For JetBrains IDE users
The Markdown preview that doesn't break on Wayland or over SSH.
The bundled JetBrains Markdown plugin renders its preview through an embedded Chromium browser (JCEF) — which goes blank on Wayland and over SSH/remote development. MarkdownPro renders natively in Swing instead, so the preview just works, plus one-click export to standalone HTML.
Install the free plugin from the JetBrains Marketplace first — the free preview works standalone; Pro unlocks Export to HTML for an account already using it.
Why the bundled preview is rated 2.59/5
JetBrains' own bundled Markdown plugin has 14.6M installs and a 2.59-star rating — one of the worst at scale on the whole Marketplace. Reading the reviews, the complaint is almost always the same one thing: the preview pane goes blank. “Haven't been able to use the preview function for a very long time, it just displays a blank screen,” one 1-star review reads. Another: “Looks like it does not work on wayland. Just blank preview. Works with X11.”
The largest third-party alternative, Markdown Navigator Enhanced (5.4M downloads), has been uninstallable on every JetBrains IDE released since mid-2023 — its declared compatibility ceiling is three years old. MarkdownPro was built from scratch specifically to not depend on JCEF, the component responsible for both failure modes.
Frequently asked
Why does the bundled Markdown preview go blank?
It renders through JCEF, an embedded Chromium browser, which has no native Wayland support (JetBrains' own tracker issue JBR-3206 has 670+ votes and is still open) and frequently fails over SSH or headless remote development. MarkdownPro's preview is built on Swing's own text rendering — no embedded browser, nothing to go blank.
What does the free tier include?
Full Markdown preview — headings, emphasis, code blocks, lists, block quotes, tables with alignment, links — rendered natively, with scroll position preserved across edits. No JCEF, no license required.
What does Pro add?
One-click Export to HTML from the preview, for sharing a rendered document outside the IDE. Paste your license key once when prompted and it stays active for as long as the subscription is active.
Does this replace syntax highlighting or editing?
No — MarkdownPro adds a Preview tab alongside whatever Markdown editor you already have; it doesn't touch the source editor or file-type association.
Is this a fork of an existing plugin?
No. It's a from-scratch CommonMark + GFM-table parser and a from-scratch Swing renderer, built and tested independently — nothing here depends on JCEF or any bundled JetBrains code.
MarkdownPro only reads the Markdown file you have open. It doesn't sync content anywhere, doesn't touch your project's build, and can be disabled without restarting the IDE.