Free online Markdown reader and editor

Open a .md file and read it properly typeset, or write with the source and the page side by side and edit either one. Your document stays in this browser tab — there is no upload, no account and no server.

It opens in reading mode, so a Markdown file you were sent arrives as a finished document rather than as punctuation: headings, tables, footnotes and code all set in type. One click on the pencil turns it into an editor.

Most Markdown editors make you choose: write in raw syntax and squint at a read-only preview, or use a rich editor that mangles your source the moment you save. Recto does neither. Both panes are live, and editing the rendered page rewrites only the source lines behind the block you touched. Everything else in your file is left exactly as you wrote it.

What it does

• Two live panes. Markdown source and a typeset page, kept in step, each editable.
• Real WYSIWYG. Type - to start a list, close a **bold** mark to format it, press Tab to indent a list item or move between table cells.
• Tables that behave. A floating toolbar for rows, columns and alignment; Tab adds a row when you reach the end.
• Reading mode. Lock the document and read it as a page, with the formatting controls out of the way.
• Find and replace in either pane, searching rendered words or raw Markdown.
• Six colour schemes, light and dark, with typography tuned for long reading.
• Exports to HTML and PDF, and to Word or EPUB through the converter.

Markdown syntax it understands

Headings, emphasis, strikethrough, highlight, inline and fenced code with syntax highlighting, links and images, blockquotes, nested and ordered lists, task lists, tables with column alignment, horizontal rules, footnotes, superscript and subscript, YAML front matter, and a [TOC] marker that builds a table of contents from your headings.

Works offline

The editor itself is a single HTML file with no dependencies — no frameworks, no web fonts, no CDN. The hosted page loads one analytics script to count visits; the offline copy does not, so it makes no network requests at all. Save it, open it from your own disk, and it works the same with no connection. That is why the privacy claim holds either way: there is no server for your writing to travel to.

Questions

Is this Markdown reader and editor really free?

Yes. The editor runs entirely in your browser and costs nothing to use. There is no account, no trial and no usage limit, because there is no server doing the work.

Does my document get uploaded anywhere?

No. Recto has no back end, so there is nowhere for it to go. The only request this page makes is to Google Analytics, which counts the visit and never sees a character of your document — the conversion and editing all happen in the tab. You can confirm it in your browser's network panel, and the offline copy has even that request removed.

Can I use it offline?

Yes. Save the page to your computer and open the file directly, and it keeps working with no connection at all. The whole editor is a single HTML file with no dependencies.

Does editing the preview change my Markdown?

Yes, and only the part you touched. Recto maps every rendered block back to the source lines it came from, so editing a paragraph rewrites those lines and leaves the rest of your file byte for byte identical.

What Markdown syntax is supported?

Headings, bold, italic, strikethrough, highlight, inline code, fenced code with syntax highlighting, links, images, blockquotes, nested and ordered lists, task lists, tables with alignment, horizontal rules, footnotes, superscript and subscript, YAML front matter and a generated table of contents.

Can I export to Word or PDF?

Yes. Print to PDF from the editor, or send your document to the converter for Word and EPUB files.

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