simple tools for serious writers
Capture thoughts quickly, compose when you're ready, review and refine over time. Everything is autosaved in a vault on your machine as plain .md files and folders, with optional git support for backup and sync across devices.
10 Reasons to NOT use via (No AI, No Subscriptions — and other non-goals)
built with Odin
Building via has been a Sisyphean task over the last decade and a half. The unicorn I couldn't catch.
As much as I disliked the baggage of web apps, it seemed a necessary evil to solve problems I had at the time — many of which turned out to have simpler solutions.
Now, with the simplicity & economy of Odin, the architecture aligns with what I envisioned via to be.
I've caught my unicorn, and she's got a sexy engine.
— moth
| via 0.2 | via 0.3 | via 0.4 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| size | 108 MB | 3.7 MB | 3.4 MB |
| libraries | ~ 170 | 47 | 15 |
| memory | – | 118 MB | 19 MB |
| at rest | – | 9% of a core | 2% of a core |
| stack | JS & Tauri 2 WebKitGTK + GTK 586 Rust crates, 125 Node packages | Odin's core library Raylib 6.0 | Odin's core libraryDownload v0.4 |
Organize, explore and review
Organize, explore and review your documents and notes. Everything begins in a dedicated Drafts folder. Create projects for more complex work.
Flow through writing tasks intuitively
The workspace has two panes viewing documents and notepads side-by-side. Quickly transition between documents and notepads to find what you're looking for. Write the right thing in the right place.
Write in the right place
Every document has a dedicated notepad with the same name. Notes and annotations live in a chronological, chat-like feed which you can edit, pin and develop over time until you're ready to write. On disk, notes are collocated with their doc as your-doc-notepad.md. Renaming the doc automatically renames the notepad. No more digging through apps and files for that idea you had.
Note — just have a rough idea? Start a scratchpad. Add a document later and it becomes the document's notepad.
Annotate your writing as you read
In the library you can read and review your documents. Reviewer lets you add annotations to one or many paragraphs. Annotations end up in the document's same notepad for easy reference later.
No more 'Masterpiece-v5-FINAL-REALLY.md'
Writing is autosaved as you work. Save a checkpoint with a short description and via commits the document at that point, to look back on or restore. One click syncs your library to a git repo of your choice, for backup and sync between devices.
Write at the speed of thought
The editor uses via, a dramatically simplified "vi for authors": only two modes with a sensible set of traditional editor and familiar vi commands writers actually use. No complex chords, strange sequences, or contextually confusing keys.
No tables, quotes, lists or other periphery
via is for writers, specifically authors who need basic structure and can't stand markup litter. (Of course, the beauty of markdown is that if you prefer it you can use it. No-one's stopping you.) via only renders:
Note — # headers & comments fold: e expand · collapse current; E expand · collapse all.
No confusing contexts
via only has two modes: CTRL for commands, ENTER for writing. Esc switches to CTRL mode, Enter to ENTER mode. Hold Ctrl+key for CTRL commands, works the same in either mode. No confusing modes, submodes, chords, layers or prefixes.
Note — for contrast, typical modal editors (vim, nvim, helix etc.) have 3–8 modes, 4–8 layers, 2–4 prefixes, and any number of root chords. All of which can change the meaning of a key.
No finger acrobatics
Before you can edit, you need to be in the right place. Movement is on the home row. No finger acrobatics (like w and b) for related movements.
No selection idiosyncrasies
If you aren't writing text, you're usually moving it. And to move it you need to select it: just hold Shift and a move key to select. That's it. Works the same in either mode.
Note — Shift+G selects the entire document.
No mix of registers or lost clips
If you're going to move text you've selected, you'll need to cut, copy, paste, and when necessary undo/redo. So we kept with tradition + some common vi-isms.
In addition, we have smart vi aliases:
A pasteboard keeps your cuts AND deletions: any cut, delete or backspace of two words or more lands there, to paste back anywhere in the app.
Note — what you last cut, copied or deleted is what pastes.
Search once, pick it back up anytime
via has two ways to search: standard vi / for queries and g+key to quickly jump to the next character that matches. They both route through the same search system, so whichever you use, search can be resumed with the previous · next keys between other writing activities.
Open, checkpoint, close
If you want to edit a document you need to open it. Everything is autosaved (similar to a web editor), so instead of the standard "save", via lets you save checkpoints. Checkpoints are just git commits. Add a concise description of your work and it commits that document's work, for easy review and restoration later.
Note — via uses forward commits for restoration, so you don't rewrite history; any checkpoint in your document remembers what the document was like at that point.
A handful of handy commands