MarkLite

A minimal, distraction-free markdown editor built with Tauri, React, and TypeScript.

Why MarkLite?

As a developer, I frequently work with markdown files for documentation, notes, and project READMEs. The frustration of opening .md files in Notepad or basic text editors, only to see raw, unformatted text with all the symbols and syntax cluttering the content, inspired me to build MarkLite.

I wanted a simple, lightweight solution that renders markdown beautifully while still giving me quick access to the raw code when I need to edit. No bloated features, no complex setup, just a clean interface that lets me focus on my content.

Screenshots

Themes

Dark Theme	Light Theme

Paper Theme

Features in Action

Code Mode with Syntax Highlighting

File Explorer Panel

Table of Contents Panel

Features

Writing

• Clean Interface — minimal UI that stays out of your way
• Reader / Code / Split view — Ctrl+E to toggle, Ctrl+\ for split with bidirectional scroll sync
• Focus mode — dim non-active lines so you can think
• Typewriter mode — caret stays vertically centered
• Formatting toolbar (toggleable) and shortcuts: Ctrl+B / Ctrl+I / Ctrl+K / Ctrl+/
• Slash commands — type / at line start for headings, lists, tables, math, mermaid, callouts, and more
• Auto-pair brackets, quotes, and code marks; list/quote continuation on Enter
• Tab in tables moves between cells; auto-creates new rows
• Find & Replace (Ctrl+F / Ctrl+H) with regex and match counter
• Smart paste — URL → link, rich HTML → markdown, TSV → GFM table

Preview

• GitHub Flavored Markdown with task lists, tables, strikethrough
• Code blocks with syntax highlighting and one-click copy
• Math via KaTeX ($inline$, $$block$$) — loaded only when needed
• Mermaid diagrams (```mermaid) — loaded only when needed
• Image lightbox — click to zoom; lazy loading
• Interactive task checkboxes — toggling writes back to source
• Heading anchors with click-to-jump
• Wikilinks [[other-file]] resolve in the same folder
• Frontmatter rendered as an editable Properties card

Files & workflow

• Command palette (Ctrl+P) — search commands, files, headings, toggles
• Cheatsheet (?) — every shortcut categorized and searchable
• Settings modal (Ctrl+,) — sidebar nav with Appearance / Editor / AI / About
• New File (Ctrl+N) and Save As (Ctrl+Shift+S)
• Auto-save (optional, debounced) with status indicator
• External-change detection — reload or keep your version when the file changes outside the app
• Recent files on the welcome screen — missing files marked
• Restore last opened file on launch
• File Explorer for the current folder
• Outline pane that follows the cursor

Customization

• Four themes — Dark, Light, Paper, GitHub
• Five fonts — Inter, Merriweather, Lora, Source Serif, Fira Sans
• Three font sizes
• WCAG-friendly — visible focus rings, prefers-reduced-motion respected
• AI assist (optional) — Ctrl+J on a selection; configure any OpenAI-compatible endpoint (Ollama, llama.cpp, OpenAI, etc.) in Settings → AI

Platform

• Native performance — built with Tauri
• Cross-platform — Windows, macOS, Linux

Installation

Download the latest release from the Releases page.

Available Formats

• Windows: .msi installer or .exe portable
• Linux: .deb, .rpm, or .AppImage

Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v18+)
• Bun (recommended) or npm
• Rust

Setup

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/Razee4315/MarkLite.git
cd MarkLite

# Install dependencies
bun install

# Run in development mode
bun run tauri dev

# Build for production
bun run tauri build

Keyboard Shortcuts

A few essentials — press ? inside the app for the full searchable list.

Action	Shortcut
Command palette	Ctrl+P
Cheatsheet	?
Settings	Ctrl+,
New file	Ctrl+N
Open file	Ctrl+O
Save	Ctrl+S
Save As	Ctrl+Shift+S
Toggle Reader / Code	Ctrl+E
Toggle Split view	Ctrl+\
File explorer / Outline	Ctrl+Shift+E / Ctrl+Shift+O
Find / Replace	Ctrl+F / Ctrl+H
Bold / Italic / Link	Ctrl+B / Ctrl+I / Ctrl+K
Toggle blockquote	Ctrl+/
AI assist	Ctrl+J

Tech Stack

• Frontend: React, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS
• Backend: Rust, Tauri v2
• Build: Vite

Contributing

Contributions are welcome. Please read the Contributing Guidelines and Code of Conduct before submitting a pull request.

Author

Saqlain Abbas
Email: saqlainrazee@gmail.com
GitHub: @Razee4315 Linkedin: @saqlain.razee

License

This project is source available with restricted commercial use:

• Personal use - Free to use, copy, and modify
• Commercial use - Requires written permission from the author

See the LICENSE file for full details.