File viewer: add preview (eye) button for .html files, same as Markdown
Open π¬ 0 comments Opened Jun 12, 2026 by JokerXxxxxx
Summary
The file viewer shows a preview (eye π) button in the toolbar for .md files (renders Markdown inline). The same affordance is missing for .html files β their toolbar only has search / open-folder actions. As a result, previewing an HTML file requires manually starting a local static server, which is heavy for self-contained HTML.
Current behavior
- Open a
.mdfile β toolbar has the π preview button β click β rendered Markdown. - Open a
.htmlfile β no preview button β to see it rendered you must spin up a local server (python -m http.server, a Node static server, etc.) or open it externally.
Requested behavior
Add a preview (eye π) button for .html files, identical to the Markdown one. Clicking it renders the HTML inline.
- For self-contained HTML (inline CSS/JS, no external
fetch/relative assets), render directly viafile://β no server needed. - For HTML that references relative assets, fall back to / transparently spin up the existing preview mechanism.
Why
HTML demos, prototypes, and report files are a common deliverable. Right now .md is one-click-to-preview but .html β arguably the format that benefits most from rendering β is not. Closing this gap makes demo/prototype files instantly viewable and removes the "start a local server" friction.
Environment
- Claude Code desktop/file-viewer
- Platform: macOS (darwin)