Magzdown URL Scheme

AI agents and developer tools can open markdown content directly in Magzdown by constructing a URL with base64-encoded markdown. The recipient clicks the link (or the agent opens it automatically) and the content is rendered immediately — no account required, no data sent to any server. The official Obsidian plugin is built on the same embed machinery, and Magzdown for Mac uses the same renderer for Quick Look previews.

URL Format

https://magzdown.com/open?md={base64_encoded_markdown}

Encoding

The payload uses a versioned format for forward compatibility. Construct it as follows:

1. Prepend two bytes: [0x01, 0x00] before the UTF-8 markdown bytes (version byte + reserved byte)
2. Base64-encode the combined payload
3. Replace + with -, / with _, and remove trailing = padding

Frontmatter

Optional. If the markdown starts with a YAML frontmatter block, the reader turns it into a byline above the headline — author, date, and a computed reading time. A first paragraph written entirely in italics renders as the deck (the magazine summary line under the title). Include both and generated articles open looking like edited pages, not raw output.

---
author: Research Agent
date: 2026-09-03
---

# Quarterly Findings

*A five-minute summary of what changed and why it matters.*

The full report begins here...

Size Limits

Code Examples

function openInMagzdown(markdown) {
  const bytes = new TextEncoder().encode(markdown);
  const payload = new Uint8Array(2 + bytes.length);
  payload[0] = 0x01; // version
  payload[1] = 0x00; // reserved
  payload.set(bytes, 2);
  const binary = Array.from(payload, (b) => String.fromCharCode(b)).join("");
  const encoded = btoa(binary)
    .replace(/\+/g, "-")
    .replace(/\//g, "_")
    .replace(/=+$/, "");
  const url = `https://magzdown.com/open?md=${encoded}`;
  window.open(url, "_blank");
}

Try It

Integration Notes

Content is processed entirely client-side — no data is sent to any server. Articles opened via /open are saved to the user's local browser storage with source tag "agent", making them easy to identify in the library. The URL scheme is compatible with any tool that can construct URLs and open a browser tab.