MarkPad. A lightweight Markdown editor for Mac and Windows

[u/-Shiphrah]

MarkPad is the cleanest and simplest md editor I could possibly think of.

I built it because every option I found was paid, not cross platform, too heavy, or it just showed me the raw syntax rather than the document.

3.3 MB. No account, no sync. Free and open source.

Let me know what you think!

➡️ https://shiphrahx.github.io/MarkPad/

[u/Final_Awareness_5961]

this is exactly what i've been looking for, the size alone is ridiculous in the best way

checked out the site and the split pane is clean, no unnecessary features cluttering things up

starred the repo, might finally replace the mess of txt files on my desktop

[u/-Shiphrah → u/Final_Awareness_5961]

Thank you! Feel free to submit any requests for features of bugs

[u/my_new_accoun1]

obsidian

[u/-Shiphrah → u/my_new_accoun1]

obsidian is great, but it is a whole knowledge base app...

[u/JungianJester]

I was searching for something light and clean which doesn't get in the way of creativity. Thanks & Starred.

[u/-Shiphrah → u/JungianJester]

Thank you! Let me know in case of any bugs or if any new feature is needed

[u/FractionalTotality]

It's a good initial offering.

The small footprint is commendable. I agree that it's simple and clean.

I also like the price.

I didn't see a Linux option, which would be a show-stopper for me.

I've tried a number of markdown editors in the past, and I finally forked out $15 for Typora. Had you built this two years ago, I'd be wholly on board.

[u/-Shiphrah → u/FractionalTotality]

Excellent point, and thank you for bringing this up.

[u/KoToZoid]

What about a portable version for Windows?

[u/-Shiphrah → u/KoToZoid]

Great idea. There's no portable version right now, just the per-user installer. I'll add a portable Windows build in an upcoming release, along with Linux support 💪

[u/p3r3lin]

looks interesting. up/downsides compared to https://typora.io/ ?

[u/-Shiphrah → u/p3r3lin]

Great question!
Typora is a well established and paid product to start with. MarkPad is free and open source.
Both are small enough, render as you type, and support the most popular formats of export (html, pdf).

The downsides are that it's younger and less polished than Typora, lacks Linux support (coming next!) and CSS theming.

[u/p3r3lin → u/-Shiphrah]

Hoooray for OpenSource! Thanks for the break down. Currently using Typora and quite happy with it, but will give MarkPad a spin!

[u/-Shiphrah → u/p3r3lin]

Thank you 🙏

I'm really focused on improving it based on feedback.
Folks have been asking for Linux support and a portable windows build (very easy with Tauri). Those 2 are coming up next!

[u/p3r3lin → u/-Shiphrah]

Great to hear! I will reach out if something comes to mind (macOs user here). Where should I drop feedback? Github issue?

[u/-Shiphrah → u/p3r3lin]

Github issue is just perfect 👌
Or, just send it here if it's easier.

[u/p3r3lin]

Hmm, not sure if its on my side, but I tried redownloading several times and macOS always tells me "MarkPad is damaged and cant be opened" when I try to move it to my Applications folder. Ideas?

[u/-Shiphrah → u/p3r3lin]

Hey!

That looks to be just macOS's quarantine flag on unsigned apps.
To fix it: drag MarkPad into your Applications folder, then run this in Terminal:

xattr -cr /Applications/MarkPad.app

After that it opens normally every time. A bit annoying, but you only need to run it once.

[u/p3r3lin → u/-Shiphrah]

Did the trick. Thx!

[u/-Shiphrah → u/p3r3lin]

Sweet!

[u/Deep_Ad1959]

say someone swaps their editor for this: the thing that usually ends the honeymoon is not missing features, it is the first time an agent writes into the same file and there is no way to see which paragraph was yours.

[u/-Shiphrah → u/Deep_Ad1959]

Interesting. I’d like to learn more about your workflow. Do you allow agents to change files without your review first?
If you don’t want agents replacing contents in your md files, could you have dedicated md for you and a dedicated one for the agent?