# Three ways to call marsdawn.

MarsDawn has no AI model of its own: it's built to review Markdown, not write it, so it doesn't matter which agent or model produced the file. There are three ways for an agent or a script to call `marsdawn`, and all three end up running the same `export`.

**Pick whichever your tooling supports: the free `marsdawn` CLI, a plain-Markdown skill file, or the [marsdawn-mcp](https://github.com/redtear1115/marsdawn-mcp) MCP server.** All three call the same `marsdawn export` and return the same JSON result.

## The CLI

`marsdawn export notes.md --json` is callable by any agent or script that can run a shell command, model-agnostic by construction. Every field it returns is documented at [marsdawn for agents](/cli/agents/), which is the source of truth for the JSON schema the other two surfaces below point back to.

## The skill file

For an agent that reads plain-Markdown instructions instead of calling a shell directly — Claude Code today — [the marsdawn skill](/cli/skill/) is one file that teaches it to install marsdawn, run `export` and read the result. It's plain Markdown, so other agents that load instruction files can use the same one.

## The MCP server

[marsdawn-mcp](https://github.com/redtear1115/marsdawn-mcp) is a separate, public, Apache-2.0 repository. It's an MCP server with one tool, `export_markdown_to_pdf`, that wraps `marsdawn export --json`: point an MCP client at it and the tool call returns the same JSON as the CLI.

- **Get it:** as an MCP Bundle, `marsdawn.mcpb`, attached to [its GitHub release](https://github.com/redtear1115/marsdawn-mcp/releases), or by running the server from source over stdio.
- **Registry:** not yet listed in the MCP Registry (current release: 0.1.0). Check the repository for the current status before relying on registry discovery.
- **Hosting:** self-hosted only. There is no hosted marsdawn-mcp service; the server runs on your own machine, next to marsdawn itself.
- **Requirements:** macOS, marsdawn 0.5.0 or later, and Node.js 20 or later to run the server.

## Same export, three doors

Whichever surface calls it, the underlying behavior doesn't change: the same exporter, the same themes and paper sizes, the same `diagramErrors` when a Mermaid diagram fails to render. This page doesn't repeat that contract — [marsdawn for agents](/cli/agents/) does, in full.

## Next

- The full JSON schema and every exit code: [marsdawn for agents](/cli/agents/).
- The one-file skill for Claude Code and similar agents: [the marsdawn skill](/cli/skill/).
- Why a compact JSON result matters to your agent's own context: [token-efficient review](/token-efficient-review/).

## More

- [MarsDawn](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/index.md): A native Mac Markdown editor with live preview, Mermaid diagrams and PDF export, built for reading what AI agents write. Coming soon to the Mac App Store.
- [Your writing stays on your Mac](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/yours/index.md): MarsDawn has no account, no sync and no cloud. Your Markdown documents stay on your Mac, in the files and folders you choose.
- [Try free, pay once](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/pay-once/index.md): MarsDawn is free to download. Try everything for 14 days, then unlock it once for USD 4.99. No subscription, no account.
- [PDF export](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/pdf/index.md): Export Markdown as a PDF or print it on your Mac, with Mermaid diagrams and highlighted code. Page breaks avoid splitting short code blocks and tables.
- [A Mac app](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/native/index.md): A Markdown editor that is a real Mac app: native windows and tabs, autosave, version history, Quick Look in Finder and a text editor that behaves like a Mac.
- [What MarsDawn doesn't do](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/limits/index.md): No sync, no iPhone or iPad app, no plugins, no accounts. Four built-in themes. Know before you buy.
- [Support](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/support/index.md): Get help with MarsDawn, the Markdown editor for macOS.
- [Privacy Policy](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/privacy/index.md): MarsDawn does not collect personal data. Your documents and settings stay on your Mac.
- [View Markdown on a Mac](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/view-markdown-on-mac/index.md): A .md file is plain text with formatting marks in it. Here is how to read it rendered on a Mac: as a PDF with the free marsdawn command-line tool today, and in the MarsDawn app, coming soon to the Mac App Store.
- [Markdown to PDF](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/markdown-to-pdf/index.md): Convert Markdown to PDF on a Mac with the free marsdawn command-line tool. Install it with Homebrew and run one command: tables, math, Mermaid and code.
- [MacMD Viewer vs. MarsDawn](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/vs/macmd-viewer/index.md): MacMD Viewer renders Markdown read-only for USD 19.99. MarsDawn edits and previews side by side, free to try then USD 4.99 once on the Mac App Store.
- [Command Line](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/cli/index.md): The free marsdawn command-line tool for Mac: export Markdown to PDF from a shell, a script or an LLM agent, with JSON output. Install it with Homebrew.
- [marsdawn for agents](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/cli/agents/index.md): A reference for AI agents and scripts that call marsdawn to turn Markdown into PDF: commands, JSON output, schemas, exit codes and requirements.
- [Agent skill](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/cli/skill/index.md): One file your coding agent loads to install marsdawn, check it works, export Markdown to PDF and read the JSON result.
- [Token-efficient review](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/token-efficient-review/index.md): A person reviews the rendered page in MarsDawn, never read back into the agent's context. The tool call itself returns a compact JSON result, not the rendered content, so calling it is cheap too.
- [Viewing Markdown elsewhere vs. MarsDawn](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/vs/markdown-preview-tools/index.md): How MarsDawn compares to reading Markdown in VS Code's built-in preview, a browser extension, or Claude Desktop's file preview: what each renders, and what it takes to open one file.
- [Preview themes and PDF export](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/themes/index.md): Four preview themes, each with a light and dark palette, and one PDF/print export that matches whichever you're in. More importable themes, and a gallery to share your own, are planned.
- [Sharing exported PDFs](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/sharing-exported-pdfs/index.md): Export an agent's Markdown to PDF and hand it to a colleague who doesn't read Markdown and won't install anything. No syntax, no app and no account needed to open it.
- [Why AI output still needs a human reader](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/reviewing-ai-output/index.md): AI-written Markdown still has to be understood by a person, not trusted on sight. MarsDawn pairs the rendered page with the source, and draws Mermaid diagrams and KaTeX math, so structure is legible at a glance.
- [繁體中文](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/zh-hant/cli/mcp/index.md): marsdawn 沒有自己的 AI 模型，是哪個 agent 寫出 Markdown 都無所謂。可以從 CLI、skill 檔案，或 marsdawn-mcp 這個 MCP 伺服器呼叫，三者最後都執行同一個 export。
- [简体中文](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/zh-hans/cli/mcp/index.md): marsdawn 没有自己的 AI 模型，是哪个 agent 写出 Markdown 都无所谓。可以从 CLI、skill 文件，或 marsdawn-mcp 这个 MCP 服务器调用，三者最后都运行同一个 export。
- [日本語](https://marsdawn.southern-light.dev/ja/cli/mcp/index.md): marsdawn には自前の AI モデルがないので、どのエージェントが書いた Markdown かは関係ありません。CLI、skill ファイル、marsdawn-mcp という MCP サーバーのいずれからでも呼び出せ、三つとも同じ export を実行します。