install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install mdfried

local Homebrew formula metadata

MacPortsverified · 94%

sudo port install mdfried

MacPorts ports tree · textproc/mdfried/Portfile · source: api.github.com

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#mdfried

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/md/mdfried/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S mdfried

Arch Linux sync databases · mdfried · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

overview

Package summary

Terminal markdown viewer

Project links

Commands and aliases

mdfried

history

Project history and usage

mdfried is a Rust terminal Markdown viewer and pager focused on rich terminal graphics. Its distinctive feature is rendering Markdown headings as genuinely larger text or images when the terminal supports a graphics or text-sizing protocol.

Project history

The GitHub repository was created in December 2024, and the crates.io package was first published later that month. The project iterated rapidly through 2025 and 2026, reaching the 0.22 series by June 2026.

The changelog shows the tool expanding from a visual Markdown viewer into a featureful terminal document browser: tree-sitter Markdown parsing, link navigation, URL and GitHub README opening, syntax highlighting, Mermaid rendering, image opening, OSC 8 clickable links, and experimental PDF support all appear in the documented 2026 releases.

Adoption history

mdfried is newer than mdcat and mdless but already has package-manager presence. The input facts list Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, and pacman-family packaging, while the README advertises Cargo installation, a Nix flake, release binaries, `.deb` files, and Mac and Windows binaries.

Crates.io reported the crate's creation in December 2024 and about 15,000 total downloads by 2026. Homebrew's formula tracked stable version 0.22.4 with install analytics, evidence of early but real CLI-tool adoption.

How it is used

The basic invocation is `mdfried ./path/to.md`. It can also open URLs that serve Markdown and `github:owner/repo` targets when a README exists on the default branch.

On first run, users may choose a font if automatic detection is not enough; the selection is written to `~/.config/mdfried/config.toml`. `--setup` repeats font setup and `--print-config` prints a fuller configuration example.

Why package nerds care

mdfried is notable because it pushes terminal Markdown viewing into the modern graphics-terminal era. Packaging it involves more than installing a text filter: the formula includes chafa and GTK/glib-related dependencies through Homebrew, and runtime behavior varies by terminal image protocol.

For package nerds, it is also a fast-moving Rust package that crosses Cargo, Nix, Homebrew, binary releases, and Debian-style artifacts while still pre-1.0.

Timeline

2024: GitHub repository and crates.io package appeared in December.
2026: Version 0.18.0 used tree-sitter/tree-sitter-md for Markdown parsing.
2026: Version 0.20.1 added URL and GitHub README opening.
2026: Version 0.21.0 added code syntax highlighting and Mermaid rendering.
2026: Version 0.22.0 added OSC 8 clickable links.

Related projects

mdfried overlaps with mdcat and mdless as a terminal Markdown viewer, but it emphasizes large rendered headings, rich image support, pager navigation, and terminal graphics protocols.
Its README references ratatui-image, chafa, arborium, mermaid rendering, Sixel, kitty, and iTerm2 protocols as important parts of its ecosystem.

Sources

security posture

No protected-tool coverage found yet

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for mdfried. Package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Installs with 3 runtime dependencies.
Build metadata lists 2 build dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

local files

Configuration and credential file locations

These source-backed paths show where this package keeps local settings or durable credentials. Automic Vault can use them as review targets for secret scanning, migration, and command approval.

Configuration files

Config paths the tool may read or write during local use.

Unix: ~/.config/mdfried/config.toml

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`mdfried`	cli	global executable

freshness

Version and freshness

These signals separate page generation age, package-manager activity, and upstream release comparison. Version lag is warned only when an evidence URL and comparable versions are present.

page generated2026-08-04

manager version0.22.4

manager updated2026-06-21

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv0.22.4

https://github.com/benjajaja/mdfried

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:mdfried
Version	0.22.4
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/mdfried
Homepage	https://github.com/benjajaja/mdfried
Repository	https://github.com/benjajaja/mdfried
License	GPL-3.0-or-later
Source archive	https://github.com/benjajaja/mdfried/archive/refs/tags/v0.22.4.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-06-21T18:47:21Z
Pulse	updated
Dependencies	chafa, gettext, glib
Build dependencies	pkgconf, rust
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	mdfried
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	head stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

mdfried

nix profile install nixpkgs#mdfried

normalized package name match
Matched by: Mdfried

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/md/mdfried/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

pacman95%

mdfried 0.22.4-1

A markdown viewer for the terminal that renders images and big headers

https://github.com/benjajaja/mdfried

sudo pacman -S mdfried

License: GPL-3.0-only
Architecture: x86_64
2 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Mdfried

Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: mdfried from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

MacPorts95%

mdfried

sudo port install mdfried

normalized package name match
Matched by: Mdfried

MacPorts ports tree · api.github.com · MacPorts ports tree: textproc/mdfried/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

source trail

Generated from repository data

This page is generated by av-web from the private package SQLite artifact built by scripts/generate-pkg-sqlite.py.

Combined YAML source

View the package source record on GitHub.

combined/mdfried.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment
pkg.so package database
pkgdb category and tag curation

Install mdfried with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, pacman