render-markdown.nvim

Plugin to improve viewing Markdown files in Neovim

Screenshot	Video

Features

• Contained: runs entirely inside Neovim with no external windows
• Configurable: all components, padding, icons, and colors can be modified
• File type agnostic: can render markdown injected into any file
  • Automatically runs on lazy load file types defined in lazy.nvim ft
• Injections: can directly manipulate treesitter to add logical markdown sections
• Modal rendering: changes between rendered and raw view based on mode
• Anti-conceal: hides virtual text added by this plugin on cursor line
• Window options: changes option values between rendered and raw view
• Large files: only renders visible range, can be entirely disabled based on size
• Custom rendering: provides extension point where user can add anything
• Renders the following markdown components out of the box:
  • Headings: icon, color, border, padding ¹, width
  • Code blocks: background, language icon ^{1 2}, border, padding ¹, width
  • Code inline: background
  • Horizontal breaks: icon, color, width
  • List bullets: icon, color, padding ¹
  • Checkboxes: icon, color, user defined states ¹
  • Block quotes: icon, color, line breaks ¹
  • Callouts: icon, color, user defined values, Github & Obsidian defaults
  • Tables: border, color, alignment indicator, auto align cells ¹
  • Links ¹: icon, color, user defined destinations
  • LaTeX blocks ³: renders formulas
  • Org indent mode ¹: per level padding

Requirements

• Neovim >= 0.9.0 (minimum) >= 0.10.0 (recommended)
• Nerd font symbols: more details
• treesitter parsers:
  • markdown & markdown_inline: Used to parse markdown files
  • latex (Optional): Used to get LaTeX blocks from markdown files
• Icon provider plugin (Optional): Used for icon above code blocks
  • mini.icons
  • nvim-web-devicons
• System dependencies:
  • pylatexenc (Optional): Used to transform LaTeX strings to appropriate unicode using latex2text

Install

lazy.nvim

{
    'MeanderingProgrammer/render-markdown.nvim',
    dependencies = { 'nvim-treesitter/nvim-treesitter', 'echasnovski/mini.nvim' }, -- if you use the mini.nvim suite
    -- dependencies = { 'nvim-treesitter/nvim-treesitter', 'echasnovski/mini.icons' }, -- if you use standalone mini plugins
    -- dependencies = { 'nvim-treesitter/nvim-treesitter', 'nvim-tree/nvim-web-devicons' }, -- if you prefer nvim-web-devicons
    ---@module 'render-markdown'
    ---@type render.md.UserConfig
    opts = {},
}

rocks.nvim

This plugin is available on LuaRocks

:Rocks install render-markdown.nvim

packer.nvim

use({
    'MeanderingProgrammer/render-markdown.nvim',
    after = { 'nvim-treesitter' },
    requires = { 'echasnovski/mini.nvim', opt = true }, -- if you use the mini.nvim suite
    -- requires = { 'echasnovski/mini.icons', opt = true }, -- if you use standalone mini plugins
    -- requires = { 'nvim-tree/nvim-web-devicons', opt = true }, -- if you prefer nvim-web-devicons
    config = function()
        require('render-markdown').setup({})
    end,
})

Commands

Command	Lua Function	Description
:RenderMarkdown	require('render-markdown').enable()	Enable this plugin
:RenderMarkdown enable	require('render-markdown').enable()	Enable this plugin
:RenderMarkdown disable	require('render-markdown').disable()	Disable this plugin
:RenderMarkdown toggle	require('render-markdown').toggle()	Switch between enabling & disabling this plugin
:RenderMarkdown log	require('render-markdown').log()	Opens the log file for this plugin
:RenderMarkdown expand	require('render-markdown').expand()	Increase anti-conceal margin above and below by 1
:RenderMarkdown contract	require('render-markdown').contract()	Decrease anti-conceal margin above and below by 1
:RenderMarkdown debug	require('render-markdown').debug()	Prints information about marks on current line
:RenderMarkdown config	require('render-markdown').config()	Prints difference between config and default

Setup

Checkout the Wiki for examples and images associated with different configuration options.

The full default configuration is provided below for reference.

Any part of it can be modified however for many fields this does not make much sense.

Some of the more useful fields are discussed further down.

Default Configuration

require('render-markdown').setup({
    -- Whether Markdown should be rendered by default or not
    enabled = true,
    -- Maximum file size (in MB) that this plugin will attempt to render
    -- Any file larger than this will effectively be ignored
    max_file_size = 10.0,
    -- Milliseconds that must pass before updating marks, updates occur
    -- within the context of the visible window, not the entire buffer
    debounce = 100,
    -- Pre configured settings that will attempt to mimic various target
    -- user experiences. Any user provided settings will take precedence.
    --  obsidian: mimic Obsidian UI
    --  lazy:     will attempt to stay up to date with LazyVim configuration
    --  none:     does nothing
    preset = 'none',
    -- The level of logs to write to file: vim.fn.stdpath('state') .. '/render-markdown.log'
    -- Only intended to be used for plugin development / debugging
    log_level = 'error',
    -- Print runtime of main update method
    -- Only intended to be used for plugin development / debugging
    log_runtime = false,
    -- Filetypes this plugin will run on
    file_types = { 'markdown' },
    -- Out of the box language injections for known filetypes that allow markdown to be
    -- interpreted in specified locations, see :h treesitter-language-injections
    -- Set enabled to false in order to disable
    injections = {
        gitcommit = {
            enabled = true,
            query = [[
                ((message) @injection.content
                    (#set! injection.combined)
                    (#set! injection.include-children)
                    (#set! injection.language "markdown"))
            ]],
        },
    },
    -- Vim modes that will show a rendered view of the markdown file
    -- All other modes will be unaffected by this plugin
    render_modes = { 'n', 'c' },
    anti_conceal = {
        -- This enables hiding any added text on the line the cursor is on
        enabled = true,
        -- Which elements to always show, ignoring anti conceal behavior. Values can either be booleans
        -- to fix the behavior or string lists representing modes where anti conceal behavior will be
        -- ignored. Possible keys are:
        --  head_icon, head_background, head_border, code_language, code_background, code_border
        --  dash, bullet, check_icon, check_scope, quote, table_border, callout, link, sign
        ignore = {
            code_background = true,
            sign = true,
        },
        -- Number of lines above cursor to show
        above = 0,
        -- Number of lines below cursor to show
        below = 0,
    },
    padding = {
        -- Highlight to use when adding whitespace, should match background
        highlight = 'Normal',
    },
    latex = {
        -- Whether LaTeX should be rendered, mainly used for health check
        enabled = true,
        -- Executable used to convert latex formula to rendered unicode
        converter = 'latex2text',
        -- Highlight for LaTeX blocks
        highlight = 'RenderMarkdownMath',
        -- Amount of empty lines above LaTeX blocks
        top_pad = 0,
        -- Amount of empty lines below LaTeX blocks
        bottom_pad = 0,
    },
    on = {
        -- Called when plugin initially attaches to a buffer
        attach = function() end,
    },
    heading = {
        -- Turn on / off heading icon & background rendering
        enabled = true,
        -- Turn on / off any sign column related rendering
        sign = true,
        -- Determines how icons fill the available space:
        --  inline:  underlying '#'s are concealed resulting in a left aligned icon
        --  overlay: result is left padded with spaces to hide any additional '#'
        position = 'overlay',
        -- Replaces '#+' of 'atx_h._marker'
        -- The number of '#' in the heading determines the 'level'
        -- The 'level' is used to index into the list using a cycle
        icons = { '󰲡 ', '󰲣 ', '󰲥 ', '󰲧 ', '󰲩 ', '󰲫 ' },
        -- Added to the sign column if enabled
        -- The 'level' is used to index into the list using a cycle
        signs = { '󰫎 ' },
        -- Width of the heading background:
        --  block: width of the heading text
        --  full:  full width of the window
        -- Can also be a list of the above values in which case the 'level' is used
        -- to index into the list using a clamp
        width = 'full',
        -- Amount of margin to add to the left of headings
        -- If a floating point value < 1 is provided it is treated as a percentage of the available window space
        -- Margin available space is computed after accounting for padding
        -- Can also be a list of numbers in which case the 'level' is used to index into the list using a clamp
        left_margin = 0,
        -- Amount of padding to add to the left of headings
        -- If a floating point value < 1 is provided it is treated as a percentage of the available window space
        -- Can also be a list of numbers in which case the 'level' is used to index into the list using a clamp
        left_pad = 0,
        -- Amount of padding to add to the right of headings when width is 'block'
        -- If a floating point value < 1 is provided it is treated as a percentage of the available window space
        -- Can also be a list of numbers in which case the 'level' is used to index into the list using a clamp
        right_pad = 0,
        -- Minimum width to use for headings when width is 'block'
        -- Can also be a list of integers in which case the 'level' is used to index into the list using a clamp
        min_width = 0,
        -- Determines if a border is added above and below headings
        border = false,
        -- Always use virtual lines for heading borders instead of attempting to use empty lines
        border_virtual = false,
        -- Highlight the start of the border using the foreground highlight
        border_prefix = false,
        -- Used above heading for border
        above = '▄',
        -- Used below heading for border
        below = '▀',
        -- The 'level' is used to index into the list using a clamp
        -- Highlight for the heading icon and extends through the entire line
        backgrounds = {
            'RenderMarkdownH1Bg',
            'RenderMarkdownH2Bg',
            'RenderMarkdownH3Bg',
            'RenderMarkdownH4Bg',
            'RenderMarkdownH5Bg',
            'RenderMarkdownH6Bg',
        },
        -- The 'level' is used to index into the list using a clamp
        -- Highlight for the heading and sign icons
        foregrounds = {
            'RenderMarkdownH1',
            'RenderMarkdownH2',
            'RenderMarkdownH3',
            'RenderMarkdownH4',
            'RenderMarkdownH5',
            'RenderMarkdownH6',
        },
    },
    paragraph = {
        -- Turn on / off paragraph rendering
        enabled = true,
        -- Amount of margin to add to the left of paragraphs
        -- If a floating point value < 1 is provided it is treated as a percentage of the available window space
        left_margin = 0,
        -- Minimum width to use for paragraphs
        min_width = 0,
    },
    code = {
        -- Turn on / off code block & inline code rendering
        enabled = true,
        -- Turn on / off any sign column related rendering
        sign = true,
        -- Determines how code blocks & inline code are rendered:
        --  none:     disables all rendering
        --  normal:   adds highlight group to code blocks & inline code, adds padding to code blocks
        --  language: adds language icon to sign column if enabled and icon + name above code blocks
        --  full:     normal + language
        style = 'full',
        -- Determines where language icon is rendered:
        --  right: right side of code block
        --  left:  left side of code block
        position = 'left',
        -- Amount of padding to add around the language
        -- If a floating point value < 1 is provided it is treated as a percentage of the available window space
        language_pad = 0,
        -- Whether to include the language name next to the icon
        language_name = true,
        -- A list of language names for which background highlighting will be disabled
        -- Likely because that language has background highlights itself
        -- Or a boolean to make behavior apply to all languages
        -- Borders above & below blocks will continue to be rendered
        disable_background = { 'diff' },
        -- Width of the code block background:
        --  block: width of the code block
        --  full:  full width of the window
        width = 'full',
        -- Amount of margin to add to the left of code blocks
        -- If a floating point value < 1 is provided it is treated as a percentage of the available window space
        -- Margin available space is computed after accounting for padding
        left_margin = 0,
        -- Amount of padding to add to the left of code blocks
        -- If a floating point value < 1 is provided it is treated as a percentage of the available window space
        left_pad = 0,
        -- Amount of padding to add to the right of code blocks when width is 'block'
        -- If a floating point value < 1 is provided it is treated as a percentage of the available window space
        right_pad = 0,
        -- Minimum width to use for code blocks when width is 'block'
        min_width = 0,
        -- Determines how the top / bottom of code block are rendered:
        --  thick: use the same highlight as the code body
        --  thin:  when lines are empty overlay the above & below icons
        border = 'thin',
        -- Used above code blocks for thin border
        above = '▄',
        -- Used below code blocks for thin border
        below = '▀',
        -- Highlight for code blocks
        highlight = 'RenderMarkdownCode',
        -- Highlight for inline code
        highlight_inline = 'RenderMarkdownCodeInline',
        -- Highlight for language, overrides icon provider value
        highlight_language = nil,
    },
    dash = {
        -- Turn on / off thematic break rendering
        enabled = true,
        -- Replaces '---'|'***'|'___'|'* * *' of 'thematic_break'
        -- The icon gets repeated across the window's width
        icon = '─',
        -- Width of the generated line:
        --  <integer>: a hard coded width value
        --  full:      full width of the window
        width = 'full',
        -- Highlight for the whole line generated from the icon
        highlight = 'RenderMarkdownDash',
    },
    bullet = {
        -- Turn on / off list bullet rendering
        enabled = true,
        -- Replaces '-'|'+'|'*' of 'list_item'
        -- How deeply nested the list is determines the 'level' which is used to index into the list using a cycle
        -- The item number in the list is used to index into the value using a clamp if the value is also a list
        -- If the item is a 'checkbox' a conceal is used to hide the bullet instead
        icons = { '●', '○', '◆', '◇' },
        -- Replaces 'n.'|'n)' of 'list_item'
        -- How deeply nested the list is determines the 'level' which is used to index into the list using a cycle
        -- The item number in the list is used to index into the value using a clamp if the value is also a list
        ordered_icons = {},
        -- Padding to add to the left of bullet point
        left_pad = 0,
        -- Padding to add to the right of bullet point
        right_pad = 0,
        -- Highlight for the bullet icon
        highlight = 'RenderMarkdownBullet',
    },
    -- Checkboxes are a special instance of a 'list_item' that start with a 'shortcut_link'
    -- There are two special states for unchecked & checked defined in the markdown grammar
    checkbox = {
        -- Turn on / off checkbox state rendering
        enabled = true,
        -- Determines how icons fill the available space:
        --  inline:  underlying text is concealed resulting in a left aligned icon
        --  overlay: result is left padded with spaces to hide any additional text
        position = 'inline',
        unchecked = {
            -- Replaces '[ ]' of 'task_list_marker_unchecked'
            icon = '󰄱 ',
            -- Highlight for the unchecked icon
            highlight = 'RenderMarkdownUnchecked',
            -- Highlight for item associated with unchecked checkbox
            scope_highlight = nil,
        },
        checked = {
            -- Replaces '[x]' of 'task_list_marker_checked'
            icon = '󰱒 ',
            -- Highlight for the checked icon
            highlight = 'RenderMarkdownChecked',
            -- Highlight for item associated with checked checkbox
            scope_highlight = nil,
        },
        -- Define custom checkbox states, more involved as they are not part of the markdown grammar
        -- As a result this requires neovim >= 0.10.0 since it relies on 'inline' extmarks
        -- Can specify as many additional states as you like following the 'todo' pattern below
        --   The key in this case 'todo' is for healthcheck and to allow users to change its values
        --   'raw':             Matched against the raw text of a 'shortcut_link'
        --   'rendered':        Replaces the 'raw' value when rendering
        --   'highlight':       Highlight for the 'rendered' icon
        --   'scope_highlight': Highlight for item associated with custom checkbox
        custom = {
            todo = { raw = '[-]', rendered = '󰥔 ', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownTodo', scope_highlight = nil },
        },
    },
    quote = {
        -- Turn on / off block quote & callout rendering
        enabled = true,
        -- Replaces '>' of 'block_quote'
        icon = '▋',
        -- Whether to repeat icon on wrapped lines. Requires neovim >= 0.10. This will obscure text if
        -- not configured correctly with :h 'showbreak', :h 'breakindent' and :h 'breakindentopt'. A
        -- combination of these that is likely to work is showbreak = '  ' (2 spaces), breakindent = true,
        -- breakindentopt = '' (empty string). These values are not validated by this plugin. If you want
        -- to avoid adding these to your main configuration then set them in win_options for this plugin.
        repeat_linebreak = false,
        -- Highlight for the quote icon
        highlight = 'RenderMarkdownQuote',
    },
    pipe_table = {
        -- Turn on / off pipe table rendering
        enabled = true,
        -- Pre configured settings largely for setting table border easier
        --  heavy:  use thicker border characters
        --  double: use double line border characters
        --  round:  use round border corners
        --  none:   does nothing
        preset = 'none',
        -- Determines how the table as a whole is rendered:
        --  none:   disables all rendering
        --  normal: applies the 'cell' style rendering to each row of the table
        --  full:   normal + a top & bottom line that fill out the table when lengths match
        style = 'full',
        -- Determines how individual cells of a table are rendered:
        --  overlay: writes completely over the table, removing conceal behavior and highlights
        --  raw:     replaces only the '|' characters in each row, leaving the cells unmodified
        --  padded:  raw + cells are padded to maximum visual width for each column
        --  trimmed: padded except empty space is subtracted from visual width calculation
        cell = 'padded',
        -- Amount of space to put between cell contents and border
        padding = 1,
        -- Minimum column width to use for padded or trimmed cell
        min_width = 0,
        -- Characters used to replace table border
        -- Correspond to top(3), delimiter(3), bottom(3), vertical, & horizontal
        -- stylua: ignore
        border = {
            '┌', '┬', '┐',
            '├', '┼', '┤',
            '└', '┴', '┘',
            '│', '─',
        },
        -- Gets placed in delimiter row for each column, position is based on alignment
        alignment_indicator = '━',
        -- Highlight for table heading, delimiter, and the line above
        head = 'RenderMarkdownTableHead',
        -- Highlight for everything else, main table rows and the line below
        row = 'RenderMarkdownTableRow',
        -- Highlight for inline padding used to add back concealed space
        filler = 'RenderMarkdownTableFill',
    },
    -- Callouts are a special instance of a 'block_quote' that start with a 'shortcut_link'
    -- Can specify as many additional values as you like following the pattern from any below, such as 'note'
    --   The key in this case 'note' is for healthcheck and to allow users to change its values
    --   'raw':        Matched against the raw text of a 'shortcut_link', case insensitive
    --   'rendered':   Replaces the 'raw' value when rendering
    --   'highlight':  Highlight for the 'rendered' text and quote markers
    --   'quote_icon': Optional override for quote.icon value for individual callout
    callout = {
        note = { raw = '[!NOTE]', rendered = '󰋽 Note', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownInfo' },
        tip = { raw = '[!TIP]', rendered = '󰌶 Tip', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownSuccess' },
        important = { raw = '[!IMPORTANT]', rendered = '󰅾 Important', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownHint' },
        warning = { raw = '[!WARNING]', rendered = '󰀪 Warning', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownWarn' },
        caution = { raw = '[!CAUTION]', rendered = '󰳦 Caution', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownError' },
        -- Obsidian: https://help.obsidian.md/Editing+and+formatting/Callouts
        abstract = { raw = '[!ABSTRACT]', rendered = '󰨸 Abstract', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownInfo' },
        summary = { raw = '[!SUMMARY]', rendered = '󰨸 Summary', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownInfo' },
        tldr = { raw = '[!TLDR]', rendered = '󰨸 Tldr', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownInfo' },
        info = { raw = '[!INFO]', rendered = '󰋽 Info', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownInfo' },
        todo = { raw = '[!TODO]', rendered = '󰗡 Todo', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownInfo' },
        hint = { raw = '[!HINT]', rendered = '󰌶 Hint', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownSuccess' },
        success = { raw = '[!SUCCESS]', rendered = '󰄬 Success', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownSuccess' },
        check = { raw = '[!CHECK]', rendered = '󰄬 Check', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownSuccess' },
        done = { raw = '[!DONE]', rendered = '󰄬 Done', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownSuccess' },
        question = { raw = '[!QUESTION]', rendered = '󰘥 Question', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownWarn' },
        help = { raw = '[!HELP]', rendered = '󰘥 Help', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownWarn' },
        faq = { raw = '[!FAQ]', rendered = '󰘥 Faq', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownWarn' },
        attention = { raw = '[!ATTENTION]', rendered = '󰀪 Attention', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownWarn' },
        failure = { raw = '[!FAILURE]', rendered = '󰅖 Failure', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownError' },
        fail = { raw = '[!FAIL]', rendered = '󰅖 Fail', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownError' },
        missing = { raw = '[!MISSING]', rendered = '󰅖 Missing', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownError' },
        danger = { raw = '[!DANGER]', rendered = '󱐌 Danger', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownError' },
        error = { raw = '[!ERROR]', rendered = '󱐌 Error', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownError' },
        bug = { raw = '[!BUG]', rendered = '󰨰 Bug', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownError' },
        example = { raw = '[!EXAMPLE]', rendered = '󰉹 Example', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownHint' },
        quote = { raw = '[!QUOTE]', rendered = '󱆨 Quote', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownQuote' },
        cite = { raw = '[!CITE]', rendered = '󱆨 Cite', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownQuote' },
    },
    link = {
        -- Turn on / off inline link icon rendering
        enabled = true,
        -- Inlined with 'image' elements
        image = '󰥶 ',
        -- Inlined with 'email_autolink' elements
        email = '󰀓 ',
        -- Fallback icon for 'inline_link' elements
        hyperlink = '󰌹 ',
        -- Applies to the fallback inlined icon
        highlight = 'RenderMarkdownLink',
        -- Applies to WikiLink elements
        wiki = { icon = '󱗖 ', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownWikiLink' },
        -- Define custom destination patterns so icons can quickly inform you of what a link
        -- contains. Applies to 'inline_link' and wikilink nodes.
        -- Can specify as many additional values as you like following the 'web' pattern below
        --   The key in this case 'web' is for healthcheck and to allow users to change its values
        --   'pattern':   Matched against the destination text see :h lua-pattern
        --   'icon':      Gets inlined before the link text
        --   'highlight': Highlight for the 'icon'
        custom = {
            web = { pattern = '^http[s]?://', icon = '󰖟 ', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownLink' },
        },
    },
    sign = {
        -- Turn on / off sign rendering
        enabled = true,
        -- Applies to background of sign text
        highlight = 'RenderMarkdownSign',
    },
    -- Mimic org-indent-mode behavior by indenting everything under a heading based on the
    -- level of the heading. Indenting starts from level 2 headings onward.
    indent = {
        -- Turn on / off org-indent-mode
        enabled = false,
        -- Amount of additional padding added for each heading level
        per_level = 2,
        -- Heading levels <= this value will not be indented
        -- Use 0 to begin indenting from the very first level
        skip_level = 1,
        -- Do not indent heading titles, only the body
        skip_heading = false,
    },
    -- Window options to use that change between rendered and raw view
    win_options = {
        -- See :h 'conceallevel'
        conceallevel = {
            -- Used when not being rendered, get user setting
            default = vim.api.nvim_get_option_value('conceallevel', {}),
            -- Used when being rendered, concealed text is completely hidden
            rendered = 3,
        },
        -- See :h 'concealcursor'
        concealcursor = {
            -- Used when not being rendered, get user setting
            default = vim.api.nvim_get_option_value('concealcursor', {}),
            -- Used when being rendered, disable concealing text in all modes
            rendered = '',
        },
    },
    -- More granular configuration mechanism, allows different aspects of buffers
    -- to have their own behavior. Values default to the top level configuration
    -- if no override is provided. Supports the following fields:
    --   enabled, max_file_size, debounce, render_modes, anti_conceal, padding,
    --   heading, paragraph, code, dash, bullet, checkbox, quote, pipe_table,
    --   callout, link, sign, indent, win_options
    overrides = {
        -- Overrides for different buftypes, see :h 'buftype'
        buftype = {
            nofile = {
                padding = { highlight = 'NormalFloat' },
                sign = { enabled = false },
            },
        },
        -- Overrides for different filetypes, see :h 'filetype'
        filetype = {},
    },
    -- Mapping from treesitter language to user defined handlers
    -- See 'Custom Handlers' document for more info
    custom_handlers = {},
})

We use the following definitions when discussing indexing into lists:

1. Cycle: Indexed mod the length. Example: { 1, 2, 3 } @ 4 = 1.
2. Clamp: Indexed normally but larger values use the last value in the list. Example: { 1, 2, 3 } @ 4 = 3.

Headings

Wiki Page

Heading Configuration

require('render-markdown').setup({
    heading = {
        -- Turn on / off heading icon & background rendering
        enabled = true,
        -- Turn on / off any sign column related rendering
        sign = true,
        -- Determines how icons fill the available space:
        --  inline:  underlying '#'s are concealed resulting in a left aligned icon
        --  overlay: result is left padded with spaces to hide any additional '#'
        position = 'overlay',
        -- Replaces '#+' of 'atx_h._marker'
        -- The number of '#' in the heading determines the 'level'
        -- The 'level' is used to index into the list using a cycle
        icons = { '󰲡 ', '󰲣 ', '󰲥 ', '󰲧 ', '󰲩 ', '󰲫 ' },
        -- Added to the sign column if enabled
        -- The 'level' is used to index into the list using a cycle
        signs = { '󰫎 ' },
        -- Width of the heading background:
        --  block: width of the heading text
        --  full:  full width of the window
        -- Can also be a list of the above values in which case the 'level' is used
        -- to index into the list using a clamp
        width = 'full',
        -- Amount of margin to add to the left of headings
        -- If a floating point value < 1 is provided it is treated as a percentage of the available window space
        -- Margin available space is computed after accounting for padding
        -- Can also be a list of numbers in which case the 'level' is used to index into the list using a clamp
        left_margin = 0,
        -- Amount of padding to add to the left of headings
        -- If a floating point value < 1 is provided it is treated as a percentage of the available window space
        -- Can also be a list of numbers in which case the 'level' is used to index into the list using a clamp
        left_pad = 0,
        -- Amount of padding to add to the right of headings when width is 'block'
        -- If a floating point value < 1 is provided it is treated as a percentage of the available window space
        -- Can also be a list of numbers in which case the 'level' is used to index into the list using a clamp
        right_pad = 0,
        -- Minimum width to use for headings when width is 'block'
        -- Can also be a list of integers in which case the 'level' is used to index into the list using a clamp
        min_width = 0,
        -- Determines if a border is added above and below headings
        border = false,
        -- Always use virtual lines for heading borders instead of attempting to use empty lines
        border_virtual = false,
        -- Highlight the start of the border using the foreground highlight
        border_prefix = false,
        -- Used above heading for border
        above = '▄',
        -- Used below heading for border
        below = '▀',
        -- The 'level' is used to index into the list using a clamp
        -- Highlight for the heading icon and extends through the entire line
        backgrounds = {
            'RenderMarkdownH1Bg',
            'RenderMarkdownH2Bg',
            'RenderMarkdownH3Bg',
            'RenderMarkdownH4Bg',
            'RenderMarkdownH5Bg',
            'RenderMarkdownH6Bg',
        },
        -- The 'level' is used to index into the list using a clamp
        -- Highlight for the heading and sign icons
        foregrounds = {
            'RenderMarkdownH1',
            'RenderMarkdownH2',
            'RenderMarkdownH3',
            'RenderMarkdownH4',
            'RenderMarkdownH5',
            'RenderMarkdownH6',
        },
    },
})

Paragraphs

Wiki Page

Paragraph Configuration

require('render-markdown').setup({
    paragraph = {
        -- Turn on / off paragraph rendering
        enabled = true,
        -- Amount of margin to add to the left of paragraphs
        -- If a floating point value < 1 is provided it is treated as a percentage of the available window space
        left_margin = 0,
        -- Minimum width to use for paragraphs
        min_width = 0,
    },
})

Code Blocks

Wiki Page

Code Block Configuration

require('render-markdown').setup({
    code = {
        -- Turn on / off code block & inline code rendering
        enabled = true,
        -- Turn on / off any sign column related rendering
        sign = true,
        -- Determines how code blocks & inline code are rendered:
        --  none:     disables all rendering
        --  normal:   adds highlight group to code blocks & inline code, adds padding to code blocks
        --  language: adds language icon to sign column if enabled and icon + name above code blocks
        --  full:     normal + language
        style = 'full',
        -- Determines where language icon is rendered:
        --  right: right side of code block
        --  left:  left side of code block
        position = 'left',
        -- Amount of padding to add around the language
        -- If a floating point value < 1 is provided it is treated as a percentage of the available window space
        language_pad = 0,
        -- Whether to include the language name next to the icon
        language_name = true,
        -- A list of language names for which background highlighting will be disabled
        -- Likely because that language has background highlights itself
        -- Or a boolean to make behavior apply to all languages
        -- Borders above & below blocks will continue to be rendered
        disable_background = { 'diff' },
        -- Width of the code block background:
        --  block: width of the code block
        --  full:  full width of the window
        width = 'full',
        -- Amount of margin to add to the left of code blocks
        -- If a floating point value < 1 is provided it is treated as a percentage of the available window space
        -- Margin available space is computed after accounting for padding
        left_margin = 0,
        -- Amount of padding to add to the left of code blocks
        -- If a floating point value < 1 is provided it is treated as a percentage of the available window space
        left_pad = 0,
        -- Amount of padding to add to the right of code blocks when width is 'block'
        -- If a floating point value < 1 is provided it is treated as a percentage of the available window space
        right_pad = 0,
        -- Minimum width to use for code blocks when width is 'block'
        min_width = 0,
        -- Determines how the top / bottom of code block are rendered:
        --  thick: use the same highlight as the code body
        --  thin:  when lines are empty overlay the above & below icons
        border = 'thin',
        -- Used above code blocks for thin border
        above = '▄',
        -- Used below code blocks for thin border
        below = '▀',
        -- Highlight for code blocks
        highlight = 'RenderMarkdownCode',
        -- Highlight for inline code
        highlight_inline = 'RenderMarkdownCodeInline',
        -- Highlight for language, overrides icon provider value
        highlight_language = nil,
    },
})

Dashed Line

Wiki Page

Dashed Line Configuration

require('render-markdown').setup({
    dash = {
        -- Turn on / off thematic break rendering
        enabled = true,
        -- Replaces '---'|'***'|'___'|'* * *' of 'thematic_break'
        -- The icon gets repeated across the window's width
        icon = '─',
        -- Width of the generated line:
        --  <integer>: a hard coded width value
        --  full:      full width of the window
        width = 'full',
        -- Highlight for the whole line generated from the icon
        highlight = 'RenderMarkdownDash',
    },
})

List Bullets

Wiki Page

Bullet Point Configuration

require('render-markdown').setup({
    bullet = {
        -- Turn on / off list bullet rendering
        enabled = true,
        -- Replaces '-'|'+'|'*' of 'list_item'
        -- How deeply nested the list is determines the 'level' which is used to index into the list using a cycle
        -- The item number in the list is used to index into the value using a clamp if the value is also a list
        -- If the item is a 'checkbox' a conceal is used to hide the bullet instead
        icons = { '●', '○', '◆', '◇' },
        -- Replaces 'n.'|'n)' of 'list_item'
        -- How deeply nested the list is determines the 'level' which is used to index into the list using a cycle
        -- The item number in the list is used to index into the value using a clamp if the value is also a list
        ordered_icons = {},
        -- Padding to add to the left of bullet point
        left_pad = 0,
        -- Padding to add to the right of bullet point
        right_pad = 0,
        -- Highlight for the bullet icon
        highlight = 'RenderMarkdownBullet',
    },
})

Checkboxes

Wiki Page

Checkbox Configuration

require('render-markdown').setup({
    -- Checkboxes are a special instance of a 'list_item' that start with a 'shortcut_link'
    -- There are two special states for unchecked & checked defined in the markdown grammar
    checkbox = {
        -- Turn on / off checkbox state rendering
        enabled = true,
        -- Determines how icons fill the available space:
        --  inline:  underlying text is concealed resulting in a left aligned icon
        --  overlay: result is left padded with spaces to hide any additional text
        position = 'inline',
        unchecked = {
            -- Replaces '[ ]' of 'task_list_marker_unchecked'
            icon = '󰄱 ',
            -- Highlight for the unchecked icon
            highlight = 'RenderMarkdownUnchecked',
            -- Highlight for item associated with unchecked checkbox
            scope_highlight = nil,
        },
        checked = {
            -- Replaces '[x]' of 'task_list_marker_checked'
            icon = '󰱒 ',
            -- Highlight for the checked icon
            highlight = 'RenderMarkdownChecked',
            -- Highlight for item associated with checked checkbox
            scope_highlight = nil,
        },
        -- Define custom checkbox states, more involved as they are not part of the markdown grammar
        -- As a result this requires neovim >= 0.10.0 since it relies on 'inline' extmarks
        -- Can specify as many additional states as you like following the 'todo' pattern below
        --   The key in this case 'todo' is for healthcheck and to allow users to change its values
        --   'raw':             Matched against the raw text of a 'shortcut_link'
        --   'rendered':        Replaces the 'raw' value when rendering
        --   'highlight':       Highlight for the 'rendered' icon
        --   'scope_highlight': Highlight for item associated with custom checkbox
        custom = {
            todo = { raw = '[-]', rendered = '󰥔 ', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownTodo', scope_highlight = nil },
        },
    },
})

Block Quotes

Wiki Page

Block Quote Configuration

require('render-markdown').setup({
    quote = {
        -- Turn on / off block quote & callout rendering
        enabled = true,
        -- Replaces '>' of 'block_quote'
        icon = '▋',
        -- Whether to repeat icon on wrapped lines. Requires neovim >= 0.10. This will obscure text if
        -- not configured correctly with :h 'showbreak', :h 'breakindent' and :h 'breakindentopt'. A
        -- combination of these that is likely to work is showbreak = '  ' (2 spaces), breakindent = true,
        -- breakindentopt = '' (empty string). These values are not validated by this plugin. If you want
        -- to avoid adding these to your main configuration then set them in win_options for this plugin.
        repeat_linebreak = false,
        -- Highlight for the quote icon
        highlight = 'RenderMarkdownQuote',
    },
})

Tables

Wiki Page

Table Configuration

require('render-markdown').setup({
    pipe_table = {
        -- Turn on / off pipe table rendering
        enabled = true,
        -- Pre configured settings largely for setting table border easier
        --  heavy:  use thicker border characters
        --  double: use double line border characters
        --  round:  use round border corners
        --  none:   does nothing
        preset = 'none',
        -- Determines how the table as a whole is rendered:
        --  none:   disables all rendering
        --  normal: applies the 'cell' style rendering to each row of the table
        --  full:   normal + a top & bottom line that fill out the table when lengths match
        style = 'full',
        -- Determines how individual cells of a table are rendered:
        --  overlay: writes completely over the table, removing conceal behavior and highlights
        --  raw:     replaces only the '|' characters in each row, leaving the cells unmodified
        --  padded:  raw + cells are padded to maximum visual width for each column
        --  trimmed: padded except empty space is subtracted from visual width calculation
        cell = 'padded',
        -- Amount of space to put between cell contents and border
        padding = 1,
        -- Minimum column width to use for padded or trimmed cell
        min_width = 0,
        -- Characters used to replace table border
        -- Correspond to top(3), delimiter(3), bottom(3), vertical, & horizontal
        -- stylua: ignore
        border = {
            '┌', '┬', '┐',
            '├', '┼', '┤',
            '└', '┴', '┘',
            '│', '─',
        },
        -- Gets placed in delimiter row for each column, position is based on alignment
        alignment_indicator = '━',
        -- Highlight for table heading, delimiter, and the line above
        head = 'RenderMarkdownTableHead',
        -- Highlight for everything else, main table rows and the line below
        row = 'RenderMarkdownTableRow',
        -- Highlight for inline padding used to add back concealed space
        filler = 'RenderMarkdownTableFill',
    },
})

Callouts

Wiki Page

Callout Configuration

require('render-markdown').setup({
    -- Callouts are a special instance of a 'block_quote' that start with a 'shortcut_link'
    -- Can specify as many additional values as you like following the pattern from any below, such as 'note'
    --   The key in this case 'note' is for healthcheck and to allow users to change its values
    --   'raw':        Matched against the raw text of a 'shortcut_link', case insensitive
    --   'rendered':   Replaces the 'raw' value when rendering
    --   'highlight':  Highlight for the 'rendered' text and quote markers
    --   'quote_icon': Optional override for quote.icon value for individual callout
    callout = {
        note = { raw = '[!NOTE]', rendered = '󰋽 Note', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownInfo' },
        tip = { raw = '[!TIP]', rendered = '󰌶 Tip', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownSuccess' },
        important = { raw = '[!IMPORTANT]', rendered = '󰅾 Important', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownHint' },
        warning = { raw = '[!WARNING]', rendered = '󰀪 Warning', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownWarn' },
        caution = { raw = '[!CAUTION]', rendered = '󰳦 Caution', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownError' },
        -- Obsidian: https://help.obsidian.md/Editing+and+formatting/Callouts
        abstract = { raw = '[!ABSTRACT]', rendered = '󰨸 Abstract', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownInfo' },
        summary = { raw = '[!SUMMARY]', rendered = '󰨸 Summary', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownInfo' },
        tldr = { raw = '[!TLDR]', rendered = '󰨸 Tldr', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownInfo' },
        info = { raw = '[!INFO]', rendered = '󰋽 Info', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownInfo' },
        todo = { raw = '[!TODO]', rendered = '󰗡 Todo', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownInfo' },
        hint = { raw = '[!HINT]', rendered = '󰌶 Hint', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownSuccess' },
        success = { raw = '[!SUCCESS]', rendered = '󰄬 Success', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownSuccess' },
        check = { raw = '[!CHECK]', rendered = '󰄬 Check', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownSuccess' },
        done = { raw = '[!DONE]', rendered = '󰄬 Done', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownSuccess' },
        question = { raw = '[!QUESTION]', rendered = '󰘥 Question', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownWarn' },
        help = { raw = '[!HELP]', rendered = '󰘥 Help', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownWarn' },
        faq = { raw = '[!FAQ]', rendered = '󰘥 Faq', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownWarn' },
        attention = { raw = '[!ATTENTION]', rendered = '󰀪 Attention', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownWarn' },
        failure = { raw = '[!FAILURE]', rendered = '󰅖 Failure', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownError' },
        fail = { raw = '[!FAIL]', rendered = '󰅖 Fail', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownError' },
        missing = { raw = '[!MISSING]', rendered = '󰅖 Missing', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownError' },
        danger = { raw = '[!DANGER]', rendered = '󱐌 Danger', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownError' },
        error = { raw = '[!ERROR]', rendered = '󱐌 Error', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownError' },
        bug = { raw = '[!BUG]', rendered = '󰨰 Bug', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownError' },
        example = { raw = '[!EXAMPLE]', rendered = '󰉹 Example', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownHint' },
        quote = { raw = '[!QUOTE]', rendered = '󱆨 Quote', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownQuote' },
        cite = { raw = '[!CITE]', rendered = '󱆨 Cite', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownQuote' },
    },
})

Links

Wiki Page

Link Configuration

require('render-markdown').setup({
    link = {
        -- Turn on / off inline link icon rendering
        enabled = true,
        -- Inlined with 'image' elements
        image = '󰥶 ',
        -- Inlined with 'email_autolink' elements
        email = '󰀓 ',
        -- Fallback icon for 'inline_link' elements
        hyperlink = '󰌹 ',
        -- Applies to the fallback inlined icon
        highlight = 'RenderMarkdownLink',
        -- Applies to WikiLink elements
        wiki = { icon = '󱗖 ', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownWikiLink' },
        -- Define custom destination patterns so icons can quickly inform you of what a link
        -- contains. Applies to 'inline_link' and wikilink nodes.
        -- Can specify as many additional values as you like following the 'web' pattern below
        --   The key in this case 'web' is for healthcheck and to allow users to change its values
        --   'pattern':   Matched against the destination text see :h lua-pattern
        --   'icon':      Gets inlined before the link text
        --   'highlight': Highlight for the 'icon'
        custom = {
            web = { pattern = '^http[s]?://', icon = '󰖟 ', highlight = 'RenderMarkdownLink' },
        },
    },
})

Signs

Wiki Page

Sign Configuration

require('render-markdown').setup({
    sign = {
        -- Turn on / off sign rendering
        enabled = true,
        -- Applies to background of sign text
        highlight = 'RenderMarkdownSign',
    },
})

Indent

Wiki Page

Indent Configuration

require('render-markdown').setup({
    -- Mimic org-indent-mode behavior by indenting everything under a heading based on the
    -- level of the heading. Indenting starts from level 2 headings onward.
    indent = {
        -- Turn on / off org-indent-mode
        enabled = false,
        -- Amount of additional padding added for each heading level
        per_level = 2,
        -- Heading levels <= this value will not be indented
        -- Use 0 to begin indenting from the very first level
        skip_level = 1,
        -- Do not indent heading titles, only the body
        skip_heading = false,
    },
})

Colors

The table below shows all the highlight groups with their default link

Highlight Group	Default Group	Description
RenderMarkdownH1	@markup.heading.1.markdown	H1 icons
RenderMarkdownH2	@markup.heading.2.markdown	H2 icons
RenderMarkdownH3	@markup.heading.3.markdown	H3 icons
RenderMarkdownH4	@markup.heading.4.markdown	H4 icons
RenderMarkdownH5	@markup.heading.5.markdown	H5 icons
RenderMarkdownH6	@markup.heading.6.markdown	H6 icons
RenderMarkdownH1Bg	DiffAdd	H1 background line
RenderMarkdownH2Bg	DiffChange	H2 background line
RenderMarkdownH3Bg	DiffDelete	H3 background line
RenderMarkdownH4Bg	DiffDelete	H4 background line
RenderMarkdownH5Bg	DiffDelete	H5 background line
RenderMarkdownH6Bg	DiffDelete	H6 background line
RenderMarkdownCode	ColorColumn	Code block background
RenderMarkdownCodeInline	RenderMarkdownCode	Inline code background
RenderMarkdownBullet	Normal	List item bullet points
RenderMarkdownQuote	@markup.quote	Block quote marker
RenderMarkdownDash	LineNr	Thematic break line
RenderMarkdownSign	SignColumn	Sign column background
RenderMarkdownMath	@markup.math	LaTeX lines
RenderMarkdownLink	@markup.link.label.markdown_inline	Image & hyperlink icons
RenderMarkdownWikiLink	RenderMarkdownLink	WikiLink icon & text
RenderMarkdownUnchecked	@markup.list.unchecked	Unchecked checkbox
RenderMarkdownChecked	@markup.list.checked	Checked checkbox
RenderMarkdownTodo	@markup.raw	Todo custom checkbox
RenderMarkdownTableHead	@markup.heading	Pipe table heading rows
RenderMarkdownTableRow	Normal	Pipe table body rows
RenderMarkdownTableFill	Conceal	Pipe table inline padding
RenderMarkdownSuccess	DiagnosticOk	Success related callouts
RenderMarkdownInfo	DiagnosticInfo	Info related callouts
RenderMarkdownHint	DiagnosticHint	Hint related callouts
RenderMarkdownWarn	DiagnosticWarn	Warning related callouts
RenderMarkdownError	DiagnosticError	Error related callouts

Info

vimwiki

Note

vimwiki overrides the filetype of markdown files, as such there are additional setup steps.

• Add vimwiki to the file_types configuration of this plugin

require('render-markdown').setup({
    file_types = { 'markdown', 'vimwiki' },
})

• Register markdown as the parser for vimwiki files

vim.treesitter.language.register('markdown', 'vimwiki')

obsidian.nvim

Note

obsidian.nvim provides UI functionality that is enabled by default. While there may be a way to have the 2 work together, for the foreseeable future only one of these plugins should be used for the UI. If you choose this plugin disable the obsidian.nvim UI with:

require('obsidian').setup({
    ui = { enable = false },
})

You can also do something more custom like lazy loading this plugin via a command and adding logic to the config method to disable obsidian.nvim as suggested in #116, though things like this can break at any time given the reliance on internal logic:

return {
    'MeanderingProgrammer/render-markdown.nvim',
    cmd = { 'RenderMarkdown' },
    dependencies = { 'nvim-treesitter/nvim-treesitter', 'echasnovski/mini.nvim' },
    config = function()
        require('obsidian').get_client().opts.ui.enable = false
        vim.api.nvim_buf_clear_namespace(0, vim.api.nvim_get_namespaces()['ObsidianUI'], 0, -1)
        require('render-markdown').setup({})
    end,
}

Images

Note

Images are only supported so far as this plugin will not interfere with others like image.nvim, however nothing is done natively by this plugin. It is recommended to enable the only_render_image_at_cursor option.

Additional

• Limitations: Known limitations of this plugin
• Custom Handlers: Allow users to integrate custom rendering for either unsupported languages or to override / extend builtin implementations
• Troubleshooting Guide
• Purpose: Why this plugin exists
• Markdown Ecosystem: Information about other markdown related plugins and how they co-exist

Donate

I enjoy working on these projects and will continue to do so with the time I can find. Any support is appreciated including starring the repo and reporting issues. Money is also nice: Donate via Stripe.

Footnotes

1. Requires neovim >= 0.10.0 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

2. Requires icon provider, mini.icons or nvim-web-devicons ↩

3. Requires latex parser and pylatexenc ↩