Markdown Server

mdserve is a simple, lightweight webserver for viewing your markdown files in a browser.

Features

• Automatic directory listing on homepage
• Clean rendering of markdown files with professional styling
• Hierarchical table of contents - automatically generated from markdown headings
  • Collapsible/expandable sections with visual indicators
  • Tree structure with connecting lines showing relationships
  • Expand all / Collapse all buttons for quick navigation
  • Consistent font sizing throughout TOC
• Configurable TOC position (left or right sidebar)
• Resizable TOC sidebar for customizable layout
• Smooth scrolling navigation to headings
• Proper heading size hierarchy (H1-H6) in rendered content
• Support for custom heading IDs with {#custom-id} syntax
• Support for tables, code blocks, and all standard markdown features
• Properly indented bullet points and ordered lists
• View raw markdown source with syntax highlighting (toggle view)
• Works with heading IDs that contain numbers, periods, and special characters
• Browse files from any directory
• Mobile responsive design
• No authentication or encryption - just simple markdown viewing

Setup

Install Go

sudo apt install golang -y

Initialize (first time only)

go mod init markdown_server
go get github.com/gomarkdown/markdown

Usage

Basic usage (serve current directory)

go run mdserve.go

Serve a different directory

go run mdserve.go /path/to/your/docs
# or
go run mdserve.go -dir /path/to/your/docs

Use a custom port

go run mdserve.go -port 3000
# or combine with directory
go run mdserve.go /path/to/docs -port 3000

Configure table of contents position

# TOC on the left (default)
go run mdserve.go -toc left

# TOC on the right
go run mdserve.go -toc right

# Combine all options
go run mdserve.go /path/to/docs -port 3000 -toc right

Access the server

1. Open your browser to http://localhost:8080
2. The homepage lists all markdown files and directories
3. Click on any file to view it rendered as HTML
4. The table of contents (if headings exist) appears in the sidebar with a hierarchical tree structure
5. Click on any TOC item to smoothly scroll to that section
6. Use the ▶/▼ icons to expand/collapse TOC sections
7. Use the + and − buttons at the top to expand all or collapse all sections
8. Click "Show Source" button to view the raw markdown with syntax highlighting
9. Resize the TOC sidebar by dragging its edge

Command-line Options

• <directory> - Positional argument to specify directory to serve (default: current directory)
• -dir <path> - Flag to specify directory to serve
• -port <number> - Port to serve on (default: 8080)
• -toc <position> - Table of contents position: 'left' or 'right' (default: left)

Build for deployment

go build -o mdserve mdserve.go
./mdserve /path/to/docs

Docker Usage

Pull from Docker Hub

docker pull awkto/mdserve:latest

Quick Start - Run with Docker

Easiest way - serve current directory:

docker run -d -p 8080:8080 -v $(pwd):/docs:ro awkto/mdserve:latest

Then open http://localhost:8080 in your browser.

Serve a specific directory:

docker run -d -p 8080:8080 -v /path/to/your/docs:/docs:ro awkto/mdserve:latest

With a named container (easier to manage):

# Start
docker run -d --name mdserve -p 8080:8080 -v $(pwd):/docs:ro awkto/mdserve:latest

# Stop
docker stop mdserve

# Start again
docker start mdserve

# Remove
docker rm mdserve

Custom port:

docker run -d -p 3000:3000 -v $(pwd):/docs:ro awkto/mdserve:latest /docs -port 3000

TOC on the right:

docker run -d -p 8080:8080 -v $(pwd):/docs:ro awkto/mdserve:latest /docs -toc right

All options combined:

docker run -d --name mdserve -p 3000:3000 \
  -v /path/to/your/docs:/docs:ro \
  awkto/mdserve:latest \
  /docs -port 3000 -toc right

To stop/view running containers:

# List running containers
docker ps

# Stop a container
docker stop <container-id>
# or
docker stop mdserve

Build Docker Image Locally

docker build -t mdserve .
docker run -d -p 8080:8080 -v $(pwd):/docs:ro mdserve