glow
Render Markdown files with syntax highlighting
TLDR
Run glow and select a file to view
Render a Markdown file to the terminal
View a Markdown file using a paginator
View a file from a URL
View a GitHub/GitLab README
SYNOPSIS
glow [OPTIONS]... [FILE | DIRECTORY | URL | -]...
PARAMETERS
-p, --pager
Pipe output into a pager like less
-s, --stylesheet <name|path>
Use stylesheet name or custom path (default: dark)
-t, --style <theme>
Terminal color theme (e.g., dark, light, 256)
-w, --word-wrap
Enable word wrapping
-m, --mouse
Enable mouse support for scrolling/links
-b, --binary-clock
Show binary clock instead of cursor
-a, --header, -d, --disable-header
Show/hide filename header
-l, --line-numbers
Display line numbers
-W, --watch
Watch files/directories for changes
-o, --stdout
Output ANSI to stdout (no pager)
-h, --help
Show help
--version
Print version info
DESCRIPTION
Glow is a fast, lightweight command-line tool written in Go for rendering Markdown files directly in your terminal. It provides beautiful syntax highlighting, multiple stylesheets (over 20 built-in themes like dark, light, gruvbox), mouse support, word wrapping, and paging integration.
Ideal for viewing READMEs, documentation, or GitHub-flavored Markdown without a browser. Glow supports local files, directories (renders index.md), URLs, and stdin input. Advanced features include line numbers, binary clock mode, header customization, file watching for live reloads, and custom stylesheets.
It's cross-platform, dependency-free after installation, and outperforms traditional tools like lynx or mdless in styling and speed. Install via package managers (e.g., brew install glow) or binaries from GitHub.
CAVEATS
Requires installation (not in standard repos); terminal must support 256 colors for best results.
Custom stylesheets need CSS-like syntax; some Unicode features depend on font.
STYLES LIST
View with glow styles or glow -s help.
Examples: dark, light, dracula, gruvbox.
INPUT SOURCES
Supports files, dirs (index.md), URLs, stdin (-).
HISTORY
Created in 2019 by Charm (charmbracelet/glow). Gained popularity for CLI Markdown viewing; v1.0 in 2020 added themes/watch. Actively maintained with Go rewrite for speed/portability.
