mdNotes keeps Markdown notes in folders, as plain .md files. This guide covers the app on iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, Windows and in a browser. For a quick tour, see the mdNotes videos.
Getting started
Notes and folders
- Create notes and folders from the note list. Folders can hold folders, as deep as you like.
- Rename, move (Move to…, or drag and drop on a computer) and delete from a note’s … menu.
- Pin a note in its … menu to keep it at the top. Pins are shared by all your devices.
- Titles can contain any character, including
/and?. The file name uses look-alike characters, so it works everywhere. - Sort by name or by date modified. Months (“January”, “Mar 2024”) and notes with a date like
2026-10-23in their name sort in calendar order. - In the web app, Open in new window (in a note’s … menu, or right-click it in the list) keeps a note open in its own window while you work on others.
Writing
The editor has a formatting toolbar, and Enter continues lists and checklists. Pick a view:
| View | What you see |
|---|---|
| Live (default) | Formatted as you type. The line you’re on shows its Markdown. |
| Edit | Plain Markdown. |
| Split | Markdown and preview side by side. |
| Preview | The finished note. Tick checklist items right there. |
Lettered lists: tap the a. button, or start a line with a., a) or (a), and Enter continues with b., c. and so on. Capitals work too: A), (A), or A. followed by two spaces. mdNotes writes these as Pandoc does. Most other Markdown apps (GitHub, Obsidian) have no lettered lists and show the letters as plain text.
Everything saves automatically. If a note was changed on another device while you were editing, you choose which version to keep, or keep both.
Pictures and files
Use the picture or paperclip button, or paste or drop a file into a note. Any kind of file can be attached, up to 50 MB each. Pictures go in an images folder next to the note and other files in files, linked with ordinary Markdown, so Obsidian, VS Code and GitHub show them too. Drag a picture’s corner to resize it. In the iPhone app, a file copied in another app is pasted with Paste File.
Diagrams
Write a code block whose language is mermaid (three backticks followed by the word mermaid on the first line) and mdNotes draws it as a Mermaid diagram: flowcharts, sequence, class and state diagrams, Gantt charts, pie charts and more. Diagrams show in Preview and Live, follow the light or dark theme, work offline, and can be resized like pictures. In Live, click a diagram to edit its text. If a diagram has a mistake, you’ll see its text and Mermaid’s message instead.
For example, a mermaid block containing flowchart LR and, on the next line, Idea --> Draft --> Done draws three boxes joined by arrows.
Templates
Templates are ordinary notes in a folder called Templates in the notebook. Tap Templates in the toolbar to:
- put a template into the open note,
- Save this note as a template…, or
- start a New template.
Links between notes
Write [[Note name]] or [[Note name|shown text]], or [[Folder/Note name]] to name a note by its folders. Clicking a link to a note that doesn’t exist yet offers to create it.
When you rename or move a note or folder, mdNotes offers to Update links in every note that would otherwise stop working. When notes in different folders share a name, a link to it shows a small badge with how many, and clicking it lets you choose.
Search
Search covers note names and the text of every note.
Print, download and export
- Print… in a note’s … menu (or Ctrl/⌘+P) prints the note as Preview shows it, with its pictures and diagrams. The print dialog can also save a PDF.
- Download… (on iPhone and iPad, Share…) saves a note as Markdown, a Word document or a PDF, with pictures and diagrams. The PDF covers Western European languages; for emoji or other alphabets, use Print… and save as PDF.
- Export a whole notebook as a
.zipin Settings.
Text size (iPhone and iPad)
Settings → Appearance → Text size makes the whole app larger or smaller, on top of the size set in your iPhone’s Settings → Display & Text Size.
Coming from OneNote
A free tool copies a OneNote notebook (from the OneNote app on Windows, or online) into a folder of mdNotes notes, keeping its sections, pages, pictures, attachments and links between pages. A ready-made Windows version needs no setup. Email appinfo@cebaxo.com for a copy.
Notebooks and storage
Notebooks are separate collections of notes, each with its own storage. Choose in Settings → Notebooks → Storage…; when you switch, mdNotes offers to copy the notes over.
| Storage | Where it works |
|---|---|
| This browser | Any browser |
| A folder on this computer | Chrome and Edge on Windows, macOS, Linux and Android |
| Files app (On My iPhone, iCloud Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox…) | iPhone app |
| Nextcloud, ownCloud or WebDAV | Everywhere |
For Nextcloud, use an app password (Nextcloud → Settings → Security → Devices & sessions).
Working offline
Notebooks on Nextcloud or WebDAV open straight away from the copy on your device. Without a connection you can read, edit and write notes; the footer shows Offline and how many changes are waiting. They upload when the server is back. If a note was also changed on the server, both versions are kept: yours is saved as “Name (offline copy).md”. Creating folders, moving, renaming and deleting need a connection.
Encrypted notebooks
Settings → Notebooks → Encryption… encrypts every note in a notebook with a passphrase, wherever it’s stored. Anyone who gets the files, your server included, sees only scrambled text.
- Each device asks for the passphrase. Stay unlocked on this device remembers it there; Lock in the notebook menu forgets it.
- File and folder names, tasks sent to MyTodo.txt and exports are not encrypted.
- A forgotten passphrase can’t be recovered, by you or by us. Keep an unencrypted backup somewhere safe.
Linking checklists to MyTodo.txt
In the App Store apps the link is part of Pro for both apps; in the web apps it’s free.
- In mdNotes, open Settings → MyTodo.txt and turn it on for a notebook.
- Point it at the same
todo.txtthat MyTodo.txt uses: the same Nextcloud folder, the same Files folder, or the same folder on your computer. - In a note, start a checklist item with
td:, for example- [ ] td: Call Bob @phone due:2026-10-20. The td: toolbar button does this for you.
The item becomes a task in MyTodo.txt. Tick it in either app and it’s ticked in both. Editing the item updates the task, and deleting it deletes the task. Each task also gets a note in MyTodo.txt that links back to the item’s note. Scan all notes… sends the open td: items of every note.
Apple Watch
The Apple Watch app is part of mdNotes Pro. It shows all your notebooks. Folders, titles and pinned notes are kept on the watch; other notes download when you open them, and the last 20 opened stay on the watch. Tick checklist items and add text or a checklist item by dictation, Scribble or the keyboard. Pictures and attached files aren’t shown on the watch.
How the watch keeps up depends on where the notebook is stored:
| Where the notebook is | On the watch |
|---|---|
| Nextcloud or WebDAV | The watch talks to your server by itself, over Wi-Fi or cellular, so it stays up to date with the iPhone switched off or at home. Without a connection, changes wait on the watch (waiting to upload) and are saved when it’s back online. |
| Files (On My iPhone, iCloud Drive, OneDrive, another app’s folder) | Apple Watch can’t open the Files app or iCloud Drive, so the watch reads and saves these notes through the iPhone. That only works while the iPhone is nearby (Bluetooth on, or on the same Wi-Fi); mdNotes doesn’t need to be open. Away from the iPhone, you can read the pinned and recently opened notes the watch already has, other notes can’t be opened, and changes wait on the watch (waiting for the iPhone) until the iPhone is back in reach. |
Pin the notes you want with you, such as a shopping list, with Pin in the note’s … menu. If you want the watch to stay up to date on its own, keep that notebook on Nextcloud or WebDAV.
Use it on a computer from your iPhone (Wi-Fi)
- In the iPhone app, turn on Settings → Wi-Fi → Share on Wi-Fi.
- On a computer on the same Wi-Fi, open the
http://address shown and follow the steps to trust the iPhone (once per computer). - Open the
https://address shown, and install it as an app if you like. - Pair with the code shown on the iPhone, then add the iPhone’s notebooks in Settings → Notebooks.
mdNotes Pro
The App Store app is free. A one-time purchase adds more:
| Purchase | Adds |
|---|---|
| mdNotes Pro | Nextcloud and WebDAV notebooks, notebooks in any folder in Files (such as iCloud Drive), the Apple Watch app and mdNotes for Windows |
| Pro for both apps | Pro in mdNotes and MyTodo.txt, plus the link between them |
| Upgrade | Pro for both apps, at the difference in price, if you already have Pro |
Buy or restore in Settings → Help → mdNotes Pro…. Pro for both apps bought in MyTodo.txt shows as “bought in MyTodo.txt” and unlocks mdNotes too, on all your devices with the same Apple ID. Notebooks you set up before keep working. Everything else, including Wi-Fi sharing, import and export, is free. The web app is free with every feature.
On a Mac
The App Store app runs on Macs with Apple silicon. Install it from the Mac App Store with the same Apple ID, and a Pro purchase from your iPhone unlocks it there too. Keep notebooks in iCloud Drive (Choose a folder in Files…) or on Nextcloud to see the same notes on both. Wi-Fi sharing isn’t available on a Mac.
On Windows: mdNotes for Windows
mdNotes for Windows (free in the Microsoft Store) shows every notebook your iPhone or iPad shares over Wi-Fi. It needs mdNotes Pro (or Pro for both apps) on the iPhone or iPad.
- On the iPhone, turn on Settings → Wi-Fi → Share on Wi-Fi.
- In mdNotes for Windows, type the address the iPhone shows, and check the code it shows matches the one on the iPhone.
- On the iPhone, tap Allow when it asks to let your PC use mdNotes.
Every shared notebook then appears by itself, and new ones are added within a minute. Notebooks on Nextcloud connect to the server directly; the others go through the iPhone, with a copy kept on the PC so you can keep working while the iPhone is away. If the iPhone’s address changes, use Connect to a different iPhone or iPad… in the window menu (Alt+Space).
The local-only version
mdNotes (local only) is the web app with every network feature removed: no Nextcloud, no servers, no sync. Notes stay in your browser or a folder on your device, and the page is blocked from contacting any other site, so pictures from the web show as their names. Its notes are kept apart from the full mdNotes. It can link to MyTodo.txt (local only) on the same device.
Questions and answers
Can I open my notes in Obsidian or another editor?
Yes. Notes are ordinary .md files in ordinary folders. mdNotes keeps its own settings in a hidden .mdnotes folder. Encrypted notes can’t be read by other apps while encryption is on.
Do I need Nextcloud to use the Apple Watch app?
No. Notebooks in Files (On My iPhone or iCloud Drive) work on the watch too, but through the iPhone, so only while it’s nearby; away from it, the watch shows the pinned and recently opened notes it already has. With Nextcloud or another WebDAV server, the watch syncs by itself, even without the iPhone.
How many notes can mdNotes handle?
It has been tested with 20,000 notes. Opening and editing a note doesn’t slow down as the notebook grows.
Can mdNotes recover my passphrase?
No. The passphrase never leaves your device and isn’t stored anywhere we can reach. Without it the notes can’t be decrypted.
Is mdNotes free?
Yes. The web app is free with every feature. The App Store app is free too; Nextcloud, folders anywhere in Files, the Apple Watch and mdNotes for Windows need a one-time Pro purchase. There’s no subscription.
I bought Pro on my iPhone. How do I get it on my iPad or Mac?
Open Settings → Help → mdNotes Pro… on the other device, signed in with the same Apple ID, and tap Restore purchases.
Do I need an account?
No. Notes live in storage you choose: your device, your Files folders or your own server.
Troubleshooting
The watch says the iPhone can’t be reached
The notebook is in Files, which Apple Watch can’t reach by itself, so the watch reads it through the iPhone. Keep the iPhone nearby with Bluetooth on (or both on the same Wi-Fi), then pull the list down to refresh. Changes made on the watch meanwhile are saved as soon as the iPhone is back. To have the watch sync on its own, keep the notebook on Nextcloud or WebDAV. See Apple Watch.
Nextcloud works in the iPhone app but not in a browser
Browsers only let a page talk to a server that allows it (CORS), and Nextcloud doesn’t by default. Either add the CORS headers to your server for /remote.php/dav/ (your administrator will know how), or use the iPhone app, which doesn’t need them.
A “(offline copy)” note appeared
The note was changed on another device while you edited it offline. Both versions were kept so nothing is lost. Compare them, keep what you want and delete the other.
td: items don’t show up in MyTodo.txt
- Check Settings → MyTodo.txt is on for this notebook, and points at the same
todo.txtas MyTodo.txt. - Items are sent after you edit their note. Use Scan all notes… to send older items.
- Tap the sync button at the top of the note list, or pull down in the iPhone app.
The computer can’t open the Wi-Fi address
Both devices must be on the same Wi-Fi, with mdNotes open on the iPhone. Trust the iPhone’s certificate first, using the http:// setup page.
mdNotes for Windows says it needs Pro
mdNotes for Windows opens when the iPhone or iPad it connects to has mdNotes Pro or Pro for both apps. Buy or restore it there in Settings → Help → mdNotes Pro…, then reconnect.
Still need help?
Email appinfo@cebaxo.com with your device, where the notebook is stored and what happened. Never send your passphrase or passwords.