SoloMD vs Tolaria: Two Tauri-Based Markdown Editors
Quick answer: SoloMD if you want it on iPad / iOS / Android, write in Chinese / Japanese (GBK / Big5 / Shift-JIS auto-detect), need Pandoc / academic-citation export or file import, or want the agent-workflow layer (scheduled recipes, AutoGit accept/reject sandbox, replayable traces). Tolaria if you're on desktop and prefer a Notion-style block editor with type-driven nav and tldraw Markdown whiteboards.
Both have since converged on a lot: as of mid-2026 Tolaria added Windows, built-in AI providers, multi-vault, and Traditional-Chinese UI, so several older "SoloMD-only" lines no longer hold — this page reflects the current state.
The 30-second verdict
| SoloMD v4.5 | Tolaria (mid-2026) | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free (MIT) | Free (open source, AGPL) |
| Stack | Tauri 2 + Vue 3 + CodeMirror 6 + Rust | Tauri 2 + React + TypeScript + BlockNote + Rust |
| Platforms | macOS · Windows · Linux x64/ARM64 · iPad / iOS / Android | macOS · Windows · Linux (desktop only — no mobile) |
| Installer size | ~15 MB | ~25 MB |
| Editor model | CodeMirror source-mode + live preview + split | Block-based slash-command editor (Notion-style) |
| Built-in AI providers (BYOK) | ✅ ⌘J · 14 providers · OS keychain · streaming diff overlay | ✅ direct: OpenAI · Anthropic · Gemini · OpenRouter · Ollama · LM Studio · custom |
| Inline streamed chat-with-vault panel | ✅ v4.0 · multi-turn · tool-call cards · [[wikilink]] citations · Insert / Copy | 🟡 agent integrations (Claude / Codex / Pi / OpenCode) + providers; no SoloMD-style inline panel |
| Scheduled agent recipes | ✅ v4.0 · cron / on-save / on-commit / on-tag · 11-recipe cookbook | ❌ |
| AutoGit branch sandbox + accept/reject for agent writes | ✅ v4.0 · per-run branch · write-cap (default 5) · refuses to start dirty | ❌ (agent writes commit directly) |
| Replayable agent trace | ✅ v4.0 · jsonl per step · replay-from-step | ❌ |
| Multi-workspace | ✅ v4.0 · MCP federation · --workspace repeatable · profiles UI | ✅ multi-vault (May 2026) · separate git boundaries (no MCP federation) |
| Ollama / local models | ✅ v4.0 · auto-detect · 3 model presets · provider: local | ✅ Ollama + LM Studio direct |
| Multi-tab + split panes | ✅ tabs + tile splitting | ❌ single-pane |
Wikilinks [[note]] | ✅ auto-complete + backlinks panel | ✅ auto-complete + backlinks |
| Local semantic search (RAG) | ✅ v2.3 · ⌘⇧F · on-device, no model download | ❌ |
| WYSIWYG / block editing | ✅ v2.3 · live-edit 4th view | ✅ native block editor |
| Markdown whiteboards (tldraw) | ❌ | ✅ tldraw boards saved as durable .md |
| Editable math source panel | ✅ v4.5.3 · double-click a preview formula → edit LaTeX | ✅ double-click formula → edit LaTeX source |
| MCP server (vault as tool) | ✅ v2.2 · 1.5 MB binary · 8 read + 2 gated write tools | ✅ built in |
| AutoGit per-note history | ✅ v2.2 · libgit2, never auto-pushed | ✅ built in (every vault is a git repo) |
| Multi-encoding (GBK / Big5 / Shift-JIS) | ✅ auto-detect | ❌ UTF-8 only |
| File import (DOCX / PDF / XLSX / PPTX) | ✅ drag-in → Markdown | ❌ |
| Pandoc export (EPUB / ODT / LaTeX / RTF) | ✅ | ❌ (PDF export only, June 2026) |
@citekey citations + .bib / CSL | ✅ | ❌ |
| Slideshow / presentation mode | ✅ ⌘⌥P | ❌ |
| Vim mode | ✅ | ❌ |
| Spell-check (Hunspell) | ✅ opt-in | 🟡 OS-level only |
| Properties / table view | ✅ Bases (YAML-driven) | ✅ Types-as-lenses (drives nav) |
| CLI tool | ✅ solomd | ❌ |
| UI languages | ✅ 14 languages (en · zh-Hans · ja · ko · …) | ✅ en + zh-Hant · id · be · pl · vi |
| Default file format | plain .md | plain .md |
When to pick SoloMD
- You write on iPad / iOS / Android — Tolaria is desktop-only.
- You write in Chinese / Japanese / Korean — SoloMD auto-detects GBK / Big5 / Shift-JIS encodings; Tolaria assumes UTF-8.
- You want the agent-workflow layer — scheduled recipes (cron / on-save / on-commit), an AutoGit branch sandbox that lets you accept/reject agent writes, and replayable traces. Tolaria has built-in AI providers, but agent writes commit directly with no sandbox/replay.
- You need Pandoc export (EPUB / ODT / LaTeX) or academic citations (
@citekey+.bib/ CSL) — Tolaria ships neither (it added PDF export in mid-2026). - You want local semantic search (on-device RAG) — Tolaria has none.
- You import from .docx / .pdf / .xlsx / .pptx — Tolaria has no file converter.
- You want multi-tab + split panes, presentation mode (
⌘⌥P), or Vim mode — Tolaria has none of these. - You want 14 AI providers in one keychain-backed panel (incl. DeepSeek · Qwen · GLM · Kimi · 火山方舟) — Tolaria's built-in list is shorter.
When to pick Tolaria
- You prefer a Notion-style block editor (BlockNote, slash commands) over CodeMirror source + preview.
- You want tldraw Markdown whiteboards that live as durable
.mdin the vault — SoloMD has no whiteboard. - You like "types as lenses" — every note has a `type` (Project / Topic / etc.) with custom icons + columns that drives the whole sidebar. SoloMD has Bases (a property table view), but folders / tabs are still the primary nav.
- You want a Tiago-Forte-style Inbox workflow with explicit "organized" markers.
The gap has narrowed: MCP server, AutoGit version history, multi-vault, Windows, and built-in AI providers all now ship in both. SoloMD's remaining edges are mobile, CJK encodings, Pandoc/citation export, file import, on-device semantic search, and the agent-workflow layer (recipes + sandbox + trace); Tolaria's are the block editor, tldraw whiteboards, and type-driven nav.
Both editors share
- Tauri 2 architecture (smaller / faster than Electron alternatives like Obsidian).
- Open source, free forever, no accounts; plain
.md+ YAML, local-first. - Windows · macOS · Linux desktop builds.
- Built-in AI providers (BYOK) + a bundled MCP server.
- Every vault is a git repo with built-in version history.
- Wikilinks
[[note]]+ backlinks panel. - Active maintenance — both shipped releases through mid-2026.
Migration — Tolaria to SoloMD
Both write plain .md with YAML front-matter, so opening
your Tolaria vault folder in SoloMD just works.
Caveats:
- Tolaria's type metadata (e.g. `type: Project`) lives in front-matter — SoloMD's Bases view picks it up automatically as a column. You won't get the icon / color customization, but the data is preserved.
- If you used Tolaria's AutoGit, your vault is already a git repo —
SoloMD's AutoGit (v2.2+) is compatible with the same convention. Both use libgit2 and
a local-only
.gitinside the workspace. - The Inbox flag doesn't translate directly; you can keep using
a YAML field (
status: inbox) and filter via Bases.
FAQ
Is SoloMD's MCP server real?
Yes — shipped in v2.2. A 1.5 MB Tauri sidecar binary
(solomd-mcp) speaks MCP over stdio (no network port). Out
of the box it exposes 8 read tools — list_notes,
read_note, search,
get_backlinks, list_tags,
get_outline, etc. — plus write_note and
append_to_note gated behind --allow-write.
Path-traversal guarded, workspace-canonical containment.
Discoverable by any MCP client — Claude Desktop, Cursor, Codex CLI,
your own agent.
Does Tolaria run on Windows / mobile?
Windows — yes, as of April 2026 (x64). Mobile — no: Tolaria is desktop-only (macOS · Windows · Linux). SoloMD additionally ships on iPad / iOS (App Store) and Android, so it's the pick if you read or edit on a tablet or phone.
Can I use both?
Yes — they read the same .md files and both treat the vault as a
git repo. A common combo is Tolaria on a desktop + SoloMD on an iPad / phone
on the road, all pointing at the same git-synced vault.