DotMDMacDown stopped in 2020.Here's what to use now.
macOS 14 or later. Reading is free; editing and reviews are one payment.
Short answer
The original MacDown's last release is 0.7.3 from January 2020, and its Homebrew cask was disabled on 2026-09-01. MacDown 3000 continues it: free, open source, actively updated. Pick MacDown 3000 if you want the same free editor with a live preview. Pick DotMD if you want a Mac reader for whole folders, Mermaid and math, version history, and review of what AI agents write.
What happened to MacDown
MacDown was a free, open-source Markdown editor for Mac with a split view: text on the left, the rendered page on the right. These are the facts, without a verdict:
- The last release of the original MacDown is 0.7.3, published on GitHub on 2020-01-03.
- Its Homebrew cask has been disabled since 2026-09-01.
If you keep using it, nothing is forcing you to stop. But an editor with no release since 2020 is a reason to look at what is maintained.
MacDown 3000: the maintained fork
MacDown 3000 continues the original. It is a free Markdown editor for macOS under the MIT license. The latest stable release is 3000.0.8, from 2026-11-02, and a pre-release of 3000.0.9 is also listed. It needs macOS 11 or later, and its download is a universal build for Apple Silicon and Intel.
Its own pages list live preview as you type, math notation, syntax highlighting, export to HTML and PDF, and a folder opened as a workspace with a sidebar. If that is what you used MacDown for, MacDown 3000 is the closest replacement, and it costs nothing.
Side by side
| DotMD | MacDown 3000 | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Reading free; editing and review are one-time purchases (pricing) | Free, open source (MIT) |
| Platforms | macOS 14 or later | macOS 11 or later; universal build |
| Editing | Yes, with Editor; optional live preview beside the text | Yes; live preview as you type |
| Folders | Add folders to a sidebar, tabs, search across files (Editor) | Open a folder as a workspace with a sidebar |
| Mermaid diagrams | Drawn offline, with zoom | Unconfirmed |
| Math | KaTeX, offline | Math notation with TeX-like syntax |
| Export | PDF, HTML, rich text copy, print (Editor) | HTML, PDF |
| Version history | Built in with Editor; up to 200 versions per file | Unconfirmed |
| Comments and review of AI changes | Built in with Reviewer | Unconfirmed |
| AI agents / MCP | Local MCP server for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code | Unconfirmed |
"Unconfirmed" means we found nothing about it on MacDown 3000's official pages.
Sources, checked November 2026
Choose MacDown 3000 if…
- You want a free, open-source Markdown editor and have used MacDown before.
- You want to write with a live preview and export to HTML or PDF, and nothing more.
Choose DotMD if…
- You mostly read Markdown: folders of notes, docs and READMEs, with Mermaid diagrams and formulas drawn.
- You want earlier versions of a file, and the changes between them, on the rendered page.
- You want to comment on a spec or plan and have Claude Code, Codex or Cursor fix it, then accept every change.
Moving from MacDown
Both apps work on plain .md files, so there is nothing to convert. Open the same folders in DotMD with ⌘O. To make DotMD the app that opens .md files, choose Set as Default when it asks, or select a file in Finder, press ⌘I and use Open with → DotMD → Change All…. Press Space on a .md file in Finder and Quick Look shows it rendered: Quick Look.
If you mostly read
Many people used MacDown to look at a README or a note, not to write one. For that, an editor with a split view is more than you need. DotMD opens a file or a whole folder rendered, with a sidebar, tabs and an outline, and reading is free. You can turn on editing later without changing apps.
FAQ
Is MacDown still maintained?
The original is not: its last release is 0.7.3, from January 2020. MacDown 3000 is a maintained fork, with version 3000.0.8 as its latest stable release.
Does MacDown run on Apple Silicon?
For the original MacDown we can only say that its last release is from 2020. MacDown 3000 states that it is optimised for Apple Silicon and runs on Intel Macs too, with a universal build.
Is MacDown 3000 free?
Yes. It is free and open source under the MIT license.