Write anywhere.Read closely here.

Let your AI write. Open the local files here and read them carefully. A paragraph feels thin? Send a screenshot or the text back to your AI, then come back to check the revision.

Download for free Follow the walkthrough

Apple Silicon Mac · Windows x64 · Free & open source

Explore ways to use it

An actual MD Duck window with the sample product-inquiry article and its Chinese translation. — Actual Mac capture · sample article · same workflow on WindowsSee the complete workflow

Actual Mac capture · sample article · same workflow on WindowsSee the complete workflow

One article. A complete review.

Write in your AI, review in MD Duck, then publish through your own tools. You do not need an MD Duck account or an AI key in the reader.

Start with the AI you already use.

Ask it to write Markdown into a local article folder. If it can only chat, save the returned text yourself. Open your article library in MD Duck. For this downloaded example, select the library folder inside the extracted files.

library/01-clearer-product-inquiry/

article.mdEnglish
article.zh.mdChinese · optional

Mac: unzip in Finder, then use File → Open Folder (⌘ O) to select library.

Windows: use Extract All in File Explorer, then File → Open Folder (Ctrl O) to select library.

Find the passage that needs more.

Read the article at your own pace, alongside a translation if you have one. In our example, “Tell the supplier what you need” sounds useful but never explains what to include.

The vague passage selected in the actual MD Duck reader. — Actual Mac capture · click to enlarge

Mac: select the passage and press ⌘ C, or capture it with Shift ⌘ 4.

Windows: select the passage and press Ctrl C, or capture it with Win Shift S.

Show your AI exactly what is missing.

Paste the text or attach the screenshot in your usual AI conversation. Include the filename and ask for a focused change. An annotation is useful for a batch of comments, but you do not need one to do this.

Paste this with the passage or screenshot

“This is too vague. Explain which product, size, quantity, delivery city and required date to include. Use placeholders for unknown facts. Update both local language files without changing the block IDs.”

Copy the full revision prompt

Mac: paste copied text with ⌘ V; attach the screenshot file to your AI chat.

Windows: paste text or a screenshot with Ctrl V if your AI chat supports it.

Save in the same place. Check the result.

Have the AI update the local files, or save its answer yourself. MD Duck refreshes after saving. Re-read the changed paragraph and its translation before deciding it is ready.

The revised sample article displayed in MD Duck. — Actual Mac capture · click to enlarge

Mac: save in your editor with ⌘ S, then return to MD Duck.

Windows: save in your editor with Ctrl S, then return to MD Duck.

Publish when you are happy with it.

Give your external AI the approved file and a publishing instruction. It needs your backend access and confirmation of the target and final content. MD Duck remains your reader; the local article stays in your folder.

A clear handoff to your publishing AI

Which approved local article should it use?
Which backend and page will it publish to?
Have you approved the final content and kept a local copy?

Get the publishing handoff prompt

Mac: reveal the article in Finder from its ⋯ menu; back up the complete folder.

Windows: reveal the article in File Explorer from its ⋯ menu; back up the complete folder.

Give your AI the writing rules.

Use your own AI. Give it a topic and these rules so it can prepare the files for your review.

Read the full prompt

Topic: [fill in the topic]
Audience and purpose: [who will read this and what they should be able to do]
Article count and order: [for example, 10 articles; propose the series outline first]
Library location: [the local folder I specify; ask if you do not know it]
Languages: [English source + Simplified Chinese companion; or specify a single language]

Write for this MD Duck workflow: I write files with my preferred AI or editor, read in MD Duck, then send you a screenshot or copied passage with a revision request. I can also collect comments for a batch of changes. MD Duck reads local Markdown files directly. There is no database import or MD Duck API connection to set up. You or my editor change the text; MD Duck does not edit article text or publish to a website.

1. Store the files
- A few standalone text articles can live directly in the library root, such as ideas.md and meeting-notes.md; they do not each need a folder. Group a larger collection by series. An individual article folder is useful when it has a translation or images, so they can move together. MD Duck does not classify articles automatically; follow the organization I specify.
- Example of a series with one subfolder per article:
My articles/
  01-reading-series/
    01-first-review/
      article.md
      article.zh.md
      assets/
    02-revise-and-check/
      article.md
      article.zh.md
- Prefix series and article folders with 01-, 02-, and so on for a deliberate order. Name sorting uses the article folder name for a standalone article.md article. The displayed article title does not need a number.
- article.md is the English source and article.zh.md is its Chinese companion in the same folder. topic.md + topic.zh.md and topic.markdown + topic.zh.markdown also work. A single-language article needs only one Markdown file; do not create an empty companion.
- Save as UTF-8 with a real .md or .markdown extension, not .md.txt. Use Mac- and Windows-compatible folder names: avoid <>:"/\|?*, trailing spaces or dots, and reserved names such as CON, PRN, AUX, NUL, COM1 and LPT1.
- Put images inside this article's assets/ folder. Use relative Markdown paths such as ![Specific image description](assets/detail.png), with / even on Windows. Reference only existing assets that we are allowed to use. Omit images when none are available; do not invent image links or use machine-specific absolute paths.

2. Pair the languages and keep stable markers
- Match the heading levels, paragraph grouping, list item order and nesting, table dimensions and image positions in both documents. Translate naturally and accurately; equal paragraph counts alone do not establish a pair.
- Before each heading, ordinary paragraph, image, whole table, quotation block or code block, put a marker on its own line with a blank line before and after. Example:
<!-- block:intro -->

This is the first paragraph.

Use the same <!-- block:intro --> before the corresponding Chinese paragraph.
- IDs may contain only English letters, digits, hyphens and underscores, such as intro or step-01. Each ID must be unique within a document; use the same IDs in the same order in both documents. Do not put real markers inside code fences.
- Mark every top-level list item separately, using this syntax:
- <!-- block:check-source --> Check the source.
- <!-- block:check-detail --> Add one useful detail.
Keep the same IDs, item order and list structure in Chinese. A single marker before a list does not mark every item.
- Keep existing IDs when revising. Add a new ID only for new content and update its companion as well. Do not renumber all IDs to change the reading order.
- Ordinary unmarked Markdown is readable too. These markers support precise bilingual pairing and comment location. A structurally complete pair does not prove the writing or translation is correct.

3. Deliver and check
- Write only inside the article folder I specify. When creating files, report any existing destination before overwriting it. Do not modify .review/, .mdduck/, comments, word records or application settings, or move/delete unrelated files.
- If you have filesystem access, save the files and report their actual paths. Otherwise, return each relative filename followed by a complete code block for me to save; do not claim to have written local files. Keep delivery notes outside the article body.
- Check companion filenames, asset existence, missing/duplicate IDs, ID order and block structure on both sides. Report what you actually checked, any facts still needing confirmation and asset sources. Do not invent successful checks.
- I will open this folder in MD Duck and send you screenshots, excerpts or comments with specific revision requests. After you save the changes, I will reread them in MD Duck, use “Check whole document” when there is a bilingual pair, and confirm any comments myself. Publishing is a separate step after my review and explicit authorization.

Download this example

Before and after articles, revision instructions and a publishing handoff.

Read the complete guide

“This part needs more detail.”

Follow one small change in our sample article, A clearer product inquiry. The point is simple: you notice what is missing, and your AI does the rewriting.

01 / The original

Tell the supplier what you need and ask for a quote.

What exactly should the reader include? The advice stops before it becomes useful.

02 / Your instruction

Explain the product, size, quantity, delivery city and date. Use placeholders for unknown facts. Keep both languages consistent.

Attach the screenshot or paste the passage with its filename. Your usual AI conversation is enough.

03 / The revised passage

Name the product you want, its size and the quantity you need. Include the delivery city and your preferred arrival date so the supplier can quote against a clear request.

An excerpt from the revised article. Now check that the advice is specific, unknown facts remain placeholders, and the translation agrees.

The revised product-inquiry article and its Chinese translation in the actual MD Duck reader. — Back in MD Duck: review the saved revision. Actual Mac capture; the same file workflow works on Windows.

A 90-second captioned walkthrough

From a local draft to a publishing handoff.

A silent, captioned walkthrough assembled from real reader captures. The AI revision request and publishing handoff are examples; no live backend is connected.

Download the example files Copy the prompts for your own AI

Full transcript Download video

Read the text version

Ask your AI to save an article as local Markdown. If it cannot access files, save the returned text yourself.
Open the article folder in MD Duck and read the original, with its translation if available.
Copy or capture the unclear paragraph. Send it to your AI with the filename and a specific revision request.
Save the revised files in the same location. Return to MD Duck and check the change and the translation.
After approving the article, give an external AI access and a confirmed publishing task, or publish it yourself. Keep the local source folder.

Start simply. Find your own rhythm.

You do not need one rigid workflow. Start with the files you have; add structure when it helps.

A few drafts? Just open the folder.

For quick notes, early drafts or articles from different AI conversations.

Real MD Duck sidebar with several independent Markdown drafts in one folder. — Actual MD Duck capture · click to enlarge

Keep a few .md files together and open that folder. There is no import step and no need to design a filing system first.

My articles / inquiry.md · brief.md

Opening a folder

A series deserves its own shelf.

For a guide, a ten-part series or several projects at once.

Real MD Duck sidebar showing article folders inside a writing series. — Actual MD Duck capture · click to enlarge

Create a folder for each series, then a folder for each article. Use clear names and 01-, 02- prefixes for the order you intend. You choose the structure; MD Duck displays it.

My articles / 01-buyer-guides / 01-first-inquiry /

Organizing a series

Keep the pictures with the words.

For illustrated articles that you will revise, move or publish later.

A local illustration rendered inside a real MD Duck article. — Actual MD Duck capture · click to enlarge

Put article.md, its optional article.zh.md and an assets folder together. Use relative image paths. Move or back up the complete article folder, including its hidden review data.

01-first-inquiry / article.md + article.zh.md + assets/

File and image rules

One weak paragraph. One clear request.

When the article is mostly right, but one explanation needs work.

A passage selected in the actual MD Duck reader, ready to copy or capture. — Actual MD Duck capture · click to enlarge

Copy the passage or take a screenshot. Send it with the article location and your request to your AI. Save the revision, then come back to read it. Comments are useful when you want to collect several changes.

Read → copy or capture → ask for a change → reread

Copy a revision prompt

Read both versions, side by side.

For checking a translation or understanding an English article.

English and Chinese versions of the revised sample article in MD Duck. — Actual MD Duck capture · click to enlarge

Keep the source and its companion together. Compare meaning as you read, and use the pairing check to locate structural problems. A matching structure still needs your judgment on the wording.

article.md ↔ article.zh.md

Bilingual reading

Finish the work. Keep the source.

For separating completed articles from work in progress.

The real MD Duck archive view showing a completed sample article. — Actual MD Duck capture · click to enlarge

After review, hand the approved file to your publishing tool or an authorized AI. Keep a local copy. Archive finished articles in MD Duck, and bring them back when a later revision is needed.

Review → confirm publication → retain locally → archive

Moving and archiving

Captured on Mac with an independent sample library, using the published beta.6 reader. Windows uses the same file workflow; its window appearance and shortcuts differ. This demonstration did not publish an article to a real website.