MerkzeugYour personal notebook
Ideas, projects and meeting notes form a collection that grows with you. Use a folder as your notebook, connect its notes and keep their context with frontmatter. No Git repository is required.
In development · First App Store release in preparation
Your Markdown. Connected.
Explore and edit Markdown collections — from personal notebooks to documentation written by coding agents.
Find your way through a collection of files. Follow links, read diagrams and edit visually. Your notes stay in the folders and repositories where they belong.
The name behind the tool
Merkzeug — a tool for thoughts worth keeping.
The name brings together the German words merken — to remember — and Werkzeug — tool. A tool for keeping ideas, finding them again and making something of them.
One tool. Two places to begin.
Your repository as a knowledge collection
READMEs, architecture decisions, plans and agent-written documentation already live beside your code. Navigate and edit them where they are, using links and integrated diagrams to see how they fit together.
Merkzeug is a reader and editor for your Markdown collections. It does not generate documentation or run a coding agent.
Write with clarity
Headings, lists, tasks, tables and images — with visual editing and Markdown underneath.
Connect your thinking
Link notes and turn processes into Mermaid diagrams. Your folders remain your structure.
Share as a PDF
On Mac, export a note or a collection of linked notes with reusable PDF templates.
From your repository to a readable story
Your agents write Markdown. You make sense of it.
Architecture overviews, implementation plans, research and project handovers belong beside the code. Merkzeug makes them comfortable to read.
Open your repository’s documentation folder, follow links between notes and read Mermaid diagrams directly in the document. Headings, tables and task lists give generated Markdown a clear visual structure. Review the result, edit the explanation and keep the files in your existing Git workflow.
For example: start with an overview, follow a link to a design decision, inspect its embedded flowchart, then export the overview and selected linked notes as a PDF on desktop.
PDF export & templates · Desktop and IntelliJ preview
Turn working notes into a document worth sharing.
One note. Or a linked document set.
Export a single note or append directly linked Markdown documents from its folder hierarchy. Links to included documents become PDF destinations. Add a clickable table of contents and give the combined document its own title.
Mermaid diagrams render before export. Wide tables trigger landscape output. Desktop also lets you export several selected notes as individual PDFs.
A reusable look for each project.
Build a template with a cover, logo, page headers, footers, CSS and page margins. Include the document title, date and page numbers. On desktop, assign a template to a notebook; in IntelliJ, select a template folder for the project.
Templates are ordinary files, so you can version them alongside your work. PDF export runs locally. It is not yet available on iPhone or iPad.
What goes into a PDF template?
Each template is a folder containing any of these optional files. The filenames retain their German names for compatibility.
deckblatt.html— cover pagekopfzeile.htmlandfusszeile.html— page header and footerstil.css— document stylingvorlage.json— page margins
Keep logos in that folder and reference them with relative image paths. Use {{titel}} and {{datum}} for the title and export date.
Explore PDF export and template setup in the desktop guide →
Frontmatter
Give your notes context.
Keep structured metadata at the top of your Markdown file. Expand the frontmatter panel to edit YAML and add fields for titles, tags or your own project information.
Export settings live with the document too: pdf-linked-title names a combined PDF, pdf-toc enables its contents page, pdf-exclude leaves selected linked notes out, and language controls the contents heading’s language.
---
title: System overview
tags: [architecture, review]
status: draft
pdf-linked-title: Project handbook
pdf-toc: true
language: en
---An example you can keep in Git, inspect in any text editor and reuse across tools.
Calendar integration · macOS & classic Outlook on Windows
From a calendar event to a meeting note.
Select an appointment from your locally configured calendars. Merkzeug creates a named note with the date, time, location, organizer, attendees and detected meeting link in its frontmatter. The body is ready with an attendance checklist and sections for agenda, notes and tasks.
On Mac, this uses accounts configured in Calendar, including iCloud, Exchange and Google. Windows uses classic Outlook; the new Outlook is not supported. Calendar access requires permission. Calendar integration is currently unavailable on iOS, iPadOS and Linux.
Git repositories on iPhone & iPad
Your repository, away from your desk.
Use Working Copy for Git and Merkzeug for reading and editing. They work with the same repository folder through the iOS Files picker.
- Clone in Working Copy. Set up your remote repository there and pull the latest changes.
- Open its folder in Merkzeug. Tap “Open vault folder”, then browse to Working Copy and select the repository or its notes folder.
- Read, follow links and edit. Notes open read-only; tap the pencil to edit. Changes save automatically to the selected folder.
- Commit and push in Working Copy. Return there to review the diff and synchronize. After a pull, return to Merkzeug or refresh the folder. Resolve conflicts before editing further.
Merkzeug does not clone, commit, pull or push on iOS. Working Copy is a separate app with its own feature and purchase requirements. You can also open notes from iCloud Drive or another compatible Files provider.
Read the iPhone and iPad guide →
At home on Mac, iPhone and iPad
English and German interfaces and built-in help. PDF export belongs to the desktop edition; iPhone and iPad focus on editing your files. An IntelliJ editor preview is also in development.
The first release is planned to be free, with no subscription or in-app purchases.
Coming soon
Windows · Linux · IntelliJ · VS Code
Desktop editions for Windows and Linux, plus editor integrations for IntelliJ and VS Code, are planned. IntelliJ already has a working prototype with PDF export. Release dates and public downloads will be announced here.
Keep your collection close
Your notebook. Along for the ride.
Open a folder through Files on iPhone and iPad. Edit your notes wherever you need them. File providers such as iCloud Drive or Working Copy handle synchronization.
Read the iPhone and iPad guide →
Good to know
A simple place to start.
Do I need an account?
No. Merkzeug edits files in a folder you choose.
Where do my notes live?
In your selected folder as Markdown files. Back up this folder regularly. A cloud file provider can synchronize it according to your settings.
Can I download it yet?
The first store release is being prepared. Official download links will appear here when it is available. The first release is free and has no in-app purchases.
Which editions export PDFs?
Desktop and IntelliJ offer PDF export. iPhone and iPad focus on editing; PDF export is not available there yet.