Support

Answers to common questions, and how to get in touch. For a quick look at what Grasmere does, see the Feature Tour; for detail on every feature, see the guides.

Getting started

The quickest way in is Help ▸ Feature Tour in Grasmere: a writer’s project for a short novel, with a document that walks you through every feature, one thing to try at a time. It starts afresh each time you open it, so edit and break things as you like.

When you’re ready, choose File ▸ Open Folder (⇧⌘O) and pick a folder of documents, or an empty one. Every Markdown file in it is listed on the left; press ⌘N for a new document. To link to another document, type [some text]( and choose it from the list.

Questions

Where are my documents?

In the folder you opened, as ordinary .md files. Nothing is kept in a database. You can edit them in any other app, sync them, or keep them in git.

Grasmere adds a project.md at the top of the folder, for the project’s summary and the order of the top level, and an index.md to a folder when you give it an order of your own. Both are ordinary documents. Everything else Grasmere keeps for itself, such as its index of your links, stays in its own storage on your Mac and is rebuilt if it’s ever lost.

Can I keep my documents in iCloud Drive or Dropbox?

Yes. Open the folder from wherever it lives. Grasmere notices when a sync service changes a document, and if you were editing that document at the time, it asks you which version to keep rather than overwriting either. See Saving, Safety and Git.

Why does Grasmere ask for access to a folder?

Apps from the Mac App Store run in a sandbox: macOS lets them open only the folders you choose yourself. Open a folder with File ▸ Open Folder, or drop it on Grasmere’s icon in the Dock. If a project says it needs your permission to open, click Choose the folder and select it once; after that it opens by itself.

They’re rewritten in every document that links to it, whether you renamed it in Grasmere, in Finder, or with another app. A message says how many documents changed, with Undo, and Edit ▸ Link Updates lists recent updates. A document you’re editing at that moment is never overwritten. See Links and Backlinks.

How do I back up my documents?

Back up the folder, the way you back up anything else: Time Machine, a sync service, a copy on another drive, or git. Your documents are the whole of your project; there’s nothing else to save.

If the folder is a git repository, Settings ▸ Automation can commit your changes a couple of minutes after you save, and push them if you like.

I’m coming from Obsidian. What do I need to know?

An Obsidian vault is a folder of Markdown files, so Grasmere can open it as it is. A few things are worth knowing:

  • Links. Grasmere uses standard Markdown links, [Name](Name.md), which work in every Markdown app, and doesn’t follow [[wiki-links]]. Open the vault and choose Project ▸ Convert Wiki-Links (new in 1.1): it shows how many links in how many documents would change, then rewrites them all, with Undo. Aliases ([[Note|text]]), headings ([[Note#Heading]]) and embedded pictures (![[picture.png]]) are kept; a link to a document that isn’t in the vault becomes a link to a new document, made when you follow it (as in Obsidian), or is left as written if you prefer. Then, in Obsidian’s settings under Files and links, turn off Use [[Wikilinks]] and set New link format to Relative path to file, so new links suit both apps.
  • Journal. If your journal entries are named day first, like 11-10-2026.md, choose that in Settings ▸ General ▸ Journal ▸ File names. Month first is there too. Grasmere finds your existing entries under any of these names. See Journal.
  • Tasks. Due dates written as 📅 2026-10-12, as the Tasks plugin writes them, work as they are.
  • Sort order. If you sorted folders by name or by date in Obsidian, right-click a folder and choose Sort Folder By to do the same. The rule is kept in the folder’s index.md. See The Contents.
  • Folders you don’t want. Project ▸ Ignored Folders leaves out any folder you don’t want in the contents, search or links.
  • Plugins. Grasmere has no plugins. Shortcuts can run when documents are saved, created or renamed instead; see Saving, Safety and Git.

Are my documents sent to an AI?

Not unless you choose. Ask Your Documents and Generate Summary use Apple’s on-device model by default, so nothing leaves your Mac. If you choose Claude or ChatGPT in Settings ▸ AI, with your own API key, then when you ask a question the relevant excerpts and your question are sent to that company, and when you ask for a summary, the text of the documents being summarised is sent. Nothing is sent until you ask. See Ask Your Documents and AI and Privacy.

How do I capture a thought quickly?

Press ⌃⌥⌘N in any app, or click the book in the menu bar. Type, press Return, and it’s added to today’s entry in the project you choose, with the time. Settings ▸ Capture changes the shortcut. See Quick Capture and Sharing.

How do I make one PDF of a folder?

Right-click the folder in the contents and choose Publish to PDF. Documents become chapters in the folder’s order. Choose Manuscript for standard manuscript format, or Book for your theme’s typography. See Publishing.

I lost my changes after a crash

Unsaved changes are kept safe as you type. Open the document again and Grasmere offers to restore them.

Report a problem

In Grasmere, choose Help ▸ Report an Issue. It opens an email to us in your mail app, with the app and macOS versions filled in. Add what you were doing when it happened, and send it if you’re happy to. Nothing is sent without you. For ideas and suggestions, choose Help ▸ Send Feedback.

Or email [email protected]. Please include your macOS version and what you were doing when it happened.

System requirements

Grasmere needs macOS 26 or later. Ask Your Documents and Generate Summary on the on-device model also need a Mac with Apple Intelligence turned on; Claude and ChatGPT work on any Mac, with your own API key.

Grasmere is on the Mac App Store: a free 7-day trial, then a single purchase.