Terms of Use
Last updated
These terms cover your use of the Markdown Viewer website and its tools.
Accepting these terms
Markdown Viewer is run by one independent developer, not a company (“I”, “me”; see About). By using the site you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, please don't use it. The privacy policy explains how data is handled and is part of these terms.
What the service does
The site renders Markdown documents in your browser: files you open or drop, text you paste, and files at a web address you give it. It shows a contents list, lets you edit the source, and lets you print, copy, download or share the result. It is free, has no accounts and shows no ads. It is a reading tool, not a storage service: nothing you open is kept for you on a server.
Rendering differences
The site follows the CommonMark and GitHub Flavored Markdown rules and GitHub's documented additions, but Markdown has many dialects and no two renderers agree on every edge case. Other programs and sites may show the same file differently, in particular:
- extensions that only one program understands, such as Dataview queries, custom containers or table spans; Obsidian wiki links only reach notes that are open in the viewer, and an embedded note is shown only when it is open too;
- HTML that relies on inline styles, scripts, iframes or forms, which this site removes for safety;
- math that uses LaTeX packages KaTeX doesn't support, and diagram syntax from newer or older Mermaid versions;
- relative links and images that point to files the site can't reach;
- exact page breaks in a PDF, which depend on your browser, paper size and print settings;
- formatting after pasting into another program, which depends on what that program accepts.
Check anything important in the program where the document will finally be used. The site displays documents as they are written: it doesn't check their contents, and nothing it shows is professional advice.
Documents you open
You are responsible for the documents you open, paste, link to or share, and for having the right to use them. Documents are rendered in your browser; scripts in them are removed, but images and links in a document can still lead to other websites, so be as careful with a document from a stranger as with any link they send you.
Acceptable use
Please use the site in a way that doesn't harm it or other people. In particular, don't:
- use the link-fetching feature to probe, scan or overload other servers, or to get around access controls;
- send automated requests at a rate that a person reading documents wouldn't;
- use share links to spread malware, phishing pages, illegal content or material you have no right to distribute;
- try to break, bypass or test the security of the site without permission;
- use the feedback form for spam, abuse or advertising.
Share links
A share link either points to a document's web address or carries the document's text inside the link. Anyone who has the link can read the document, and I can't revoke or delete a link once it has been passed on. You are responsible for what you share and with whom. A link that points to a web address shows whatever is at that address when it is opened, which may change or disappear.
Feedback
If you send feedback, such as a bug report or a suggestion, you allow me to use it to improve the site without any obligation to you, and you confirm that the message doesn't contain anything you aren't allowed to share. Please don't include passwords, keys or other sensitive information in it.
Who owns what
You own the documents you write or bring to the site, along with whatever rights you already had in them. Using the site doesn't give me any rights to your documents, and I don't receive them except as the privacy policy describes.
The 12 example documents and their pictures are made up for this site (Tidepool is not a real product) and may be copied, changed and used for any purpose, without credit. The site's own design, text and program code belong to the person who runs it and may not be copied as a whole to make another site. Short quotes with a link back are fine. The site uses open-source software, including markdown-it, DOMPurify, KaTeX, Mermaid, highlight.js and CodeMirror, under their own licences.
Third-party content and links
Documents fetched from other websites, images they load and the sites they link to belong to their owners. I don't check, endorse or take responsibility for that content, and viewing it here doesn't give you any right to reuse it. Respect the owner's copyright and terms. Links to other websites are provided for convenience; those sites have their own terms and policies.
Availability and changes
I aim to keep the site running, but it may be slow, unavailable or changed at any time, for maintenance or for reasons outside my control. Opening a link depends on the other site answering and may be refused by some sites. I may add, change or remove features, including limits such as 20 MB for files you open, 5 MB and 12 seconds for links fetched by the server, and the length of text a share link can carry.
Disclaimer
The site is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including warranties of accuracy, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement, to the extent the law allows. I don't promise that rendering, copying, downloading, printing or any other feature will be free of errors or suitable for your use. Keep your own copies of anything important: edits you make live only in your browser tab and are gone when you close it, unless you download them.
Limitation of liability
To the extent the law allows, I am not liable for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential loss, or for loss of data, profits, business or reputation, arising from your use of the site or from not being able to use it. That includes loss caused by a document that rendered differently somewhere else, by edits lost when a tab was closed, or by a share link that reached people you didn't intend. Because the service is free, I accept no liability for any claim relating to the site, except where the law doesn't allow that limit.
Your consumer rights
Nothing in these terms limits rights you have under consumer protection laws that can't be excluded by agreement, or liability that the law doesn't allow to be limited, such as liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud.
Suspension and termination
You can stop using the site at any time. I may block or limit access, for example to the link-fetching feature, for anyone who breaks these terms or puts the site or other people at risk. The sections on ownership, feedback, the disclaimer and limitation of liability continue to apply after you stop using the site.
General
If any part of these terms is found to be unenforceable, the rest still applies. If I don't enforce a term straight away, that doesn't mean I have given up the right to enforce it later. These terms and the privacy policy are the whole agreement between you and me about the site.
Changes to these terms
I may update these terms as the site changes. The date at the top shows the latest version. If you keep using the site after a change, the new terms apply from then on.
Contact
Questions about these terms can be sent with the Send feedback button on the contact page.