ShowMeMyMD vs MacDown

MacDown was a beloved open-source Markdown editor for macOS. Built on Objective-C and the Hoedown rendering engine, it gave Mac users a clean split-view editor with live preview. For years, it was the go-to free option.

But the project has been abandoned. The last meaningful commits were years ago. The GitHub repo is effectively archived. No one is triaging issues or merging pull requests.

The result: MacDown crashes on macOS Ventura, Sonoma, and Sequoia. It was never compiled for Apple Silicon, so on M-series Macs it runs through Rosetta — if it runs at all. Users report blank preview panes, sudden quits, and rendering bugs that will never be fixed.

If MacDown was your daily driver, it’s time to move on.

If you used MacDown, ShowMeMyMD will feel familiar. You get the same split-view layout with source on one side and rendered preview on the other. The instant preview updates as you type, just like MacDown did.

But everything actually works on your current Mac. No Rosetta translation. No blank preview panes. No random crashes when you scroll. Just your Markdown, rendered correctly, on an app built for the hardware you actually own.

There’s nothing to migrate — your .md files are just files. Open them in ShowMeMyMD and you’re done.