Markdown editor for Mac & Windows

A quiet placeto write.

AmberText is a free, open-source Markdown editor. You write in clean, styled text — and every note stays a plain Markdown file on your own computer.

Coming soonSee how it works

Open source under GPL-3.0 · View the code on GitHub

On keeping a notebook

I have kept a notebook since I was nineteen. Not a diary, exactly — more a place where half-thoughts can wait until they are ready.

The rule is simple: write first, tidy later. A heading when the page asks for one. A list when the thoughts line up. A quiet word in italics when it matters.

What goes in

Things overheard on the train
Lines worth stealing from books
The essay I'll finally finish this winter

A notebook is for the version of you that hasn't decided yet.

Where it lives

Every page is a plain .md file in a folder I chose. It opens in any text editor — today, and in twenty years.

1 min read
Ln 18, Col 1

01Plain text

It's just a file.

What you see is formatted. What's saved is Markdown: a few symbols in a plain text file, in a folder you choose.

Open it in any other editor, sync it however you like, and keep it for as long as you want.

  • Styled or plain. Switch the page to raw Markdown and back at any time.
  • Saved for you. Autosave keeps your line endings and won't overwrite a file that changed on disk.
  • Folders, not a library. Your notes are files in the sidebar. Create and rename them right there.
Packing list

Three days on the coast, one bag. Leave room for whatever the market has.

Rain jacket
Wool socks, two pairs
Camera and the spare battery

Pack light. Buy bread there.

02Blocks

Type a slash.

Press / on an empty line for anything Markdown can do: tables, diagrams, callouts, math, code, to-dos and more. Pick one and keep writing.

Weekend on the coast

Three days, one bag, no plans after six.


Also headings, lists, to-dos, quotes, code, math, dividers, links, images and today's date.

Click into the note and type / yourself.

03Smart paste

Paste anything. Keep it clean.

Copy from a web page, Google Docs or an email. Headings, bold, lists and links come along; the fonts, colours and clutter stay behind.

How to keep sourdough starter alive

Feed it once a day at room temperature, or once a week in the fridge. Use equal weights of flour and water — by weight, not by volume.

  • Discard all but a spoonful before each feed
  • Use a clean jar every few weeks
  • Rye flour wakes a sleepy starter up

If it smells of nail varnish, it's hungry. Read more in the bread guide.

Kitchen notes


Kitchen notes

Try it: copy anything from the page on the left, or from any website, and paste it into the note.

04Focus

Only the paragraph you're on.

Focus mode lets everything else fade back. Typewriter scrolling keeps the line you're writing at the same height, so your eyes stay put.

The long way round

On Sundays I take the long way to the bakery. It adds twenty minutes and nothing else, which is the point.

The road bends past the allotments, where someone has been growing the same row of dahlias for as long as I've lived here. They are never quite the colour you remember.

By the river the path narrows and you have to wait for people coming the other way. Nobody minds. It's the only place in town where waiting feels like part of the walk.

Then the bridge, the bell, the smell of bread a street before you see the shop. I always tell myself I'll buy one loaf.

For nothing but the page, zen mode hides the sidebar and toolbar and goes full screen. ⌘⇧Enter

05Private AI

Help, only when you ask.

Select some text and ask AmberText to proofread it, shorten it, change the tone or turn it into a list. The model runs on your own computer, so nothing you write leaves it. No account, no subscription.

Notes from Tuesday's call

We agreed to move the launch to the 14th so the team has time to finish the onboarding flow propperly. Ana will send the updated plan to everyone by Friday, and we'll meet again next week to check where things are and decide if anything else needs to move.

These are prepared examples. AI can't run inside a web page — in AmberText it runs on your computer.

Pick a model once

Three sizes, downloaded the first time you need one. Or connect a model server you already use, like Ollama or LM Studio.

Don't want it? One switch in Settings hides AI from the editor.

06Find

One shortcut for everything.

Press ⌘K and start typing. Jump to any note in your folder, run any command, or skip to a heading in the note you're in.

Inside a note, ⌘F finds and replaces, with regular expressions if you want them.

On keeping a notebook

I have kept a notebook since I was nineteen. Not a diary, exactly — more a place where half-thoughts can wait until they are ready.

The rule is simple: write first, tidy later. A heading when the page asks for one. A list when the thoughts line up. A quiet word in italics when it matters.

What goes in

Things overheard on the train
Lines worth stealing from books
The essay I'll finally finish this winter

A notebook is for the version of you that hasn't decided yet.

Where it lives

Every page is a plain .md file in a folder I chose. It opens in any text editor — today, and in twenty years.

On keeping a notebook

 

07Make it yours

Your paper. Your ink.

Light or dark, seven accent colours, three typefaces, and the size, spacing and line width that suit your eyes. These are AmberText's real settings — try them.

Make it yours

Pick the paper, the ink and the typeface. AmberText changes as you choose, right here in the page.

Your notes stay the same plain text underneath — only the room around them changes.

Light, dark or follow the system
Seven accent colours
A line width that suits your eyes

And the rest

Small things, done carefully.

  • Write, split or read

    Edit, see the preview side by side, or just read. ⌘1 ⌘2 ⌘3

  • Outline

    Every heading in the note, in the sidebar. Click one to jump there.

  • Word goals

    Set a target for a note and watch the status bar fill up as you go.

  • Tabs

    Keep several notes open and move between them from the keyboard.

  • Export

    Save as HTML or PDF, or copy as rich text to paste into an email. ⌘⇧C

  • Math and code

    Write equations in LaTeX and code in any common language, with highlighting.

  • Find and replace

    Match case, whole words or regular expressions, across the note.

  • Fits the system

    Follows light and dark mode, with a translucent sidebar on Mac and Mica on Windows 11.

Questions

Good to know.

Is AmberText free?

Yes. AmberText is free and open source under the GPL-3.0 licence. There is no account, no subscription and no ads, and the code is on GitHub.

Is it a free alternative to Typora?

Yes. Like Typora, AmberText hides the Markdown syntax while you write and shows clean, styled text. Unlike Typora, it is free and open source.

Does it work offline?

Yes. Your notes are files on your own computer, so AmberText works without an internet connection. Only downloading an AI model the first time needs one.

Where are my notes stored?

As plain Markdown (.md) files in the folders you choose. There is no cloud and no database, so you can open the same files in any other editor.

Can I open my Obsidian or Typora notes?

Yes. They are Markdown files too, so open the folder in AmberText. Headings, lists, tables, code, maths and GitHub-style callouts all show up styled.

Is the AI private?

Yes. It runs a small open model on your own computer, so nothing you write is sent anywhere. You can also connect Ollama or LM Studio, or turn AI off.

New to Markdown? Keep the Markdown cheat sheet open. Coming from Typora? See how AmberText compares.

Get AmberText


AmberText is a free, open-source Markdown editor for Mac and Windows. Plain files, a calm page, and help only when you ask.

Coming soonView on GitHub