# 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 ```sh sudo av install brew:mdless ``` Additional install commands: ### macOS - Homebrew (100%): ```sh brew install mdless ``` Evidence: local Homebrew formula metadata ## Package facts - **Package key:** brew:mdless - **Package manager:** Homebrew - **Version:** 2.1.68 - **Source summary:** Provides a formatted and highlighted view of Markdown files in Terminal - **Homepage:** - **Repository:** - **Last updated:** 2026-06-25T15:48:53Z - **Generated:** 2026-08-03T19:37:03+00:00 ## Executables - mdless (alias) ## Install behavior - Bottle: not available ## Freshness - Page generated: 2026-08-03 - Package-manager version: 2.1.68 ## 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 - - - - - source_facts.package-manager ## Security Notes 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. ## 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 - Unix: ~/.config/mdless/config.yml, ~/.config/mdless/mdless.theme ## Combined YAML source View the package source record on GitHub. [combined/mdless.yml](https://github.com/mxcl/pkgdb/blob/main/combined/mdless.yml) ## Sources - pkg.so package database - Geiger risk classifier - curated configuration and credential file locations - curated package history - pkgdb category and tag curation - cross-ecosystem install command graph