File-level Markdown editors for iPhone / iPad

J.D Concepts 31 Apps and utilities
1

Hi everyone.

Background

Having set up JD at work, I’m getting around to setting up the LAS for personal stuff (in hindsight, I should have set up the LAS first since I’ve learned a lot from it that would have been nice to know when creating my own system, but that’s another story…).

I’m an enthusiastic convert to Bear, which I’m using for my JDex. In general, I’ll keep information in the JDex itself, but sometimes I will need to create additional notes for a given ID outside the JDex. For these I’ll work in Markdown where I can, storing the .md files in the LAS structure I’ve set up in iCloud Drive, so that they’re accessible to all my devices.

This means that I also need an app for IOS and IpadOS that works with local-filesystem level Markdown files, since Bear can’t (easily) do that.

What I’m looking for

Ideally, I want a Markdown editor that:

  • Handles nicely on iPhone and iPad.
  • Plays well with the iCloud ecosystem - can treat my LAS folders as local locations
  • Works with Markdown tables and code blocks in an intuitive way

I know that the makers of Bear are building a file-based editor called Panda. Since what I really want is “Bear, but works with local files” that might end up being the long-term answer, but it’s not out yet and I need something now. I don’t mind paying for the right app; I’d prefer a one-off payment to a subscription, but that’s not a deal-breaker.

All thoughts welcome!

2

That sure seems like Obsidian.

1 Like
3

Hmm. I hadn’t thought about Obsidian, partly because I’ve had several attempts to use it and it has never clicked. But I thought that Obsidian expected to manage its own data repository (“vault”) when what I’m looking for is something that is agnostic to the underlying organisation and just creates / reads / edits / saves .md files one at a time.

Also, what I’m after is a really nice editing experience on mobile (which Bear gives me, but not at an individual file level). It’s been a while, so things may have progressed - but I remember the Obsidian iPhone app being a bit clunky to use.

4

I’m not an obsidian salesman, so I hope you find what you’re looking for. An Obsidian vault in this case would simply be a folder on your iCloud Drive. It will see any docs in that folder.

5

Try “One Markdown”.

6

iA Writer might be what you’re looking for.

7

another option to consider. minimalist, free and open-source.