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For years I kept looking for a Markdown editor that could do all of the following at once:
Typora has long been one of the best writing experiences in this space, but it is closed source and now paid. MarkText is open source, but it still relies on Electron. Obsidian is powerful, but it is not truly WYSIWYG by default, and it is not open source either.
Eventually I decided to build my own:
Velotype — a native Markdown editor built with Rust and GPUI.
Write at the speed of thought is the goal I set for it.
Real WYSIWYGNo more switching back and forth between “source” and “preview”.
Velotype uses a block-based model, where the document is split into independently editable units such as paragraphs, headings, lists, and code blocks. What you see while typing is already rendered as formatted content, so the writing experience feels much closer to Typora-style live rendering.
A native UI without WebViewMost Markdown editors today still run on top of a browser engine, which means you end up paying a surprisingly high memory and startup cost just to edit text.
Velotype is built on GPUI, the native GUI framework from the Zed team. It does not rely on WebView, and the result is a portable native application that can be run directly after extraction, without the usual browser-shell overhead.
Open source and local-firstWith closed-source software, it is hard to know exactly what happens in the background. Unofficial repackaged builds are even harder to trust.
Velotype is fully open source under the Apache 2.0 license and runs locally by default. Aside from manually triggered update checks and external image links inside Markdown content, it does not perform background network activity. For technical notes, private drafts, journals, or other sensitive writing, the combination of WYSIWYG + open source + local-first is what I personally wanted.
Source mode is still availableI mainly prefer WYSIWYG editing, but Velotype also lets you switch back to Markdown source mode with one click. Both workflows are supported.
Customizable themes, cross-platform supportGlobal colors, fonts, spacing, and code highlighting can all be customized.
Velotype supports Windows, Linux, and macOS, and portable builds are available. Export currently supports HTML and PDF, while preserving the editor’s theme styling. More export formats will be added over time.
More screenshots:
| Feature | Velotype | Typora | MarkText | Obsidian |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Core technology | Rust + GPUI | Electron | Electron | Electron |
| Open source |  |
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| WYSIWYG | |
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| Native UI | |
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| Local-first | |
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| Free | |
Paid | |
Free for personal use |
The project is still early, but the overall direction is already set.
At the moment, the editor covers the Markdown features I use most often: headings, paragraphs, lists, task lists, blockquotes, tables, code blocks, inline formatting, links, images, footnotes, LaTeX syntax, and safe handling for raw HTML.
Next, I plan to add mind-map rendering and better IME support. These are both things I personally run into while writing, so I will keep improving them step by step.
You can either:
git clone https://github.com/manyougz/velotype.git
cd velotype
cargo build --release
Velotype is not trying to become an all-in-one note-taking suite. It is focused on doing one thing well: clean, lightweight, transparent WYSIWYG Markdown editing.
If that sounds interesting, feel free to visit the project on GitHub: GitHub - manyougz/velotype: Write at the speed of thought – Velotype is a high-performance native Markdown editor built with Rust and GPUI.⚡ · GitHub
The project is still early, so PRs and stars are always welcome. 
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