mdpad

A lightweight markdown notepad inside VS Code. Type markdown and see it styled live — syntax stays visible but dimmed, content is formatted as you write.

Quick Start

1. Install mdpad from the VS Code Marketplace
2. Open the Explorer sidebar — mdpad appears as a panel
3. Start typing markdown

That's it. Your notes persist across restarts, per workspace.

Features

Muted-syntax editing

Markdown characters (#, **, *, `, ~~) stay visible but dimmed. Content is styled live — headings are large, bold is bold, code is monospace.

Multiple pages

Create, switch, and delete note pages from the toolbar dropdown. Page titles are derived automatically from the first heading or first line of content.

Keyboard shortcuts

Interactive elements

• Checkboxes — click [ ] or [x] to toggle task list items
• Links — Cmd+click (Mac) or Ctrl+click (Windows/Linux) to open URLs
• Tables — columns align automatically as you type

Floating panel

Run the command Mdpad: Open as Panel to detach mdpad from the sidebar and use it as a standalone editor panel. Dock it anywhere in your VS Code layout.

GFM support

Headings, bold, italic, strikethrough, links, blockquotes, task lists, fenced code blocks, tables, and horizontal rules.

Theme-aware

Adapts to any VS Code color theme — dark, light, or high contrast.

Contributing

Contributions welcome! Clone the repo and press F5 to launch the extension in a development host.

git clone https://github.com/tbekaert/vscode-mdpad.git
cd vscode-mdpad
pnpm install

License

GPL-3.0-or-later