Vorpal

Plain Markdown files, on your disk

One native app for all your Markdown notes.

Vorpal opens a folder of .md files as a vault: live preview, wikilinks and backlinks, quick capture, and instant navigation in one fast GPU-drawn window, entirely on your machine.

Renders the Markdown you already write

  • # Heading
  • **bold**
  • [[wikilink]]
  • > [!tip]
  • | table |
  • $\sqrt{x}$
  • ![image]()
  • - [ ] task
  • ```code
Vorpal showing a garden log note with a callout, a table, wikilinks and a task list, next to the note list

Why native

Native down to the frame

Rust and GPUI, the GPU-accelerated framework behind the Zed editor. Instant launch, smooth scrolling through long notes, no Electron.

Live preview that stays Markdown

Marks like **, # and == hide until the caret reaches them. Headings, tables, callouts, math, images and code render in place, and the file on disk is still plain text.

A folder is the vault

Open any folder of .md files. Vorpal watches it, picks up edits from other tools, detects concurrent writers, saves atomically, and never silently replaces newer content.

Links both ways

[[Wikilinks]] resolve as you type. Every note lists its backlinks and unlinked mentions, and hovering a link shows the target note without leaving the page.

Keyboard first

⌘N starts a note, ⌘O jumps to any file, ⌘P opens the command palette, ⌘[ and ⌘] walk your history. Reading mode, source mode and the sidebar all toggle from the keyboard.

Local by architecture

Notes are your files. Settings and pins are one small JSON file beside them. No account, no sync service, no Vorpal cloud between you and your folder.

Download

Get Vorpal

Questions

Is this another Electron app?

No. Vorpal is a single Rust binary rendered by GPUI. The window you see is drawn by the GPU, not by a browser engine.

Do I need to import my notes?

No. Point Vorpal at a folder of Markdown files. It reads them in place, writes them back as plain text, and keeps the list current when another app edits them.

Where does my data live?

In your folder. Notes are the .md files you opened; settings and pinned notes are a small JSON file on your machine. There is no Vorpal account and no sync service.

How do updates work?

Releases are signed and notarized on macOS and Authenticode-signed on Windows. The app checks a signature-verified feed and updates itself in place.

What is the future plan?

A global-hotkey capture window that drops notes into an Inbox folder, and on-device meeting transcription, currently rolling out behind a feature flag.