MarkDoc

MarkDoc is an open-source desktop editor for local Markdown and documents. Its main file format, .mdoc, keeps the Markdown body, images and document settings together in a single package.

Installation

Download MarkDoc. Choose Apple Silicon for M-series Macs, Intel for Intel Macs, or the x64 installer for Windows or Linux.

macOS

Open the DMG and drag MarkDoc into Applications. This build is ad-hoc signed, not signed with an Apple Developer ID or notarized by Apple.

If macOS says Apple could not verify MarkDoc, first confirm that the installer came from our GitHub Releases. If you trust that source, open System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway, then confirm. This grants an exception for this app; do not disable Gatekeeper globally.

This warning is not a malware detection, but it is not proof of safety either. See Apple's guidance. If the warning says the app contains malware or will damage your computer, do not bypass it.

Windows and Linux

On Windows, use the EXE installer or MSI package. The installer has no publisher certificate, so Windows may show a security warning. Verify the download source before proceeding.

On Linux x64, choose AppImage, DEB or RPM for your distribution. Compatibility still needs testing on individual distributions.

Your first document

1. Open an existing Markdown file or create a document.
2. Write in the visual editor. Use the outline to navigate headings, or switch to Markdown source.
3. Save with Cmd+S on macOS or Ctrl+S on Windows/Linux.
4. When the document includes images or richer settings, save it as .mdoc to keep its resources together.

Markdown or MarkDoc package?

Use .md for ordinary Markdown notes. Plain text does not require conversion to .mdoc.

Use .mdoc when you want a portable document with bundled images and document settings. Save, close and reopen a copy before sharing important work. Keep backups of important originals.

Tables and Word documents

Drag a table's column boundaries to adjust widths. Richer formatting may use HTML rather than plain pipe-table Markdown, so other Markdown readers may render it differently.

MarkDoc can import Word documents and export DOCX. Word conversion uses Pandoc, which must be available separately; legacy .doc conversion depends on platform tools. Complex Word layout, cover pages and tables of contents are not guaranteed to reproduce exactly. Keep the original file.

Current limitations

PDF export currently uses a macOS-native implementation; direct PDF export is not available on all platforms. Custom CSS is not yet available. Successful builds and automated tests do not replace packaged-app installation, export and update acceptance on every system.

Report a problem with the app version, operating system and a non-sensitive example.