Productivity

cmux-markdown

manaflow-ai/cmux · updated Apr 8, 2026

$npx skills add https://github.com/manaflow-ai/cmux --skill cmux-markdown
summary

Use this skill to display markdown files in a dedicated panel with rich formatting and live file watching.

skill.md

Markdown Viewer with cmux

Use this skill to display markdown files in a dedicated panel with rich formatting and live file watching.

Core Workflow

  1. Write your plan or notes to a .md file.
  2. Open it in a markdown panel.
  3. The panel auto-updates when the file changes on disk.
# Open a markdown file as a split panel next to the current terminal
cmux markdown open plan.md

# Absolute path
cmux markdown open /path/to/PLAN.md

# Target a specific workspace
cmux markdown open design.md --workspace workspace:2

When to Use

  • Displaying an agent plan or task list alongside the terminal
  • Showing documentation, changelogs, or READMEs while working
  • Reviewing notes that update in real-time (e.g., a plan file being written by another process)

Live File Watching

The panel automatically re-renders when the file changes on disk. This works with:

  • Direct writes (echo "..." >> plan.md)
  • Editor saves (vim, nano, VS Code)
  • Atomic file replacement (write to temp, rename over original)
  • Agent-generated plan files that are updated progressively

If the file is deleted, the panel shows a "file unavailable" state. During atomic replace, the panel attempts automatic reconnection within its short retry window. If the file returns later, close and reopen the panel.

Agent Integration

Opening a plan file

Write your plan to a file, then open it:

cat > plan.md << 'EOF'
# Task Plan

## Steps
1. Analyze the codebase
2. Implement the feature
3. Write tests
4. Verify the build
EOF

cmux markdown open plan.md

Updating a plan in real-time

The panel live-reloads, so simply overwrite the file as work progresses:

# The markdown panel updates automatically when the file changes
echo "## Step 1: Complete" >> plan.md

Recommended AGENTS.md instruction

Add this to your project's AGENTS.md to instruct coding agents to use the markdown viewer:

## Plan Display

When creating a plan or task list, write it to a `.md` file and open it in cmux:

    cmux markdown open plan.md

The panel renders markdown with rich formatting and auto-updates when the file changes.

Routing

# Open in the caller's workspace (default -- uses CMUX_WORKSPACE_ID)
cmux markdown open plan.md

# Open in a specific workspace
cmux markdown open plan.md --workspace workspace:2

# Open splitting from a specific surface
cmux markdown open plan.md --surface surface:5

# Open in a specific window
cmux markdown open plan.md --window window:1

Deep-Dive References

Reference When to Use
references/commands.md Full command syntax and options
references/live-reload.md File watching behavior, atomic writes, edge cases

Rendering Support

The markdown panel renders:

  • Headings (h1-h6) with dividers on h1/h2
  • Fenced code blocks with monospaced font
  • Inline code with highlighted background
  • Tables with alternating row colors
  • Ordered and unordered lists (nested)
  • Blockquotes with left border
  • Bold, italic, strikethrough
  • Links (clickable)
  • Horizontal rules
  • Images (inline)

Supports both light and dark mode.

general reviews

Ratings

4.510 reviews
  • Shikha Mishra· Oct 10, 2024

    cmux-markdown is among the better-maintained entries we tried; worth keeping pinned for repeat workflows.

  • Piyush G· Sep 9, 2024

    Keeps context tight: cmux-markdown is the kind of skill you can hand to a new teammate without a long onboarding doc.

  • Chaitanya Patil· Aug 8, 2024

    Registry listing for cmux-markdown matched our evaluation — installs cleanly and behaves as described in the markdown.

  • Sakshi Patil· Jul 7, 2024

    cmux-markdown reduced setup friction for our internal harness; good balance of opinion and flexibility.

  • Ganesh Mohane· Jun 6, 2024

    I recommend cmux-markdown for anyone iterating fast on agent tooling; clear intent and a small, reviewable surface area.

  • Oshnikdeep· May 5, 2024

    Useful defaults in cmux-markdown — fewer surprises than typical one-off scripts, and it plays nicely with `npx skills` flows.

  • Dhruvi Jain· Apr 4, 2024

    cmux-markdown has been reliable in day-to-day use. Documentation quality is above average for community skills.

  • Rahul Santra· Mar 3, 2024

    Solid pick for teams standardizing on skills: cmux-markdown is focused, and the summary matches what you get after install.

  • Pratham Ware· Feb 2, 2024

    We added cmux-markdown from the explainx registry; install was straightforward and the SKILL.md answered most questions upfront.

  • Yash Thakker· Jan 1, 2024

    cmux-markdown fits our agent workflows well — practical, well scoped, and easy to wire into existing repos.