Document Render Previews

CrispyVibe renders Typst, AsciiDoc, and Graphviz files with command-line tools installed on your Mac. Rendering works locally and offline. These are render-only previews: you edit the text in the Source tab, and the Preview shows the result.

Each file opens with a Preview / Source toggle in the editor toolbar. Preview shows the rendered output and updates as you edit; Source is the editable text. CrispyVibe runs the command-line tool on your machine, so rendering does not require an account, cloud service, or internet connection. When you type rapidly, CrispyVibe waits for a brief pause and combines those edits into one render. Each render has a timeout.

Getting started

1. Install the tool for the format you want (once):
   • Typst: brew install typst
   • AsciiDoc: brew install asciidoctor (or gem install asciidoctor)
   • Graphviz: brew install graphviz
2. Open a .typ, .adoc/.asciidoc/.asc, or .dot/.gv file from the file explorer.
3. It opens in Preview mode and renders.
4. Use the toolbar’s Preview / Source toggle to edit the text. CrispyVibe remembers your choice per file.
5. Edits autosave; there’s no Save button.

CrispyVibe looks for these tools in the standard install locations (/opt/homebrew/bin, /usr/local/bin, /Library/TeX/texbin, /usr/bin) and detects Homebrew installations there automatically. The previews have been validated with typst 0.15.0, asciidoctor 2.0.26, and graphviz / dot 15.0.0. Recent versions should also work.

Document types

Typst (.typ)

Typst is a typesetting system for documents and reports. CrispyVibe runs typst compile and displays the resulting PDF. As you edit the source, the PDF re-renders without losing your page or scroll position.

AsciiDoc (.adoc, .asciidoc, .asc)

For AsciiDoc source, CrispyVibe runs asciidoctor and displays formatted HTML using AsciiDoctor’s default styling (the standalone document with its embedded stylesheet). The HTML updates when you edit the source.

Graphviz (.dot, .gv)

DOT files can describe flowcharts, dependency graphs, state machines, and other diagrams. CrispyVibe renders them to PDF with dot -Tpdf. Source edits update the diagram while preserving your page and scroll position.

Text size

The AsciiDoc preview follows the global text size: Cmd++ or Cmd+= to increase, Cmd+- to decrease, Cmd+0 to reset, or the View menu. The rendered HTML resizes immediately without re-running asciidoctor.

Typst and Graphviz previews are PDFs, so they keep their own page scaling and don’t change with the global text size.

When a tool isn’t installed

• Installed: the file opens in Preview and renders. Edits in Source re-render the preview automatically.
• Not installed: the preview is unavailable. You’ll see a message naming the required tool. Install the matching tool and reopen the file. These three formats do not have the guided installer available in the LaTeX PDF tab; the message identifies the missing command.

Troubleshooting

• “Not found” message: the required command-line tool isn’t installed or isn’t in a standard location. Install it and reopen the file.
• “Compilation failed”: the document contains an error, and the message includes the tool’s error output. Fix the source and the preview re-renders. For the PDF previews (Typst, Graphviz), CrispyVibe keeps an existing successful render visible with a small banner instead of clearing the page.
• A long render seems stuck: CrispyVibe stops a compile that runs too long and re-runs it on your next edit.
• Edits aren’t showing: make sure you’re editing in Source and viewing Preview. The preview itself is read-only.

Known limitations

• The corresponding CLI (Typst, AsciiDoc, or Graphviz) must be installed on your Mac because CrispyVibe doesn’t bundle a renderer.
• Edit these render-only previews in Source. They cannot be edited in place and do not support commenting as the Markdown and LaTeX editors do.
• A missing tool produces a “not found” message rather than a dedicated guided installer.
• Rendering is offline and single-user; cloud rendering and collaboration are unavailable.

Related docs

• LaTeX Editor
• Markdown Editor
• Code Editor
• File Viewer