PilcrowMD

PilcrowMD for Mac Beta

A native Markdown reader and editor for Mac, built for the age of AI agents.

Beta, free to use while the beta lasts. macOS 14 or later.

Download for Mac (beta)

Not signed by Apple yet. The first launch needs one extra step. How to install

No account, no tracking, no network – except Mermaid diagrams, which are off until you turn them on.

Watch an agent work in your folder

Add a folder, and PilcrowMD keeps it live. When an agent, a script or another app creates or changes a file, you see it within a second. PilcrowMD marks it N (new) or U (updated). If the file is open, the page updates on its own.

When you both edit the same file

You are editing, and an agent saves the same file. PilcrowMD shows a banner. When you save, it asks: Save As… / Overwrite / Cancel. Cancel writes nothing. The app never overwrites anyone's work without asking you.

More: Folders and agents

What it does

  • Read, Split, Edit. Three modes. Switch with ⌥⌘1 / ⌥⌘2 / ⌥⌘3.
  • Live folders. Add any folder: subfolders, new and updated marks, links between notes.
  • Tabs, Outline, Find, PDF export, text size, Light and Dark themes, three font sets.
  • Markdown it renders: tables, task lists, code with colours for 28 languages, maths, footnotes, callouts, collapsible sections, front matter, local pictures.
  • Safe saving: writes only when you make edits, all-or-nothing saves, keeps BOM and line endings, never silently overwrites another app's changes.
  • Private: No account, no tracking, no network – except Mermaid diagrams, which are off until you turn them on. When on, diagram text is sent to mermaid.ink to be rendered.

Like the Android app, the Mac app draws every page natively, with no web view or browser engine.

Full list, with what it does not do

Who uses PilcrowMD, and how

The same app, nine kinds of documents. Every picture is from the real app (beta).

  • Developers

    READMEs and project notes. Code in 28 languages, a Copy button on each block.

  • Admins and on-call

    Runbooks and incident notes. Callouts stand out; config blocks keep their spacing.

  • Product

    Specs and plans. Tables, task lists and callouts in one page.

  • Business

    Reports and reviews. Tables with aligned numbers, Light theme for daytime reading.

  • Legal

    Agreements and clause summaries. Numbered clauses keep their numbers.

  • Science

    Lab notes. Formulas with subscripts, method steps, results tables.

  • Maths

    Lectures and problem sets. Inline and display maths, including matrices.

  • Writers

    Stories and long drafts. A calm reading column, three font sets, footnotes you can click.

  • AI answers

    Save an answer from any AI assistant as a .md file and read it the way it was meant to look.

Your files are safe

PilcrowMD opens your files and writes them back. It does not keep a separate copy and does not upload your files. The one exception: if you turn Mermaid on, the text of each diagram is sent to mermaid.ink to be drawn.

  • Nothing is written unless you make edits. Opening, reading and pressing ⌘S on an unchanged file write nothing.
  • A save is all-or-nothing. A crash or power cut leaves either the old file or the new file, never a partial mix.
  • Another app's changes are never overwritten silently. Saving asks first: Save As… / Overwrite / Cancel.
  • Cancel means nothing is written.
  • Your bytes stay yours. BOM and line endings (Windows or Mac/Linux) are kept.
  • No autosave. The app only writes when you save. Save often.

How saving works, step by step

Install and requirements

Requirements

  • macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later.
  • Apple Silicon and Intel, in one universal file. Intel Macs are untested.
  • Not signed or notarized by Apple yet.

Install

The app is not signed with a paid Apple developer account, so macOS asks once before the first open:

  1. Download the DMG, open it, drag PilcrowMD to Applications.
  2. Open it. macOS says it could not verify the app. Click Done (not Move to Trash).
  3. Open System Settings › Privacy & Security, scroll down, click Open Anyway, confirm.
  4. After that it opens normally.

Every step, with pictures

Known issues in this beta
  • Unsaved edits are lost if the app crashes. There is no autosave. Save often.
  • Mixed line endings become uniform when you save (files that use one style are saved exactly as they were).
  • A lone carriage return becomes a line break when you save.
  • Saving breaks hard links. Aliases and symbolic links are not affected.
  • "Changed" means date or size. A tool that rewrites a file with the same date and size is not noticed.
  • Only UTF-8 files open.
  • Some characters do not draw inside maths: curly double quotes and \blacksquare. The formula then shows as its source text; nothing is lost.
  • The window can grow too tall in Split view while the "changed by another app" banner shows. Edits are not affected.
  • Not signed or notarized by Apple yet (see install).
  • Intel Macs are untested.

Report a problem

Found a bug or have an idea?

Tell us on GitHub. One person writes and maintains PilcrowMD for Mac, and the app accepts no outside code. Bug reports and ideas are welcome.

Report a problem

Download

Download for Mac (beta)

PilcrowMD-0.1-mac.dmg, about 13 MB. SHA-256: d95ec5cc40b51e18d3e50d786e67dfd8e7d77b4d6942296b2ac3d7afeb845736

Free to use, including at work. Install it on any number of Macs and share the link to the download page. Please do not put the installer on other sites.

Beta, free to use while the beta lasts. macOS 14 or later.

Also on Android: Google Play F-Droid