install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install mdless

local Homebrew formula metadata

overview

Package summary

Provides a formatted and highlighted view of Markdown files in Terminal

Project links

Commands and aliases

mdless

history

Project history and usage

mdless is a Ruby terminal Markdown viewer and pager by Brett Terpstra. It provides formatted, highlighted Markdown output in the terminal, with pager behavior, syntax highlighting support, table formatting, themes, images through helper tools, and TaskPaper-related features.

Project history

The GitHub repository was created in August 2015, and the README explains the original motivation: the author wanted a quick terminal way to view Markdown files without using `qlmanage -p` from an iTerm2 visor workflow.

The changelog shows a long-lived 1.x and 2.x project. Version 1.0.0 marked an early maturity point, version 2.0.0 switched to Redcarpet parsing and added the `~/.config/mdless/config.yml` file, and later 2.1.x releases added and refined TaskPaper, metadata, image, theme, table, Ruby compatibility, and terminal-copy behavior.

Adoption history

mdless spread through RubyGems and Homebrew. The README documents both `gem install mdless` and `brew install mdless`, while RubyGems reported more than 360,000 downloads and Homebrew tracked stable version 2.1.68 in 2026.

Unlike some newer Rust terminal viewers, mdless is strongly tied to the Ruby CLI ecosystem and Brett Terpstra's macOS-terminal workflow, but it remains packaged as a standalone Homebrew formula.

How it is used

Typical use is `mdless [options] path` or piping Markdown into it with `cat path | mdless`. The pager is selected from `$PAGER`, `less`, `more`, `cat`, or `pager`.

The first run writes `~/.config/mdless/config.yml`, and customization uses `~/.config/mdless/mdless.theme` plus optional named theme files. The README documents persistent options for colors, links, images, syntax highlighting, TaskPaper behavior, width, wiki links, and related rendering choices.

Why package nerds care

mdless is significant as an early dedicated Markdown pager for terminal users, especially before richer Rust and Go terminal Markdown renderers became common. It made Markdown viewing feel like a natural extension of `less` instead of a browser or preview-app task.

For packagers, mdless is a classic Ruby CLI with optional external helpers: Pygments for code highlighting and imgcat or chafa for image rendering. That makes it simple to install but richer when companion tools are present.

Timeline

2015: GitHub repository created and mdless introduced as a terminal Markdown viewer.
2015: README documents Homebrew availability and RubyGems installation.
Version 2.0.0: Switched to Redcarpet parsing and introduced `~/.config/mdless/config.yml`.
2026: RubyGems and Homebrew tracked version 2.1.68.

Related projects

mdless overlaps with mdcat and mdfried as a terminal Markdown viewer, but it comes from the Ruby/macOS command-line ecosystem.
It integrates with common terminal helpers and tools including less, more, cat, Pygments, imgcat, chafa, Ranger preview scripts, and TaskPaper workflows.

Sources

https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/mdless
https://github.com/ttscoff/mdless#readme
https://github.com/ttscoff/mdless/blob/master/CHANGELOG.md
https://rubygems.org/gems/mdless
source_facts.package-manager

security posture

No protected-tool coverage found yet

No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for mdless. 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 1 runtime 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/mdless/config.yml~/.config/mdless/mdless.theme

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`mdless`	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 version2.1.68

manager updated2026-06-25

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detected2.1.68

https://github.com/ttscoff/mdless

okNo freshness warnings were generated.

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:mdless
Version	2.1.68
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/mdless
Homepage	https://github.com/ttscoff/mdless
Repository	https://github.com/ttscoff/mdless
License	MIT
Source archive	https://github.com/ttscoff/mdless/archive/refs/tags/2.1.68.tar.gz
Last updated	2026-06-25T15:48:53Z
Pulse	updated
Dependencies	ruby
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	mdless
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	stable

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/mdless.yml

Used sources

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

Install mdless with Homebrew