Documentation

Getting Started

Writer is a local-first markdown editor. On first launch you'll see an empty workspace.

Adding a Workspace

Click the folder icon in the sidebar and select any directory. Writer indexes the markdown files inside it and watches for changes.

Your Folder/
├── notes/
│   └── idea.md
├── draft.md
└── readme.md

New locations automatically include a Markdown Tutorial document to help you get oriented.

Creating Documents

Right-click in the sidebar or use the toolbar. Documents save directly to your filesystem — no intermediate database, no proprietary format.

Editor Layout

Three layout modes, switchable from the toolbar or keyboard shortcuts:

• Editor Only — Full-width markdown editing
• Preview Only — Rendered output
• Split Panes — Side-by-side editing and preview with a draggable divider

Focus Mode

Strips distractions so you stay in flow:

• Typewriter scrolling keeps the cursor centered
• Dimming fades surrounding text to the current section
• Style check decorations are hidden to keep the view clean
• A save indicator shows document state without breaking focus

Toggle from the View menu or with a keyboard shortcut.

Style Check

Writer flags potential style issues in real-time:

• Filler words — very, really, just, etc.
• Redundancies — "advance planning", "basic fundamentals"
• Clichés — Overused phrases worth reconsidering

Hover a highlight to see what was flagged. Add your own patterns in settings to enforce a house style. Turn it off entirely if it's not for you.

Quick Capture

Set a global hotkey in settings. The capture window opens from anywhere — no need to switch to Writer first.

Capture Modes

• Quick Note — Timestamped file in your inbox folder
• Append — Adds to an existing document
• Writing Session — Creates a note and opens it in the editor

Export

Open the document, go to File → Export, and pick a format:

1. PDF — Configure page size, margins, fonts. Preview inline before exporting.
2. DOCX — Word-compatible output.
3. Plaintext — Raw text, formatting stripped.

Keyboard Shortcuts