Use case · for developers
Real modal editing, not a half-baked “vim keybindings” toggle — that is one of the few things almost no commercial GUI markdown editor actually ships. Markd.ly does. This is the honest version of what that means and where it stops.
Vim mode on Mac · Windows · Linux · one purchase, every platform · $19.99 one-time
Markd.ly's desktop apps include a vim mode: modal editing with normal, insert, visual (character) and command-line modes — the core motions (h j k l, w b e, 0 $, gg G, f t) and operators (d c y with motions, dd yy, . repeat) you reach for without thinking — inside a fast native markdown editor with live preview, not a terminal and not a browser tab. It is a focused, deliberate subset, not a full vim emulator (see “The honest limits” below).
This is rare on purpose: most polished markdown editors are built for prose-first writers and skip modal editing entirely. Developers and technical writers who live in vim usually end up using a code editor for markdown just to keep their keystrokes — and lose the focused writing surface. Markd.ly is the uncommon middle: a writing-grade editor that still speaks vim.
Vim mode is a desktop feature
Vim mode is in the Mac, Windows and Linux apps, part of the one-time $19.99 purchase that also unlocks Markd.ly on iPhone, iPad and Android.
The same on Mac, Windows and Linux
The three desktop apps share the same vim layer: the same modes, motions and operators, and the same :w :q :wq :x. It is off until you turn it on in Settings.
Not on the phone apps
The iPhone, iPad and Android apps have no vim mode.
Because it is a real markdown editor, vim mode sits next to the rest of the desktop toolset: export to HTML, PDF, DOCX, EPUB, LaTeX and reveal.js slides, AES-256-GCM encrypted documents, snippets with date, time and cursor placeholders, custom CSS with three built-in themes, and search across a folder. Plus the essentials: live preview, Mermaid, KaTeX and plain .md files on disk, all in the one-time $19.99 purchase.
No automatic folder sync
Your files stay on the disk you saved them to, unless you add a document to your cloud library to open it on another device.
It's a deliberate subset, not a full vim emulator
Plainly, what it does not have: linewise (V) and blockwise (Ctrl-v) visual modes, named registers, macros (q), marks, and ex commands beyond :w :q :wq :x (the Mac also takes :set nu). There is no custom keymap or .vimrc. If you want your full .vimrc, every plugin, and an arbitrary keymap, a terminal vim/Neovim with a markdown setup is more configurable — and we would rather say that here than oversell. Markd.ly's vim mode is for keeping your core editing muscle memory in a writing app, not reproducing a bespoke vim rig.
Real vim mode in a native markdown editor on Mac, Windows and Linux. One-time $19.99.
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