Help & FAQ

Read and write Markdown, group related files into projects with folders, follow internal links between them, and export a whole project as one package that people and AI tools can read in a single pass.

No. The app works fully offline and never asks you to sign up. You only sign in to Google if you choose to turn on Drive backup.

Three ways: Open file on the Files tab, Import on the Projects tab (files, a web page, HTML or a project package), or share a .md, .txt or .json file from another app — Markdown Reader appears in the Android Open with list.

A project is a folder with a name, description and metadata that search and AI export both use. Documents created without choosing a project stay under Standalone documents, and can be moved into a project later.

Documents you create live in the private storage of the app on this device. Nothing leaves the device unless you turn on Drive backup. Settings ▸ Storage locations lists every place the app can reach. Folders you link there stay where they are — the app only reads them.

It never asks for broad storage permission. Every file goes through the Android file picker, so the app can only touch what you hand it. Linking a folder works the same way: you pick the folder, and the app only ever reads inside it.

Files imported in place stay where they are and are only referenced, so the app never writes to them. Turn on Copy into project while importing to get an editable copy inside the project.

Yes. The editor saves shortly after you stop typing, and finishes saving even if you leave the screen straight away. You can switch this off in Settings ▸ Safety ▸ Autosave; while it is off nothing is written to the document until you tap Unsaved in the header, and what you typed is kept as a draft until then.

Open Settings ▸ Trash. Deleted files and folders wait there for 30 days and can be restored. Deleting a folder also moves everything inside it to Trash.

Write [[file.md]] to point at another file in the same project, then tap it in the reader to jump there. The Links sheet lists every link in the document.

Outline lists the headings — H1 to H3 — with your reading progress, and you can bookmark a heading to come back to it later.

Settings ▸ Reading & editor covers text size, line spacing, typeface (sans, serif, mono), soft-wrapping, Render math, and Keep my place — which reopens each file where you stopped. Theme offers System, Light, Sepia, Dark and Black.

Write is the plain source, Preview is the rendered result, and Live shows both with a divider you can drag.

Markdown (.md, .markdown), plain text (.txt) and .json. Image files (.png, .jpg, .jpeg, .gif, .webp) are recognised and listed in your library with an image label. Anything with an unfamiliar extension is treated as text, so an unusual name will not stop you reading the file. Patch files (.diff and .patch) are the exception: they open as a comparison table rather than as text.

Four sources. Files — pick .md, .txt or .json through the system picker. Web page — paste an address and the article arrives as clean Markdown. HTML — a file, or source you paste in. Project package — a ZIP or JSON bundle exported from this app. When a name already exists you choose Keep both, Replace or Skip.

Imported .txt files are renamed to .md, because from that point on the app treats the contents as Markdown. Only the name changes — nothing inside the text is rewritten, and the original file on your device is left exactly as it was.

Markdown — the original source. PDF — a laid-out document. HTML — a standalone page. JSON — the file plus its metadata. You pick where to save through the system picker, and can choose to include the title as a heading and to resolve internal links on the way out.

JSON, one structured file, or ZIP, a manifest plus the real files in their folder structure. You choose what goes in: file contents, project metadata, attachments manifest, and the schema version — so whoever reads it next, a person or an AI tool, knows the shape to expect.

The full CommonMark set — headings, bold, italic, inline code, fenced and indented code blocks, block quotes, horizontal rules, bullet lists, numbered lists, nested lists and links — plus strikethrough, tables, task lists, inline HTML, images, bare addresses turned into links automatically, and [[wiki links]] to other files in the project.

Yes. $…$ and \\(…\\) render inline, while $$…$$ and \\[…\\] render as their own block. The rules follow Pandoc, so ordinary prices like "$5 and $10" stay as text. Turn it off with Settings ▸ Reading & editor ▸ Render math and formulas show as the source you typed. One exception: in an exported PDF, a formula in the middle of a line is printed as its source, while a formula on its own line is drawn normally.

Yes — put the language after the opening fence and the block is coloured, with a theme that follows light or dark mode. Twenty-eight languages are bundled: Bash/Shell, C, C++, C#, Clojure, CSS, Dart, Git, Go, Groovy, Java, JavaScript, JSON, Kotlin, LaTeX, Makefile, Markdown, HTML/XML, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, Scala, SQL, Swift, TypeScript, YAML and generic C-like. Common short names work too, so py, kt, ts, sh, yml or c++ are all understood. An unknown or missing language tag simply renders as plain code, and Wrap long lines in Reading & editor stops the sideways scrolling.

Yes, an image written as  is drawn inline. An image at a web address is downloaded the first time you view it, so that one needs a connection; without it you see the alt text instead. Image files stored in your library are listed with an image label of their own.

File names and the text inside your documents, headings and links included. Scope results to the current project or search everywhere, and filter to titles only.

One snapshot of your whole library — every project, folder and document, plus a note of which device wrote it. Items in Trash are left out. Each snapshot is a single packaged file, not a copy of your individual .md files.

Because it is not stored among your Drive files. The app writes to the hidden app-data area of your Drive: it does not appear in My Drive, does not turn up in Drive search, and cannot be opened or downloaded by hand. This is deliberate — the app asks for one narrow permission that reaches nothing but this hidden area, so it cannot see, list or touch any other file you keep in Drive. The backup is still yours and still counts toward your Drive storage: open drive.google.com ▸ Settings ▸ Manage apps ▸ Markdown Reader to see how much space it uses, or to delete the hidden data.

No — a backup exists only so the app can restore it, and restoring happens in Sync & backup ▸ Restore. If you want files you can open anywhere, use Export instead: one file as Markdown, PDF, HTML or JSON, or a whole project as JSON or ZIP, saved wherever you choose.

With Auto backup on: after edits, while you are on Wi-Fi. Back up now uploads a snapshot at any time. The five most recent snapshots are kept, and older ones are cleaned up for you.

It replaces what is on this device with the snapshot from the cloud, so this device ends up matching that backup. It is the right move on a new phone, and the wrong move if this device holds work the backup does not have — that situation is a conflict, and the app handles it separately.

The hidden backup area belongs to your Google account, not to one device. If another device backed up changes this device has not seen yet, backing up would erase that work — so the app stops and asks instead of overwriting.

Resolve conflict offers three choices: keep the version on this device, keep the version in the cloud, or Keep both — which merges the two sides and overwrites nothing. Keep both is the safe answer when you are unsure.

Not today. Google Drive is the only supported destination.

Auto backup stops and this device stops syncing; your documents stay on the device. Snapshots already uploaded stay in the hidden app-data area of your account — remove them from Drive ▸ Settings ▸ Manage apps if you want them gone.

Reconnect from Sync & backup: sign in again and grant Drive access. When the device is simply offline, the app says so instead of asking for access again. A full Drive means your Google account is out of space — the hidden backup counts toward it like anything else.

Markdown Reader is free to use and needs no account, and ads are what pay for building and maintaining it. If you would rather not see them, Pro removes every ad in the app, and adds automatic Drive backup and unlimited exports. You can take it weekly, or pay once and keep it for good — both are in Settings. Reading, writing, importing and manual backup stay free.

A banner at the bottom of the four main tabs — Files, Projects, Search and Settings — and one full-screen ad when you open the app, at most once every few minutes. There are no ads while you read a document or write in the editor, and none during onboarding or on the privacy policy page.

No. Ads are served by Google AdMob and never receive your documents. Your notes stay on the device unless you turn on Drive backup.

In the EEA and the UK, the Google consent form asks how ads may be personalised before any ad loads, and your answer is stored on this device. Ad personalisation can be changed at any time in Android Settings ▸ Google ▸ Ads.

Everything except Drive backup, Import from URL, ads, buying Pro, and a one-time anonymous country lookup for analytics works with no network at all. Once Pro is yours it keeps working offline — the app remembers it on this device rather than checking with Google every time.

Released builds send anonymous crash reports and aggregated usage statistics; the content of your notes is never part of them. The full Privacy policy is one tap away at the bottom of this screen.

Settings ▸ Appearance ▸ Language — choose a language, or follow the system default. The screen reloads to apply it.

Long-press the file in your file manager and use Open with to choose Markdown Reader, or import it from the Projects tab. Some apps report .md files as unknown binary data, which Android will not route here.

Email us with your device model, Android version and the app version from its Google Play listing. The button below opens your mail app with the address already filled in.