The fast, complete markdown browser and static site generator
Why mbr?
No crazy syntax. No required directory structures. Just markdown.
Most markdown viewers don't browse and are riddled with broken links because they don't understand the current project. And most static site generators force you into their world: custom folder layouts, proprietary frontmatter, bespoke shortcodes, and more. mbr takes a different approach. Point it at any collection of markdown files and it just works for previewing a single file, browsing thousands of notes, searching, navigating, or building a deployable website.
It's fast, keyboard-first, multi-purpose, customizable, and beautiful. And it makes media embeds (images, videos, PDFs, etc.) first-class citizens.
Oh and on mac, it includes a quicklook plugin that's head and shoulders above any I've seen before.
Features
| Feature | Description |
|---|---|
| Instant Preview | Sub-second markdown rendering with live reload |
| Native GUI | macOS/Linux app with native menus and shortcuts (Windows binaries are built and tested in CI, but the GUI window itself is not exercised there) |
| Server | mbr -s serves any folder of notes to a browser, locally or behind a proxy, with live reload and search |
| Mobile | An iOS and iPadOS app (in development, in apple/ios) that browses an iCloud, Dropbox, or local vault with the same engine and UI |
| Static Sites | Optionally generate deployable websites with full-text search |
| Smart Navigation | Browse by folders, tags, recents, and full-text search |
| Keyboard Friendly | Vim-like shortcuts for everything in the UI. Not sure what's available? Just press ? |
| Rich Media | Embed videos, audio, PDFs, and YouTube with simple markdown standard syntax |
| Slides | Add type: slides to a note's frontmatter and present it as a reveal.js deck |
| Contacts & Relationships | type: person and type: organization notes get contact cards, typed relationships, family trees, timelines, and org charts |
| Flashcards | Give a note type: flashcard and study its definition lists in order, at random, or with spaced repetition |
| Tasks | A task browser across every note, with due dates, priorities, and TODO/FIXME markers |
| Fully Customizable | Override themes, templates, and UX per-repo |
| Editor | mbr is primarily a viewer, but sometimes you just want a quick edit. On by default in the GUI and the iOS app; off for mbr -s unless you pass --edit; never in static builds |
| QuickLook | On macOS, previews and thumbnails for markdown files in Finder |
Quick Start
Install
# macOS (Homebrew, Apple Silicon)
# Using Nix to quick run without installing
# Using Cargo
Or download a pre-built binary for macOS, Linux, or Windows from Releases.
--accept-flake-config opts in to the prebuilt binary cache. Without it Nix
ignores the substituters this flake declares and compiles everything from
source, which takes a while. See Getting
Started to
configure it permanently — and for the one case where it does not help.
File an issue if you want it packaged in a particular way.
Run
Editing is on in the GUI and off for the server. Use mbr -s --edit to edit through the server, or mbr --no-edit (or edit_enabled = false in .mbr/config.toml) to keep the GUI read-only. Editing on a non-loopback host requires a token (mbr --generate-edit-token). See Editing.
Documentation
See the full documentation for detailed guides. The documentation site itself is built with mbr, serving as a live example of its capabilities.
- Getting Started - Installation and first steps
- Modes of Operation - GUI, Server, Build, and QuickLook
- Customization - Themes, templates, and components
- Markdown Extensions - Extended syntax reference
- Architecture - Technical overview
- Development - Building and contributing
License
MIT - see LICENSE for details.