# Install mdcat with Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, scoop Show markdown documents on text terminals. Version 2.14.0 via Homebrew; verified 2026-07-27. Also installable with nix: nix profile install nixpkgs#mdcat. ## Install ```sh sudo av install brew:mdcat ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install mdcat ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata - MacPorts (94%): ```sh sudo port install mdcat ``` Evidence: MacPorts ports tree: textproc/mdcat/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ### Linux - Nix (92%): ```sh nix profile install nixpkgs#mdcat ``` Evidence: nixpkgs package indexes: mdcat from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/master/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix ### Windows - Scoop (92%): ```sh scoop install main/mdcat ``` Evidence: Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/mdcat.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:mdcat - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 2.14.0 - **Source summary:** Show markdown documents on text terminals - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Last updated:** 2026-07-27T13:02:59Z - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - mdcat (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 2.14.0 ## Project history and usage mdcat is a Rust command-line renderer for Markdown/CommonMark documents in text terminals. It sits in the same user niche as cat, less, glow, and mdless, but emphasizes modern terminal features such as OSC 8 links, syntax highlighting, inline image protocols, math rendering, and terminal-specific navigation marks. ### Project history The mdcat crate was first published on crates.io in January 2018. Its current README credits Sebastian Wiesner and Mouhieddine Sabir in the copyright notice and says the project is now maintained by BIRSAx2. The upstream changelog shows an active 2.x line through 2024 and 2026: version 2.4.0 added limited table support in September 2024, version 2.7.0 moved remote resource handling to curl in November 2024, version 2.8.0 transferred maintenance to BIRSAx2 in June 2026, and version 2.9.0 added footnote and math rendering shortly afterward. ### Adoption history mdcat moved from a Rust crate into mainstream package-manager culture. The input facts list packages in Homebrew, MacPorts, Nix, and Scoop, while the Homebrew formula reported stable version 2.9.1 and installation analytics in 2026. Crates.io reported about 190,000 total downloads and a 2026 newest version of 2.9.1, which makes mdcat one of the better-known Rust terminal Markdown viewers rather than a one-off sample program. ### How it is used Typical use is direct terminal viewing, for example `mdcat README.md`, with optional use as `mdless` when installed or linked that way for paging. Packagers are expected to consider shell completions and a man page built from `mdcat.1.adoc`. The README documents best results in terminals with modern graphics and link protocols, including iTerm2, kitty, WezTerm, Ghostty, foot, and Sixel-capable xterm setups. It also documents a troubleshooting path through the `MDCAT_LOG` environment variable rather than a persistent configuration file. ### Why package nerds care mdcat is interesting to package maintainers because it is a terminal UI tool whose quality depends on optional terminal capabilities and native libraries, especially libcurl and image-rendering support. That gives formulas and distro packages more surface area than a plain text filter. It is also a useful marker for the Rust CLI wave: a small binary distributed through Cargo, Homebrew, Nix-style systems, and other package managers, with release artifacts and generated shell completions as package extras. ### Timeline - 2018: mdcat crate first published on crates.io. - 2024: The 2.x series added table support, shell completion generation, Ghostty image support, and curl-backed remote resources. - 2026: Version 2.8.0 moved maintenance to BIRSAx2. - 2026: Version 2.9.0 added footnote and math rendering. ### Related projects - The README positions mdcat near terminal pagers and Markdown viewers, and documents `mdless` compatibility by allowing the binary to be linked or copied as `mdless` for automatic pagination. - Its implementation relies on terminal ecosystem pieces such as syntect for code highlighting, resvg for SVG rendering, OSC 8 hyperlinks, and iTerm2, kitty, WezTerm, and Sixel graphics protocols. ### Sources - - - - - source_facts.package-manager ## Security Notes No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for mdcat. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL. ## Other Package-Manager Records - Nix - mdcat: normalized package name match | nixpkgs package indexes: mdcat from https://raw.githubusercontent.com/NixOS/nixpkgs/master/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix - MacPorts - mdcat: normalized package name match | MacPorts ports tree: textproc/mdcat/Portfile from https://api.github.com/repos/macports/macports-ports/git/trees/master?recursive=1 - Scoop - main/mdcat: normalized package name match | Scoop official bucket manifest trees: bucket/mdcat.json from https://api.github.com/repos/ScoopInstaller/Main/git/trees/master?recursive=1 ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/mdcat.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/mdcat.yml) ## Sources - pkg.so package database - curated package history - pkgdb category and tag curation - external package-manager database matches - cross-ecosystem install command graph