Cursor users: Cursor adds a "Preview | Markdown" toggle to the tab bar for
.mdfiles. That toggle switches you out of Human Markdown into Cursor's built-in viewer. Use Human Markdown's own toggle (toolbar button orCmd+Shift+V) to switch between rich text and raw 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
- Open any
.mdfile - Right-click the editor tab → "Reopen Editor With..." → "Human Markdown"
- 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 [email protected].