v2 Houston 2.0 — now available for macOS

Read markdown,
beautifully.

A native macOS reader with session persistence, folder watching, scroll memory, and full GFM support — all in 3.3 MB.

Download for Mac View Source
README.md ~/projects
CHANGELOG.md ~/projects
ARCHITECTURE.md ~/docs

Getting Started

Last modified 2 hours ago

Houston renders your markdown with native macOS performance. Open any .md file by dragging it into the window or pressing ⌘O.

Supports GitHub Flavored Markdown with tables, task lists, footnotes, and syntax-highlighted code blocks.

const reader = new Houston();
reader.open("./README.md");
// That's it. Just read.
Features

Everything in 2.0.
Nothing you don't need.

Full GFM + MDX

Tables, task lists, footnotes, strikethrough, autolinks — plus MDX support for .md, .mdx, and .markdown files.

Syntax Highlighting

190+ languages with automatic detection via highlight.js. Code blocks look as good as your editor.

Session Persistence

Remembers your open files, active document, and scroll positions. Pick up exactly where you left off.

Folder Watching

Open entire folders with ⌘Shift+O. File system watcher detects new, changed, and removed files in real time.

Drag & Drop

Drop files right into the window with visual feedback. Multi-file support with a clean sidebar to switch between docs.

Keyboard First

⌘O open. ⌘Shift+O folder. ⌘W close. Arrow keys navigate. Built for flow.

Light & Dark

Follows your system appearance automatically. Carefully tuned palettes for both modes.

Instant Launch

Native Tauri v2 + WebKit. Opens in under a second. ~30 MB RAM at idle — not 300.

Scroll Memory

Remembers your scroll position per file. Switch between documents and return to exactly where you were.

Lightweight by design.

Built on Tauri with native macOS WebKit — no bundled browser engine. Houston is the markdown reader your Mac deserves.

~12 MB total application size
~30 MB RAM at idle — not 300
Native macOS rendering via WebKit
Rust backend for file operations
React 19 with Vite for the interface
~12
MB on disk
vs. typical Electron apps
Houston
Electron

Start reading.

Houston is free and open source. Download the latest release or build from source.

Download Houston 2.0
macOS · Apple Silicon · 3.3 MB