MDZip (.mdz) File Format – Portable Markdown Package

A portable, cross-platform, AI-friendly file format and ecosystem for packaging Markdown, images, and metadata into a single archive.

RSS MDZip Studio is now on Mac November 10, 2026 · Announcement MDZip Studio 1.7.0 runs on macOS: one download for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs, also on Homebrew. Double-click an .mdz in Finder to open it.

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‹ MDZip on mobile: libraries for Android…

NewsRSS MDZip on mobile: libraries for Android and iOS November 7, 2026 · Announcement Two new MDZip core libraries bring .mdz to phones: org.mdzip:mdzip-core for Android (Kotlin and Java) and mdzip-core-swift for iOS (Swift). Both pass the same shared conformance tests as the other MDZip libraries.

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‹ Lua library for MDZip: pure Lua, no…MDZip Studio is now on Mac ›

NewsRSS Lua library for MDZip: pure Lua, no dependencies November 6, 2026 · Announcement mdzip-core-lua is out on LuaRocks: read, write and validate .mdz files in pure Lua 5.3 or 5.4, with no C modules and no dependencies. It passes the same shared conformance tests as the other four MDZip core libraries.

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‹ Google Voice exporter is now on Greasy…MDZip on mobile: libraries for Android… ›

NewsRSS Google Voice exporter is now on Greasy Fork and OpenUserJS November 3, 2026 · Announcement The Google Voice exporter is on Greasy Fork and OpenUserJS: one-click install, automatic updates. It saves a Google Voice conversation, with its photos, as one .mdz file.

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‹ MDZip for Obsidian is in Community…Lua library for MDZip: pure Lua, no… ›

NewsRSS MDZip for Obsidian is in Community plugins: keep notes and their images in one file October 27, 2026 · Announcement The MDZip plugin is now in Obsidian's Community plugins, for desktop and mobile. Open and edit .mdz files in Obsidian's own editor, keep pasted images inside the file, and search, link and graph across archives and your notes.

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Google Voice exporter is now on Greasy… ›

What is an .mdz file?

document.mdzZIP archive

document.mdz ├── index.md # entry point ├── manifest.json # optional └── images/ └── cover.png

Same layout as the full archive spec.

An .mdz file is a ZIP archive with an .mdz extension and a defined structure for packaging one or more Markdown documents, their assets, and optional metadata in a single self-contained file.

1 Markdown + images + whatever in a folder, with an index.md at the top ➜ 2 ZIP the folder's contents (not the folder itself) ➜ 3 Rename to .mdz.

MDZip tools always write a manifest file that names the entry point and describes the contents and metadata of the .mdz archive. It's optional for a hand-made archive, though. No manifest? Tools fall back to index.md, or the single Markdown file at the root if there's only one — otherwise they'll ask you to add a manifest to disambiguate.

The rest of this site describes the format, project, provides examples, and offers tools for creating and viewing .mdz files.

A ZIP-based archive with clear conventions for entry-point discovery and optional metadata, so tools can behave predictably instead of guessing.

Keep Markdown files, images, and related assets together in one file for sharing, archiving, and transfer without broken paths.

Works with the CLI, web viewer, and packager today, and is designed for plugin and library integrations across Markdown-focused workflows.

Markdown is great for writing, but sharing a document with images and multiple files means sending a folder, a repo link, a ZIP, or a tarball - none of which are especially convenient for sharing, viewing, or reliable tooling. .mdz solves this - and even on a system with no knowledge of the format, the file remains immediately accessible: rename it to .zip, extract, and open the Markdown in any text editor.

Attach a single .mdz to an email or upload it anywhere. The recipient gets the complete document - no zip-then-rename, no folder compression ambiguity.

Unlike application-centric formats and platform-specific exports, .mdz is plain text in a standard ZIP. Any tool can read it today and in ten years.

A dedicated extension and defined layout give tools a contract to rely on - so renderers, editors, and converters can handle .mdz without guessing at the contents.

On any system that can unzip files and open a text editor, an .mdz file is immediately useful. Rename it to .zip, extract, and read. No special software, no installation, no internet required.

Useful references for Markdown syntax, compatibility, and implementation details.

Read the full specification for a complete reference of all fields, validation rules, and MIME type details.