Open a local file with the right terminal viewer. render chooses a configured
viewer by file extension and operating system, forwards your terminal streams,
and returns the viewer's exit code.
Download native installers · Installation and updates · Configuration · Build from source
Download the asset for your operating system and CPU from the latest release.
These are native installers containing the render command and its Python runtime;
you do not need Python, uv, or a compiler to use them.
| Platform | Asset suffix | Install |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 10 1809+ / 11, x86_64 | windows-x86_64-setup.exe |
Run the per-user installer, then open a new terminal |
| macOS 13+, Intel | macos-x86_64.pkg |
Open the package or use sudo installer -pkg FILE.pkg -target / |
| macOS 13+, Apple Silicon | macos-arm64.pkg |
Open the package or use sudo installer -pkg FILE.pkg -target / |
| Linux x86_64, glibc 2.35+ | linux-x86_64.deb / .rpm |
Use your package manager; see installation guide |
Packages are unsigned; macOS packages are not notarized. Review the source and SHA-256 checksums before installing. GitHub's source ZIP/TAR files are for developers.
render --version
render --help
render setup
render config
render path/to/document.md
render --config custom-config.json path/to/document.md
render -- ./-filename.mdrender setup checks viewer availability and prints installation guidance. It
does not install tools. Viewers are separate prerequisites: the default config
uses tools such as Glow, rich-cli, bat, viu, and anydoc. Run render --show-config
to inspect the exact routes, fallback viewers, and installation guidance.
Only install the viewers you need, and customize routes for your system.
Office/PDF conversion routes require anydoc; scanned documents may need OCR.
Image display depends on your terminal. No third-party viewers are bundled.
render config opens your user configuration in $EDITOR, validates it, then
checks viewers. Unknown extensions can use the configured text fallback after
a text-content check; unrecognized binary data is rejected.
Filenames and arguments are passed directly to executables without a shell.
Configuration can launch programs, so use a configuration you trust.
Python 3.11+ is required only for source installs and development:
python -m pip install -e '.[dev]'
python -m unittest discover -s tests -v
python -m buildNative builds and installation checks run on matching Windows, macOS, and Linux GitHub runners. Build instructions use the same commands as CI. Tagged versions publish checksummed native packages after all build/install checks pass. Bug reports and contributions are welcome through GitHub issues and pull requests.
MIT licensed. See LICENSE and third-party notices.