The Markdown reader that opens before you blink. Pure Zig, zero dependencies, native macOS — mmap + SIMD, microsecond rendering, CoreText typography.
zig build -Doptimize=ReleaseFast && ./zig-out/bin/read showcase.mdj/k scroll · Space page · t theme · q quit · all keys
| Electron app | Native reader | Read | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binary | ~180 MB | ~15–35 MB | < 200 KiB |
| Open | 350–1,200 ms | 20–60 ms | ≤ 18 µs |
| 50k-line scan | ~100 ms | 15–25 ms | ≤ 400 µs |
| Viewport layout | 8–16 ms | 1–3 ms | ≤ 8 µs |
| Deep scroll | 8–16 ms | 1–3 ms | ≤ 11 µs |
| Hot-path allocs | millions | thousands | 0 |
| Memory | 150–400 MB | 30–80 MB | < 6 MB |
| Dependencies | hundreds | toolkits | 0 |
Every number is enforced in CI by strict_benchmarks.zig — a miss means the code gets faster, never the target lower.
- Zero-copy
mmapopen, branchless SIMD line scan, virtualized viewport — only visible tokens are parsed (how it works) - CommonMark + GFM tables, task lists, math, diagrams, images (supported Markdown)
- Buttery 120 Hz scrolling, native selection & clipboard, dark/light themes (keys & gestures)
- Remote-image privacy guard, on-device math engine (privacy · engine setup)
gregoreesmaa.github.io/read — guides, keybindings, Markdown support, examples.
Try: showcase.md (the one-page tour) · examples/ (classic reference docs) · test_cases/ (fixtures behind every screenshot)
Contributing: CONTRIBUTING.md · AGENTS.md · releases
MIT — Copyright (c) 2026 Gregor Eesmaa. See LICENSE.