# readm3

> A terminal markdown reader. A file browser on the left, the rendered document on the
> right. Runs on Bun and Node, built on HQTUI, MIT licensed, currently v0.14.0.

## What it is

readm3 opens a directory of markdown files and renders them in the terminal in truecolor.
The browser pane shows only markdown, prunes directories with nothing beneath them, never
walks node_modules, and sorts README first. The reader pane renders headings, emphasis,
inline code, links, fenced and indented code blocks, nested and task lists, blockquotes,
tables with per-column alignment, rules, images as labelled placeholders, and YAML front
matter.

## Install

    curl -fsSL https://readm3.com/install.sh | sh

The script installs under ~/.local, never asks for sudo, and fetches a private Node if needed.
Or install the package directly:

    bun add -g @profullstack/readm3
    npm install -g @profullstack/readm3

Or run it without installing with bunx or npx.

## Print mode

`readm3 --print FILE` renders to stdout and exits, so it works in a pipe and as a cat for
markdown. Color is on for a terminal and off for a pipe; NO_COLOR and FORCE_COLOR are
honored, and --color always|never|auto overrides.

## As a library

renderMarkdown(source, width) returns lines of spans carrying a semantic role such as h1,
code, link or quote rather than a color, so a document can be re-themed without being
re-parsed. scan() and files() expose the pruned file tree. Both are pure and need no
terminal.

## Links

- Editor: https://readm3.com/viewer (installable, offline text editor for Markdown and code: multiple cursors, find and replace, Ctrl+P quick open, command palette, saves back to files on disk)
- Desktop app: https://github.com/profullstack/readm3/releases/latest (the same editor for Linux as AppImage and Flatpak, macOS dmg, Windows installer); `readm3 edit PATH...` opens files and folders in it
- Paste: https://readm3.com/paste (anonymous pastes of any text, PDF or image behind an expiring secret link; CLI, curl, API and MCP examples)
- Site: https://readm3.com
- Source: https://github.com/profullstack/readm3
- Package: https://www.npmjs.com/package/@profullstack/readm3
- Built on: https://hqtui.com