explaingit

w512/texodus

25VueAudience · generalComplexity · 2/5ActiveLicenseSetup · moderate

TLDR

Native desktop Markdown editor with live GitHub-flavored preview, built on Vue 3 and Tauri 2 with split, focus, and preview-only modes.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((Texodus))
    Inputs
      Markdown file
      Drag drop file
      Keyboard shortcut
    Outputs
      Live preview
      Saved file
      Installer build
    Use Cases
      Edit Markdown locally
      Preview GitHub docs
      Write in focus mode
      Ship a Tauri app
    Tech Stack
      Vue
      Tauri
      Rust
      Bun

Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Edit and preview Markdown docs offline on Windows, macOS, or Linux

USE CASE 2

Switch between split, focus, and preview-only modes while drafting README files

USE CASE 3

Build a custom Tauri 2 plus Vue 3 installer for your team starting from this codebase

USE CASE 4

Drag a Markdown file onto the window to open it without going through a file dialog

Tech stack

VueTauriRustTypeScriptBun

Getting it running

Difficulty · moderate Time to first run · 30min

You need a Rust toolchain plus Bun or Node.js to build from source; prebuilt installers come from the build command rather than auto-distribution.

GPL v3 lets you use, modify, and redistribute the code, but any derivative you share must also be released under GPL v3.

In plain English

Texodus is a desktop application for writing and previewing Markdown files. Markdown is a simple text format where you use plain characters like asterisks and pound signs to mark up headings, bold text, lists, and links, and the app turns that into nicely formatted output. Texodus is built as a native desktop program, not a website, so it runs as its own window on your computer. The project uses two main pieces of technology working together. The visible part you click and type in is built with Vue 3, a popular tool for making interactive screens. The wrapper that turns it into a real desktop app is called Tauri 2, which uses the Rust programming language to keep the app small and fast. The README highlights this combination as the reason the app feels quick and lightweight. The editor offers a live preview that updates as you type, following a standard called GitHub Flavored Markdown so things like tables, strikethrough, and automatic links work the same way they do on GitHub. You can switch between a split view that shows your writing and the preview side by side, a focus mode that hides the preview, or a preview-only mode. There are dark and light color themes, a choice of fonts including Inter and JetBrains Mono, a full menu with keyboard shortcuts, drag-and-drop file opening, and a warning if you try to close without saving. To run the project yourself you need Rust installed plus Bun or Node.js, then you clone the repository, install the packages, and start it in development mode. There is also a build command that produces a finished installer for your operating system. The code is split into a frontend folder for the Vue interface and a separate folder for the Rust backend. The project is released under the GNU General Public License v3.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
Clone Texodus and start it in dev mode with Bun and the Rust toolchain installed
Prompt 2
Run the Tauri build command to produce a signed installer for macOS
Prompt 3
Add a new color theme to Texodus alongside the existing dark and light themes
Prompt 4
Swap JetBrains Mono for another monospace font in the editor settings
Prompt 5
Extend Texodus's GFM preview to support Mermaid diagrams in fenced code blocks
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Generated 2026-05-22 · Model: sonnet-4-6 · Verify against the repo before relying on details.