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MuM

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MuM is a reading-first Markdown engine for macOS, pairing a hand-built AppKit reader with multi-project navigation, document search, outlining, and PNG/PDF export. Its command-line tools render documents and return structured JSON for agent workflows.

What is MuM?

MuM is a reading-first Markdown engine built around a hand-written AppKit typesetting system rather than embedded web engines. It is designed for reading and navigating documents across multiple projects, while also providing file management, search, export, and support for several common document and media types.

The same rendering engine is available without a window through the mum command-line interface. CLI commands can render Markdown to PNG or PDF and can emit outlines, search results, and checks as stable JSON with classified exit codes, making the tool suitable for scripted and agent-driven workflows.

What can MuM do?

Multi-project workspace

Keep several projects open and switch among them with `⌘1` through `⌘9`; projects provide a clear context for the files being read.

Reading-oriented navigation

MuM remembers reading position and provides document find, outline navigation, and reading-history controls using `⌘F`, `⌘⇧O`, and `⌘[`/`⌘]`.

Cross-project search

Fuzzy-find files by name with `⌘P`, or search file names and contents across every project with `⌘⇧F`; results stream as they are found.

CJK-aware typesetting and export

Line height, punctuation compression, and mixed-script spacing are tuned for Chinese and mixed-language text. The current document can be exported as a tall PNG or paged PDF, with document page-break hints preserved in the output.

Broad reading support

The reader supports code highlighting, CSV and TSV tables, RTF, images, PDF, and SRT/VTT subtitles. Office files receive a page directing them to the system’s default application.

Windowless CLI rendering

`mum render` uses the same typesetting engine, including CJK spacing, code highlighting, and reading themes, to generate PNG or PDF output without opening a window. `outline`, `search`, and `check` can emit stable JSON with exit codes from 0 through 4.

Use Cases

“Reading a set of project documents”

Open multiple folders as projects, switch between them with keyboard shortcuts, and use cross-project filename or content search when the location of a document is unclear.

“Reviewing long Markdown files”

Use remembered reading position, in-document find, and outline navigation to return to a document and move between sections without treating it as a one-off text preview.

“Preparing visual document outputs”

Export a Markdown document as a tall PNG for a continuous image or as a paged PDF. Page-break hints in the source can control where PDF pages break.

“Automating documentation rendering”

Use the CLI to render Markdown in a script or agent workflow, then consume outline, search, and check results as JSON instead of parsing human-oriented prose.

“Browsing mixed project assets”

Read Markdown alongside code, tables, subtitles, PDFs, images, and RTF files. For Office documents, use MuM’s handoff page to open the file in its default application.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is MuM?

MuM is a reading-first Markdown engine with an AppKit desktop reader and a command-line renderer for PNG or PDF output and structured document operations.

Can MuM work with a single Markdown file?

Yes. Double-clicking a lone file opens single-file mode, where the sidebars fold away for reading and the containing folder is not added as a project.

What can the command-line interface do?

The documented examples show `mum render` generating PNG output and `mum outline` returning JSON. The `outline`, `search`, and `check` commands emit stable JSON and classified exit codes.

Does MuM export both images and PDFs?

Yes. The desktop export command can create a tall PNG or a paged PDF from the current document. The CLI is also described as rendering directly to PNG or PDF.

Does MuM require an account or use telemetry?

The product site states that MuM has no accounts and no telemetry. A plugin store is also not part of the documented product experience.

Quick Facts

Category
Markdown reader and document tool
Primary workflow
Desktop reading plus CLI rendering
Platform evidence
macOS-oriented AppKit and DMG/Application workflow
Document outputs
PNG and PDF
Structured CLI output
JSON with classified exit codes
Website
mum.jiker.ai

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