[FEATURE] Distinguish markdown heading levels in chat output (sizing/weight), and/or allow customization

[shawnphoffman]

Problem

In the desktop/web GUI client, markdown heading levels in assistant responses are nearly visually indistinguishable. H1, H3, and H4 render at almost the same size and weight, and H2 oddly renders in a muted gray, which makes it look less prominent than the levels beneath it. The result is that visual hierarchy is effectively lost and heading structure communicates nothing to the reader.

Screenshot below: H1/H3/H4 are near-identical in size, and H2 is muted gray (appearing lower in the hierarchy than its own children).

Why it matters

Long, structured responses (plans, multi-section explanations, reports) rely on heading hierarchy for scannability. Right now the only reliable contrast levers are bold lead-ins and --- rules, which pushes the assistant away from semantic headings toward visual hacks.

Requests (either would help)

1. Hard-coded variation: ship a clearer default type scale so H1 > H2 > H3 > H4 are visibly distinct in size/weight, and fix H2 so it isn't muted relative to its children.
2. Customization: expose markdown typography (heading sizes/weights, base font) as a user setting, similar to the request in [Feature Request] Add customizable markdown styling in JetBrains IDE output panel #25234 but for the desktop/web clients.

Environment

Claude Code GUI client (desktop/web). Affects assistant-response markdown rendering specifically.

Related

• [Feature Request] Add customizable markdown styling in JetBrains IDE output panel #25234 (closed, JetBrains-scoped customizable markdown styling)
• [FEATURE] Content-type color coding for assistant output (questions, commands, narrative) #60230 (content-type color coding for assistant output)
• [UX Enhancement] Add configurable visual separator between AI responses for improved readability #10291 (visual separator between responses)
• [BUG] Terminal markdown renderer silently destroys ~40% of GFM features the system prompt claims are supported #26390 (terminal renderer drops GFM features)

[github-actions]

Found 2 possible duplicate issues:

1. [BUG] Terminal markdown renderer silently destroys ~40% of GFM features the system prompt claims are supported #26390
2. [FEATURE][CLI] Markdown renderer support in Claude Code CLI #13600

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