Opens in any browser  ·  Your files, on disk  ·  No cloud

The Markdown editor
that opens in any browser

No cloud. No account. No Electron. Opens in any browser — Firefox, Chrome, Safari, Zen — and reads and writes your .md files directly on your machine. A natural fit for AI workflows: point it at your prompts, context files, or agent instructions. All yours, all offline.

Download OwnMark
Free for personal use  ·  ~50 MB  ·  Easy setup
OwnMark
OwnMark — three-pane markdown editor showing sidebar, editor, and live preview

Why OwnMark?

📄

It's just files

Your notes are plain .md files in a folder you choose. Open them in any editor. Back them up however you like. No export step, no lock-in. Unlike browser-based editors that save to browser storage — gone the moment you clear your cache — OwnMark writes to your actual filesystem.

🤖

Built for AI workflows

Claude Code, Cursor, Aider, and most AI tools speak Markdown. Point OwnMark at the same folder your AI uses — prompts, context files, agent instructions — and you have a fast, searchable editor for everything your AI reads and writes. Offline. Private. No copy-paste required.

⚡

Easy setup

Slim download — ~50 MB, one file that just starts. No runtime to manage, no Node.js, nothing embedded in your system. Apps that bundle their own browser runtime weigh 150–200 MB — OwnMark is a fraction of that.

🌐

Your browser, any browser

Not Electron. Not a bundled WebView. Firefox, Chrome, Arc, Vivaldi, Zen, Safari — whichever you run, OwnMark opens in it, with your extensions, your zoom, your bookmarks. There is no other local-first notes app that does this.

🔌

Works offline

No internet connection required — not even to start. All assets are bundled. Your notes stay on your machine.

🔧

Scriptable API

Because OwnMark runs a real local server, there's a REST API right there. Automate it, integrate it, inspect it with curl.

The honest comparison

We're not trying to be Obsidian. Here's what we are.

OwnMark Obsidian Notion Dillinger †
Runs in your own browser ✓ ✗ ✗ ✓
Direct file system access ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗
Your files, plain text ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗
No account required ✓ ✓ ✗ ✓
No internet required ✓ ✓ ✗ ✗
Scriptable REST API ✓ ✗ paid ✗
Executable size ~50 MB ~300 MB web app web app
Plugin ecosystem — large — —

If you want a plugin ecosystem and a graph view, use Obsidian — it's excellent. OwnMark is for people who want something small, immediate, and out of the way.

† Dillinger stores notes in browser storage rather than as files on your machine. Access to your local file system requires import/export.

Everything you need

Nothing you don't.

✓Write and edit Markdown notes — .md, .txt, and more
✓Live Markdown preview alongside the editor
✓Full-text and filename search, with highlights in preview
✓Use any folder on your machine as your notes folder
✓Linked notes — click to navigate, hover to preview, click a dangling link to create a new note
✓Backlinks panel — see every note that links to the one you're reading
✓Rename a note — all links to it update automatically
✓Rename, delete, and create notes from the sidebar
✓Resizable layout — 3-pane edit or 2-pane preview
✓Auto-save while you type, or save manually with Ctrl+S
✓Back and forward history across notes and folders
✓Drag images and notes into the editor — renders inline
✓Three themes — light, dark, and sepia — plus custom
✓All settings and layout remembered between sessions
✓Tree view or flat list for focus — match how you're working
✓Favorites, outline navigation, find & replace, PDF export, adjustable reading width — and more

How it works

1

Download

One self-contained file. No dependencies to chase.

2

Double-click

A small local server starts and your browser opens automatically.

3

Point it at your notes

Choose any folder on your machine. OwnMark reads and writes files there directly.

4

Write

Your notes are plain .md files. They were always yours.

🛫
Companion app

Write here. Publish there.

OwnShip is a single PHP file you drop on any shared host. Point it at the same folder of .md files — it serves them publicly, read-only, with navigation and the same three themes. No database, no CMS, no framework. Write in OwnMark, upload when ready.

Learn about OwnShip →

Pricing

Free for personal use. One-time license for commercial use — introductory pricing.

Personal
Free
Full app, no time limit. For personal, non-commercial use.
Download
Commercial
$29 one-time
Single user, any commercial project. One-time payment. Yours forever.
Get a license
Bundle
$29 one-time
OwnMark + OwnShip. Write locally, publish to your host.
Get the bundle

Both apps are free to try before you buy — so you can be sure they're right for you first.
All licenses are one-time purchases — no subscription, no renewal. By purchasing, you agree to the License terms.

Using OwnMark for personal projects? If it's been useful, a small tip is always welcome.

Download OwnMark

Free for personal use. Set up in a minute — no account, nothing embedded in your system.

Windows
Download .exe
v0.9.23 · Windows 10/11, 64-bit · ~43 MB
Blocked by your browser? Get the .zip (~17 MB)
Setup: download, double-click. On first run, SmartScreen may warn — click More info → Run anyway.
Fully portable — no install, no registry: settings sit beside the .exe, your notes live anywhere.
macOS
Download for Mac
v0.9.23 · Apple Silicon or Intel
Just the binary? arm64 · Intel
One-line setup → OwnMark.app. Unpack, then run sh install-mac.sh — it builds OwnMark.app with its icon in Finder & Dock, in Spotlight and Launchpad, double-clickable, opening clean (no "unidentified developer" wall).
Portable — keep it anywhere writable; drag to Trash to remove.
Use the bare binary instead? xattr -d com.apple.quarantine OwnMark-arm64 && chmod +x OwnMark-arm64 (Intel: OwnMark-x64).
Linux
Download for Linux
v0.9.23 · x86-64 · ~21 MB
Just the binary? OwnMark-linux (~55 MB)
One-line setup → in your menu. Unpack, then run sh ownmark-install.sh. OwnMark lands in your applications menu with its icon (per-user, no root).
Remove any time: sh ownmark-install.sh --uninstall.
Use the bare binary instead? chmod +x OwnMark-linux && ./OwnMark-linux.

Updating? When you're ready, open OwnMark and choose About → Update — one click puts you on the latest version with your notes, settings, and favorites all intact (on Mac, icon and all). No re-download needed, and nothing updates without your say-so.

Prefer a fresh download? That works too — it just sets up a clean copy. Your notes are never touched: they're ordinary files in a folder you choose, kept separate from the app — so point the new copy at that folder and you're right back. Tip: to bring your preferences across as well, run setup in the same place your current OwnMark already lives.