spacebarEdit Markdown In Quick Look
Fix a typo or tick a task right in the preview, without opening an editor
Apple’s Quick Look can’t edit text. With spacebar, press Space on a .md file, click a paragraph and type: it saves to the file as you type. Tick a task and the file is updated. It is a Quick Look first, for quick fixes, not an editor.
- Click to editType in the preview; it saves as you type
- Checkboxes saveA ticked task is written to the file
- Undo⌘Z, with a Saved tick in the toolbar
- LiveIt redraws when the file changes on disk
Click To Edit
- SpaceSelect a .md file in Finder and press Space.
- Click a paragraph and type. The toolbar reads Editing · Esc to finish.
- Enter EscFinish. Each change is already saved.
Raw switches to the Markdown source for as long as the preview stays open, and ⌘F finds in the document.
Tick A Task
Task lists show real checkboxes. Tick one and it is saved to the file, so a plan or a to-do list stays current without leaving Finder.
Undo And The Saved Tick
A tick in the toolbar shows each save. ⌘Z puts back an edit, a split, a merge or a task toggle while the file stays open, and each undo is a checked save.
When The File Changes On Disk
The preview redraws and keeps your place, so a note stays current beside your editor or an agent’s plan as it is written. If the file changes while you are editing, its change stays on disk and a banner lets you keep yours, use the disk version, or copy your text. If the file is moved or deleted, it dims, editing stays off until it returns, and your unsaved text waits in the banner to copy.
Code And Config Too
The same click works on code, config, plain text, YAML, TOML and dotfile config such as .env and .gitignore. JSON, CSV and XML edit through Raw. Each change saves in the file’s own encoding, byte order mark and line endings, never converted to UTF-8.
What Stays Read Only
- Files over 2 MB
- Binary property lists
- Files the shell, git, npm or launchd run on their own:
.zshrc,.gitconfig,.npmrc, git hooks and LaunchAgents - Files inside a zip, tar or 7z archive, which open read-only
Editing That Keeps Up
| Step | Time |
|---|---|
| Click to caret | 2 ms |
| Keystroke to painted | 3–5 ms |
| Keystroke to saved | 13–17 ms |
Measured in Quick Look on our test Mac.
More on rendering, diagrams and themes: Markdown in Quick Look.
Questions
Can I edit Markdown in Quick Look?
Yes, with spacebar. Click a paragraph and type, or tick a task. It saves to the file as you type.
Can I undo an edit?
Yes. ⌘Z puts back an edit, a split, a merge or a task toggle while the file stays open.
Which files can’t I edit?
Files over 2 MB, binary property lists, and files the shell, git, npm or launchd run on their own, such as .zshrc, git hooks and LaunchAgents.
Is spacebar a Markdown editor?
No. It is a preview first, for quick fixes. Open sends the file to your editor, even with spacebar as your default Markdown app.
Install It
Or paste this in Terminal
curl -fsSL https://spacebar.patebryant.com/install.sh | sh
The script downloads the latest notarized release from GitHub, checks its SHA-256 and installs to ~/Applications, no sudo. Read the script.