Cursor users: Cursor adds a "Preview | Markdown" toggle to the tab bar for .md files. That toggle switches you out of Human Markdown into Cursor's built-in viewer. Use Human Markdown's own toggle (toolbar button or Cmd+Shift+V) to switch between rich text and raw markdown.

Human Markdown

A WYSIWYG markdown editor for VSCode. Open any .md file, read it rendered, edit it inline. Toggle to raw with one keystroke.

AI writes the markdown. Human Markdown makes it something you can actually read and work with.

Features

Rich Text Editing

Click into any block and edit directly in the rendered view. Headings, paragraphs, lists, blockquotes, images, links — all editable in place. No preview pane, no split view. Just the document. Use keyboard shortcuts or the formatting toolbar to apply bold, italic, headings, lists, and more.

Frontmatter Cards

YAML frontmatter renders as a collapsible card with syntax highlighting. Click to expand and edit; collapse to get it out of the way.

Tables and Diagrams

GFM tables render as styled grids. Mermaid diagrams render inline — flowcharts, sequence diagrams, entity relationships, and more. The Mermaid renderer lazy-loads only when your document contains a mermaid block. test

Syntax-Highlighted Code Blocks

Code blocks render with full syntax highlighting powered by Shiki. Language label in the corner. Click to edit the raw code. Supports every language Shiki supports.

Math Rendering

Inline math ($...$) and display math ($$...$$) render via KaTeX. Like Mermaid, KaTeX lazy-loads only when your document uses math syntax.

GitHub Alerts

> [!NOTE], > [!TIP], > [!IMPORTANT], > [!WARNING], and > [!CAUTION] render as styled blocks with icons and colored borders — matching GitHub's alert styling. Supports rich content inside alerts including lists, code, and formatting.

Task Lists

GFM task lists render as interactive checkboxes. Click to toggle — the underlying markdown updates automatically.

One-Keystroke Mode Toggle

Cmd+Shift+V (or Ctrl+Shift+V) flips between the rendered editor and raw markdown. Same tab, no context switch. Or use the Rich Text / Markdown buttons in the toolbar.

Find in Document

Cmd+F searches rendered content in WYSIWYG mode and raw text in markdown mode.

Built-in Themes

Light, Dark, and GitHub themes. Auto mode matches your VSCode color scheme. All rendering — alerts, code blocks, tables, frontmatter — adapts to the active theme.

Round-Trip Fidelity

Your formatting stays intact. Indent style, heading style, list markers, emphasis style, blank lines — preserved through edits. What you wrote is what you get back.

Fast

Opens in under 200ms. Mode toggle under 100ms. Heavy renderers (Mermaid, KaTeX) lazy-load only when needed. Webview bundle under 500KB gzipped.

Usage

1. Open any .md file
2. Right-click the editor tab → "Reopen Editor With..." → "Human Markdown"
3. Or set as default: "workbench.editorAssociations": { "*.md": "humanMarkdown.preview" }

Commands

Command	Shortcut	Description
Human Markdown: Toggle WYSIWYG / Raw	Cmd+Shift+V	Switch between rendered and raw
Human Markdown: Find	Cmd+F	Search in the active mode
Human Markdown: Select Theme	—	Pick a theme from the palette

Keyboard Shortcuts

The editor supports standard formatting shortcuts in WYSIWYG mode. A formatting toolbar is also available for mouse-driven editing.

Inline Formatting

Shortcut	Action
Cmd/Ctrl+B	Bold
Cmd/Ctrl+I	Italic
Cmd/Ctrl+E	Inline code
Cmd/Ctrl+Alt+X	Strikethrough

Block Formatting

Shortcut	Action
Cmd/Ctrl+Alt+1 – 6	Heading 1–6
Cmd/Ctrl+Alt+0	Paragraph (clear heading)
Cmd/Ctrl+Alt+8	Bullet list
Cmd/Ctrl+Alt+7	Ordered list
Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+B	Blockquote
Cmd/Ctrl+Alt+C	Code block

Lists

Shortcut	Action
Tab	Indent list item
Shift+Tab	Outdent list item
Enter	New list item
Enter (empty item)	Exit list

Settings

Setting	Default	Description
humanMarkdown.theme	auto	Theme: auto, light, dark, github
humanMarkdown.defaultMode	wysiwyg	Default mode when opening files

Requirements

• VSCode 1.85+

Feedback & Issues

Found a bug or have a feature request? Email support@purecontext.dev.