head to head · open source
refined-github vs markdown-viewer
refined-github has 32,432 GitHub stars, 1,935 forks, 80 open issues and last shipped 2 days ago. markdown-viewer has 1,723 stars, 234 forks, 99 open issues and last shipped 10 months ago. refined-github leads on adoption by 1,782% (32,432 vs 1,723 stars). refined-github is written in TypeScript under MIT; markdown-viewer is written in JavaScript under MIT. refined-github has attracted 6% as many forks as stars, markdown-viewer 14%. refined-github was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 3 topic tags (browser-extension, chrome-extension, firefox-addon), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
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Side by side
| refined-github | markdown-viewer | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 32K | ★ 1.7K |
| License | MIT | MIT |
| Written in | TypeScript | JavaScript |
| Last push | 2026-11-03 | 2025-12-29 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.9K | ⑂ 234 |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick refined-github if
- You weight community size — 32K stars and counting
- You want the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches TypeScript
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick markdown-viewer if
- You want the markdown-viewer feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches JavaScript
- You evaluated both and markdown-viewer fits your workflow better
About refined-github
Refined GitHub Browser extension that simplifies the GitHub interface and adds useful features We use GitHub a lot and notice many annoyances we'd like to fix. So here be dragons. Our hope is that GitHub will notice and implement some of these much needed improvements. So if you like any of these improvements, please open a discussion on GitHub feedback or contact GitHub support about doing it. GitHub Enterprise is also supported: How to enable it. The GITHUB and REFINED GITHUB trademarks are owned by GitHub, Inc. and used under license. Install [link chrome]: 'Version published on Chrome Web Store' [link…
read the full refined-github overview →
About markdown-viewer
Markdown Viewer / Browser Extension Install: [Chrome] / [Firefox] / [Edge] / [Opera] / [Brave] / [Chromium] / [Vivaldi] Features Secure by design Render local and remote file URLs Granular access to remote origins Multiple markdown parsers Full control over the compiler options ([markdown it], [marked], [remark]) 30+ Themes ([cleanrmd], [GitHub][github theme]) Custom theme support GitHub Flavored Markdown (GFM) Auto reload on file change Syntax highlighted code blocks ([prism][prism]) Table of Contents (ToC) MathJax formulas ([mathjax]) Mermaid diagrams ([mermaid]) Convert emoji shortnames (icons provided free…
read the full markdown-viewer overview →
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Frequently asked questions
Is refined-github or markdown-viewer more popular?
refined-github has 32,432 GitHub stars and markdown-viewer has 1,723. refined-github has the larger community by that measure.
Are refined-github and markdown-viewer free?
Both are open source. refined-github is licensed under MIT and markdown-viewer under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between refined-github and markdown-viewer?
refined-github is written in TypeScript and markdown-viewer in JavaScript. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, refined-github or markdown-viewer?
Choose refined-github if you want the larger community (32,432 stars) or its MIT licence terms. Choose markdown-viewer if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.