Command Line Utility

The mk command-line tool provides easy access to Marked’s features from the terminal, enabling workflow automation and integration with shell scripts and other command-line tools.

Installation

The easiest way to install the mk command-line tool is through Marked’s menu:

  1. Open Marked
  2. Select Marked Install Command Line Tool from the menu
  3. The tool will be installed to /opt/homebrew/bin/mk (Apple Silicon) or /usr/local/bin/mk (Intel Mac)
  4. A confirmation dialog will show the installation location

The installation creates a symbolic link to the mk binary included with Marked, ensuring it stays updated with your Marked installation.

Note: If installation to /opt/homebrew/bin or /usr/local/bin requires administrator privileges, you’ll be prompted for your password.

Basic Usage

Opening Files

Open a markdown file in Marked from the command line:

mk file.md
mk ~/Documents/notes.md
mk --raise document.md  # Open and raise window above all others

Streaming Content from STDIN

Stream content directly to Marked’s Streaming Preview:

echo "# Hello World" | mk
cat notes.md | mk
mk -  # Explicitly use STDIN

The Streaming Preview window will open and display the content in real-time as it’s piped from other commands.

Command Reference

File Operations

mk [file] — Open a markdown file in Marked

mk [file] --raise — Open file and raise the window above all others

STDIN and Streaming

mk or mk - — Read from STDIN and open Streaming Preview

mk --stream — Open Streaming Preview window without reading STDIN

Preview Management

mk --refresh — Refresh the frontmost preview window

mk --refresh all — Refresh all open preview windows

mk --refresh file.md — Refresh the preview for a specific file (if open)

Preferences

mk --pref — Open Marked preferences (General page)

mk --pref Advanced — Open preferences to a specific page

mk --defaults KEY=VALUE [KEY=VALUE...] — Set user preferences (multiple pairs allowed)

mk --defaults syntaxHighlight=1 includeMathJax=0 processor=multimarkdown

Style Management

mk --style NAME — Set preview style for open windows

mk --add-style FILE — Add a CSS file as a custom style to Marked

mk --add-style ~/Styles/custom.css

JavaScript Execution

mk --dojs "JAVASCRIPT_COMMAND" — Run JavaScript in frontmost window

mk --dojs "SCRIPT" all — Run JavaScript in all windows

mk --dojs "SCRIPT" file.md — Run JavaScript in specific file(s)

mk --dojs "window.scrollTo(0,0)"
mk --dojs "alert('Hello')" all

Content Extraction and Import

mk --extract URL — Extract content from URL and open in Marked

mk --extract https://example.com/article

mk --importurl [URL] — Open Import URL window (optionally with URL)

mk --stylestealer [URL] — Open Style Stealer HUD (optionally with URL)

Utility Commands

mk --paste — Create new document from clipboard

mk --preview TEXT — Preview text directly in a new document

mk --dingus — Open Markdown Dingus for testing processors

mk --help or mk -h — Show usage information

mk --version or mk -v — Show version information

Examples

# Open a file
mk document.md

# Stream markdown from a file
cat notes.md | mk

# Process and preview
grep -i "important" notes.md | mk

# Refresh all previews
mk --refresh all

# Add a custom style
mk --add-style ~/Documents/MyTheme.css

# Set preferences
mk --defaults syntaxHighlight=1 processor=multimarkdown

# Run JavaScript in all windows
mk --dojs "window.scrollTo(0,0)" all

# Extract content from a webpage
mk --extract https://blog.example.com/article

# Preview text directly
mk --preview "## Hello

This is **markdown** text!"

Integration

Shell Aliases

Add to your ~/.zshrc or ~/.bash_profile:

alias mko='mk --raise'      # Open with raise
alias mkr='mk --refresh all' # Refresh all

Scripts

Use mk in shell scripts for automation:

#!/bin/bash
# Watch a file and stream changes to Marked
fswatch -o document.md | while read; do
  cat document.md | mk
done

Workflows

Combine with other tools:

# Convert clipboard to markdown and preview
pbpaste | markdown | mk

# Search and preview
grep -r "TODO" . | head -20 | mk

Open Source

The mk command-line tool is open source and available on GitHub:

https://github.com/ttscoff/mk

You can:

  • View the source code
  • Contribute improvements
  • Report issues
  • Build from source if needed

The tool is written in Swift and can be compiled using Xcode. See the README for build instructions.

Version

The mk tool version matches Marked’s version. Check your version with:

mk --version

Related Features

Next up: Workflow Integration ▶

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