Why Soot uses Markdown

Markdown keeps your notes readable, portable and useful to other apps.

Each note is an ordinary text file, with a few symbols to record things like headings, lists and links. Soot displays the formatted note, so you get the benefits of the format without having to learn the symbols.

Formatting without designing

Markdown gives you headings, lists, quotes and emphasis, without asking you to choose a font size or a colour for each one.

Mark something as a heading, and Soot makes it look like a heading. You don’t have to decide how large it should be or how much space goes above it.

That’s part of why I chose Markdown. The formatting choices are useful, and the design decisions are already made. You can get on with writing.

A format other apps understand

Markdown is supported by lots of apps. Headings, lists, links and emphasis are recorded in the file alongside your words, so other apps can read the formatting too.

How an app displays a table or handles an attachment can differ. But it doesn’t need Soot to understand the contents, and there’s no export step before it can open the file.

Links between notes are ordinary Markdown links too. When you move or rename a note or folder in Soot, it updates the links that point to it.

Tags you add through Soot, and whether a note is pinned, are saved in the note’s file as well. Soot hides them while you write, and apps that support those properties can read them.

Simple enough to last

Notes can be useful for years. The format they’re stored in should be simple enough to remain readable for just as long.

A Markdown file can be opened in a basic text editor. A heading has a hash before it and a link includes its address. Even without an app to format it, you can read what you wrote.

Useful to other tools

A folder of text files is useful beyond the app you write them in. Other tools can search it, make copies or work with its contents.

That includes AI assistants. If you choose to give an AI assistant access to your notes, it can work with the same files you do. It doesn’t need a special way into Soot or a separate export that goes out of date.

You don’t have to use any of those tools. A common file format leaves the option open.

You don’t have to learn it

Choosing Markdown for the files doesn’t mean you should have to write in symbols.

By default, Soot shows the formatted note. You can make text bold, add a heading or insert a link using the formatting controls. Soot writes the Markdown underneath.

The Show Markdown setting in Settings ▸ Editor lets you keep the note formatted, show the symbols on the line you’re editing, or leave them visible all the time.