Something very interesting happened yesterday.
We received a message from an MDView user.
She called herself Penny.
At first, she just wanted to download a Markdown reader for Windows.
What she didn't expect was that two days of troubleshooting would end with a cup of milk tea worth about $3.
How It Started
Penny found MDView through DeepSeek.
She said:
"My colleague found it through DeepSeek and it worked great, so they strongly recommended it to me."
This actually surprised us.
Because we'd been thinking:
How should we promote a Markdown tool that's only a few MB?
It turns out that before we even started researching SEO, we'd already been recommended by AI.
She later jokingly asked:
"So did you guys do CEO?"
We think she meant SEO.
But the truth is:
We don't even know why DeepSeek recommended MDView.
First Problem: Windows Install Block
During installation, Windows Security threw a warning.
This is a problem many indie developers face.
Without purchasing a code-signing certificate, Windows shows:
"Unknown publisher"
After a brief explanation, the user successfully installed it.
We thought that was the end of it.
But the next day, she was back.
Second Problem: App Crashing
Penny reported:
"I click open and the page disappears after a moment."
At first we thought it was a program bug.
Later, through screenshots, we discovered:
The problem was with WebView2.
MDView's Windows version depends on the Microsoft WebView2 runtime.
Most Windows 11 PCs have it pre-installed.
But she was using a very clean Windows 10 environment.
Even her Edge browser was messed up.
She joked:
"I just accidentally killed Edge 😂"
A Real Troubleshooting Process
Over the next few hours,
we kept collecting screenshots, logs, and environment info.
Gradually narrowing down the problem.
Finally we found:
The issue wasn't WebView2 itself.
It was that the program wasn't handling edge cases properly.
So we decided to fix the code directly.
And ship a new version.
Same-Day Afternoon: New Version Released
Around 3 PM,
we told the user:
"We'll push a new version shortly."
She replied:
"😁 Thanks for your hard work!"
An hour later.
MDView 1.0.68 was released.
Within minutes of sending the message,
the user replied:
"😎😎😎 You're amazing!"
Then something happened that we completely didn't expect.
A Cup of Milk Tea
She sent a WeChat Pay screenshot.
About $3.
Then she said:
"Tipped a cup of milk tea 🧋 It's not much 😉"
Then added:
"Finally I can use it!"
To be honest,
$3 isn't a lot.
But for indie developers,
this kind of validation is often more valuable than revenue itself.
Because it means:
Someone is actually using it.
Someone actually ran into a problem.
Someone was genuinely happy because the problem was solved.
The Most Interesting Part of the AI Era
Later, we asked another question:
"How did you find us?"
The answer:
"DeepSeek, hahaha."
This might be the most interesting part of the whole story.
The old software promotion playbook was:
- Google SEO
- App stores
- Paid ads
- Keyword bidding
But now,
more and more users are finding tools like this:
- Ask DeepSeek
- Ask ChatGPT
- Ask Claude
- Ask Gemini
Users no longer search for:
Markdown Viewer
They just ask:
- "Is there a lightweight Markdown reader you'd recommend?"
- "Is there a Markdown tool that supports Mermaid?"
- "What's a good Markdown viewer for Windows?"
Then AI gives the answer.
If the product is good enough,
users will naturally find you.
Why We Insist on Keeping MDView Simple
Many people ask when they first see MDView:
"Why are there so few features?"
That's actually intentional.
Our goal was never to make another Obsidian.
Or another VS Code.
We just wanted to solve one simple problem:
Double-click to open a Markdown file, and read it comfortably.
So MDView has always stuck to:
- Small size
- Fast startup
- No login required
- No network calls
- No interruptions
- Focus on reading
For many users,
that's already enough.
Finally
If Penny ever reads this article,
we'd like to say one more thing:
Thank you for that cup of milk tea.
And thank you for taking the time to help us find the problem.
Many software products get better
not because the developers are so amazing,
but because users are willing to give feedback, wait, and support.
For indie developers,
this is more valuable than any advertisement.
Epilogue
As of now, MDView supports:
- Markdown live preview
- Mermaid diagrams
- Multiple reading themes
- HTML export
- Windows and Android versions
The compatibility fix born from a cup of milk tea is included in version 1.0.68.
If you also found MDView through DeepSeek, ChatGPT, or another AI, we'd love to hear from you:
What question did you type in?
Maybe the next user will arrive here because of your answer.