MCP Directory

How to add MarkView to Claude Desktop

Native macOS markdown preview MCP server — Claude writes markdown, MarkView renders it live in a real native window. Paste the config into ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json and restart Claude Desktop.

Last updated June 14, 2026 · 34★ · stdio · no auth

Claude Desktop config for MarkView

claude mcp add --transport stdio --scope user markview -- npx mcp-server-markview
{
  "mcpServers": {
    "markview": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": [
        "mcp-server-markview"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Setup steps

  1. 1Open Claude Desktop → Settings → Developer → Edit Config (this opens ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json).
  2. 2Paste the MarkView config below under the top-level "mcpServers" key.
  3. 3Fill in any placeholder secrets (API keys, paths) in the snippet.
  4. 4Save the file, then fully quit and reopen Claude Desktop.
  5. 5Open a chat and confirm MarkView's tools appear under the 🔌 tools menu.

Before you start

  • macOS 14+
  • Node.js / npx (to run the mcp-server-markview wrapper)
  • The MarkView app installed (via Homebrew cask, build from source, or the bundled app installer)

What MarkView can do in Claude Desktop

preview_markdown

Render markdown content in a live-reloading MarkView window.

open_file

Open an existing .md file in MarkView.

Security

macOS-only (requires macOS 14+). The MCP server is an npm wrapper that drives the native MarkView app; the app includes an HTML sanitizer that strips scripts, event handlers, and XSS vectors from rendered markdown. No authentication or network access required.

MarkView + Claude Desktop FAQ

Where is the Claude Desktop config file?

Claude Desktop reads MCP servers from ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json. Paste the MarkView config there under the "mcpServers" key and restart the client.

Is MarkView safe to use with Claude Desktop?

macOS-only (requires macOS 14+). The MCP server is an npm wrapper that drives the native MarkView app; the app includes an HTML sanitizer that strips scripts, event handlers, and XSS vectors from rendered markdown. No authentication or network access required.

Does MarkView work on Windows or Linux?

No. MarkView is a native macOS app (Swift/SwiftUI) and requires macOS 14 or later.

What tools does the MCP server expose?

Two tools: preview_markdown (render a markdown string in a live MarkView window) and open_file (open an existing .md file in MarkView).

How do I add it to Claude Desktop instead of Claude Code?

Add an mcpServers entry to ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json with command "npx" and args ["mcp-server-markview"].

View repo Full MarkView page