Settings (or Toggle Ask Confirmation Before Action) to view the standalone settings panel. The checkbox controls whether the extension asks for confirmation before launching actions and displays a safety badge when confirmation is turned off. Disabling the prompt is possible, but the panel reminds you that keeping it enabled helps prevent accidental destructive commands.

Styling Features

Code Highlighting

Pretty Markdown supports syntax highlighting for all major programming languages:

function hello() {
    console.log("Beautiful syntax highlighting!");
}

def greet(name):
    print(f"Hello, {name}!")

#!/bin/bash
echo "Terminal commands look great too!"

Tables

Blockquotes

Pretty Markdown makes your documentation look professional and polished, whether you're viewing it in VS Code or exporting to PDF.

Configuration

Currently, Pretty Markdown works with zero configuration. Future versions will include:

• Custom themes
• Font selection
• PDF page settings
• Export templates

Requirements

• Visual Studio Code 1.60.0 or higher
• Node.js (for PDF export functionality)

Installation

From VS Code Marketplace

1. Open VS Code
2. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
3. Search for "Pretty Markdown"
4. Click Install

From VSIX

1. Download the .vsix file
2. Open VS Code
3. Go to Extensions (Ctrl+Shift+X)
4. Click "..." → "Install from VSIX..."
5. Select the downloaded file

Troubleshooting

Preview not updating

• Ensure you have a .md file open
• Try closing and reopening the preview
• Check that the document is saved

PDF export fails

• Ensure you have write permissions to the target directory
• Check that Puppeteer dependencies are installed
• Restart VS Code if the issue persists

PDF export on vscode.dev

• Export runs in the preview webview and downloads via the browser
• Some large documents may take longer to export in the browser

Performance issues

• Large markdown files (>1MB) may take longer to process
• Consider splitting very large documents
• Close unused preview panels

Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guide for details.

Development Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/nelay04/pretty-markdown

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Open in VS Code
code .

# Start development
npm run watch

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Built with markdown-it
• PDF generation powered by Puppeteer
• Syntax highlighting by highlight.js

Stats

• Stars: Help us reach 100!
• Downloads: Be among the first!
• Issues: Report bugs to help us improve!

Roadmap

• [ ] Custom theme support
• [ ] Export to HTML
• [ ] Table of contents generation
• [ ] Math equation support
• [ ] Mermaid diagram support
• [ ] Custom CSS injection
• [ ] Multi-language support

Made with ❤️ for the VS Code community

If you find Pretty Markdown useful, please consider giving it a ⭐ on GitHub!