The problem: iOS treats .md as plain text
Tap an .md file in the Files app and you get a text preview — literal # marks, no formatting, code and tables mangled. For a two-line note that's fine; for AI-exported research, project docs, or a README it's unreadable.
Reading .md properly on iPhone
With Read.md installed, .md files open like documents, not source code:
- From Files: long-press the file → Share → Read.md (or set it as the default with Open With).
- From AirDrop or Mail: receive the file, tap Share, choose Read.md.
- From GitHub: the app browses repos directly and renders every .md in the tree.
You get proper typography, dark mode, adjustable text size, a tap-to-jump table of contents for long documents, and Mermaid diagrams — all offline, nothing synced anywhere.
No app? The browser works too
For a single file, the web viewer renders .md right in Safari — private, free, no install. It's the quickest path if the file is already in your downloads.