# Markdown Library ML-42

> Markdown Library ML-42 by Field Bureau + Werkstatt is a native macOS reader and editor for the markdown files already on your disk. Add any folder as a project (a git repo, a docs directory, an Obsidian vault) and read, search and edit across all of them. No import, no database. $12.99 one-time on the Mac App Store.

- Price: $12.99, one-time, introductory. No subscription, no account.
- Platform: Mac only. macOS 26 or later, Apple Silicon and Intel. No iPhone or iPad version is planned.
- Files: read and edited in place. ML-42 adds nothing to your folders.
- File watching: reloads a document when an AI agent, git or another editor changes it on disk.
- Search: a command palette (Cmd+K) across all projects, by filename and content. Skips build and dependency folders.
- Summaries: an optional one-sentence description per document, generated on device by Apple Intelligence.
- Reading and editing: a rendered view mode for reading and an edit mode with the raw markdown and line numbers (Cmd+Shift+E switches). Tables, code highlighting for 15+ languages, YAML front matter as properties.
- Privacy: sandboxed, no telemetry. Files never leave the Mac. The app goes online only to fetch images a document links to on the web and to send the feedback form when the user chooses to.
- Short name after first mention: ML-42.

## Pages

- [Markdown Library ML-42](https://markdownlibrary.app/): what the app does, an interactive model, comparison, price and FAQ
- [How to write a good CLAUDE.md and AGENTS.md](https://markdownlibrary.app/claude-md): where these files live, what belongs in them, a sample file, and keeping many readable
- [Mac App Store listing](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/markdown-library-ml-42/id6761690647)

## Comparisons

- [Markdown Library ML-42 vs Obsidian: reading folders vs adopting a vault](https://markdownlibrary.app/vs/obsidian): ML-42 opens any folder of markdown files, including an existing Obsidian vault, without adopting it as one. Obsidian is free and adds thousands of plugins once you let it manage your notes as vaults.
- [Markdown Library ML-42 vs Typora: reading your folders vs writing in one](https://markdownlibrary.app/vs/typora): ML-42 and Typora share the closest architecture in the field: plain .md files in folders you already have, sold for a one-time price. One is built to read across many of those files, the other to write one document in a WYSIWYG editor.
- [Markdown Library ML-42 vs iA Writer: a reading app vs a writing instrument](https://markdownlibrary.app/vs/ia-writer): iA Writer is a $49.99 focused writing instrument, sold separately per platform. ML-42 is a $12.99 app for reading and living with the markdown files you already have.
- [Markdown Library ML-42 vs Bear: markdown files vs a notes database](https://markdownlibrary.app/vs/bear): ML-42 reads and edits the markdown files already in your folders for $12.99 once. Bear stores notes in its own database and syncs them through a $2.99-a-month subscription.

## Docs

- [Getting started with Markdown Library ML-42](https://markdownlibrary.app/docs/getting-started): Install Markdown Library ML-42, add your first project, and start reading and editing markdown files. Markdown: https://markdownlibrary.app/docs/getting-started.md
- [Daily workflow: markdown across projects and AI tools](https://markdownlibrary.app/docs/workflow): How Markdown Library ML-42 fits into daily work with markdown files, AI tools and many projects at once. Markdown: https://markdownlibrary.app/docs/workflow.md
- [Features: reading, editing, search and navigation](https://markdownlibrary.app/docs/features): Everything Markdown Library ML-42 does: view and edit modes, search, navigation, organisation, and settings, with the keyboard shortcuts from the app's menus. Markdown: https://markdownlibrary.app/docs/features.md
- [Markdown primer: syntax, origins, and why AI writes it](https://markdownlibrary.app/docs/markdown-primer): Where markdown came from, how its syntax works, and why it became the default format for working with AI. Markdown: https://markdownlibrary.app/docs/markdown-primer.md

## Legal

- [Privacy](https://markdownlibrary.app/privacy): files stay on the Mac; the app goes online only for web images in documents and for feedback the user sends.
- [Terms of service](https://markdownlibrary.app/terms): what the app does, its requirements (macOS 26, Apple silicon or Intel) and how it is licensed.

## Publisher

- [Field Bureau + Werkstatt](https://fieldbw.com): the studio that makes ML-42, Signal Recorder SR-7 and Chaos Studies