Using spaceMD in Finder and the viewer

spaceMD gives you two ways to read Markdown on a Mac. The viewer is included free of charge and is designed for longer documents. The optional one-time purchase changes Finder Quick Look from source text to a formatted preview. There is no subscription.

This guide explains both views, their settings, local image access, purchase restoration and the most common reasons a preview looks different from what you expect.

Install: spaceMD 1.0 is available on the Mac App Store. The viewer is free; the formatted Quick Look preview is a one-time in-app purchase.

What spaceMD reads

spaceMD recognises Markdown files with these extensions:

.md, .markdown, .mdown, .mkd, .mkdn, .mdwn, .mdtxt and .mdtext.

It renders headings, emphasis, links, ordered and unordered lists, task lists, block quotes, tables, footnotes, horizontal rules and fenced code blocks. Common programming languages receive syntax highlighting. A YAML frontmatter block can become a compact document header with details such as title, date and tags.

spaceMD is a viewer, not an editor. It does not save changes to your Markdown files.

First launch

After installing spaceMD in the Applications folder, launch it once. This lets macOS register the Quick Look extension. The app opens its viewer and also provides an information window and settings.

To check the viewer before opening a personal document:

Create a small file named example.md in a convenient folder.
Add a heading, a short list and a fenced code block with neutral text.
Open the file with spaceMD.

Use a test file rather than a confidential document when diagnosing initial setup.

Use the viewer

Open a Markdown file with spaceMD from Finder's Open With menu, use File, Open, or drag a supported file into a spaceMD window.

The viewer is useful when a document is long enough to navigate or search:

open the outline to jump between headings
press Command-F to search
use Command-G and Shift-Command-G for the next and previous matches
use Command-Plus and Command-Minus to change text size temporarily
press Command-0 to return to the configured size
open several documents in tabs

If another editor saves the open file, spaceMD reloads the rendered view and keeps your reading position where possible.

Choose how documents look

Open settings with Command-Comma. Changes apply to the viewer and the next Quick Look preview.

Theme

System follows the light or dark appearance of macOS.
Newspaper uses serif type on a warmer page.
Terminal uses monospaced type and remains dark.

Text size and line width

Text size can be set from 80 to 160 percent. Line width can be set between 55 and 110 characters. A narrower measure usually makes prose easier to read; code-heavy documents may benefit from more width.

Word count and reading time

Enable the footer to show word count and an estimated reading time. These values are calculated locally from the document.

Embedded HTML

Raw HTML in Markdown is shown as text by default. The Run embedded HTML setting allows more of that markup to affect the rendered page. Leave it off for files you did not create or do not trust. It is not required for normal Markdown, tables or syntax highlighting.

Use formatted Quick Look in Finder

Once the Quick Look feature is unlocked:

Select a supported Markdown file in Finder.
Press the Space bar.
Press the Space bar again or Escape to close the preview.
While the preview is open, use the arrow keys to move through nearby files.

Without the unlock, Quick Look continues to display the source as plain text with a short notice. The free viewer remains fully available.

The purchase is a non-consumable in-app purchase. Open spaceMD settings to see the price for your App Store country or region and to unlock the feature. The configured purchase is not an automatically renewing subscription.

If Quick Look still shows plain text

Work through these checks in order:

Open spaceMD settings and confirm that Quick Look is shown as unlocked. If you bought it before, choose Restore.
Make sure the file uses one of the supported extensions listed above.
Open System Settings, find the Quick Look extensions section and confirm that spaceMD is enabled. The exact path can vary between macOS versions.
Check whether another Markdown Quick Look extension is installed. macOS chooses between providers and may continue using the other one.
Restart Finder or sign out and back in if macOS is still using a cached provider.

Do not disable macOS security features or install development scripts to repair an App Store installation. If the extension remains unavailable, include the spaceMD and macOS versions in a support ticket.

Show local images

Quick Look gives the extension access to the selected Markdown file, not automatically to images stored beside it. spaceMD therefore asks you to choose folders whose local images it may display.

Open spaceMD settings.
Under Folders for images, choose Add.
Select the smallest folder that contains the document and the images it references.
Open the Quick Look preview again.

spaceMD stores the permission on the Mac and prepares eligible images in its local shared container. A single image can be up to 8 MB, and the complete local mirror is limited to 300 MB. Hidden folders and app packages are skipped.

To revoke access, remove the folder from the same settings section. Images no longer covered by any granted folder are removed from the local mirror during synchronisation.

Remote images beginning with http:// or https:// are deliberately not loaded. This also blocks tracking pixels embedded in a Markdown file. Clicking a normal web link opens it in your default browser.

Large documents

Quick Look has a limited time and memory budget. For files larger than 4 MB, spaceMD can show a shortened version and displays a notice at the top. Open the document in the spaceMD viewer to read the complete file.

If a file smaller than 4 MB is unexpectedly cut off, try a small neutral test document. If that works, open a support ticket with the approximate size, extension and a minimal excerpt that reproduces the problem.

Print or save a PDF

In the viewer, press Command-P to print or Shift-Command-E to save a PDF. Output uses a separate print style: black text on white, code lines wrap, and tables or block quotes are kept together where possible.

PDF export creates a new file at the location you choose. It does not modify the Markdown source.

Make spaceMD the default Markdown viewer

You can set spaceMD as the default app for Markdown through Finder:

Select a Markdown file and press Command-I.
Under Open with, choose spaceMD.
Choose Change All if every file of that type should use spaceMD.

After this change, double-clicking a Markdown file opens the spaceMD viewer rather than your editor. Use Finder's Open With menu when you want to edit the file, or restore your editor as the default in the same Info window.

The spaceMD document icon is shown when macOS considers spaceMD the default app for the file type. Formatted, content-based Finder thumbnails are not available for Markdown because macOS does not call third-party thumbnail extensions for this text type. This does not affect Quick Look.

Restore a purchase

Use Restore in spaceMD settings after reinstalling the app or moving to another Mac. The Mac must use the Apple Account that made the purchase. StoreKit asks Apple for the current entitlement; Corebird does not receive your payment-card details.

If a purchase is waiting for approval, spaceMD unlocks the feature after StoreKit reports a verified entitlement. Corebird cannot approve the Apple purchase or predict how long an approval will take.

Request a refund

App Store payments are handled by Apple. Corebird cannot directly return the payment or approve an App Store refund.

To ask Apple for a refund:

Go to reportaproblem.apple.com and sign in with the Apple Account used for the purchase.
Choose Request a refund.
Select a reason, choose the spaceMD purchase and submit the request.

Eligibility varies by country or region, and Apple decides each request. A pending charge cannot be selected until Apple issues a receipt. If the purchase does not appear, check which Apple Account is shown on the receipt and then contact Apple Support if needed. Apple's current instructions are available in Request a refund for apps or content that you bought from Apple.

If Apple approves a refund and StoreKit reports the purchase as revoked, formatted Quick Look is locked again. The free viewer remains available.

Privacy when asking for support

Markdown is rendered locally. The app does not upload documents to Corebird. StoreKit communicates with Apple for purchases, and external links open in your browser only after a click.

For a technical support request, include:

spaceMD and macOS versions
whether the issue occurs in Quick Look or the viewer
file extension and approximate size
exact message or visible result
whether a small neutral test document behaves the same way

Do not attach a confidential document simply because it fails to render. Create the smallest example with invented text that still shows the issue, and remove real names, paths, links and frontmatter values.

[Open a support ticket] [spaceMD privacy policy]