Getting Started

From download to your first saved note, in about three minutes.

1. Install

Windows: taskbar icon shows blank?

If the taskbar button or a pinned SoloMD shows a blank icon after an upgrade, that's Windows' icon cache holding a stale entry — reinstalling doesn't clear it. Run these four lines in a Command Prompt, then re-pin:

taskkill /f /im explorer.exe
del /f /q %LocalAppData%\IconCache.db
del /f /q %LocalAppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache_*.db
start explorer.exe

2. Just start typing

A fresh launch opens a set of short welcome tabs — read them or close them. You can type immediately: content lives in memory until you save (Ctrl/⌘ S), and unsaved drafts survive an app restart via session restore. Untitled tabs ask for a filename on first save.

3. Open a file or a folder

• One file: File → Open (Ctrl/⌘ O), drag & drop onto the window, or double-click a .md file — SoloMD registers as a Markdown editor.
• A folder (recommended): File → Open Folder. The folder becomes your workspace: the file tree appears on the left, search / tags / backlinks / graph features index every note inside it, and each folder remembers its own open tabs.

4. Tabs and panes

• Every document is a tab. Reorder by dragging; close with Ctrl/⌘ W.
• Split the editor right or down from the command palette (Ctrl/⌘ Shift K → “Split Editor Right”) to view two notes side by side.
• The command palette lists every action in the app with its shortcut — when in doubt, open it and type what you want to do. It follows your interface language.

5. Pick a view mode

Cycle modes with Ctrl/⌘ Shift P or click the mode buttons in the toolbar.

6. Saving and safety nets

• Ctrl/⌘ S writes to disk. Files changed by another program reload automatically when your tab has no unsaved edits — dirty tabs always ask first.
• Optional auto-save on window blur and Git history (automatic snapshots with one-click rollback) live in Settings — see Sync & History.
• Notes are plain .md files in your folder. No database, no lock-in — point any other tool at the same directory.

Next steps

• Editor deep-dive — live rendering, images, tables, Vim mode, typewriter mode.
• Workspace & organization — outline, search, tags, backlinks, saved views.
• Sync, history & backup — GitHub sync with optional end-to-end encryption.
• AI features — bring your own key or run fully local with Ollama.