inkwell

A focused, beautiful markdown note-taking app for macOS.

inkwell is a local-first markdown editor built as a native macOS desktop app. Notes are stored as plain .md files in a vault folder you own — no cloud, no accounts, no lock-in.

It pairs a distraction-free writing environment with a rich live preview, a Kanban board, a canvas drawing tool, a suite of themes, and deep integrations: a native MCP server so Claude can read and write your notes, and built-in GitHub sync to push your docs to any repository.

Writing

• Distraction-free CodeMirror 6 editor with markdown syntax decoration
• Live split-view preview with full GFM rendering (tables, task lists, strikethrough)
• Syntax-highlighted code blocks that adapt to the active theme
• Inline code, blockquotes, ==highlights==, and embedded images
• Attach files to any note — images, PDFs, and documents stored alongside your vault
• Embed attachments inline with ![[filename]] syntax

Organisation

• Vault-based storage — notes live as real .md files on disk (Obsidian-compatible)
• Nested folders that map 1:1 to real filesystem directories
• Inline rename of notes and folders directly in the sidebar (double-click or right-click → Rename)
• Drag-and-drop reordering and reparenting for notes and folders
• YAML frontmatter on every note (id, created, updated, pinned, tags)
• Automatic migration from legacy JSON storage on first open
• Kanban board view with columns, cards, due dates, subtasks, and comments
• Note links panel — link notes to each other and track references
• Full-text search across all notes (⌘K)
• Pinned notes and trash with soft-delete

Canvas (new in v0.4)

• Custom HTML5 canvas drawing engine — no third-party drawing libraries
• Tools: select, pen, rectangle, ellipse, line, arrow, text
• Shape styling: 12-colour palette, fill toggle, three stroke widths, corner radius, font family/size/bold/italic
• Multi-selection with rubber-band lasso, shift-click toggle, ⌘A select all
• Resize handles on selected shapes, drag-move single and multi-selection
• Duplicate (⌘D), undo/redo (⌘Z / ⌘⇧Z), zoom and pan (scroll or pinch)
• Diagram notes — a slide-in half-panel with a full CodeMirror markdown editor and Edit/Preview tabs, saved to {vault}/.inkwell/canvas-notes.md
• Diagram templates — Flowchart and Mind Map starters with one click
• Canvas state auto-saved to {vault}/.inkwell/canvas.json

Themes

• 8 built-in themes: Midnight, Parchment, Ink, Dusk, Forest, Sepia, Gruvbox, Fog
• Custom theme builder with live preview
• Syntax highlight colours automatically follow the active theme

Export & Share

• Export notes as Markdown, standalone HTML, or PDF
• Live preview before exporting
• One-click copy to clipboard

GitHub Sync (new in v0.3)

• Connect your GitHub account once in Settings → GitHub
• Push any note directly to a repository as a .md file
• Pull the latest version of a file back into inkwell with one click
• Works with any repo — great for keeping project READMEs and docs in sync

Claude MCP Integration (new in v0.3)

• A native Rust MCP server ships inside the app (inkwell-mcp)
• Exposes list_notes, read_note, create_note, update_note, search_notes, get_vault_info tools
• Claude can read, write, and search your vault directly — no copy-paste
• Notes written by Claude land as proper .md files with YAML frontmatter

macOS

• Native window with overlay title bar
• Optional frosted-glass sidebar (Settings → Appearance → Glass sidebar)
• Smooth scrolling, native vibrancy, system font stack

• Node.js 18+
• pnpm
• Rust (stable toolchain)
• Xcode Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install)

# Clone and install dependencies
git clone https://github.com/your-username/inkwell.git
cd inkwell
pnpm install

# Start the dev server (hot-reload on frontend changes, recompile on Rust changes)
pnpm tauri dev

pnpm tauri build

The output .app and .dmg are written to src-tauri/target/release/bundle/macos/.

To update an existing installation, drag the new .app onto the old one in /Applications and click Replace.

cd src-tauri
cargo build --release -p inkwell-mcp

Then add it to your Claude Desktop config (~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "inkwell": {
      "command": "/path/to/inkwell-mcp"
    }
  }
}

The MCP server reads the active vault path from ~/.inkwell/active-vault, which inkwell writes automatically when you open a vault.

inkwell/
├── src/
│   ├── components/
│   │   ├── editor/       # MarkdownEditor, RichPreview, AttachmentsBar, MediaPanel, ShareDialog
│   │   ├── layout/       # AppShell, Sidebar, NoteList, EditorPane
│   │   ├── board/        # Kanban BoardView, KanbanColumn, TaskCard, TaskDrawer
│   │   ├── canvas/       # CanvasView, CanvasToolbar, CanvasNotesSheet, canvasTypes, canvasTemplates
│   │   ├── settings/     # SettingsDialog, ThemeEditor
│   │   └── shared/       # Search, ContextMenu, DatePicker, GitHubSyncDialog, VaultPicker
│   ├── store/            # Zustand store (useAppStore)
│   ├── lib/              # vault.ts, github.ts, export.ts, themes, attachments, utils
│   ├── styles/           # globals.css — CSS variables & theme definitions
│   └── types/            # TypeScript interfaces
└── src-tauri/
    ├── src/lib.rs         # Tauri commands (vibrancy, file rename, etc.)
    ├── mcp-server/        # inkwell-mcp — Rust MCP server for Claude
    └── tauri.conf.json    # Window config, permissions

MIT