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Notes that keep up with typing

Marky is a Markdown editor for Windows with a live preview.

Free and open source under MIT. Per-user installer, no admin rights needed. Needs the WebView2 Runtime, see install notes.

Preview

Release notes, draft 12

Ship day is Thursday. These notes cover Marky v0.3.3,

the build that keeps the window under one second.

What changed

  • Startup holds at 815 ms on the test machine
  • Outline picks up the new heading
  • Preview redraws only the changed part
BuildSizeWindow
Installer4.46 MB187 ms
Program6.71 MB815 ms

Type on the left. The right side keeps up.

marky --open notes.md

The editor stays out of the way

Twenty tabs, separate undo in each, and saves that keep the file encoding and line endings.

20

Tabs with memory

Up to 20 tabs, each with its own undo history. Drag files in, reopen the last 10, pick up window size and position.

30s

Crash recovery

Autosave plus recovery every 30 seconds. A save never leaves a half-written file behind.

128

Megabytes, then it stops

Files over 128 MB do not open. Preview switches off above 5 MB so the editor stays fast.

The app, mid-note

Marky 0.3.1 editing its own benchmark file. Syntax on the left, set type on the right.

Marky editing a Markdown deploy checklist, editor on the left and rendered preview on the right
Captured from the release build on Windows, dark theme.

The preview redraws the changed part

Scrolling stays in step with the editor. Tables, task lists, footnotes, Mermaid diagrams, KaTeX math.

Before, plain Markdown in the editor
| Build | Size |
| --- | --- |
| Installer | 4.46 MB |
| Program | 6.71 MB |

- [x] Startup holds
- [ ] Outline picks it up
After, set type in the preview

Release build

Installer at 4.46 MB, program at 6.71 MB. Startup holds, outline picks it up.

Done: startup holds. Next: outline picks it up.

Private the way a notes app should be

No remote images

Remote images do not load. Markdown HTML stays off, so a note cannot phone home.

Links open outside

Web and email links open outside the app. Relative links stay limited to Markdown and text files already opened.

Logs stay local

The log lives at %LOCALAPPDATA% on the machine. It can hold file paths from errors, never document text.

Changed on disk

When a file changes on disk, Marky asks before reloading or keeping. Unsaved work always gets a prompt first.

Measured on a real machine

Release build, i5-9300H with 16 GB RAM, 5 KB sample. Medians of 5 to 7 runs.

Release-build measurements on an i5-9300H with 16 GB RAM
MetricMeasuredTargetLimit
Installer4.46 MB6 MB or less10 MB
Program6.71 MB8 MB or less12 MB
Window visible187 ms300 ms or less500 ms
Dark-mode flash0 ms0 ms0 ms
Startup, ready to edit815 ms900 ms or less1,000 ms

Every action has a key

The app works from the keyboard throughout, including Tab, arrows, Home, End, and Delete.

Install questions

What do I download

The Windows installer (Marky x64 setup) or the portable ZIP from the releases page. The installer runs per-user and needs no administrator access.

What does Windows 10 or 11 need

The WebView2 Runtime. The installer can fetch it. Releases are unsigned, so SmartScreen asks once: choose More info, then Run anyway.

Where do settings live

Settings sit under %APPDATA% and the log under %LOCALAPPDATA%. Browser mode keeps files in memory instead.

Is it really free

Yes, MIT licensed with third-party notices shipped in the app. The source, changelog, and contributor guide are on GitHub.

Open a note, start typing

Twenty tabs, a preview that keeps up, and nothing leaves the machine. v0.3.3 is on the releases page now.

Download for WindowsRead the changelog

Windows 10 or 11, WebView2 Runtime, no admin rights.