Glow vs MDViewer
Terminal TUI vs native Mac app — two ways to read Markdown
Quick Overview
Glow is a free, open-source terminal Markdown viewer built by Charm. You install it with brew install glow and use it entirely from the command line. It renders Markdown with colors and formatting inside your terminal emulator — no GUI window, no mouse interaction.
MDViewer is a native macOS app that renders Markdown in a full GUI window with scroll-tracking table of contents, tabs, inline editing, and Git history. It opens files from Finder, the Dock, or the terminal.
These tools solve the same problem — reading Markdown — in fundamentally different environments. Here is how they compare.
Feature Comparison
| MDViewer | Glow | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Lite: Free / Pro: $9.99 | Free (MIT license) |
| Platform | macOS only | macOS, Linux, Windows |
| Technology | Native SwiftUI | Terminal TUI (Bubble Tea) |
| Interface | GUI window | Terminal only |
| Install | DMG / direct download | brew install glow |
| Inline images | Yes | No |
| Mermaid diagrams | Yes (interactive SVG with zoom) | No |
| Math (KaTeX) | Yes | No |
| Syntax highlighting | Yes | Yes |
| Table of contents | Yes (auto, tracks scroll) | No |
| Tabs | Yes | No (one file at a time) |
| Inline editing | Yes (double-click to edit) | No |
| Git history & diff | Yes (built-in) | No |
| PDF export | Yes (⌘⇧E) | No |
| Finder QuickLook | Yes | No (terminal only) |
| Read from stdin | No | Yes (cat file.md | glow) |
| Fetch remote READMEs | No | Yes (GitHub/GitLab URLs) |
| TUI file browser | File tree in sidebar | Yes (browse & stash files) |
| Works over SSH | No | Yes |
| Dark/light mode | System preference + toggle | Auto-detects terminal theme |
When to Choose MDViewer
- You work on the Mac desktop and want to double-click a .md file to see it rendered
- You need images, Mermaid diagrams, or math rendered visually
- You want a table of contents that tracks your scroll position in long documents
- You need Git history and diffs without switching to a terminal or Git GUI
- You want to preview Markdown in Finder via QuickLook (press Space)
- You need to export to PDF
- You want tabs to keep multiple Markdown files open in one window
When to Choose Glow
- You spend most of your time in the terminal and prefer not to leave it
- You are SSHed into a remote server and need to read a README or doc
- You want to pipe Markdown through stdin — for example, reading the output of another command
- You need to fetch a GitHub README without cloning the repository
- You work across macOS, Linux, and Windows and want a single tool everywhere
- You want a free, open-source tool with no restrictions
Different Tools for Different Contexts
Glow and MDViewer are not really competitors — they serve different moments in a developer’s day.
Glow is a terminal tool. If you are already in the terminal, working inside tmux or SSHed into a machine, Glow lets you read a README without leaving that context. It renders Markdown with styled headings, syntax-highlighted code blocks, and colored text — all within your terminal emulator. You can pipe output into it (curl ... | glow) or browse local files with its TUI file browser.
MDViewer is a desktop tool. You double-click a .md file in Finder, and it opens instantly in a native window with full rendering — images, Mermaid diagrams, math equations, a clickable table of contents. You can keep multiple files open in tabs, check Git history, edit inline, and export to PDF. It integrates with macOS through QuickLook, so you can preview any .md file in Finder by pressing Space.
The choice depends on where you are working, not which tool is “better.”
Rendering Quality
Terminal rendering has inherent limitations. Glow produces good-looking output for text, headings, lists, and code blocks, but it cannot display images, diagrams, or complex math. Tables render as text grids. Links are visible but not clickable in most terminal setups.
MDViewer renders in a native macOS window with full HTML-level output. Inline images display at their natural size. Mermaid diagrams render as interactive SVG that you can zoom. KaTeX math renders with proper typesetting. Links are clickable. Tables have proper formatting with alignment.
If your Markdown files are mostly text, code, and lists, Glow’s terminal rendering is perfectly adequate. If your files include diagrams, images, or math — common in documentation, technical specs, and AI-generated reports — you need a GUI viewer like MDViewer to see them properly.
FAQ
Can I use Glow and MDViewer together?
Yes. Many developers use Glow when they are already in the terminal — SSHed into a server, working in tmux, or browsing files with the CLI. They use MDViewer on the desktop when they want full rendering with images, diagrams, and a table of contents. The two tools cover different contexts.
Does Glow render Mermaid diagrams?
No. Glow renders text-based Markdown in the terminal but cannot display Mermaid diagrams, inline images, or other graphical content. MDViewer renders Mermaid as interactive SVG with zoom.
Is Glow free?
Yes. Glow is free and open source under the MIT license. MDViewer Lite is also free. MDViewer Pro costs $9.99 one-time for editing, Git history, and PDF export.
Can Glow fetch GitHub READMEs directly?
Yes. Glow can fetch and render READMEs from GitHub and GitLab repositories directly in the terminal using their URLs. MDViewer works with local files — you would clone the repo or download the file first.
Try MDViewer
MDViewer Lite is free. Pro adds editing, Git history, and PDF export for $9.99. Download and see if it fits your desktop Markdown workflow.
Requires macOS 13.0 or later. Intel and Apple Silicon.