A Local-First Markdown Editor Called Beauty Launches for Mac, iOS and Web

A note-taking app called Beauty surfaced on Hacker News this week under the site's "Show HN" banner, where independent developers present new projects to the community. The app, built for Mac, iOS and the web, positions itself as a fast, free Markdown editor that stores notes locally rather than on a company-run server.

According to the project's own site at markdown.beauty, the core editor requires no account and carries no ads. Notes are saved as plain Markdown files on the user's device — inside a folder such as ~/Notes — meaning they can be opened, backed up or moved using any other text or Markdown application. The editor supports the full Markdown spec, including tables, formulas and footnotes, and can export notes to PDF, HTML or a zip archive.

Formatting is handled through familiar keyboard shortcuts (Command-B for bold, Command-I for italic, Command-K for links) or by typing Markdown syntax directly, which resolves into formatted text as the user types. The app also converts common character sequences automatically, turning "->" into an arrow, "--" into an em dash, and ":)" into an emoji, among other substitutions.

A notable feature is real-time collaborative editing: users can share a link that lets someone else edit a note live, with visible cursors and selections. The developers say edits pass directly between devices and are encrypted in transit, with no server retaining a copy of the note. The tradeoff, acknowledged on the site, is that someone must have the note open on their device for a collaborator to join, since there is no persistent server keeping the session alive.

On iPhone and iPad, the company says the private note library is encrypted on-device using AES-256-GCM, with search also running locally. Cross-device syncing is handled through the user's own iCloud account rather than a company-operated server, meaning there is no separate "Beauty account" required. An optional paid tier, called Beauty Maximus, adds features including on-device meeting transcription and summarization, while the base editor and local file storage remain free.

The site also offers a customization panel for typography and layout, letting users choose among several typefaces and adjust line density, page width and light or dark mode. In its marketing copy, the company frames the product as intentionally resistant to AI-assisted writing within the editor itself, while still allowing users on Mac to optionally connect a compatible AI desktop client to their notes if they choose, with full control over whether that client can read or modify files.

This account is based on the project's own website and Hacker News listing; independent verification of usage figures, company details or user reception was not available at the time of writing. Readers interested in specifics should consult the original page at markdown.beauty.