Inkwelo

The privacy-first focus writing app for Mac. Plan your essay, chapter or story as a living outline or mind map, then write without distraction.

Download for macOS
Plain .md files
Works entirely offline
Fully Private
14 days free trial

PLAN & WRITE

All in the same document

Why Planning Makes Writing Fulfilling
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# Why Planning Makes Writing Fulfilling
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Live demo — drag a section on the left. The Markdown on the right is the document, reordering itself. In the app it is one file on your disk.

Outline mid-draft. The plan is one click away while you write — for the moment, two paragraphs in, when you realise the piece wants a different shape.

A list, or a map. Outline shows the order; Mind Map shows the shape. Move a section and its prose — and everything under it — moves with it.

Notes to yourself, kept close. Every section can carry the idea it has to deliver. It travels with the section when you reorder, and your reader never sees it — not in print, not in an export.

Planning mode, Mind Map view: the document's headings drawn as a left-to-right treePlanning mode, Mind Map view: the document's headings drawn as a left-to-right tree
The real thing — Mind Map in the app, same document.
Planning mode, Outline view: a tree editor over the document's headings, with key ideas under every sectionPlanning mode, Outline view: a tree editor over the document's headings, with key ideas under every section
Outline — a tree editor over the same file, key ideas under every section.

FOCUS

Dim everything that distracts you

Focus wherever you want

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You choose the scope. Focus on the current sentence, line or paragraph — the rest of the page steps back, and what you are writing holds at the centre of the window.

Your words are never touched. The dimming is only how the page is drawn on screen — underneath, the document stays exactly as you wrote it, every word in place.

An easier way into flow. Psychologists who study flow describe it as attention centred and distractions minimised — with only the words you are writing in front of you, that state is simply easier to reach.

Ultrafocus. Just you and the words.

One keystroke — ⌃U — and every button, bar and edge disappears, leaving only your words on the screen. Press it again and everything is back exactly where it was.

It is the quietest place on your Mac to write.

The editor in its window: sidebar, toolbar and format bar around the textThe editor in its window: sidebar, toolbar and format bar around the text
Ultrafocus: the same document with every piece of chrome goneUltrafocus: the same document with every piece of chrome gone

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FULL CONTROL FROM YOUR KEYBOARD

Hold ⌃ and every control on screen shows its key on a small green badge — no cheat sheet to memorise. The Mac's usual ⌘ shortcuts stay exactly where your fingers expect them.

⌃1 Plan ⌃2 Write ⌃4 Mind Map ⌃5 Focus: sentence ⌃U Ultrafocus ⌃R Preview ⌘⌫ Move to Trash and 60 more

THE REST OF IT

The small things, done properly.

Live Markdown styling

Headings look like headings, bold is bold, and the little Markdown marks fade politely instead of cluttering the page. The text stays plain and yours.

Style Check

A quiet second reader. Filler, hedges and clichés get a soft amber underline. It suggests; you decide. Turn it on/off whenever you want.

Spelling and grammar, offline

Real checking that happens entirely on your Mac. Nothing you write is sent anywhere. English only; Apple Silicon required.

Everything is local

No account, no server, no sync you didn't choose. Inkwelo works on your Mac alone — your writing never depends on anyone else's computer.

Export to four formats

Markdown, HTML, PDF or Word. Folders arrive intact, and your planning notes never leave with the piece.

Preview

Read it as your reader will — the finished page, one button away.

Light, dark, or system

Set the desk to your taste — and the typeface, size, line height and line width too.

Honest saving

Your work is written to disk moments after you pause, and again when you switch away or quit.

Inkwelo makes no network requests. There is no account, no telemetry, and no sync to servers. Your writing is files on your computer, and the grammar checker is a program on your machine. There is nothing for us to see.

Privacy policy

$29.99 / lifetime

14-day full trial. No account. Free updates. And your writing is always plain .md files in your folder — yours, in any editor, forever.

macOS 26 or later · Apple Silicon or Intel · grammar checking needs Apple Silicon

Questions.

Where are my files?

In the folder you chose, as .md

Is there a subscription?

No. $29.99 once, updates included.

Does it sync?

Not through a server. Because it is a folder of plain files, iCloud Drive, Dropbox or git will sync it if you choose so yourself.

Is it on the Mac App Store?

Yes, you can download it from AppStore.

Does it send my writing anywhere?

No. There is no network code in the app. Even the grammar checker works fully local.

Can I use my own Markdown files?

Yes. Point it at a folder you already have.