How to Open .md Files on Mac: 5 Easy Methods

Found a .md file and not sure what to do with it? Here are five ways to open markdown files on Mac, from built-in tools to dedicated editors.

Zack Pennington ·
How to Open .md Files on Mac: 5 Easy Methods

You double-clicked a .md file on your Mac and nothing happened. Or worse, it opened in some random app that showed a wall of asterisks and hash symbols. You’re not alone. macOS doesn’t ship with great markdown support out of the box.

Here are five ways to open .md files on Mac, from quick-and-dirty to actually pleasant.

1. TextEdit (already on your Mac)

Every Mac ships with TextEdit, and it can open .md files. Right-click your file, choose Open With > TextEdit, and you’ll see the raw markdown source.

The catch: TextEdit treats markdown like any other plain text file. You’ll see the raw syntax (## headings, **bold**, [links](url)) without any formatting. Fine for a quick glance, but not great for actually reading the document.

2. Quick Look (spacebar preview)

Select any .md file in Finder and press Space. Quick Look will show you a preview, though by default it just renders the raw text.

For proper formatted previews, you can install a Quick Look extension like QLMarkdown from GitHub. Once installed, pressing Space will show your markdown rendered with headings, bold text, lists, and code blocks, right in the Finder preview.

3. VS Code

If you already have Visual Studio Code installed, it handles markdown well. Open any .md file and you get syntax highlighting in the editor. Press Cmd+Shift+V to open a formatted preview, or Cmd+K V to see the preview side by side.

VS Code is a solid option if it’s already part of your workflow. But if you just want to read and edit markdown files, launching a full code editor feels like driving a semi truck to the grocery store.

4. Terminal

For the command line crowd, the simplest option is just:

cat README.md

This dumps the raw markdown to your terminal. It works, but it’s not pretty. If you want something nicer, install bat (via brew install bat), which gives you syntax-highlighted output:

bat README.md

Good for quick checks when you’re already in the terminal. Not ideal for longer documents or actual editing.

5. mdMD (free, native, and built for this)

mdMD is a free markdown editor built specifically for macOS. It opens .md files with a split view: raw markdown on the left, formatted preview on the right, updating in real time as you type.

Unlike the other options on this list, mdMD is purpose-built for markdown:

  • Instant startup. It’s a native Swift app, not Electron, so it launches in under a second.
  • Split view. See your source and preview side by side.
  • Syntax highlighting. Headings, bold, code blocks, and links are all visually distinct in the editor.
  • Slash commands. Type / to quickly insert formatting.
  • Rich copy. Copy your document as rich HTML with Cmd+Shift+C and paste into Notion, Obsidian, Google Docs, Confluence, and more.

You can set mdMD as your default app for .md files so they open there automatically. Right-click any .md file, choose Get Info, select mdMD under “Open with,” and click Change All.

Download it for free at mdmd.app.

Which method should you pick?

It depends on what you need:

  • Just need a quick peek? Quick Look (spacebar) is the fastest option.
  • Already in VS Code? Use the built-in preview, no extra tools needed.
  • Living in the terminal? bat gives you readable output without leaving the command line.
  • Want to actually read and edit markdown, including notes from Obsidian vaults? mdMD gives you the best experience for working with .md files on Mac.

Most people land on a dedicated markdown editor once they start working with .md files regularly. Raw text viewers get the job done in a pinch, but seeing your markdown properly formatted while you edit makes a real difference.