QuickMD

This project is a simple tool that solves a simple problem: I'd like to preview markdown files as they'll show up on Github, so I don't have to push my READMEs before I can tell whether they're formatted well enough. It ends up looking like this:

It's a Rust app that launches a GtkWebkit window that renders the compiled HTML of the given markdown file. It monitors this file for any changes and reloads. It uses a stylesheet that's literally copied off Github's markdown stylesheet.

Note: I have no idea if I'm allowed to use Github's stylesheet. The relevant file is in res/style/github.css, and if I am told I shouldn't be using it I'll go ahead and scrub it from git history.

Installation

You'll need the GTK+, GLib and webkit2gtk development files to be installed on your system. The Gtk-rs requirements page should be a good guide.

After that, you can build and install the app using:

cargo install --path .

Currently, the project is not uploaded to crates.io, since I still think it needs some work, but it is functional and I use it daily.

Usage

Running the app is as simple as:

quickmd <markdown-file>

Pressing escape will close the window. Running it with --help should provide more info on the available options:

USAGE:
    quickmd [FLAGS] <input-file.md>

FLAGS:
    -d, --debug       Activate debug logging
    -h, --help        Prints help information
    -V, --version     Prints version information
        --no-watch    Disables watching file for changes

ARGS:
    <input-file.md>    Markdown file to render

Configuration

You can change the CSS of the preview HTML by writing CSS in one of these files:

• ~/.quickmd.css
• ~/.config/quickmd.css

The built-in CSS that is used is stored in /res/style.