Markdown, ready to read.
Plainview opens Markdown files in a clean, readable window and does nothing else. No editor, no sidebar, no accounts. Just your document, with proper headings, tables, code blocks, checklists and links.
Lisbon, four days
October 17–20 · Two of us, one carry-on each
Trams are lovely but slow. Walk downhill, take the tram uphill.
Plan
| Day | Morning | Afternoon |
|---|---|---|
| Thu | Drop bags in Alfama | Castelo de São Jorge |
| Fri | Tram 28 to Estrela | LX Factory |
| Sat | Train to Sintra | Pena Palace |
Packing
- Passports
- Comfortable shoes, because the hills are steep
- Rain jacket
Made for reading, not editing.
Most Markdown apps are editors. When you just want to read a README, your notes or a document someone sent you, Plainview shows it the way it was meant to look.
Read it your way
Five typefaces: System Sans, System Serif, Georgia, Palatino and Charter. Zoom, adjust the line width and justify the text. Your choices stick.
Light and dark
Follows your Mac's appearance, or switch to dark with ⌘D whenever you like.
Quick Look
Select a Markdown file in Finder and press Space to see it rendered, without opening anything.
Live reload
The document updates as soon as the file changes on disk, so you can keep Plainview open next to your editor.
Print and PDF
Print on the paper size you choose, with page breaks that never cut a line in half. Export as PDF with working links to websites, email addresses and headings.
And the rest
Find in document, links between headings, a window for each file, a Recently Read list, and images stored next to your document.
How it works
There's nothing to set up. Open a file and read.
Open a file
Double-click a .md file in Finder, drag it onto Plainview's window or Dock icon, or use File › Open. Plain text files work too.
Read
Pick a typeface, a size and a line width once. Every document after that opens the same way.
Or don't even open it
Press Space on a Markdown file in Finder for a rendered Quick Look preview.
Private by design
There is no Plainview account and no Plainview server. The app collects no data. It only uses the network to load images that a document links to on the web.
- No accounts, no sign-in
- No analytics, tracking or ads
- Only reads the files you open
- Never changes your documents
- Sandboxed, native Swift app
- Open source under the MIT license
Requirements
- macOS 14 Sonoma or later
- Opens Markdown (
.md,.markdown,.mdown,.mkd) and plain text (.txt) files
Plainview's source code is on GitHub under the MIT license, if you'd rather build it yourself. Questions? See Support & FAQ.
