install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install mdserve

local Homebrew formula metadata

Linux

Nixverified · 92%

nix profile install nixpkgs#mdserve

nixpkgs package indexes · pkgs/by-name/md/mdserve/package.nix · source: api.github.com

Arch Linux pacmanverified · 92%

sudo pacman -S mdserve

Arch Linux sync databases · mdserve · source: geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com

overview

Package summary

Fast markdown preview server with live reload and theme support

Project links

Commands and aliases

mdserve

history

Project history and usage

mdserve is a Rust Markdown preview server built for live-rendering Markdown during AI-assisted coding sessions. Its README emphasizes zero configuration, a single binary, live reload, ephemeral sessions, GFM, Mermaid, directory mode, and built-in themes.

Project history

The GitHub repository was created on 2025-09-22. The README positions mdserve narrowly: it is a local preview companion for AI coding agents, not a documentation site generator, static site server, or general-purpose authoring system.

The project includes a Claude Code plugin so an agent can decide when rendered Markdown is useful and start a preview for longer documents, tables, diagrams, or other content that is hard to inspect raw in a terminal.

Adoption history

Official installation paths include Homebrew for macOS, an install script for Linux, Cargo, Arch Linux, Nix, source builds, and GitHub release binaries. The input package-manager facts list Homebrew, Nix, and pacman packages.

GitHub metadata showed hundreds of stars within its first year, consistent with a tool aimed at the newly visible AI-agent workflow around generated Markdown.

How it is used

The basic workflow is `mdserve README.md` for a single file or `mdserve docs/` for a directory. Optional flags set hostname, port, and whether to open a browser automatically.

The README documents single-file mode for focused previewing and directory mode for serving `.md` and `.markdown` files with sidebar navigation and file watching.

Why package nerds care

mdserve is package-nerd relevant because it packages a modern local preview stack into one installable CLI, explicitly avoiding the heavier documentation-site-generator category. It reflects the 2025-era shift where generated Markdown, Mermaid diagrams, and agent-written docs became routine terminal artifacts.

Timeline

2025: Public GitHub repository created.
2025: README documented Homebrew, Cargo, Arch, Nix, source, and release-binary installation paths.
2026: Repository metadata showed continuing activity and hundreds of stars.

Related projects

The README names mdBook, Docusaurus, and MkDocs as tools outside mdserve's intended scope.
The acknowledgments cite Axum, markdown-rs, and Catppuccin as implementation or theme influences.

Sources

https://api.github.com/repos/jfernandez/mdserve
https://github.com/jfernandez/mdserve#readme
https://github.com/jfernandez/mdserve/tree/main/docs
source_facts.package-manager

security posture

Risk level: blue

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal.

Risk classifier

blue risk · medium confidence · tool

Why

broad file, network, media, or database tool signal

Signals

text:server

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Build metadata lists 1 build dependencies.

Recommended review

Before unattended agent use, check whether the tool reads plaintext credentials, writes remote state, publishes artifacts, or shells out to plugins.

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`mdserve`	cli	global executable

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 generated2026-07-08

manager version1.1.0

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamcurrent

latest detectedv1.1.0

https://github.com/jfernandez/mdserve

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:mdserve
Version	1.1.0
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/mdserve
Homepage	https://github.com/jfernandez/mdserve
Repository	https://github.com/jfernandez/mdserve
Upstream docs	https://github.com/jfernandez/mdserve#readme
License	MIT
Source archive	https://github.com/jfernandez/mdserve/archive/refs/tags/v1.1.0.tar.gz
Build dependencies	rust
Bottle	available (on arm64_linux, arm64_sequoia, arm64_sonoma, arm64_tahoe, sonoma, x86_64_linux)
Homebrew post-install	not defined
Service	none declared

registry facts

Source database details

Source Database	Homebrew formula API
Tap	homebrew/core
Full Name	mdserve
Version Scheme	0
Revision	0
Head Version	HEAD
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	head stable

source database matches

Other package-manager records

Matches are pulled from external package-manager indexes and kept separate from local Automic Vault package links.

Nix95%

mdserve

nix profile install nixpkgs#mdserve

normalized package name match
Matched by: Mdserve

nixpkgs package indexes · api.github.com · nixpkgs package indexes: pkgs/by-name/md/mdserve/package.nix from https://api.github.com/repos/NixOS/nixpkgs/git/trees/master?recursive=1

pacman95%

mdserve 1.1.0-1

Fast markdown preview server with live reload and theme support

https://github.com/jfernandez/mdserve

sudo pacman -S mdserve

License: MIT
Architecture: x86_64
1 dependencies
normalized package name match
Matched by: Mdserve

Arch Linux sync databases · geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com · Arch Linux sync databases: mdserve from https://geo.mirror.pkgbuild.com/extra/os/x86_64/extra.db.tar.gz

package graph

Links come from deterministic package relationships, av.db category and tag curation, ecosystem matches, and package hub membership.

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.

combined/mdserve.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated package history
external package-manager database matches
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install mdserve with Homebrew, Nix, pacman