No special software needed

Use .mdz today

Use the official tools where available, or fall back to standard ZIP and Markdown software already on your machine.

Opening files

Open an .mdz file

An .mdz file is a valid ZIP archive. Any ZIP tool can open it directly - no renaming required.

Quickest method - rename and extract

Rename the file extension from .mdz to .zip, then double-click to open it in your system's built-in ZIP handler. Extract the entry Markdown file (usually index.md) and open it in any text editor or Markdown viewer.

Without renaming

Most ZIP tools can open an .mdz directly by choosing File ? Open and selecting "All files" in the file picker, or by dragging the file into the application window.

Note: Viewing a file directly inside a ZIP tool may let you read the raw Markdown text, but links to other .md files and embedded assets such as images will not work. For the full document experience, extract the archive first, then open the entry Markdown file in a Markdown viewer. Official .mdz tooling is now closing this gap - including a CLI and shell preview extension. See available tools
File association

Register .mdz with your system

Associate the .mdz extension with your preferred ZIP tool so that double-clicking an .mdz file opens it automatically.

Note: On Windows, MDZip Studio registers .mdz and adds a File Explorer preview, so this manual step isn't needed there. macOS and Linux shell preview are still planned. Shell preview details

Option A - Windows built-in ZIP (File Explorer)

Run Command Prompt as Administrator and enter:

Command Prompt (run as Administrator)CMD
assoc .mdz=CompressedFolder

Windows will now treat .mdz files as compressed folders, opening them in File Explorer just like .zip files.

Option B - 7-Zip

If you prefer 7-Zip as your ZIP handler:

Command Prompt (run as Administrator)CMD
assoc .mdz=7-Zip.mdz
ftype 7-Zip.mdz="C:\Program Files\7-Zip\7zFM.exe" "%1"

For NanaZip, use the same pattern with its executable path:

Command Prompt (run as Administrator)CMD
assoc .mdz=NanaZip.mdz
ftype NanaZip.mdz="C:\Program Files\NanaZip\NanaZip.exe" "%1"

Adjust the path if 7-Zip or NanaZip is installed elsewhere.

Option C - Via Settings (no command line)

  • Right-click any .mdz file in File Explorer
  • Choose Open with -> Choose another app
  • Select your ZIP tool (or browse to its executable)
  • Check Always use this app to open .mdz files
  • Click OK

Option A - Right-click method (no command line)

  • Right-click (or Control-click) any .mdz file in Finder
  • Choose Open With -> Other...
  • Navigate to Archive Utility (in /System/Library/CoreServices/Applications/) or The Unarchiver
  • Check Always Open With
  • Click Open

Option B - Terminal with duti

Install duti via Homebrew, then run:

TerminalShell
# Install duti if needed
brew install duti

# Associate .mdz with Archive Utility
duti -s com.apple.archiveutility .mdz all

# Or use The Unarchiver instead
duti -s com.macpaw.site.theunarchiver .mdz all

Option A - File manager (no command line)

  • Right-click any .mdz file in your file manager (Nautilus, Thunar, Dolphin, etc.)
  • Choose Properties ? Open With
  • Select your archive manager (File Roller, Ark, Engrampa)
  • Click Set as default

Option B - xdg-mime (command line)

TerminalShell
# Register .mdz as a MIME type
sudo tee /usr/share/mime/packages/mdz.xml > /dev/null <<'EOF'
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<mime-info xmlns="http://www.freedesktop.org/standards/shared-mime-info">
  <mime-type type="application/vnd.MDZip">
    <comment>MDZip archive</comment>
    <glob pattern="*.mdz"/>
  </mime-type>
</mime-info>
EOF

# Update the MIME database
sudo update-mime-database /usr/share/mime

# Set your archive manager as the default (GNOME example)
xdg-mime default org.gnome.FileRoller.desktop application/vnd.MDZip

# KDE / Ark example
# xdg-mime default org.kde.ark.desktop application/vnd.MDZip

After running these commands, .mdz files will open in your archive manager when double-clicked.

Reading content

Read and render the Markdown

Once you have extracted an .mdz archive, the contents are plain Markdown files. Any Markdown-aware tool can render them.

Desktop editors

Command line

TerminalShell
# Render to HTML with pandoc (replace with your entry file path)
pandoc index.md -o index.html

# Preview in terminal with glow (replace with your entry file path)
glow index.md

Online

Paste the contents of your entry Markdown file into any online Markdown renderer such as Dillinger or Markdown Live Preview.

Creating files

Create an .mdz file

See the Quick Start guide on the home page for step-by-step instructions and shell commands for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

The minimum requirement is a ZIP archive with an .mdz extension containing at least one Markdown file that can be resolved as the entry point. index.md is the recommended convention, but not required.

Want to go further?

Read the full specification for the complete field reference, validation rules, and MIME type details.

View Full Specification Ecosystem & Use Cases