MD Pilot 🚀

⚡ Why MD Pilot?

Most Markdown setups in VS Code require installing 4–6 separate extensions: one for preview, one for PDF export, one for table alignment, one for TOC, and one for reading stats. Many of them force bulky 200MB Chromium browser downloads just to print a PDF.

MD Pilot replaces all of them with a single, ultra-fast, zero-bloat extension:

• 🚀 Lightning Fast & Lightweight: Bundled with esbuild into a compact package with instant activation.
• 🚫 Zero Heavy Downloads: Leverages your existing Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome installation for vector-quality PDF exports without extra background browser installs.
• 🎨 Pixel-Perfect Styling: Seamlessly adapts to your active VS Code dark, light, and high-contrast themes.

✨ Core Features

1. 👁️ Live Synchronized Preview

• Bidirectional Scroll Sync: As you type or scroll in the editor, the preview smoothly keeps pace with your exact cursor location without jitter.
• Toggleable Synchronization: Floating preview toolbar includes an instant Sync: ON / OFF button so you can freely scroll the preview independently whenever you want.
• GitHub-Flavored Markdown (GFM) Callouts: Beautiful modern styling for [!NOTE], [!TIP], [!IMPORTANT], [!WARNING], and [!CAUTION].
• Code Highlighting & 1-Click Copy: Syntax-highlighted code blocks with language badges and a convenient copy button.
• LaTeX Math Equations: KaTeX rendering for inline $E=mc^2$ and multiline block math $$\dots$$ (with support for matrices and aligned formulas).
• Mermaid Diagrams: Interactive flowcharts, sequence diagrams, class diagrams, and state charts rendered live with high-contrast theme styling.
• Academic Footnotes & Citations: Full support for [^1] inline citations with smooth animated jump-to-definition and return backlink arrows (↩).

2. 📄 Multi-Format Export Engine

• Export to PDF (.pdf):
  • Generates razor-sharp vector PDFs with custom headers, page breaks, and clean margins.
  • Automatically renders all Mermaid diagrams and math equations into the PDF output.
• Export to Word Document (.docx):
  • Converts Markdown into genuine Microsoft Word .docx documents with native Word headings, tables, shaded headers, lists, code blocks, and superscript footnotes.
• Export to Standalone HTML (.html):
  • Produces a single, self-contained HTML file with embedded styles and scripts, ready for offline reading and sharing.
• Copy Formatted HTML:
  • 1-click copies rendered rich HTML directly to your clipboard for pasting into Gmail, Outlook, Notion, Slack, or Google Docs.
• Native Print Pipeline:
  • One-click access to print your formatted Markdown document directly using your default system printer.

3. 🖱️ Explorer & Editor Context Menus

• Right-click any Markdown file (.md, .markdown) in the VS Code Explorer sidebar or on any editor tab to access:
  • 👁️ MD Pilot: Open Markdown Live Preview (automatically opens the document and preview side-by-side)
  • 📦 MD Pilot: Export Document $\blacktriangleright$
    • Export to PDF (.pdf)
    • Export to Word (.docx)
    • Export to Standalone HTML (.html)
    • Copy Formatted HTML
    • Print Document
  • 📽️ MD Pilot: Start Slide Presentation Mode

4. 🛠️ Productivity Power Tools

• Markdown Table Formatter & Aligner (Alt+Shift+T):
  • Automatically aligns messy ASCII/pipe tables with balanced column padding and neat delimiter bars.
• Dynamic Table of Contents (TOC):
  • Scans headings and inserts or updates a hierarchical, clickable TOC between <!-- TOC --> and <!-- /TOC --> markers.
• Slide Presentation Mode:
  • Instantly presents your Markdown file as modern fullscreen presentation slides (slides delimited by --- or headers).
  • Keyboard navigation: Spacebar, Arrow Keys, F (toggle fullscreen), Esc (exit).
• Real-Time Reading Metrics & Analytics:
  • Status bar indicator displaying word count and estimated reading time (e.g. $(book) 1,420 words | 7 min read).
  • Click the status bar item to view a complete breakdown: words, characters (with/without spaces), line count, and speaking duration.
• Quick Snippet Inserter:
  • QuickPick menu to insert Callout alert boxes, custom grid tables, Mermaid diagrams, KaTeX formulas, and collapsible <details> blocks.

🚀 Quick Start

1. Open any Markdown file (.md or .markdown) in VS Code.
2. Press Ctrl+K V (or Cmd+K V on macOS) to open the MD Pilot Live Preview.
3. Use the floating action bar at the top of the preview to export to PDF, Word, HTML, or toggle the Table of Contents drawer.
4. To format a table in your editor, simply press Alt+Shift+T.
5. In your file explorer, right-click any .md file to export or preview it instantly!

⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts & Commands

⚙️ Configuration Settings

Customize MD Pilot to your workflow in Settings (Ctrl+, $\rightarrow$ search MD Pilot):

🤝 Feedback & Contributing

• Found a bug or have a feature idea? Open an issue on our GitHub Issues.
• Enjoying MD Pilot? Please consider giving it a ⭐ on GitHub and leaving a 5-star review on the VS Code Marketplace!
• Want to contribute code? Check out our Contributing Guide.

📄 License

Licensed under the MIT License.
Developed with ❤️ by Rohit Chouhan.