Premium Markdown authoring for Visual Studio Code — a live, in-preview editable document with a formatting ribbon and design templates.

Features · Design templates · Getting started · Keyboard shortcuts · Requirements · Release notes

Zentra Studio turns the Markdown preview into a first-class writing surface. The rendered document is fully editable — type, split a paragraph, press Enter inside a heading or list, and Zentra Studio serializes your changes back into the source as precise range edits. No context switching between source and preview, no flicker, no guesswork.

Features

Two-way preview editing

The preview is a live, editable document. Every change you make in the rendered view is parsed back to Markdown and applied to the source file as a minimal, precise edit — the two always stay in sync.

Type, delete, and merge paragraphs directly in the preview
Press Enter inside a heading, list, or blockquote to continue it naturally
Full contenteditable behavior, with Markdown-aware serialization

Formatting ribbon

A formatting ribbon at the top of the preview gives you everything you need — text styling, block styles, lists, links, and undo/redo — no keyboard shortcuts required.

Inline	Blocks	History
Bold	Heading 1 / 2 / 3	Undo
Italic	Bulleted / numbered / task lists	Redo
Strikethrough	Blockquote	Clear formatting
Inline code	Code block / HR
Link

Active formats highlight in a pressed state, and the ribbon slides up to keep the document unobstructed.

Screenshot

Design templates

A template switcher in the ribbon strip lets you restyle the document instantly. Your chosen template is remembered per document. 18 hand-crafted templates are bundled:

Template	Aesthetic
Cupertino	Minimal, native-feeling typography — personal notes, readmes
Ledger	Crisp, high-contrast — API documentation, technical specs
Sprint	Dark-mode, dense — changelogs, project-management docs
Edge	Stark monochrome, oversized headings — blogs, manifestos
Manuscript	Elegant serifs, print margins — academic papers, essays
Academia	Scholarly navy & gilt — theses, formal writing
Arctic	Low-contrast frost, soft cards — calm quiet notes
Blueprint	Engineering drawing sheet — specs, manuals
Brutalist	Raw mono print, offset shadows — manifestos, zines
Focus	Accessibility-first, large type — high-legibility reading
Gazette	Broadsheet newspaper — journals, newsletters
Metro	Flat tile design — interface docs, guides
Noir	Film-noir charcoal & crimson — cinematic docs
Notebook	Ruled paper, handwritten — planning, journals
Phosphor	Retro CRT terminal glow — hacker logs, sci-fi
Solstice	Solarized warmth, burnt orange — long-form reading
Synthwave	Neon retro-future — vibrant docs
Terra	Botanical greenhouse — environmental topics, field notes

Live code highlighting

Fenced code blocks render with syntax highlighting from a curated highlight.js subset — applied lazily only when a block scrolls into view, so large documents stay fast.

Getting started

Install

Open the Extensions view (Ctrl+Shift+X).
Search for Zentra Studio and select Install.

Or from a Markdown file, use the built-in editor-title preview button.

Open a preview

Open a Markdown (.md) file.
Run one of the commands below — or click the split-screen icon in the editor title bar.

Command	Shortcut
`Zentra Studio: Open Preview`	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`V`
`Zentra Studio: Open Preview to the Side`	`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Z` or `Ctrl`+`K` `V`

Switch templates

Use the template switcher in the ribbon at the top of the preview to change designs. The active template persists for the current document.

Keyboard shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`V`	Open the Zentra Studio preview
`Ctrl`+`Shift`+`Z`	Open the Zentra Studio preview to the side
`Ctrl`+`K` `V`	Open the Zentra Studio preview to the side

All shortcuts only fire while a Markdown editor is focused, so they never interfere with other workflows.

Requirements

Visual Studio Code 1.90.0 or later
Markdown files are the only supported document type

Release notes

See the CHANGELOG for the full history of every release.

Website

websit link github repo

_{Made with ❤️ by dotHP}

Zentra Studio