OpenMarkdown vs Marked 2
Marked 2 is the classic macOS answer to "show me this file, rendered, and update when it changes." It's the closest tool to watching your agent's Markdown — with one difference: Marked previews, but you can't edit in it, and it has no idea an agent is involved.
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| OpenMarkdown | Marked 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | $13.99 (Mac App Store) |
| Platforms | macOS, Linux, Windows | macOS only |
Local-first, plain .md, no account | Yes | Yes — a tie |
| Watches the file & re-renders | Yes | Yes — its whole purpose (updates on save) |
| Edit the file in the same window | Yes — it's a full editor | — preview only; you edit in a separate app |
| Agent co-editing over MCP (built-in) | Built-in MCP server, seven tools, section-level conflict protection — macOS and Linux today; Windows coming soon | — |
| Export (HTML / PDF / Word) & preview styles | — (keeps your plain .md) | Yes — export plus many styles and writing-analysis tools |
| Maturity | New (first public release 2026) | Established macOS previewer |
Competitor facts checked 2026-07-19; note that Marked 3 is the newer, actively developed successor. Pricing and features change — see marked2app.com for current details.
Where Marked 2 wins
- It pairs with any editor. Marked's model is "keep writing in the editor you love; I'll render it." If you're attached to Vim, VS Code, or anything else, Marked slots in beside it — OpenMarkdown asks you to edit in its window.
- Export and styles. HTML, PDF and Word out, nine-plus preview styles, unlimited custom CSS. OpenMarkdown doesn't export at all.
- Writing analysis. Readability scores and sentence tooling built in. OpenMarkdown has none of that.
Where OpenMarkdown is different
You edit in the same window — Marked can only preview, so watching and changing a file means bouncing between two apps. In OpenMarkdown the preview is the editor.
And your agent is a first-class participant. Marked watches raw file saves; it doesn't know a coding agent exists. OpenMarkdown gives the agent a built-in MCP server with structured tools — read_section, write_section, reveal — and section-level conflict protection, so the agent edits precisely and your unsaved work is never clobbered. That's the difference between "previewing a file that happens to change" and "co-editing a file with your agent."
When to pick Marked 2 instead
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