Flo State Native: A Markdown Editor Built Around TextKit 2

Markdown editors tend to make you choose: keep every marker visible, or switch to a separate preview. Flo State Native tries a third route. It keeps a Markdown document editable while letting much of its syntax recede when you are reading a line.

This is a native macOS rewrite of a customized build of writer.computer, built with Swift, AppKit, and TextKit 2. The official v0.1.1 release follows the v0.1.0 first public build and has a focused goal: bring that live-editing behavior into a Mac app without putting the main editor inside a browser view.

A source document that looks like a document

Move the insertion point away from a line and Flo State can hide Markdown punctuation around emphasis, inline code, links, fenced code, and other constructs while applying readable styling. A link, for example, can look like a link rather than a bracketed label followed by a raw URL.

The source is still the document. When you select or edit a line, the relevant markers return so you can change the Markdown directly. That keeps a useful middle ground: a page that reads cleanly at rest, but does not lock you into a separate visual editor or an exported preview.

Tables, equations, and diagrams become part of the page

Flo State can turn supported Markdown blocks into inline widgets. Tables are drawn as tables, math formulas are rendered with KaTeX, and fenced Mermaid blocks become diagrams; Markdown images and supported HTML blocks also have dedicated rendering paths. The result is closer to editing a document with its structure visible than previewing a file in another pane.

The source is not discarded: selecting many rendered blocks brings their Markdown back into view. Mermaid is a special case—the canvas remains a canvas, with an edit-code interaction—while the table and math renderers use bundled resources. This is a practical implementation detail, not a claim that every Markdown extension behaves exactly like a full browser.

A workspace built around files and navigation

The app shell includes a sidebar, tabs, a command palette, an outline rail, settings, and find/replace. You can work in a folder rather than opening notes one at a time, then move among files and headings without leaving the editing window.

The workspace index is designed for local project folders and observes ignore rules such as .gitignore; it skips hidden entries and node_modules. That makes a repository of notes or technical documentation a natural fit. The README describes a file-based workflow, not an account-driven notes service.

Install Flo State 0.1.1 from the official Release

The current official package is FloState-0.1.1.zip, and the v0.1.1 release notes identify it as the Mac download. The app targets macOS 14 or later. Download and unzip it, then move Flo State.app into Applications.

open https://github.com/Altimor/flo-state/releases/download/v0.1.1/FloState-0.1.1.zip

The release is not notarized yet. On first launch, use the project’s documented right-click → Open route rather than assuming the usual double-click will work. Later versions are intended to update from inside Flo State; the direct Release download remains the path to this version.

Native editing, with a few web-rendered islands

The main text-editing path uses AppKit and TextKit 2, while FloCore contains a Swift port of the Markdown parser and editor state. This is materially different from wrapping a web editor in a desktop window: typing, selection, layout, and much of the app shell are handled by native Mac code.

There is still WebKit in the rendering architecture. The README and source identify bundled web resources for KaTeX, Mermaid, and HTML blocks, with WebKit used to render some of those widgets. So “native” describes the editor and shell, not a promise that the app contains no web technology anywhere.

Updates and an early-release boundary

Version 0.1.0 was the first public build; v0.1.1 followed with small but useful fixes, including putting the cursor in the editor after switching tabs and centering list bullets more accurately. That is a modest changelog, so treat the app as an early release rather than a mature Markdown suite.

The project integrates Sparkle 2 and documents daily update checks, plus a manual Check for Updates command in the app. The repository also publishes the appcast used by those checks. That is convenient once installed, but it does not replace checking the official release page when deciding whether to adopt a new build.

Build and test only if you want to change the code

You do not need Xcode to install the published ZIP. For contributors, the README lists macOS 14+, Swift 6, and Xcode 16 or a matching toolchain. The repository separates the platform-independent FloCore model, the FloKit editor, and the native app target, so there is a clear route from parser behavior to the visible editor.

swift build --product FloStateNative

swift test

Local files, without a blanket offline promise

The documented workflow starts from a local workspace folder, and the source includes local file indexing, watching, and session persistence. The project does not describe an account-based notes sync service, so this is best understood as an editor for files you already keep on your Mac.

That is not the same as a verified zero-network guarantee. Flo State documents an external Sparkle appcast for updates, and Markdown content can include linked resources. The repository does not make a broad privacy promise, so avoid inferring one from the local-file workflow alone.

GPL-3.0-or-later, with an upstream boundary

The app’s license is GPL-3.0-or-later. Flo State says it is a derivative work of writer.computer, also under GPL-3.0, and documents that parts of its behavior, settings schema, themes, and source come from that project.

The repository also lists bundled components under several separate terms, including MIT, EPL-2.0, BSD-2-Clause, and MPL-2.0/Apache-2.0. If you redistribute a modified build, read the project’s license notes and the component licenses rather than assuming the entire bundle is governed by one permissive license.

Who should try Flo State?

Flo State is worth a look if you already keep notes in Markdown and want a Mac-native workspace with a readable live rendering, rather than a separate preview window. Tables, math, Mermaid diagrams, tabs, and a navigable folder make the project more ambitious than a bare text editor.

The trade-off is its age: v0.1.1 is still early, the current ZIP is not notarized, and its most interesting widgets do not all share the same rendering implementation. If those caveats are acceptable, start with the official v0.1.1 download; if you need a mature, signed-and-notarized writing suite, check the release status again before making it your daily workspace.

open https://github.com/Altimor/flo-state/releases/download/v0.1.1/FloState-0.1.1.zip