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Best Productivity ResourcesBy Shushant LakhyaniVerified creator

Desktop App

mdBook

Turn a folder of Markdown files into a clean online book.

Visit mdBook4.5

  • Rating

    4.5 / 5

  • Pricing

    Free

  • Difficulty

    Intermediate

  • Works on

    macOS, Windows, Linux

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What is mdBook?

mdBook is a command-line tool from the Rust project for producing modern, web-based books from Markdown files. Its own user guide doubles as a live example of a finished book. It is handy for manuals, handbooks and documentation sites.

Third-party open-source projects. We are not affiliated with their authors; repositories are provided as-is by their maintainers. Review each project's license, code and security before installing. See our Disclaimer.

Pros: what mdBook does well

  • Simple Markdown-in, book-out workflow
  • Good for manuals and handbooks
  • Free and open source

Cons: where it falls short

  • Runs from the command line
  • Meant for documentation more than free-form notes

Who mdBook is for

Anyone who wants to publish a handbook or guide from plain text files.

Who can skip it

People who prefer a visual editor.

mdBook alternatives

Not sold on mdBook? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.

All Writing resources

Docusaurus

Shares documentation and static site with mdBook. A framework, not a desktop app. Adds Web. Rated 4.7 (mdBook: 4.5).

FrameworkFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.7Visit

massCode

Focus: code snippets, developer notes and http client. Shares markdown and open source with mdBook. Rated 4.6 (mdBook: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit

Quarto

Focus: publishing, reports and reproducible. Shares markdown and open source with mdBook. Rated 4.6 (mdBook: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit

JabRef

Focus: reference manager, citations and bibtex. Shares open source and github with mdBook. Same 4.5 rating.

Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.5Visit

Joplin

Focus: notes, encryption and evernote alternative. Shares markdown and open source with mdBook. Adds Android and iOS. Same 4.5 rating.

Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.5Visit

Pandoc

Focus: document converter and command line. Shares markdown and open source with mdBook. Adds Offline. Rated 4.8 (mdBook: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit

Free alternatives to mdBook

Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.

ArchiveBox

Focus: web archive, bookmarks and self-hosted. Shares open source and github with mdBook. A web app, not a desktop app. Adds Web. Rated 4.6 (mdBook: 4.5).

Web AppFreeWeb, macOS
4.6Visit

linkding

Focus: bookmarks, read later and self-hosted. Shares open source and github with mdBook. A web app, not a desktop app. Adds Web, Chrome and Firefox. Rated 4.6 (mdBook: 4.5).

Web AppFreeWeb, Chrome
4.6Visit

Vale

Focus: writing checker and style guide. Shares documentation and open source with mdBook. Adds Offline. Rated 4.6 (mdBook: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit

Zotero

Focus: citations, reference manager and pdf. Shares open source with mdBook. Adds iOS, Chrome and Firefox. Rated 4.8 (mdBook: 4.5).

Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.8Visit

Docmost

Focus: wiki, confluence alternative and self-hosted. Shares documentation and open source with mdBook. A web app, not a desktop app. Adds Web. Rated 4.7 (mdBook: 4.5).

Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.7Visit

BookStack

Focus: wiki and self-hosted. Shares documentation and open source with mdBook. A web app, not a desktop app. Adds Web. Rated 4.6 (mdBook: 4.5).

Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.6Visit
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