install

Additional install commands

macOS

Homebrewverified · 100%

brew install mdv

local Homebrew formula metadata

overview

Package summary

Styled terminal markdown viewer

Project links

Commands and aliases

mdv

history

Project history and usage

mdv, from the terminal_markdown_viewer repository, is a Python styled Markdown viewer for terminals. It targets remote editing, browserless environments, CLI help output, and colored reading of Markdown in 256-color terminals.

Project history

The public GitHub repository was created on 2015-07-12. The README explains the motivation as avoiding browser context switches while editing Markdown remotely, especially in larger mkdocs projects or constrained hop-machine environments.

The project began as a proof-of-concept hack, and the README is candid that complex Markdown and inline HTML are outside its strongest use cases. Over time it added themes, tables, admonitions, file and directory monitoring, source-code highlighting, library usage, and Python 3 support.

Adoption history

The README documents `pip install mdv`, a MacPorts entry, and FreeBSD package availability. The input package-manager facts show Homebrew packaging for the same executable name.

GitHub metadata showed sustained attention for a terminal Markdown renderer, with more than a thousand stars and over a hundred forks by 2026.

How it is used

CLI users run `mdv [OPTIONS] MDFILE` to render Markdown with themes, link styles, source-code highlighting, width control, file monitoring, directory monitoring, and optional HTML output.

The README also documents inline library use from Python, environment variables `MDV_THEME` and `MDV_CODE_THEME`, YAML CLI-argument defaults in `$HOME/.mdv`, and executable Python customization in `$HOME/.mdv.py`.

Why package nerds care

mdv matters in package-manager culture as one of the older terminal Markdown viewers that made README rendering, colored CLI docs, and remote-server Markdown inspection feasible without Node, Pandoc, or a browser.

Its README's own alternatives section places it among JavaScript terminal renderers, Pandoc-to-browser or man-page pipelines, and vimcat, while arguing for a Python package that handles tables, admonitions, and themes in a terminal.

Timeline

2015: Public GitHub repository created.
2016: README update noted pip installation, setup.py-based dependencies, light-theme work, stdin support, wrapping fixes, and test additions.
2018: README update noted merged PRs, Python 3 support, header numbering, and simpler config handling.
2023: README update noted release 1.7.5 and a mailto link fix.

Related projects

The README discusses msee, ansidown, ansimd, nd, Pandoc with terminal browsers or groff/man output, and vimcat as alternatives.
The README credits Pygments, tabulate, and Python Markdown as supporting projects.

Sources

https://api.github.com/repos/axiros/terminal_markdown_viewer
https://github.com/axiros/terminal_markdown_viewer#readme
source_facts.homepage
source_facts.package-manager

security posture

Risk level: green

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals.

Risk classifier

green risk · low confidence · appliance

Why

narrow executable package without higher-risk signals

Signals

metadata:no-higher-risk-signals

Install behavior

No Homebrew post-install hook is recorded in formula metadata.
Homebrew bottle metadata is available for 6 platform targets.
Installs with 2 runtime dependencies.

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: ~/.mdv~/.mdv.py

executables

Installed executables

Command	Kind	Exposure	Note
`mdv`	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 version1.7.5

manager updated

local dataok

upstreamnot checked

latest detectednot detected

https://github.com/axiros/terminal_markdown_viewer

infoNo package-manager update timestamp was available.low confidence
infoNo cached GitHub release or tag data was available.https://github.com/axiros/terminal_markdown_viewernone confidence

install metadata

Package metadata

Package key	brew:mdv
Version	1.7.5
Package manager	Homebrew
Package manager page	https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/mdv
Homepage	https://github.com/axiros/terminal_markdown_viewer
Repository	https://github.com/axiros/terminal_markdown_viewer
Upstream docs	https://github.com/axiros/terminal_markdown_viewer#readme
License	BSD-3-Clause
Source archive	https://files.pythonhosted.org/packages/d0/32/f5e1b8c70dc40b02604fbd0be3ff0bd5e01ee99c9fddf8f423b10d07cd31/mdv-1.7.5.tar.gz
Dependencies	libyaml, python@3.14
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	mdv
Version Scheme	0
Revision	1
Bottle Stable Root URL	https://ghcr.io/v2/homebrew/core
Deprecated	no
Disabled	no
Keg Only	no
URL Keys	stable

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/mdv.yml

Used sources

Geiger risk classifier
Nucleus package database
av.db category and tag curation
cross-ecosystem install command graph
curated configuration and credential file locations
curated package history
package relationship graph
package version freshness
package-page enrichment

Install mdv with Homebrew