nvim-markdown-preview
A Neovim plugin for live browser previews of Markdown files using pandoc and live-server.
What is nvim-markdown-preview?
nvim-markdown-preview is a Neovim plugin that provides live previews of Markdown files directly in a web browser. It uses pandoc for conversion and live-server for serving, updating the preview automatically when the file is saved. This solves the problem of needing to manually refresh or leave the editor to see rendered Markdown changes.
Neovim users who write Markdown documentation, blog posts, or technical notes and want an integrated preview workflow. It's particularly useful for writers and developers who prefer staying within their editor environment.
Developers choose this plugin for its simplicity and reliability, leveraging established tools like pandoc and live-server rather than reinventing the wheel. Its asynchronous operation via Neovim's job-control API ensures a non-blocking editing experience with automatic browser reloads on save.
Overview
Markdown preview for neovim using pandoc and live-server
Use Cases
Best For
- Writing Markdown documentation in Neovim with live browser previews.
- Previewing GitHub Flavored Markdown with custom themes like GitHub, Solarized Dark, or Solarized Light.
- Rendering LaTeX mathematical expressions in Markdown using KaTeX integration.
- Serving local assets such as images from the current working directory in Markdown previews.
- Using pandoc's flexible input formats for Markdown conversion within Neovim.
- Setting up an automatic preview workflow with autocmd to open previews on file type detection.
Not Ideal For
- Users needing real-time, character-by-character preview updates while typing
- Environments where installing pandoc and Node.js (for live-server) is impractical or restricted
- Projects requiring extensive theme customization or a wide variety of built-in visual styles
- Traditional Vim users, as it exclusively leverages Neovim's job-control API
Pros & Cons
Pros
Leverages Neovim's job-control API to run previews in the background, keeping the editor responsive while handling Markdown conversion and serving.
Relies on established tools like pandoc for flexible markdown formats and live-server for auto-reloading, ensuring reliable preview generation without reinventing the wheel.
Integrates KaTeX to render LaTeX mathematical expressions in the preview, making it suitable for technical documentation and academic writing.
Serves images and other assets directly from the current working directory, allowing embedded media in Markdown files without external hosting requirements.
Cons
Preview only refreshes on save, not while typing, as admitted in the README's Q&A, which limits immediate feedback compared to live-editing plugins.
Requires separate installation of pandoc and live-server, adding setup complexity and potential system compatibility issues, as outlined in the Requirements section.
Offers only three built-in themes (github, solarized-dark, solarized-light), restricting styling choices without built-in support for custom CSS injection.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Projects
markdown-preview.nvimmarkdown preview plugin for (neo)vim
render-markdown.nvimImprove viewing Markdown in Neovim
markview.nvimA hackable markdown, Typst, latex, html(inline) & Asciidoc previewer for Neovim
peek.nvimMarkdown preview plugin for Neovim
Found a gem we're missing?
Open-Awesome is built by the community, for the community. Submit a project, suggest an awesome list, or help improve the catalog on GitHub.