Mare

Mare for Windows

A fast, native markdown notes app for Windows

A single native program with no Electron and no web view inside, so there's no page to load before you can type.

Download for Windows

Checking for the latest release.

Needs Windows 10 or newer, 64-bit, Intel or AMD. Nothing else to install.

Ballast the seal at a desk under a porthole, smiling at a laptop with a note open on it

Install it in three steps

  1. Download the zip and unzip it wherever you like.
  2. Run mare.exe. If Windows says it protected your PC, choose More info, then Run anyway.
  3. Pick a folder for your notes and start writing.

The first time you open Mare

A folder for your notes
Mare asks where to keep your notes and creates your first workspace there. You can set up sync later.
The one-minute tour
Handwritten notes with arrows point at the few things worth knowing. Each one is ticked off as you try it. Skip the tour if you like. You can start it again from Preferences.
The Logbook note
The Logbook of the sloop Probably Fine shows everything the editor can do. Scribble on it all you like. The next update restores it.
Mare on its first start: a handwritten sticky note with an arrow pointing at the new note button, and a checklist card titled A quick look around
The tour starts automatically, once.

Other ways to get it

  • Microsoft Store

    Signed by Microsoft, so there's no warning on the first run. The Store keeps it up to date.

    Coming soon
  • winget

    One command in a terminal. Run winget upgrade when a new version is out.

    Coming soon
  • Nightly

    Built every night from the main branch. You get new features first, and now and then a broken one.

    Checking

What you get on Windows

  • No installer

    The download is a zip with mare.exe inside. Unzip it where you like and run it. Fonts, icons and the editor are all in that one file.

  • Asleep until you type

    Mare redraws the window only when something changes. An open note you're not touching uses no CPU.

  • Sync without another account

    Sign in with Google and Mare creates a folder for the workspace in your own Drive. Or use a git remote, a shared folder, an SFTP server or an S3 bucket. There's no Mare account and no Mare server.

  • Plain files in a folder

    Every note is one markdown file in a folder you choose, with your pictures next to it. You can open them in any text editor, with or without Mare.

What it needs
Windows 10 or newer, 64-bit, on an Intel or AMD processor. There's nothing else to install. Mare keeps each workspace's history in git, and git is built in.
Why Windows asks
mare.exe isn't signed with a publisher's certificate yet. SmartScreen asks if you're sure before it runs a program it doesn't know. The Store version will be signed by Microsoft.
Updates
After the first install, Mare updates automatically. When a new version is ready, a small card in the corner offers to relaunch. There's a nightly channel as well as the stable one.
The same notes on your other computers
Mare also runs on Linux and macOS. A workspace synced from Windows opens there unchanged, with its tags, pictures and history.