A clear answer, close at hand.

Skriv is distributed directly from this website rather than through the Mac App Store. The official installer and app are signed with Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so current downloads should open normally under macOS Gatekeeper.

1. Download Skriv from verkheim.com/skriv, open the ZIP, and double-click Install Skriv.
2. If macOS displays its standard confirmation that the installer was downloaded from the Internet, click Open.
3. The installer prepares a clean local copy, verifies Skriv, places it in Applications, and opens it when installation finishes. This preparation prevents Dropbox or another File Provider from attaching metadata that can interfere with signature verification.

The Skriv installer stays out of the Dock and reports completion in its own window. Leave Move the installer to Trash after opening Skriv selected when you want the downloaded installer cleaned up automatically.

If macOS unexpectedly blocks a current copy, delete it and download it again from verkheim.com/skriv. As a final fallback for a copy you intentionally downloaded from the official site, open System Settings → Privacy & Security and use Open Anyway. Apple explains that fallback in Open a Mac app from an unknown developer.

Skriv stores each note as an ordinary Markdown file in the library folder you choose. A fresh installation starts with a private library inside Skriv’s Application Support folder.

Open Skriv → Settings → General to choose another local folder, Dropbox folder, other fully downloaded File Provider folder, or mounted network share. Managed attachments, versions, conflicts, locks, and Trash remain visible under Skriv Data.

A new untouched library begins with Welcome to Skriv, Skriv Formatting Reference, and Skriv Help, in that order. All three are normal editable notes tagged #welcome.

• Press Command-N or use File → New Note.
• The first click in a title selects the complete title for fast renaming.
• Skriv saves while you work. Command-S forces an immediate save.
• Choose Show Note in Finder when you want to inspect the underlying Markdown file.

The left sidebar chooses a collection, folder, or tag. The middle pane lists matching notes. The editor on the right contains the title, formatting controls, document, attachment manager, and optional inspector.

Skriv makes the main window and first available notes usable immediately, then continues discovering the rest of the library in the background. You can begin reading, writing, and searching without waiting for every note and attachment to load.

The release test covers 10,000 notes and 1,000 attachment folders. Full discovery may take a few seconds at that scale, but it does not block the writing interface.

Skriv supports six heading levels, bold, italic, bold italic, underline, strikethrough, highlight, inline and fenced code, bullets, numbered lists, tasks, quotes, callouts, links, wiki links, tags, tables, footnotes, horizontal separators, images, PDFs, and file links.

Use the formatting shelf or the Format menu. Markdown characters fade outside the active line by default; Settings → General can keep them visible.

Hold the mouse button and drag past the top or bottom edge of the editor. Skriv scrolls automatically while extending the selection, so the complete selected range does not need to remain visible.

Choose Format → File, drag files into the editor, or use Finder’s Send to Skriv service. Images, the first page of PDFs, text files, and compatible written documents appear inline at the exact location of their Markdown reference. Text-document previews show readable file contents rather than only a link.

Drag an inline image to move it beside a different paragraph; Skriv moves the portable Markdown reference with it. Use the corner handle to resize the preview, or double-click it to open the file.

The attachment manager can open, save a copy of, or remove a managed attachment. The Markdown reference stays at the image’s chosen position, preserving the relationship between it and the nearby text. Images retain matching document space while the window or sidebars change size, so the preview cannot cover the surrounding paragraphs.

In a shared Dropbox library, the Markdown note can sometimes reach one Mac before its attachment data. Skriv keeps a waiting preview and attachment chip at the correct position instead of exposing raw Markdown. The real preview replaces it automatically when Dropbox finishes delivering the file.

The always-visible Copy Note toolbar button copies the complete Markdown body. Share uses the standard macOS services installed on your Mac, and Skriv’s Share extension creates a new note immediately from files shared in Finder. Fold Current Heading collapses a section. The inspector contains outline navigation, backlinks, and Time Machine-style versions.

Folders are real filesystem folders. Tags can be nested with slashes, such as #work/client. Pin frequently used notes, archive finished material without deleting it, and recover deleted notes from Trash.

Deleting a folder from the sidebar removes the real folder from disk without deleting its notes. Ordinary notes return to Notes; notes that were already archived return to Archive. Skriv refuses the operation if the folder contains an unknown file it cannot preserve safely.

Select a note and use the bell in the editor toolbar to choose Due Today, Due Tomorrow, or a date from the calendar. Return to the same menu to change or remove the due date.

The Reminders item in the sidebar gathers active due notes and sorts them from earliest to latest. The due date is stored as portable metadata in the note’s ordinary Markdown file.

Command-click toggles individual notes. Shift-click selects a continuous range. Pin, archive, move, reveal, export, and Trash commands operate on the complete selection.

Search checks titles, note bodies, tags, folder paths, attachment filenames, and readable attachment contents across Notes, Archive, and every folder, regardless of the collection currently selected in the sidebar. Use the Trash button beside the search field when you also want results from Trash.

Attachment indexing stays on the Mac. Skriv reads text files directly, uses a PDF’s embedded text when available, and applies on-device OCR to scanned PDF pages, images, and compatible document previews. It does not send documents to Siri, Apple, Verkheim, or an AI provider.

Opening a result highlights every matching occurrence and scrolls the note to its first match. A result from Trash opens read-only so it cannot be changed accidentally before restoration.

Type an exact title inside double brackets, such as [[Trip Ideas]]. Command-click a wiki link to open it. The Backlinks inspector finds both wiki links and unlinked mentions that refer to the current note.

1. Open Settings → Web Clipper.
2. Copy the Web Clipper code or open the drag-to-install page.
3. Save it as a bookmark in Safari, Chrome, Firefox, or another browser that supports bookmarklets.

Settings → Web Clipper controls whether Skriv imports webpage images, appends the original page link, and applies default tags. Separate multi-word tags with commas.

If text is selected in the browser, Skriv clips that selection. Otherwise it captures the page’s readable main text. Imported clips appear under the visible Web Clips folder.

Choose File → Import Notes for Markdown, text, TextBundle, ENEX, JSON, ZIP, or folders. File → Import From offers guided choices for Evernote, Drafts, Obsidian, Day One, and a Markdown folder.

The import panel can keep original creation and modification dates, use the first line as the title, use the file name as the title, and escape tag-like text that should not become a Skriv tag.

Local images and files referenced by Markdown or TextBundle notes become managed Skriv attachments. Their references remain at the same location in the note. Evernote and Day One media are imported with their entries.

File → Export creates Markdown, HTML, PDF, or Word documents. When several notes are selected, Skriv writes a separate collision-safe file for each note into the folder you choose.

Open the inspector and select Versions. Each snapshot includes a preview. Choose a version to inspect the full content, move between versions, and restore the one you need.

Settings → Backup creates a verified ZIP of the complete library in a separate destination. It includes notes, attachments, history, conflicts, locked data, and Trash. Backups can run manually or on a schedule with independent count and age limits.

Configure the universal password in Settings → Security, then lock individual notes. Locked note bodies and attachments are encrypted on disk. Locked notes are excluded from automatic titles, AI features, and MCP access.

Point each Mac at the same fully available Dropbox folder, other cloud-backed folder, or mounted share. Skriv watches for external changes, serializes its own file operations, and preserves both copies when simultaneous edits conflict. Settings, AI keys, the search index, and backup schedules remain local to each Mac.

Settings → General controls System, Light, and Dark themes; Snow, Fjord, Pine, Cabin, and Glass sidebar appearances; the interface font; editor text size; and permanent Markdown character visibility.

The four accent presets—Snow, Fjord, Pine, and Cabin—share Verkheim’s Nordic palette. Use Custom Color to open the unrestricted Mac color wheel for any other choice. Preset and custom colors persist after Settings closes, and Skriv uses the selected accent for its controls and colored formatting marks instead of borrowing the Mac system accent. Snow and very light custom colors keep their exact swatch and fill while foreground text and controls automatically use a readable contrast-safe form.

Open Settings → App Icon and choose any of the thirteen Nordic Letterpress notebook designs. Every choice shares the same tactile, dot-free finish with a substantial raised cover, pressed double rim, paper texture, and deeply recessed writing lines. Skriv reinforces the rim, seam, and shadow in the smaller icon sizes so the dimensional treatment remains visible in the Dock. Snow (#F7F7F2), Fjord (#426F83), Pine (#264F47), and Cabin (#CB5D52) use Verkheim’s exact signature palette. Original, Lingonberry, Aurora, Birch, Glacier, Heather, Midnight, Nordic Sun, and Slate remain available as additional Nordic-inspired choices.

The choice applies immediately in the Dock and app switcher, remains selected after Settings closes, and stays visible even when Skriv is fully closed.

Focus Mode removes the sidebar and note list while allowing the editor to follow any window resize. Use the visible Exit Focus Mode button or press Shift-Command-F again. Window → Float on Top keeps the single Skriv window above normal windows.

Version 1.4.0 also prevents AppKit from forcing a full TextKit layout while the columns collapse, addressing a crash that could occur during the transition on a long note.

Command-Z and Edit → Undo apply to the actual Markdown edit shown in the note. Skriv keeps the native editor as the newest source while typing, so a delayed interface or Dropbox refresh cannot replace newer text or leave the blinking insertion point on a different row.

Changing notes safely dismisses the inspector. Reopen it with the eye button when needed; the same button always closes it again.

AI is off on a fresh installation. Settings → AI can enable Codex CLI, Claude CLI, OpenAI-compatible local models, OpenAI, Anthropic, or Gemini. Automatic titles have their own switch. API requests happen only after you enable AI and use an AI action.

Skriv can convert a note into a structured prompt, summarize, continue writing, make prose concise, fix grammar, generate text, or follow a custom instruction. Convert to AI Prompt replaces exactly the highlighted sentence or paragraph when text is selected. With no selection, it converts the complete note as before.

AI → Send to AI App creates a private handoff folder containing the complete note, a manifest, and copies of every attachment. Skriv copies a short instruction with the local path and tells the receiving AI app to carry out the note’s actionable requests rather than merely acknowledge or summarize them; it does not transmit the files itself. Attachment order and inline placement remain part of the note context.

Settings → MCP contains the optional local helper and its Codex setup command. MCP is off by default and makes no network connection. Read access can list, search, and read unlocked notes and their attachments. A separate write switch allows new notes and revision-safe updates.

MCP cannot delete, move, archive, lock, or unlock notes, and it never changes attachments. Locked notes are never exposed.

Skriv normally reloads external changes automatically. If your local editor also contains unsaved work, Skriv preserves both revisions and asks which copy to use. Keep Mine commits the preserved local text; Use External loads the newest disk copy.

Open Skriv once, confirm the browser is allowed to open the skriv:// link, and copy a fresh bookmarklet from Settings → Web Clipper. Some browsers require the bookmarks bar to be visible before the bookmark can be edited.

Wait for the cloud provider to finish downloading the complete library and retry. Skriv automatically recovers abandoned same-Mac and incomplete File Provider locks, but preserves a live lock owned by another Mac to prevent simultaneous writes.

Reopen the app first; saved Markdown remains in your library. If the problem repeats, keep the macOS crash report, note what you were doing, and send both through Help → Send Feedback. Avoid deleting Skriv Data while troubleshooting.