Modes of Operation

mbr offers four distinct modes, each optimized for different workflows.

Mode Overview

flowchart LR
    subgraph Input
        MD[Markdown Files]
    end

    subgraph Modes
        GUI["GUI Mode<br/>(default)"]
        SRV["Server Mode<br/>-s"]
        CLI["CLI Mode<br/>-o"]
        BLD["Build Mode<br/>-b"]
    end

    subgraph Output
        HTML[HTML to stdout]
        WEB[Web Browser]
        APP[Native Window]
        STATIC[Static Site]
    end

    MD --> GUI --> APP
    MD --> SRV --> WEB
    MD --> CLI --> HTML
    MD --> BLD --> STATIC

Mode Comparison

Mode	Flag	Use Case	Live Reload	Search
GUI	(none) or `-g`	Desktop app experience	Yes	Yes (Live grep)
Server	`-s`	Development, browsing	Yes	Yes (Live grep)
CLI	`-o`	Pipe to tools, scripts	No	No
Build	`-b`	Deploy to static hosts	N/A	Yes (Pagefind)

Choosing a Mode

Use CLI Mode When…

Piping markdown to other tools
Generating HTML in scripts
Single-file processing

mbr -o document.md > output.html
mbr -o document.md | pbcopy  # Copy to clipboard (macOS)

Use Server Mode When…

Writing with live preview
Browsing large repositories
Sharing locally with a team
Hosting on a server where you want a more dynamic output (instead of periodically building and deploying)

mbr -s ~/notes
# Open http://127.0.0.1:5200/

Use GUI Mode When…

You want a native app experience
Using keyboard shortcuts extensively
Prefer a dedicated window

mbr ~/notes         # Default mode (launches GUI)
mbr -g ~/notes      # Explicit flag (same result)

Use Build Mode When…

Deploying to GitHub Pages, Netlify, etc.
Creating a static archive
Publishing documentation

mbr -b --output ./public ~/notes

Detailed Guides

GUI Mode - Native window with menus and shortcuts
Server Mode - Web server with live reload
Build Mode - Static site generation
QuickLook - macOS Finder preview integration