.md editor

A native, free macOS markdown editor with split-pane live preview. Beautifully minimal, effortlessly powerful.

Download for macOS View Source

macOS 10.15+ · Apple Silicon · Free & open source

DotMD app — split-pane markdown editor with live preview
Native Markdown Minimal Free Open Source

Just the features you need

✎

Split-pane live preview

Write markdown on the left, see the rendered result instantly on the right. Draggable divider to adjust the split.

👁

Syntax highlighting

Color-coded markdown syntax in the editor — headings, bold, code, and links are instantly distinguishable.

🎨

Light & dark themes

Follows your system preference automatically, or override with manual light/dark toggle. Remembers your choice.

📄

Open from Finder

Double-click any .md file in Finder and it opens directly in DotMD. Set it as your default markdown editor.

🔍

Adjustable font size

Zoom in and out with Cmd+Plus and Cmd+Minus. Your preferred size is saved across sessions.

⚡

Lightweight & fast

Built with Tauri and Rust. Under 4 MB download. Launches instantly, uses minimal memory.

Get started in 30 seconds

DotMD is unsigned — macOS will ask you to allow it manually. Here's how.

1

Download the DMG

Grab the latest .dmg from GitHub Releases. It's a single file, under 4 MB.

2

Drag to Applications

Open the DMG and drag DotMD into your Applications folder.

3

Bypass Gatekeeper

On first launch, macOS will block it. Open Terminal and run:

🔒 Bypass Gatekeeper

Since the app is not code-signed, macOS blocks it by default. Run this once in Terminal:

xattr -cr /Applications/DotMD.app

Then open DotMD normally. You only need to do this once.

🔐 Verify file integrity

Each release includes a checksums.txt file. After downloading the DMG, verify it wasn't tampered with:

shasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/DotMD_*.dmg

Compare the output with the hash published in checksums.txt on the release page. They must match exactly.

If the hashes differ, do not install the file — re-download from the official release page.