Configuration

mdfu works with zero configuration. An optional YAML file restyles the interactive TUI: colors, pill shape, frontmatter visibility, and how many body lines the preview renders. The file is read once at startup and only affects the TUI; non-interactive filter mode ignores it.

Location and precedence

The theme resolves from the first source that applies:

1. --config PATH on the command line (see CLI).
2. The $MDFU_CONFIG environment variable.
3. The discovered XDG file: $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/mdfu/config.yaml (~/.config/mdfu/config.yaml when $XDG_CONFIG_HOME is unset).
4. Builtin defaults that reproduce the stock look.

When no file exists, the builtin defaults apply, so the file is never required. A file requested explicitly (via --config or $MDFU_CONFIG) that is missing, unreadable, or malformed is an error. A malformed discovered file is ignored with a single warning line, and the defaults apply.

Unknown keys are ignored. Invalid enum values keep the builtin default, and numeric settings are clamped into their supported ranges.

Run mdfu --config default to print the builtin defaults — every key below with its default value — to stdout, then copy and edit the result.

Keys

Colors are xterm 256-color palette indices, given as strings (quote them in YAML). SGR settings are raw parameter bytes, e.g. "1;30;103".

Key	Values	Default	Meaning
markdown_style	dark | light	auto (empty)	Glamour style for the preview body; empty lets glamour pick.
show_frontmatter	bool	true	Frontmatter block visible at startup; ctrl+f toggles it live.
body_lines	int 1..200	30	Body lines shown in the preview.
cursor_color	color	212	Cursor row in the result list (bold).
selected_color	color	82	Multi-selected rows in the result list (bold).
title_color	color	212	Document title in the preview (bold).
filename_color	color	244	Filename header at the top of the preview.
preview_header_color	color	unset (bold + underline)	Preview header style; setting it adds this foreground.
frontmatter_key_color	color	245	Labels of the frontmatter rows.
dim_faint	bool	true	Faint rendering for dimmed text such as status hints.
pill_foreground	color	231	Tag/list pill text.
pill_background	color	62	Tag/list pill background.
pill_shape	none | round	round	Pill border shape.
pill_padding	int 0..2	1	Horizontal padding inside pills.
highlight_sgr	SGR params	"1;30;103"	Query-match emphasis (bold, black on bright yellow).
link_sgr	SGR params	"1;4;38;5;212"	Hyperlink labels in the preview.

Example

~/.config/mdfu/config.yaml

markdown_style: light
show_frontmatter: false
body_lines: 50
title_color: "99"
pill_shape: none
highlight_sgr: "1;30;113"

See also: TUI for the interactive picker this styles, and CLI for the --config flag.