mdpreview — Markdown Preview & Annotate

Catppuccin Mocha/Latte live-reloading Markdown viewer with multi-tab support and Google Docs-style margin annotations.

Canonical repo: github.com/tdimino/dabarat. Clone it or ensure md_preview_and_annotate is on your PYTHONPATH.

Quick Start

# Preview one or more files
python3 -m md_preview_and_annotate file.md [file2.md ...] --port 3031

# If not installed globally, run from the cloned repo:
python3 ~/Desktop/Programming/md-preview-and-annotate/md_preview_and_annotate/__main__.py file.md

Add a file to a running server

python3 -m md_preview_and_annotate --add another.md --port 3031

Add an annotation from CLI (no server needed)

python3 -m md_preview_and_annotate --annotate file.md \
  --text "RPL §235-b" --author "Claude" --comment "Cite the specific subsection"

This writes directly to the sidecar JSON (file.md.annotations.json). The live viewer picks it up on the next 500ms poll cycle.

Features

Feature	Details
Live reload	500ms polling, auto-refreshes on file save
Multi-tab	Open multiple .md files, switch tabs, add/close at runtime
Tab reuse	Launching a new file while the server is running adds it as a tab
Annotations	Right-margin comment bubbles with author badges (human/AI)
Threaded replies	Reply to any annotation inline
Bookmarks	Global persistence to ~/.claude/bookmarks/ with INDEX.md
Sidecar JSON	Annotations persisted in file.md.annotations.json alongside source
File tagging	7 predefined + custom tags via command palette # prefix
Command palette	Cmd+K / Ctrl+K for quick access to commands, tabs, and recent files
Catppuccin	Full Mocha (dark) / Latte (light) theme with 26 CSS variables
Typography	Cormorant Garamond headings, DM Sans body, Victor Mono code
Sidebar TOC	Resizable table of contents with scroll-spy
Code highlighting	highlight.js with Catppuccin syntax theme
Chrome --app	Opens in frameless Chrome window for native feel
Cross-file links	Local .md links open in new tabs instead of navigating away

Annotation System

To create annotations interactively, select text in the viewer — a floating button appears, then fill in the comment form in the right gutter.

To create annotations programmatically (e.g., from Claude Code), use the --annotate CLI flag. This requires no running server — it writes directly to the sidecar JSON.

• Human authors — blue name badge
• AI authors — mauve name badge with robot icon
• Actions — resolve (toggle strikethrough) or delete (trash icon), revealed on hover
• Persistence — sidecar JSON file, auto-loaded on viewer refresh or file poll

Sidecar JSON Schema

{
  "version": 1,
  "tags": ["draft", "research"],
  "annotations": [
    {
      "id": "a1b2c3",
      "anchor": { "text": "selected phrase", "heading": "", "offset": 0 },
      "author": { "name": "Claude", "type": "ai" },
      "created": "2026-02-12T15:30:00+00:00",
      "body": "Comment text here",
      "resolved": false,
      "replies": []
    }
  ]
}

API Endpoints

Endpoint	Method	Purpose
/api/content?tab=<id>	GET	Markdown content for a tab
/api/tabs	GET	List open tabs
/api/annotations?tab=<id>	GET	Annotations for a tab
/api/tags?tab=<id>	GET	Tags for a tab
/api/add	POST	Open a new file tab
/api/close	POST	Close a tab
/api/annotate	POST	Create an annotation
/api/resolve	POST	Toggle annotation resolved state
/api/reply	POST	Add a threaded reply
/api/delete-annotation	POST	Delete an annotation
/api/tags	POST	Add/remove a tag