English | 日本語
Markdown in. Beautiful renders out. Just drag a file to start reading. A free, lightweight viewer. No config, no account — ready in seconds.
Rendu is French for "a finished rendering" or "something delivered." Just as architects create a rendu to convey their design intent, Rendu transforms your Markdown blueprints into an intuitive, beautifully rendered form.
| Rendu | Obsidian | Typora | VS Code | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instant startup | Yes | Slow | OK | Slow |
| Zero config | Yes | Plugins required | Minimal | Extensions required |
| Free | Yes | Freemium | Paid | Free |
| Pure viewer | Yes | Editor-first | Editor-first | Editor-first |
| Mermaid diagrams | Yes | Plugin | Plugin | Extension |
- Open a folder, start reading — file tree, outline, and rendered Markdown in one window
- Mermaid diagrams, GFM tables, syntax highlighting — all built in, nothing to install
- One-click PDF export — share rendered docs with anyone
- Lightweight & native — Tauri + Rust backend, native packages under 7 MB (DMG / EXE / .deb / .rpm)
- CLI friendly —
rendu file.mdopens and renders instantly (macOS, via Homebrew)
Download Rendu.dmg — open and drag to Applications.
Rendu is code-signed and notarized by Apple. Just open the DMG, drag to Applications, and launch — no extra steps needed.
Other install methods:
| Method | Command |
|---|---|
| Homebrew | brew install --cask kashioka/tap/rendu |
| CLI | After Homebrew install: rendu README.md |
Download Rendu installer (.exe) — run the installer.
Download .deb — install on Debian/Ubuntu/Mint with:
sudo apt install ./Rendu_0.11.2_amd64.debFor Fedora/RHEL: Download .rpm —
sudo dnf install ./Rendu-0.11.2-1.x86_64.rpmFor other distributions (openSUSE, Arch, NixOS, etc.): Download AppImage — make it executable and run:
chmod +x Rendu_0.11.2_amd64.AppImage
./Rendu_0.11.2_amd64.AppImageIf you see
dlopen(): error loading libfuse.so.2, install FUSE 2:sudo apt install libfuse2t64(Ubuntu 24.04+) orsudo apt install libfuse2(older). As a no-install workaround, run with--appimage-extract-and-run.AppImage is ~83 MB because it bundles the GTK runtime for portability. Native
.deb/.rpmpackages are 6 MB each since they share the system runtime.
After install, Rendu is registered as a text/markdown handler. To make it the default for .md files:
xdg-mime default Rendu.desktop text/markdownSupported environments: Ubuntu 22.04+ / Debian 12+ / Linux Mint 21+ / equivalent on x86_64. Requires
webkit2gtk-4.1(Tauri 2 dropped support forwebkit2gtk-4.0, so Ubuntu 20.04 and Debian 11 are not supported).gtk-3is also required. Both are auto-resolved byapt install/dnf install.Note for Ubuntu 24.04+: The new App Center (Snap-based) may hang on "Preparing" for 15+ minutes when installing
.debfiles via the GUI. Use the CLI command above instead.
- File tree — Browse
.md/.markdownfiles in a folder tree - Markdown rendering — Full GFM support (tables, task lists, strikethrough, etc.)
- Syntax highlighting — Automatic code block highlighting
- Mermaid diagrams — Inline rendering of flowcharts, sequence diagrams, ER diagrams, and more
- Document outline — Heading list in the sidebar with click-to-jump navigation
- PDF export — Export the current Markdown page as an A4 PDF
- Theme customization — Change colors for background, text, code blocks, and more in real time
- Multi-language UI — English, 日本語 (Japanese), and 简体中文 (Simplified Chinese)
- Resizable UI — Drag the divider between file tree and outline to adjust panel sizes
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Desktop framework | Tauri 2.0 (Rust) |
| Frontend | React 19 + TypeScript + Vite |
| Markdown | react-markdown + remark-gfm + rehype-highlight |
| Diagrams | Mermaid |
| PDF export | html2pdf.js |
| Styling | Tailwind CSS 4 |
From the terminal:
rendu README.mdFrom the app:
- Launch the app
- Click Open Folder to select a folder containing Markdown files, or Open File to open a single file
- The rendered Markdown appears in the right panel
- Use the Outline section at the bottom of the sidebar to navigate headings
- Click PDF Export at the top to export as PDF
- Click the gear icon to customize the theme
Download and install manually:
curl -LO https://github.com/kashioka/Rendu/releases/download/v0.11.2/Rendu_0.11.2_aarch64.app.tar.gz
tar xzf Rendu_0.11.2_aarch64.app.tar.gz
mv Rendu.app /Applications/
open /Applications/Rendu.appAll versions and release notes are on the Releases page.
For contributors or anyone who wants to build Rendu from source.
Prerequisites
Clone and install dependencies
git clone https://github.com/kashioka/Rendu.git
cd Rendu
npm installRun in development mode
npm run devThe Vite dev server uses port
14173(strictPort: true). If something else is already on that port,npm run devexits immediately with an explicit error — free the port and try again.
Build a release
npm run build
./scripts/build-tarball.shGenerated artifacts:
src-tauri/target/release/bundle/macos/Rendu.app
src-tauri/target/release/bundle/tarball/Rendu-macos-aarch64.tar.gz
Rendu/
├── src/
│ ├── components/
│ │ ├── FileTree.tsx # File tree browser
│ │ ├── MarkdownViewer.tsx # Markdown rendering + PDF export
│ │ ├── MermaidBlock.tsx # Mermaid diagram rendering
│ │ ├── OutlinePanel.tsx # Document outline
│ │ └── Settings.tsx # Theme settings panel
│ ├── App.tsx # Main layout
│ ├── main.tsx # Entry point
│ ├── useSettings.ts # Theme settings hook
│ └── index.css # Global styles
├── src-tauri/
│ ├── src/ # Rust backend
│ ├── capabilities/ # Tauri permission config
│ └── tauri.conf.json # Tauri config
└── package.json
Bug reports and feature requests are welcome — please open an Issue.
MIT