diff --git a/modules/markup/external/external.go b/modules/markup/external/external.go
index 122517ed11..b9760772a1 100644
--- a/modules/markup/external/external.go
+++ b/modules/markup/external/external.go
@@ -12,6 +12,7 @@ import (
 	"runtime"
 	"strings"
 
+	"code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/annex"
 	"code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/graceful"
 	"code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/log"
 	"code.gitea.io/gitea/modules/markup"
@@ -86,8 +87,22 @@ func (p *Renderer) Render(ctx *markup.RenderContext, input io.Reader, output io.
 		commands = strings.Fields(command)
 		args     = commands[1:]
 	)
-
-	if p.IsInputFile {
+	isAnnexed, _ := annex.IsAnnexed(ctx.Blob)
+	// if a renderer wants to read a file, and we have annexed content, we can
+	// provide the annex key file location directly to the renderer. git-annex
+	// takes care of having that location be read-only, so no critical
+	// protection layer is needed. Moreover, the file readily exists, and
+	// expensive temporary files can be avoided, also allowing an operator
+	// to raise MAX_DISPLAY_FILE_SIZE without much negative impact.
+	if p.IsInputFile && isAnnexed {
+		// look for annexed content, will be empty, if there is none
+		annexContentLocation, _ := annex.ContentLocation(ctx.Blob)
+		// we call the renderer, even if there is no annex content present.
+		// showing the pointer file content is not much use, and a topical
+		// renderer might be able to produce something useful from the
+		// filename alone (present in ENV)
+		args = append(args, annexContentLocation)
+	} else if p.IsInputFile {
 		// write to temp file
 		f, err := os.CreateTemp("", "gitea_input")
 		if err != nil {
@@ -130,6 +145,12 @@ func (p *Renderer) Render(ctx *markup.RenderContext, input io.Reader, output io.
 		os.Environ(),
 		"GITEA_PREFIX_SRC="+ctx.Links.SrcLink(),
 		"GITEA_PREFIX_RAW="+ctx.Links.RawLink(),
+		// also communicate the relative path of the to-be-rendered item.
+		// this enables the renderer to make use of the original file name
+		// and path, e.g., to make rendering or dtype-detection decisions
+		// that go beyond the originally matched extension. Even if the
+		// content is directly streamed to STDIN
+		"GITEA_RELATIVE_PATH="+ctx.RelativePath,
 	)
 	if !p.IsInputFile {
 		cmd.Stdin = input
diff --git a/modules/markup/renderer.go b/modules/markup/renderer.go
index 2137302f43..c00bd2b56e 100644
--- a/modules/markup/renderer.go
+++ b/modules/markup/renderer.go
@@ -67,14 +67,18 @@ type Header struct {
 
 // RenderContext represents a render context
 type RenderContext struct {
-	Ctx              context.Context
-	RelativePath     string // relative path from tree root of the branch
-	Type             string
-	IsWiki           bool
-	Links            Links
-	Metas            map[string]string
-	DefaultLink      string
-	GitRepo          *git.Repository
+	Ctx          context.Context
+	RelativePath string // relative path from tree root of the branch
+	Type         string
+	IsWiki       bool
+	Links        Links
+	Metas        map[string]string
+	DefaultLink  string
+	GitRepo      *git.Repository
+	// reporting the target blob that is to-be-rendered enables
+	// deeper inspection in the handler for external renderer
+	// (i.e., more targeted handling of annexed files)
+	Blob             *git.Blob
 	ShaExistCache    map[string]bool
 	cancelFn         func()
 	SidebarTocNode   ast.Node
diff --git a/routers/web/repo/view.go b/routers/web/repo/view.go
index 8776b25494..956979dcd8 100644
--- a/routers/web/repo/view.go
+++ b/routers/web/repo/view.go
@@ -371,6 +371,7 @@ func renderReadmeFile(ctx *context.Context, subfolder string, readmeFile *git.Tr
 			},
 			Metas:   ctx.Repo.Repository.ComposeDocumentMetas(ctx),
 			GitRepo: ctx.Repo.GitRepo,
+			Blob:    target.Blob(),
 		}, rd)
 		if err != nil {
 			log.Error("Render failed for %s in %-v: %v Falling back to rendering source", readmeFile.Name(), ctx.Repo.Repository, err)
@@ -603,6 +604,7 @@ func renderFile(ctx *context.Context, entry *git.TreeEntry) {
 				},
 				Metas:   metas,
 				GitRepo: ctx.Repo.GitRepo,
+				Blob:    entry.Blob(),
 			}, rd)
 			if err != nil {
 				ctx.ServerError("Render", err)
@@ -701,6 +703,7 @@ func renderFile(ctx *context.Context, entry *git.TreeEntry) {
 				},
 				Metas:   ctx.Repo.Repository.ComposeDocumentMetas(ctx),
 				GitRepo: ctx.Repo.GitRepo,
+				Blob:    entry.Blob(),
 			}, rd)
 			if err != nil {
 				ctx.ServerError("Render", err)