Simple Viewers – Tiny native macOS file viewers

Hacker News

Hi HN, Around summer/fall of 2025, I started using 'plan mode' quite a bit more. When I would cmd+click into a newly created markdown plan, macOS would open Xcode. This was slow, didn't have native rendered viewing, the list goes on. I started working on a markdown viewer to easily open, review plans before I sent Claude on their way. The Markdown Viewer was born! It came from inspiration from the great Preview Mac app. For Christmas our family got a Bambu A1 3D printer (fantastic btw!) and I wanted to easily preview 3d files before opening/sending to the printer, etc. Well, I started up a 3d viewer. Yaml, CSV, Text viewers all followed. As a responsible engineer, I started seeing patterns, so I DRY'd it up w/a core library, but was stuck with how to update each one, and to consistently get around the Apple notarizing/signing. So I created the Viewer Toolbox. The toolbox is an easy way to install and update my viewer apps. Now I can "write once, use everywhere" ;). I have a few Macs at home that I can now just click "Update" on the app and it's ready to go. Originally, I opened up the Apple Mac Store to see if there were any quick viewers, but most were paid or had in-app purchases. I didn't think one app by itself was worth charging for, so my friend suggested I put the Toolbox up online for a price. Makes sense! So the individual apps are free, and if you want to get updates or new viewers, download the Toolbox! The individual apps will never have a paid version. This was to solve my own problem. I was debating about writing this, but with Simon's recent blog post about his presentation app and how that Microsoft was adding markdown and AI support to Notepad, I had to launch this today. Minor tech tangent: they're all native Swift/SwiftUI, universal binaries, no Electron, and each one is 1-2 MB. I share a small Swift package (ViewerCore) across all of them for common functionality like search, theming, and web view rendering. Simple, fast, free and portable are key here. Hopefully this helps someone :). Thank you! Ryan https://ryanlitalien.com/simple/ https://ryanlitalien.gumroad.com/l/viewer-toolbox (photos of the apps are on here)

Visit product View on Hacker NewsFeb 26, 2026

Share card

Actual performance

2points

2comments

Did not reach leaderboard

Launch Intel predictions

Analyze your own launch →

Indie HackersFits the IH revenue-focused audience · Strong signals: created, started · Missing: supports, reddit linkedin, podcasting

95%95% predicted probability of success on Indie Hackers, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

best fitHighest predicted score across all platforms for this description.

Product HuntOn track for Day 1 leaderboard · Strong signals: mac, macos, claude · Missing: agents, agent, cursor

93%93% predicted probability of success on Product Hunt, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

Hacker NewsStrong engagement from HN community · Strong signals: io · Missing: https docs, excited, just released

51%51% predicted probability of success on Hacker News, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

nativeThis product was originally launched on this platform.

TrustMRRLess likely to generate early MRR · Strong signals: apps, way · Missing: mobile apps, ios, personal

41%41% predicted probability of success on TrustMRR, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

AppSumoMay struggle as an AppSumo deal · Missing: plus, platform, intuitive

39%39% predicted probability of success on AppSumo, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

Acquire.comPre-revenue stage for this audience · Missing: arr, mrr, revenue

15%15% predicted probability of success on Acquire.com, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

BetaListMay not resonate with beta-testers · Strong signals: paid · Missing: web3, chat, crypto

0%0% predicted probability of success on BetaList, based on ML models trained on real launch data.

Incorrect prediction on native model

Similar products

Image2JXL – a native macOS JPEG XL converter33%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

Image2JXL – a native macOS JPEG XL converter

Hacker News3

A native macOS client for Apache Kafka51%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

A native macOS client for Apache Kafka

Hacker News197

Brewer X, a native macOS client for Homebrew62%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

Brewer X, a native macOS client for Homebrew

Hacker News40

I made a native macOS Twitch client54%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

I made a native macOS Twitch client

Hacker News2

Droppable - a native macOS alternative to WeTransfer53%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

Droppable - a native macOS alternative to WeTransfer

Hacker News1

Bitbar plugin (native MacOS toolbar) for OpenFaaS functions35%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

Bitbar plugin (native MacOS toolbar) for OpenFaaS functions

Hacker News7

DockDuck68%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

The native macOS file manager Finder should be

Product Hunt+97Mac

Packara – Native macOS GUI for signing, notarizing, and stapling DMGs41%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

Packara – Native macOS GUI for signing, notarizing, and stapling DMGs

Hacker News5

JusTTY81%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

A simple native macOS terminal built on Swift and libghostty

Product Hunt+83Developer Tools

Machato — A native macOS client for ChatGPT39%Launch Intel prediction score: how likely this product is to succeed on its source platform, based on its name, tagline, and description.

Machato — A native macOS client for ChatGPT

Hacker News68

Browse all products Analyze your launch