A markdown editor that writes actual files
Most mobile markdown editors either render nothing or store your writing in their own database. This one shows you formatted text while you type, then saves a plain .md file to the folder you picked. Open the same file in Obsidian, in vim, in anything.
- Free, on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Android, and Windows
- Rendered and raw source views of the same file
- Nothing to export, ever
Two views, one file
The rendered view puts headings at their real size, draws tables as tables, and gives callouts their color band. Tap any block and it becomes editable text right there, no mode switch. When you want the file itself, the ⋯ menu has View source, which shows the whole document as monospace text including the YAML frontmatter. That view is a full editor too. Both write through the same path, so line endings and any byte-order mark survive untouched.
Source view. The same file the rendered view was showing, with nothing hidden.
The editing details that decide whether you keep using it
Lists that continue themselves
Type a dash and a space, press Enter, and the next line starts with a dash. Numbered lists count up on their own. Checklists keep giving you fresh checkboxes. Press Enter on an empty list line and the marker disappears instead of stacking another one, so getting out of a list doesn't mean backspacing three times.
A toolbar where your thumbs are
On phone and tablet a row of buttons sits directly above the keyboard: indent, outdent, checklist, bullets, bold, italic, link, undo, redo. The link button inserts an empty pair and puts the cursor where you would type next. On Mac there's no on-screen toolbar because a hardware keyboard already has the shortcuts, and Tab or Shift-Tab indents and outdents a list line.
Frontmatter you can fix by hand
YAML frontmatter is normally something an app hides from you and rewrites on save. Source view puts the fences and the fields right there as editable text, which is what you want the day a property has a typo or a date is in the wrong format.
Markdown it doesn't understand is left alone
Raw HTML, math blocks between double dollar signs, %% comments, Dataview queries: TaskForge renders these as quiet monospace text rather than pretending to format them, and writes them back exactly as you wrote them. An editor that silently reformats what it can't parse is how vaults get corrupted.
Checkboxes that are actually tasks
A checkbox line in a note is a task with a due date, a priority, and a reminder. Tap the box and the file changes. That same task appears in your lists, your home screen widget, and your calendar, because it was never anywhere else to begin with.
Two devices, one file, no silent loss
If another device changed the note while you had it open, TaskForge shows a banner with two buttons: keep your version, or take the one on disk. It never picks for you. Both the block editor and source view use the same prompt.
Editing happens a block at a time
Tap a paragraph and that paragraph becomes a text field. The rest of the document stays rendered around it, so you keep your place instead of dropping into a wall of raw markdown to fix one word. Each block has a stable identity, which is what lets the app save just that block and leave every other byte in the file untouched.
What byte-for-byte actually means
Plenty of editors normalize your file on save: they rewrite CRLF line endings, strip a byte-order mark, reflow a table, or reorder frontmatter keys. That is invisible until it shows up as a diff in git, or as a merge conflict from a file you never edited. TaskForge writes back only the block you changed, preserving line endings and any BOM, so a note you open and close is identical on disk.
Wikilinks and tags stay live
A [[wikilink]] renders as its title and opens the note it names. A #tag stays a tag. Neither turns into literal brackets or a dead string, and neither is rewritten when you save.
Desktop keyboards get desktop behavior
On Mac, Tab and Shift-Tab indent and outdent the current list line, and behave normally everywhere else, so Tab is not hijacked in ordinary prose. There is no floating toolbar on desktop because a hardware keyboard already has the shortcuts, and one less strip of chrome means more of the window is the document.
What this editor doesn't do
If one of these is a dealbreaker, better to find out here.
No split-pane live preview
There's no side-by-side source and preview. You toggle between the rendered view and source view. On a phone that's the right call; on a wide Mac window you might miss it.
No image embedding
You can write an image link, and the file keeps it, but TaskForge won't display the image. Attachments show in the tree as dimmed rows.
No syntax highlighting inside code fences
Code blocks get a raised background and a monospace face. They don't get per-language coloring.
Markdown editing, common questions
Where does the editor save my file?
To the folder you chose when you set up your workspace, as a .md file, on the device. There is no account and no server. If that folder is in iCloud Drive or synced by Obsidian Sync, your own sync moves it.
Does it reformat my markdown when I save?
No. Blocks you didn't touch are written back unchanged, and line endings and any byte-order mark are preserved. Open a note in source view, change nothing, and the file on disk is byte-for-byte identical.
Which markdown syntax does it render?
Headings, bullet and numbered lists, task checkboxes, fenced code, blockquotes, Obsidian callouts, GFM tables, horizontal rules, and wikilinks. Anything else is kept verbatim and shown as plain monospace text.
Can I edit YAML frontmatter?
Yes, in source view. The frontmatter fences and every field are editable text.
Is the markdown editor free?
Yes, on every platform that has it. Premium covers custom lists and spaces, and creating or editing calendar events. Nothing on this page is behind it.
Does it work with Obsidian?
Yes. Point TaskForge at your vault folder and it reads and writes the same files. Callouts, wikilinks, and Obsidian Tasks syntax all round-trip. It is not an Obsidian plugin; it is a separate app on the same files.
Can I use it as a plain text editor for non-markdown files?
Not for editing. Text files such as .txt, .csv, .json, .log, .yaml, and .xml open in a read-only preview so you can check a value without leaving the app. Editing is for markdown notes.
Does it support tables?
Yes. GFM pipe tables render as real tables and scroll sideways inside their own container on a narrow screen. You edit the table's markdown source the same way you edit any other block.
What about math and Dataview?
Both are preserved exactly as written. Math blocks and Dataview queries render as quiet monospace text rather than being formatted or, worse, silently reformatted. TaskForge would rather show you raw text than guess.
Is there a word count or focus mode?
No. This is an editor for notes and task lists rather than a long-form writing environment. If you want typewriter scrolling and session word goals, a dedicated writing app will serve you better.
Write markdown on the device you actually have with you.
Free to download and free to use. The editor costs nothing.