A free, elegant Markdown editor for humans and AI agents — with real-time sync for AI-generated changes.
Language / 语言: English · 中文 · Website
ColaMD is an open-source, free, lightweight Markdown editor for writing, notes, and documentation.
It offers true WYSIWYG editing, themes, rich-text copy, smart line breaks, PDF and HTML export, and support for macOS, Windows, and Linux.
When Claude Code, Codex, Cola, or another agent edits an open .md file, ColaMD syncs the changes in real time.
Built-in syntax reference, interactive task lists, code blocks, quotes, tables, and smart line breaks.
Twelve built-in themes — six light, six dark — inspired by Bear, Notion, iA Writer, Kindle, Solarized, Nord, Gruvbox, and Dracula.
- Live Agent Sync — Changes made by Claude Code, Cursor, Copilot, or other AI agents appear in the editor in real time.
- Agent Activity Indicator — A subtle titlebar dot shows when an agent is writing and when it has finished.
- True WYSIWYG Editing — Type Markdown and see rich text directly. No split-pane preview.
- Files & Outline — Browse Markdown files in the selected folder, or switch to a document outline for focused heading navigation.
- Source Mode — Switch to the raw Markdown source whenever you need to inspect or edit it directly.
- Task Lists — Click checkboxes to complete tasks, or use the keyboard shortcut.
- Highlights & LaTeX — Write
==highlighted text==and render mathematical formulas with KaTeX. - Mermaid Diagrams — Mermaid code blocks render as diagrams in an isolated hidden iframe with strict parsing; click a diagram to edit its source.
- Search — Find anything in the current document with ⌘/Ctrl+F.
- Smart Line Breaks — Single newlines render as line breaks, matching how people and AI tools write Markdown.
- Rich Text Copy — Copy content with formatting preserved into WeChat, email, and other rich-text editors.
- Themes — Twelve built-in themes for focused writing in light or dark environments.
- Recent Files & Session Restore — Jump back to the last 10 documents from the File menu, and reopen where you left off at launch.
- Editor Font Settings — Pick any installed system font and size for the editor; your choice wins over theme defaults.
- Multiple Windows — Independent editor windows, each with its own save queue and close protection.
- Save Status Hint — A quiet titlebar indicator shows unsaved/saved, then fades away.
- Heading Anchors — Click intra-document anchor links to jump between headings, CJK included.
- Version Changelog — The first launch after an update opens the built-in changelog once, so you can see what changed without repeated prompts.
- PDF, HTML & Word Export — Turn your Markdown document into a themed PDF, self-contained HTML, or editable Word document.
- Reading-Page Image Export — Share Markdown as desktop or mobile PNG pages; longer documents continue as numbered pages.
- Portable Image Paths — Local images use safe
file://URLs for display and return to relative paths when saved. - VS Code Integration — Open the current Markdown file in ColaMD directly from VS Code.
- Minimal by Design — No toolbar, no permanent sidebar, no distractions.
- Cross-Platform — Available for macOS, Windows, and Linux.
ColaMD does not ask you to change your habits. It works well alongside Obsidian, Typora, VS Code, and other Markdown apps — all sharing the same .md files, with each tool doing what it does best.
Check Releases for the latest builds.
| Platform | Format |
|---|---|
| macOS | .dmg |
| Windows | .exe |
| Linux | .AppImage / .deb |
ColaMD will evolve alongside the agent ecosystem:
- v1.1 — Live file reload, file associations, drag & drop, themes
- v1.2 — New icon
- v1.3 — Agent activity indicator, Cmd+click links, rich text copy, smart line breaks, PDF export, theme persistence
- v1.6 — Robust live sync: atomic-save (rename) detection, watcher self-recovery, spellcheck off
- v1.6.1 — Editable task lists (click / ⌘+Enter), ==highlight== syntax, Markdown cheatsheet
- v1.6.2 — Temporarily remove HTML export
- v1.7 — Same-directory file list: switch files in place, live updates when agents create/remove files; search (⌘F) + LaTeX (⌘⇧E) from community PR #14
- v1.7.1 — Task checkbox click fix, centered SVG checkmark, titlebar file-panel toggle button
- v1.7.2 — Playable demo page: Help → 新功能演示 (⌘⇧D), a real directory showcasing each release's features
- v1.7.3 — Demo page becomes a cumulative changelog: resources/demo/changelog.md records every release and opens straight into it
- v1.7.4 — Community-feedback release: file panel improvements, source mode, HTML export, Windows image paths, and a VS Code integration MVP
- v1.8.0 — Portable image paths for Markdown and HTML images, plus editing fixes from community feedback
- v1.8.1 — Refined first-launch experience and macOS icon; removed Mermaid rendering so code blocks remain native and editable
- v1.9.0 — Word export, desktop and mobile reading-page image export, a document outline, themed PDF pages, and leaner startup loading
- v2.0.0 — 1000-star release: Mermaid diagrams return with luminance-aware colors, recent files & session restore, editor font settings, heading anchors, multiple windows, and a save status hint
- Future — More themes, editor integrations, and smoother Markdown workflows
MIT — Free forever.
Built by marswave.ai for a simpler Markdown future.