macOS
Homebrewverified · 100%
brew install mdlesslocal Homebrew formula metadata
brew / rank 2423
Install mdless with Homebrew
Provides a formatted and highlighted view of Markdown files in Terminal. Version 2.1.68 via Homebrew; verified 2026-06-25.
install
Additional install commands
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
security posture
No protected-tool coverage found yet
No matching local secret-handling manifest was found for mdless. Nucleus package metadata is still published here so future coverage has a stable package URL.
Install behavior
- No Homebrew bottle metadata was recorded.
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 | executable | indexed executable | Discovered from the local executable index. |
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 generated2026-08-03
manager version2.1.68
manager updated2026-06-25
local dataunknown
upstreamnot available
latest detectednot detected
- okNo freshness warnings were generated.
install metadata
Package metadata
| Package key | brew:mdless |
|---|---|
| Version | 2.1.68 |
| Package manager | Homebrew |
| Homepage | https://github.com/ttscoff/mdless |
| Repository | https://github.com/ttscoff/mdless |
| Last updated | 2026-06-25T15:48:53Z |
| Pulse | updated |
| Bottle | not recorded |
| Service | none declared |
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.
Used sources
- Geiger risk classifier
- cross-ecosystem install command graph
- curated configuration and credential file locations
- curated package history
- pkg.so package database
- pkgdb category and tag curation