A portable, fully offline Markdown editor for Windows.
Unzip. Run. No install, no internet, no Electron.
Why MDLook? · Screenshots · Features · Comparison · FAQ · Issues
Most Markdown editors are either bloated (Electron), need internet for fonts and math, or force you into a vault/project system just to open a file. MDLook is none of those.
- Double-click and read. Register
.mdfiles once, then double-click any Markdown file and it opens beautifully rendered. No project setup, no vault, no config folders. - Live preview as you type. Split-pane editor with real-time rendering. What you write on the left appears formatted on the right, instantly.
- Math and diagrams built-in. KaTeX for LaTeX equations, Mermaid for flowcharts and diagrams. No plugins, no config. Just works.
- Zero install, 100% offline. Unzip a folder, run
MDLook.exe. Professional typography, syntax highlighting, everything embedded. No internet required, ever. - 42 MB total. Not 300 MB of Chromium. Uses native Windows WebView2.
- Dark mode and Zen mode. Full dark theme. Zen mode strips the UI for distraction-free writing.
- Outline sidebar. Hierarchical table of contents for navigating long documents. Click any heading to jump, collapse or expand all sections at once.
- Teleprompter. Auto-scroll your document at adjustable speed. No other Markdown editor has this.
- Always ready. Lives in the system tray. Close the window, it stays running. Next file opens instantly.
Ctrl+Ssaves directly to disk.
 Edit mode — split-pane with live preview |
 Math & Diagrams — KaTeX + Mermaid, built-in |
 Math in Edit mode — source on the left, render on the right |
 Color tokens — adaptive colored text with swatches |
 Tables & Checklists — with blockquotes |
 Collapsible sections — fold any heading, block counts |
 Dark mode — full theme, easy on the eyes |
 Wide layout — dark mode + syntax highlighting |
 Zen mode — distraction-free writing |
 Source view — raw Markdown, monospace |
 Outline sidebar — hierarchical TOC for navigation |
 Outline (dark) — click any heading to jump |
 Help & shortcuts — built-in reference |
 Teleprompter — auto-scroll at adjustable speed |
- ✏️ Live split-pane editor with formatting toolbar
- 🧮 LaTeX math via KaTeX (inline
$E=mc^2$and display$$blocks$$) - 📊 Mermaid diagrams (flowcharts, sequence diagrams, Gantt charts)
- 🎨 Syntax highlighting for 30+ languages
- 🌙 Dark/light theme toggle
- 🧘 Zen mode for distraction-free writing
- 📐 Wide/narrow layout toggle
- 🧭 Outline sidebar (hierarchical TOC for navigating long documents)
- 📂 Collapsible sections (click any heading to fold)
- 🎬 Teleprompter mode (auto-scroll for presentations)
- 📤 Export to standalone HTML
- 🔗 File association (register
.mdfiles with a custom document icon) - 🚀 Start with Windows (silent, in tray)
- 🪟 Single-instance (second launch opens files in the existing window)
- 💾 Direct save to disk (
Ctrl+S, no download dialogs) - 🔎 Find and replace (Ctrl+F)
- 🎨 Color tokens for adaptive colored text
See GUIDE.md for the full feature reference with examples.
| MDLook | Typora | Obsidian | VS Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portable (no install) | Yes | No | No | No |
| Fully offline | Yes | Partial | Partial | No |
Double-click to open .md |
Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Math (KaTeX) | Built-in | Built-in | Plugin | Plugin |
| Diagrams (Mermaid) | Built-in | Built-in | Plugin | Plugin |
| Teleprompter mode | Yes | No | No | No |
| Size | 42 MB | ~80 MB | ~300 MB | ~500 MB |
| Free | Yes | $15 | Free* | Free |
| Electron | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
*Obsidian Sync and Publish are paid.
Portable zip (31 MB) - Unzip anywhere, run MDLook.exe. Works from a USB stick.
Installer (22 MB) - Standard Next > Next > Finish setup.
Will MDLook support macOS or Linux?
It's on the radar. MDLook started as a personal tool I built to solve my own problem as a physician. Windows is what I use daily, so that's where it runs today. If there's enough demand, cross-platform is the natural next step. Open an issue if this matters to you; that's how I gauge interest.
Is MDLook free?
MDLook is currently free to use.
My antivirus flagged MDLook as suspicious.
This is a known false positive. MDLook is built with PyInstaller, which bundles a Python runtime into a single executable. Many antivirus engines flag PyInstaller apps by default because malware authors sometimes use the same tool. You can verify the app is safe by checking the VirusTotal scan linked in each release.
How do I report a bug or request a feature?
Open an issue on this repository.
Copyright 2026 Henrique Djosci Coêlho de Sá. All rights reserved.
