See the document, not the markup
Type Markdown and watch it become the finished page. Inline WYSIWYG — no split preview, no raw syntax staring back at you.
The most beautiful way to write Markdown on a Mac.
iA Writer’s calm and see-it-as-you-type editing in one genuinely native app — with every word saved as a plain .md file you own.
Free 14-day trial · one-time $49 · no subscription · macOS 14+
on-writing.mdnotes.md
On writing
A first draft is not the place for judgment. It is the place for material — sentences you can shape later, once there are enough of them to shape.
The trick is to keep moving.Say the next true thing, and let the paragraph find its own end— you can always come back and cut.
When a thought belongs elsewhere, link it: see [[revision]]and it is filed, backlinked, and out of your way.
Built for long-form, not note-clutter
Focus mode dims everything but the sentence you’re in. Tabs, wikilinks, and backlinks keep a whole manuscript within reach.
Native Mac, your files, zero lock-in
Every note is a plain .md file on your disk. Import DOCX, RTF, HTML; export PDF and DOCX. Nothing is trapped in a database.
Watch it write.
One minute, no sound — themes, focus mode, syntax highlighting, and tabs, exactly as they feel.
Write
Markdown that reads like the finished page
ProseMirror-powered inline editing renders your Markdown as you type — headings, bold, links, lists, tables. The syntax does its job and disappears. Smart typography turns straight quotes curly and -- into an en dash automatically.
- Inline WYSIWYG, never a raw-markup pane
- Smart curly quotes, en/em dashes, ellipses
- KaTeX math and Mermaid diagrams inline
draft.mdnotes.md
On writing
A first draft is not the place for judgment. It is the place for material — sentences you can shape later, once there are enough of them to shape.
The trick is to keep moving.Say the next true thing, and let the paragraph find its own end— you can always come back and cut.
When a thought belongs elsewhere, link it: see [[revision]]and it is filed, backlinked, and out of your way.
Focus
Dim the noise. Keep the sentence.
One keystroke (⌘’) steps focus from off, to block, to sentence, to full prose dimming. Everything but the words you’re writing fades back, so the next sentence is the only thing on screen.
- Four focus levels, cycled with ⌘’
- Sentence- and paragraph-level dimming
- Optional part-of-speech highlighting
chapter-3.mdnotes.md
On writing
A first draft is not the place for judgment. It is the place for material — sentences you can shape later, once there are enough of them to shape.
The trick is to keep moving.Say the next true thing, and let the paragraph find its own end— you can always come back and cut.
When a thought belongs elsewhere, link it: see [[revision]]and it is filed, backlinked, and out of your way.
Connect
Link your thinking with [[wikilinks]]
Type [[ and connect any note to any other. Backlinks resolve automatically, so every note quietly gathers the pages that point to it. Tabs — drag to reorder, pin, and restored on launch — hold the pieces you’re working across.
- [[wikilinks]] with autocomplete + backlinks
- Tabs: drag-reorder, pin, session restore
- Hover preview for links and images
Own
Plain files. No cloud required. No AI.
Your library is a folder of .md files you can open in any editor, sync with any tool, and keep forever. There’s no account to sign into and no model reading your words.
- Multi-root file tree with daily notes
- Version history and ~2s autosave
- Your words never leave your Mac
- Manuscript
- 01-opening.md
- 02-the-argument.md
- 03-evidence.md
- Daily
- 2026-07-15.md
plain .md · on your disk
Your words are safe.
No account, no subscription, no cloud you don’t control.
Pay once. It’s yours.
No subscription, no account. One purchase, and free updates within the version.
Markdown, forever.
If Manx disappeared tomorrow, every note would still open in any text editor.
No AI, ever.
Your words never leave your Mac, and no model is ever trained on them.
Long-form writing, without the tradeoffs
| Capability | Manx | Note apps | Plain editors |
|---|---|---|---|
| See the page, not the markup | |||
| Every note is a plain .md file | |||
| Focus mode with prose dimming | |||
| Wikilinks + automatic backlinks | |||
| Genuinely native macOS app | |||
| No account · no AI · no tracking | |||
| Pay once, no subscription |
Buy it once. Keep it forever.
Start with a free 14-day trial. No account, no card up front.
Manx
$49one-time
macOS 14+ · Apple silicon & Intel
- The full editor — inline WYSIWYG, focus mode, wikilinks
- Tabs, daily notes, version history, Spotlight
- Import DOCX / RTF / HTML · export PDF / DOCX
- Free updates within the version
Trial runs the full app for 14 days. Pay once when you’re sure.
Before you ask.
The short answers — ownership, privacy, and what you’re actually buying.
Is there a subscription?
No. Manx is a one-time purchase — pay once and it’s yours, with free updates within the major version. There’s no account to create and nothing to cancel.
Do I keep my notes if I stop using the app?
Yes. Your library is a folder of plain .md files on your Mac. Every note opens in any text editor, today and in twenty years — nothing is trapped in a database or a proprietary format.
Does it use AI or send my writing to the cloud?
No AI, ever. There’s no account, no tracking of your writing, and no model reading or training on your words. Everything stays on your Mac unless you choose to put it somewhere else.
Can I try it before buying?
Yes — the free trial gives you 14 days with every feature. No account and no card required.
Is there an iPhone or iPad version?
Manx is a Mac app (macOS 14+). Because your notes are plain Markdown files in a normal folder, you can sync them with iCloud Drive or any tool you already use, and open them on any device with any Markdown editor.
How is it different from iA Writer or Obsidian?
You write Markdown and see the finished page as you type — no raw-syntax pane, no split preview. It pairs iA Writer’s calm, focused writing with the linking Obsidian made essential — [[wikilinks]], backlinks, tabs — in one genuinely native Mac app.
Write something you’re proud of.
The calm of iA Writer, see-it-as-you-type editing, and files you own — on your Mac.
Free 14-day trial · one-time $49 · macOS 14+