# mdcat
Fancy `cat` for Markdown (that is, [CommonMark][]):
```
$ mdcat sample.md
```
![mdcat showcase with different colour themes][sxs]
mdcat in [WezTerm], with "One Light (base16)", "Gruvbox Light", and "Darcula
(base16)" (from left to right), and [JetBrains Mono] as font.
[CommonMark]: http://commonmark.org
[Solarized]: http://ethanschoonover.com/solarized
[dracula]: https://draculatheme.com/iterm/
[wezterm]: https://wezfurlong.org/wezterm/
[JetBrains Mono]: https://www.jetbrains.com/lp/mono/
[sxs]: ./screenshots/side-by-side.png
## Features
`mdcat` works best with [iTerm2], [WezTerm], and [kitty], and a good terminal font with italic characters.
Then it
* nicely renders all basic CommonMark syntax (no [tables][#2] or [footnotes][#1] though),
* highlights code blocks with [syntect],
* shows [links][osc8], and also images inline in supported terminals (see above, where "Rust" is a clickable link!),
* adds jump marks for headings in [iTerm2] (jump forwards and backwards with <key>⇧⌘↓</key> and <key>⇧⌘↑</key>).
| Basic ANSI¹ | ✓ | ✓ | | |
| Windows [ConEmu] | ✓ | ✓ | | |
| Windows 10 console | ✓ | ✓ | | |
| Generic VTE 0.50 or newer² | ✓ | ✓ | | |
| [Terminology] | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |
| [iTerm2] | ✓ | ✓ | ✓³ | ✓ |
| [kitty] | ✓ | ✓ | ✓³ | |
| [WezTerm] | ✓ | ✓ | ✓³ | |
1) mdcat requires that the terminal supports strikethrough formatting and [inline links][osc8].
It will not render strikethrough text and links correctly on terminals that don't support these (e.g. the Linux text console)
2) VTE is Gnome’s terminal emulation library used by many popular terminal emulators on Linux, including Gnome Terminal, Xfce Terminal, Tilix, etc.
3) SVG images are rendered with [resvg], see [SVG support].
Not supported:
* CommonMark extensions: [Footnotes][#1] and [tables][#2]
[syntect]: https://github.com/trishume/syntect
[osc8]: https://gist.github.com/egmontkob/eb114294efbcd5adb1944c9f3cb5feda
[Terminology]: http://terminolo.gy
[ConEmu]: https://conemu.github.io
[iterm2]: https://www.iterm2.com
[WezTerm]: https://wezfurlong.org/wezterm/
[kitty]: https://sw.kovidgoyal.net/kitty/
[resvg]: https://github.com/RazrFalcon/resvg
[SVG support]: https://github.com/RazrFalcon/resvg#svg-support
## Usage
Try `mdcat --help` or read the [mdcat(1)](./mdcat.1.adoc) manpage.
## Installation
* [Release binaries](https://github.com/swsnr/mdcat/releases/) built on Github Actions.
* 3rd party packages at [Repology](https://repology.org/project/mdcat/versions)
* You can also build `mdcat` manually with `cargo install mdcat` (see below for details).
## Building
Run `cargo build --release`.
The resulting `mdcat` executable links against the system's SSL library, i.e. openssl on Linux.
To build a self-contained executable use `cargo build --features=static`; the resulting executable uses a pure Rust SSL implementation.
It still uses the system's CA roots however.
The build process also generates the following additional files in `$OUT_DIR`:
* Completions for Bash, Zsh, Fish, and Powershell, for both `mdcat` and `mdless`, in `completions` sub-directory.
* A `mdcat.1` manpage, build from `mdcat.1.adoc` with the `asciidoctor` command from [AsciiDoctor].
If `asciidoctor` is not found the build script prints a warning.
These additional artifacts are included in the release builds.
If you package mdcat you may want to include these files too.
[AsciiDoctor]: https://asciidoctor.org/
## Troubleshooting
`mdcat` can output extensive tracing information when asked to.
Run `mdcat` with `$MDCAT_LOG=trace` for complete tracing information, or with `$MDCAT_LOG=mdcat::render=trace` to trace only rendering.
## Future plans
- [ ] Figure out a better way to show HTML [#3].
- [ ] CommonMark extensions: Footnotes [#1].
- [ ] CommonMark extensions: Tables [#2].
[#1]: https://github.com/swsnr/mdcat/issues/1
[#2]: https://github.com/swsnr/mdcat/issues/2
[#3]: https://github.com/swsnr/mdcat/issues/3
[#4]: https://github.com/swsnr/mdcat/issues/4
## License
Copyright Sebastian Wiesner <sebastian@swsnr.de>
Binaries are subject to the terms of the Mozilla Public
License, v. 2.0, see [LICENSE](LICENSE).
Most of the source is subject to the terms of the Mozilla Public
License, v. 2.0, see [LICENSE](LICENSE), unless otherwise noted;
some files are subject to the terms of the Apache 2.0 license,
see <http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0>