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Merkzeug for iOS & iPadOS

The interface and this help use German on a German system and English otherwise. You can switch the help language independently.

Merkzeug displays and edits a vault – a folder full of Markdown notes. On iPhone and iPad the app deliberately does not do Git itself: cloning, committing, pushing and pulling is handled by the Working Copy app; Merkzeug works directly on its folder.

Opening a vault

Clone the repository you want in Working Copy.
In Merkzeug, tap "Open vault folder".
In the file picker choose Browse → Working Copy → <repository>.

Merkzeug remembers the permission permanently – the vault is available again right after an app restart. Use the ⌂ button to switch to a different folder at any time. Any other folder from the Files app works just as well as a Working Copy repository.

Navigating

The folder view lists subfolders and notes; tap an entry to open it. Press and hold for Rename or Delete. File names and action-menu labels are not selectable; note text remains selectable.
Links inside notes take you straight to the linked note or folder.
Back and forward: with the ‹ › buttons at the top left – or by swiping from the left or right edge of the screen.
Search 🔍: searches file names and the contents of all notes; tapping a result opens the note.

Close search with Done above the results or Done on the keyboard, including when the search field is empty. An external keyboard can also use Escape.

Reading and editing

Notes open read-only – ideal for looking things up without accidental changes. The pencil ✎ switches to edit mode:

Saving happens automatically (shortly after the last input, when leaving the note, and when switching to another app). A dot • next to the title indicates unsaved changes.
Typing "/" at the start of a line opens the insert menu (headings, lists, tables, images, code blocks …).
Images from your photo library are stored automatically in the NoteName.assets/ folder next to NoteName.md when inserted.
Mermaid code blocks show a diagram preview.

Selecting a whole table cell highlights the cell; click inside its text to place the caret and edit. Text and links retain their colors while the cell is selected, including when using PDF-template styles.

Creating, renaming, deleting

＋ in the folder view creates a new note or folder. New notes open directly in edit mode.
Press and hold an entry to open the menu with Rename and Delete. Deleting a folder removes its entire contents – in Working Copy this can be undone until the next commit.

Syncing with Working Copy

Working Copy is a separate Git app for iPhone and iPad. It clones repositories and handles version control and synchronization; Merkzeug reads and edits the Markdown files inside them.

You can also use any other Git app that makes its repository folder available for opening and editing through the Files app. Perform Git operations in that app. Working Copy additionally has a direct integration: once configured, you can start Pull, Commit, and Push from Merkzeug.

Working Copy on the App Store.

After a pull in Working Copy, simply switch back to Merkzeug – the folder list and open (unmodified) notes load the new state automatically. ↻ re-reads the vault manually at any time.
Commit and push happen in Working Copy; Merkzeug does not show changed files itself.
If a note was edited in Merkzeug and changed externally at the same time, Merkzeug asks on save whether your version should overwrite the external state or be discarded – nothing is ever lost silently.

Limitations compared to the desktop app

No tabs and no split views – one note at a time.
No Git inside the app (see above – this is intentional).
Very large images can slow down rendering.

Shared editor and save conflicts

Desktop, iOS and IntelliJ use the same Merkzeug editor. Frontmatter is preserved and can be opened in the editor. Failed saves leave changes marked as unsaved. When external changes conflict with your edits, reload the external version or explicitly keep your own version.

Support and feedback

Open Help and choose Contact Support… to open the support form with Merkzeug, your language, edition and app version selected. You can deselect the app details before sending. No note contents or file paths are attached automatically.

Contact Merkzeug App Support. Include your app version, operating system and steps to reproduce the issue. Use fictional examples and avoid confidential notes.

PDF templates on desktop

The desktop app and IntelliJ include the Merkzeug PDF starter template, with a cover, styled headings and numbered pages. Create a copy to adapt it with an agent. See the desktop template guide. On iPhone and iPad, the selected template is used for PDF export and AirPrint as well.

Appearance, tours and agent guidance

Choose System, Light or Dark for appearance. System follows the operating system (the IDE in IntelliJ); your choice is saved. The Guided tour starts only after you accept the first-use invitation and can be reopened at any time. Its Read and navigate step explains the read/edit switch and link navigation. Open a note before starting the tour to see its mode button highlighted.

When opening a vault, Merkzeug can suggest root AGENTS.md / CLAUDE.md instructions for Note.md and Note.assets/. Review the single proposed text and the full contents of both instruction files. Select the destination files explicitly before choosing Add; none is preselected. For example, leave CLAUDE.md unchanged when it only redirects to AGENTS.md. Missing files are created only when selected. Later postpones it for the current session; Do not suggest again for this vault suppresses future prompts for that vault. Contradictory or unclear attachment rules require manual review. Concurrent external changes are preserved and require a refreshed preview. Existing shared assets/ references remain readable.

Calendar sources

New meeting note offers calendar selection. Expand Calendar sources to import an .ics file or add a named private HTTPS/Webcal subscription. Subscriptions are saved on this device, never in the vault. Refresh calendars downloads changes; an error retains the previous snapshot and shows its saved time. Reimporting the same named ICS file updates its source without duplicating notes. Choose an event to create or reopen its meeting note in the current vault folder (or beside the currently open note); existing note text is never replaced. CalDAV and calendar write-back are not supported.

On iPhone and iPad, native iOS calendars are also available. Access is requested only when opening meeting notes. If denied, enable calendar access for Merkzeug in iOS Settings. The app reads events without modifying the calendar. New images use Note.assets/; moving/renaming a note through Merkzeug moves its companion folder and adjusts its references. Existing shared assets/ folders are left intact.

Expand Working Copy and enter the exact repository name/remote URL and its callback key. The key stays in this device's Keychain. Pending writes are flushed before Pull, Commit or Push. Commit opens Working Copy's change review and message dialog for the repository. Push needs Working Copy's unlocked push feature. Resolve conflicts and credentials in Working Copy. Opening that app is not success: wait for its callback. After interruption or a missing callback, inspect the result there before acknowledging it and starting another operation.

Template styling prompt

Desktop Settings provides Template styling prompt for each template; expand it to review and copy a complete agent brief with the template's folder path. IntelliJ offers the same action in Settings → Tools → Merkzeug, using the folder currently shown in the settings field. On iOS, open Help → Template styling prompt and substitute the folder path on the agent's computer; The same prompt is available under PDF templates. iOS can preview template content styles and export or print documents with the selected template.

Replace the new template name and your colors, fonts, logo and design wishes before sending it. The prompt is in English, includes the complete offline technical reference, and works with older templates that lack instruction files. Copying it does not read note contents or modify existing templates. If clipboard access is unavailable in the web view, select and copy the displayed text manually.

New starter copies include AGENTS.md (format, CSS examples, placeholders, preview limitations and validation) and STYLING-PROMPT.md (reusable brief). Keep template-specific design choices in README.md. The brief instructs the agent to create a separate copy and preserve existing instructions. Existing desktop templates are not upgraded or overwritten. For manual use, concatenate STYLING-PROMPT.md and AGENTS.md and replace the template-path placeholder.

License

Merkzeug is licensed under the MIT License. The full license text is included at the end of the in-app help and is also available on the website. Third-party components retain their own licenses.

Printing

Open a note and tap PDF / Print…. After the preview has finished preparing, tap Print… to open AirPrint and choose a printer, page range and copies. Pending edits are saved first. The current note is printed with its Mermaid diagrams and images. A selected template supplies content styles and a cover. AirPrint also applies template headers, footers, page numbers and custom margins. These appear in the native AirPrint preview; the preceding content preview is not paginated. Enable Include linked documents to print the combined document. Cancel AirPrint to return to the preview; Close returns to your note.

PDF templates on iOS

Open PDF templates → Change… and choose the folder containing your template subfolders in Files, for example an existing folder in iCloud Drive. Select Template for this vault. This choice is saved in .merkzeug/settings.json and travels with the vault; the template folder is remembered separately on this device. Select No template to use the standard layout.

Enable Use PDF template while editing to apply its content styles, including light Mermaid diagrams. The preference is remembered for this vault on this device. Refresh reads template changes; returning to the app also refreshes them. Cloud files must be available from their provider. An unavailable template shows an error; printing does not silently replace it with another template.

By default, Merkzeug uses iCloud Drive → Merkzeug → Templates and installs the starter template if it is missing. Sign in to iCloud and enable iCloud Drive. The same Apple account must be used on your devices. Use Merkzeug iCloud templates returns from a manually selected folder to this shared location. When iCloud is unavailable, you can still choose an existing folder through Files; unavailable templates are reported instead of silently replaced.

Meeting-note filenames

A meeting note uses its first heading as the filename. Case, spaces and accents are preserved; characters forbidden in cross-platform filenames are replaced, and a suffix resolves collisions without replacing another note or image folder. After saving a changed heading, Merkzeug renames the note and its companion .assets/ folder. Calendar identity stays in frontmatter: choosing the same event again reopens its existing note in the selected folder, including notes created with the older meeting-… names. Those older names update when you edit and save the heading. Keep the calendar identity fields to preserve this association.

Links when renaming or moving notes

Renaming a note or folder through Merkzeug updates local Markdown links to it in other Markdown files in the same vault. This also applies when a saved heading automatically changes a note's filename. Companion .assets/ folders and links to their images follow the note. Moving a note also recalculates its outgoing relative links; shared image folders stay in place.

Inline links, images and reference-style link definitions are supported, including URL-encoded names and #section suffixes. Link labels and titles stay unchanged. Section suffixes are preserved, not recalculated when a heading changes. Code examples, frontmatter, external URLs and ordinary prose are not rewritten. HTML links and wiki-link syntax are not included.

Only regular Markdown files inside the vault are considered; hidden/ignored folders and symbolic links are not followed. Renames outside Merkzeug are not detected as refactoring. Destination collisions or stale file contents stop the operation. Open documents reload when clean; unsaved conflicting edits are preserved for review rather than silently overwritten.

A template is an ordinary folder containing vorlage.json, stil.css, and its HTML fragments and assets. You can keep that folder in a Git repository so your team can review changes and use the same layout. Commit the complete folder, including logos and fonts that you are allowed to share.

In the PDF controls, choose Template inside this vault and enter the template's relative folder. The assignment in .merkzeug/settings.json works across desktop, iPhone/iPad and IntelliJ. Commit and pull that file together with the template folder using your normal Git workflow.

Alternatively, store central templates in iCloud Drive → Merkzeug → Templates and choose Central template. iCloud sharing between your own Apple devices requires the same account and completed synchronization.

PDF-file export and combining directly linked documents are available on desktop, iPhone/iPad, and in IntelliJ. The selected template also applies when printing.

PDF export and combined documents

Open a note and choose PDF / Print…. Pending edits are saved before the preview opens. Export as PDF… opens the system share sheet: choose Save to Files or share the PDF with another app. Print… uses the same prepared document with AirPrint. Cancelling either dialog leaves your note unchanged.

The preview starts with only the current note. If it contains eligible links, enable Include linked documents to append those notes in path order, each starting on a new page. Only directly linked Markdown files in the current note's folder or subfolders are included, not recursive links or remote documents. Images resolve relative to each source note.

The first note controls title, pdf-linked-title (combined output), pdf-toc, pdf-exclude, and language, using the same rules as desktop. The selected PDF template supplies content styles, cover, headers, footers and margins. Review the preview before sharing.

Templates default to iCloud Drive → Merkzeug → Templates when available; a manually selected folder takes precedence. Vault templates are selected with a portable relative path in the PDF controls.

Choose a template location

In the PDF controls above an open note (IntelliJ: …), choose PDF template for this vault. Select Central template, choose a name and press Apply, or select Template inside this vault, enter its relative folder (for example .merkzeug/templates/Company) and press Apply. The choice applies to every note in this vault, including editing styles, PDF export and printing. It does not move or copy template files. Choose No template and Apply to clear the assignment.

The portable assignment is stored in .merkzeug/settings.json. A central template is referenced by name; a vault template uses {"pdfTemplate":{"source":"vault","path":".merkzeug/templates/Company"}}. Commit the settings and template folder to share them with a repository. Existing central assignments remain compatible. On Apple devices, the central collection uses Merkzeug's iCloud container when available; a locally selected template collection remains a device setting. IntelliJ also discovers installed desktop templates. Missing template folders are reported instead of silently substituting another template.

Release Notes

Open Release Notes in Help (IntelliJ: …) for the complete English or German version history, available offline. On the first start of a new marketing version, its release notes open automatically. Done marks that version as read on this installation; the full history remains accessible. Website and apps use the same release-note source.

About Merkzeug

Merkzeug is open source under the MIT License. The About Merkzeug view shows the version, publisher and product website. On desktop, use the Merkzeug menu; on iPhone/iPad, open Help; in IntelliJ, open the editor’s … menu.