What file uses .md extension and how should I edit them?

Question

On GitHub, several projects have README.md files. It seems like a simple format file to express text and pictures.

I guess there is an editor or syntax

Answer 1

Microsoft's Visual Studio Code text editor has built in support for .md files written in markdown syntax.

The syntax is automatically color-coded inside of the .md file, and a preview window of the rendered markdown can be viewed by pressing Shift+Ctrl+V (Windows) or Shift+Cmd+V (Mac).

To see them side-by-side, drag the preview tab to the right side of the editor, or use Ctrl+K V (Windows) or Cmd+K V (Mac) instead.

VS Code uses the marked library for parsing, and has Github Flavored Markdown support enabled by default, but it will not display the Github Emoji inline like Github's Atom text editor does.

Also, VS Code supports has several markdown plugins available for extended functionality.