Guides
Markdown, on a Mac.
How to open the files, how to preview them without an editor, and how to change them without making a mess of the next pull request. Written for the problem first; Hem shows up where it is genuinely the answer.
Why AI answers are full of asterisks and hash signs
Pasted a ChatGPT or Claude answer and got ** and
ChatGPT gave me a .md file. How do I open it on a Mac?
Why AI chats hand you .md files, what is inside one, and the quickest ways to read, edit and pass it on as Word, PDF or back to the AI on a Mac.
How to edit a .md file without learning Markdown
Fix a sentence, make text bold, add a heading, tick a checklist or add a table row in a .md file on a Mac, without typing a single Markdown symbol.
How to turn a .md file into a Word document on a Mac
Every practical way to get a .md file from ChatGPT or Claude into Word, Pages or Google Docs on a Mac, and what each does to tables and checklists.
What is a .md file? A plain-English explanation
A .md file is a plain text document written in Markdown. What the symbols mean, why AI tools use it, and how to open, edit and convert one on a Mac.
Turning Markdown into a PDF on macOS
Five ways to get a PDF or a shareable HTML file out of a Markdown document on a Mac, including the ones that keep your diagrams and your maths intact.
Markdown apps for the Mac, compared honestly
Nine Markdown tools for macOS, what each is genuinely best at, and which one to pick depending on whether you are reading, writing or keeping a repository tidy.
Mermaid diagrams on a Mac, without a browser tab
Where Mermaid renders on macOS and where it does not, which diagram types are worth using, and how to keep a diagram readable when it grows.
AGENTS.md, CLAUDE.md, and the docs your agent keeps rewriting
Coding agents read and write Markdown all day. A practical setup for keeping those files readable, reviewable and current without living inside an editor.
Why Markdown editors wreck your git diff
A one-word fix arrives as a 300-line diff. Here is what WYSIWYG Markdown editors do to your file, why round-tripping loses information, and how to avoid it.
Markdown previews in Finder’s Quick Look
How Quick Look extensions work on modern macOS, why pressing Space shows raw Markdown, and how to get a rendered preview that survives an OS upgrade.
How to open .md files on a Mac
Six ways to open a Markdown file on macOS, what each one is actually good for, and how to stop double-clicking a README from launching an IDE.