# Objective The Markdown preview has been collecting complaints about how it reads. Body text is dimmed and shrunk, headings carry no weight, and paragraphs sit at a 1.3 line height, so a long document turns into a wall. This came up in the feedback on #58465, in #58364, and in the discussion at #43384. This PR changes the defaults so the preview reads like GitHub's rendering. It adds no settings. The feedback on #60402 and #59544 was that a good default beats more knobs, and I agree. ## Solution What changed in the preview: - Body text renders at the configured `markdown_preview_font_size`. Before, it rendered at 92% of that value in a blended muted color. It is now full contrast at 1:1. - Line height is 1.5 across body text, lists, and blockquotes. Paragraphs used to override the base line height with `rems(1.3)`. - Paragraphs, lists, blockquotes, rules, and code blocks are spaced 16px apart. - Headings are semibold, from h1 at 1.75rem down to h6 at 0.85rem. Only h1 and h2 keep a bottom border, same as GitHub. Dropping the h3 border addresses the comment on #58465 that a line under every heading is too much. - Inline code backgrounds are rounded chips instead of square text-run backgrounds. The chips are tracked in rendered indices so they cover the code glyphs exactly, and they extend only 1px past the glyphs so the gap between words stays at full width. - Code blocks get 12px padding and 6px corners. Links lose their background tint. Blockquote text is muted. Table cells get 10px horizontal and 4px vertical padding. The first commit makes block spacing, table cell padding, and inline code backgrounds style-driven, with defaults that keep the agent panel, tooltips, and editor rendering exactly as they are today. The second commit sets the preview's values. I split it this way so the mechanism can be reviewed on its own, and so the chip painting can move to its own PR if you would rather take it separately. ## Testing - Added a test in the `markdown` crate that checks the inline code chips cover exactly the code span glyphs, and that no chips are produced when the corner radius is zero. - Ran `cargo test -p markdown` and `cargo test -p markdown_preview` locally, plus `./script/clippy`. - Smoke-tested the preview on Linux (Arch) against a long document with headings, lists, blockquotes, tables, and inline code. The screenshots below are from that run. - To try it, open any Markdown file and run `markdown: open preview`. It is also worth glancing at the agent panel and a hover tooltip to confirm those still look the same, since they share the renderer but keep the old defaults. - I could not test on macOS or Windows. Nothing here is platform-specific, but the chip inset is a fraction of the line height, so it would be good to have a second pair of eyes on a different font stack. ## Self-Review Checklist: - [x] I've reviewed my own diff for quality, security, and reliability - [x] Unsafe blocks (if any) have justifying comments (there are none) - [x] The content adheres to Zed's UI standards ([UX/UI](https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md#uiux-checklist) and [icon](https://github.com/zed-industries/zed/blob/main/crates/icons/README.md) guidelines) - [x] Tests cover the new/changed behavior - [x] Performance impact has been considered and is acceptable ## Showcase | Before | After | |--------|-------| | <img width="1420" height="1782" alt="zed_before" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/84382a52-99d1-43ba-9ee6-d6c3c6cf0cfa" /> | <img width="1346" height="1800" alt="zed_afterv2" src="https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/c73c076f-9ba4-4b7d-92dc-20855af595f5" /> | Release Notes: - Improved Markdown preview styling with better typography, spacing, and rounded inline code backgrounds. --------- Co-authored-by: Christopher Biscardi <chris@christopherbiscardi.com>
Zed
Welcome to Zed, a high-performance, multiplayer code editor from the creators of Atom and Tree-sitter.
Installation
On macOS, Linux, and Windows you can download Zed directly or install Zed via your local package manager (macOS/Linux/Windows).
Other platforms are not yet available:
- Web (tracking discussion)
Developing Zed
Contributing
See CONTRIBUTING.md for ways you can contribute to Zed.
Also... we're hiring! Check out our jobs page for open roles.
Licensing
Zed source code is licensed primarily under GPL-3.0-or-later, with Apache-2.0 components where marked.
License information for third party dependencies must be correctly provided for CI to pass.
We use cargo-about to automatically comply with open source licenses. If CI is failing, check the following:
- Is it showing a
no license specifiederror for a crate you've created? If so, addpublish = falseunder[package]in your crate's Cargo.toml. - Is the error
failed to satisfy license requirementsfor a dependency? If so, first determine what license the project has and whether this system is sufficient to comply with this license's requirements. If you're unsure, ask a lawyer. Once you've verified that this system is acceptable add the license's SPDX identifier to theacceptedarray inscript/licenses/zed-licenses.toml. - Is
cargo-aboutunable to find the license for a dependency? If so, add a clarification field at the end ofscript/licenses/zed-licenses.toml, as specified in the cargo-about book.
Sponsorship
Zed is developed by Zed Industries, Inc., a for-profit company.
If you’d like to financially support the project, you can do so via GitHub Sponsors. Sponsorships go directly to Zed Industries and are used as general company revenue. There are no perks or entitlements associated with sponsorship.