RST Preview Online
Drop a reStructuredText (.rst) file to see it rendered, with an outline of its sections and the problems found, each with its line number. No Python, no Sphinx, no account and no upload.
RST Preview & reStructuredText Preview for VS Code and Cursor, free
- A live preview beside the editor that updates as you type and scrolls with it, with no Python, Sphinx or docutils.
- Math with KaTeX, local pictures and includes, code in color, an outline and Export HTML.
- Problems such as short title underlines, missing targets and broken tables go to the Problems panel.
Optional Zovo Pro, USD 19 once: check a whole docs folder and export the folder to HTML pages. 3 free tries for each.
Drop a .rst file here
or
reStructuredText .rst and .rest files (Sphinx pages, READMEs, changelogs), up to 20 MB at once.
Open this in VS Code or Cursor
The free RST Preview extension renders the file beside the editor while you type, scrolls with it and puts problems in the Problems panel. It also draws math with KaTeX, shows local pictures and includes, colors code blocks and exports one HTML file. No Python needed.
Free, MIT license. About RST Preview for VS Code.
Zovo Pro
Check a whole docs folder and export it to HTML pages. Zovo Pro, USD 19 once.
In the RST Preview extension, Zovo Pro checks every .rst file of a docs folder at once (render warnings, broken links, :doc: references and toctree entries that point nowhere, missing pictures) and exports the folder to HTML pages with links between them and an index page, with no Sphinx. Each Pro tool works 3 times for free. One payment covers the Pro tools in 22 Zovo extensions. Everything that is free stays free.
After a card payment you get a key on the page. With GitHub Sponsors you sign in from the extension. Details on the Zovo Pro page.
Related tools
- Mermaid Diagram Editor & Viewer. A live Mermaid preview beside your .mmd or Markdown file.
- Graphviz Viewer & DOT Viewer. A preview beside your .dot file, with errors in the Problems panel.
- HTML Preview & HTML Viewer. A live preview of HTML files with their CSS and pictures, offline.
- Mermaid Editor Online, free in your browser.
- Graphviz Online, free in your browser.
- EPUB Reader Online, free in your browser.
Questions
Is my file uploaded anywhere?
No. The page reads the file inside this tab and renders it with JavaScript. Its Content Security Policy sets connect-src to none, so the page cannot send your text anywhere. Open the Network tab of your browser tools and you will see no request when a file opens.
What does the preview render?
Section titles with any underline and overline style, paragraphs and inline markup, bullet, numbered (1, a, i, I), definition, field and option lists, literal blocks after ::, grid tables with row and column spans, simple tables, csv-table and list-table, admonitions such as note and warning, footnotes, citations, substitutions, line blocks, the contents directive and code blocks with :caption:, :linenos: and :emphasize-lines:.
Which problems does it find?
A title underline or overline that is too short, a title level that skips a level, a link to a target name that is not defined, an undefined substitution, a grid or simple table whose borders do not line up, and a directive type it does not know. Each one is listed with its line number; click it to jump there in the preview or in the source view.
Does it work with Sphinx files?
Yes, for reading. toctree entries show as a list, autodoc directives such as automodule show as labelled boxes, Python object descriptions show their signature, and roles such as :ref:, :doc: and :py:func: show as links or code. Text that Sphinx makes from your Python code is not there, because no Python runs.
Why are pictures and math shown as boxes?
The page reads only the file you open, never other files on your computer, so a picture or an include is a labelled box with its path. Math is shown as its LaTeX source. The free VS Code extension shows local pictures and includes from your workspace and draws math with KaTeX.
Can I save the result?
Save as HTML writes one HTML file of the rendered page, with its styles inside and no scripts, that opens in any browser. It is made in this tab and goes to your downloads.
Is a hostile file safe to open?
All file text is escaped before it is shown, links can only point to http, https, mailto or an anchor on the page, raw HTML blocks are shown as text and never run, and the page loads nothing from the network.
What is free and what is Zovo Pro?
Everything on this page is free. In the VS Code extension the live preview, problems, outline and Export HTML of one file are free too. Checking a whole docs folder and exporting a folder to HTML pages are Zovo Pro, with 3 free tries each. One USD 19 payment covers the Pro tools in every Zovo extension.