birta.nvim

Neovim plugin for birta — a fast markdown previewer with GitHub-style rendering

Features

• Per-buffer preview — each buffer gets its own server instance
• Scroll sync — cursor movement in Neovim scrolls the browser preview
• Theme support — custom and bundled; GitHub, Dracula, Nord, Catppuccin, Tokyo Night, and more, with live hot-swap in the browser
• Reading mode — distraction-free centered layout for prose
• Raw source view — toggle between rendered preview and syntax-highlighted source
• Auto-cleanup — preview stops when the buffer is deleted or Neovim exits

Requirements

• Neovim >= 0.9
• birta CLI in your PATH

Install

lazy.nvim

{
  "hugvit/birta.nvim",
  cmd = { "Birta" },
  opts = {},  -- see Configuration options
}

packer.nvim

use {
  "hugvit/birta.nvim",
  config = function()
    require("birta").setup()  -- see Configuration options
  end,
}

Commands

Command	Description
:Birta start	Start preview for the current buffer
:Birta stop	Stop preview for the current buffer
:Birta toggle	Toggle preview on/off

_{The previous commands :BirtaPreview, :BirtaStop, and :BirtaToggle have been deprecated in favor of the subcommand pattern above.}

Configuration

require("birta").setup({
  cmd = "birta",             -- path to birta binary
  theme = nil,               -- theme name or path to .toml file
  syntax_theme = nil,        -- path to .tmTheme file
  css = nil,                 -- path to custom CSS file
  port = nil,                -- fixed port (nil = auto-assign)
  no_open = false,           -- don't open browser automatically
  no_theme_swap = false,     -- disable theme switching dropdown
  no_toggle = false,         -- disable light/dark toggle
  no_header = false,         -- hide the header bar
  light = false,             -- start in light mode
  dark = false,              -- start in dark mode
  reading_mode = false,      -- start in reading mode
  raw_mode = false,          -- start in raw mode (source view)
  font_body = nil,           -- body font family
  font_mono = nil,           -- monospace font family
  static_mode = false,       -- export a self-contained HTML bundle, open it, and exit (no live server)
  out = nil,                 -- output dir for static_mode (nil = temp birta-<name> folder)
  bind = nil,                -- keybinding overrides (table, see below)
})

All options map directly to birta CLI flags.

Keybindings

The bind option lets you override birta's browser keybindings. Pass a table mapping action names to key strings:

require("birta").setup({
  bind = {
    toggle_reading = "Alt+r",
    toggle_dark = "Alt+d",
    toggle_raw = "Alt+u",
    focus_theme = "Alt+t",
    exit_reading = "Escape",
  },
})

The default keybindings in birta are single letters (r, d, t) which may conflict with browser extensions like Vimium. Use Alt+ prefixed keys to avoid collisions. Set a key to "none" to disable a binding.