Description
Reading a markdown file properly on the desktop usually means an Electron shell: seconds to open, hundreds of megabytes resident, and a nagging question about where your notes are going. Oryx is a native Rust program instead, and an 8 MB markdown file or a 200 MB ebook is on screen in under 100 ms from cold — no browser engine, no runtime, no GPU required, and the same speed on an old laptop.
The author's premise shows: it began as a renderer and only later became an editor, so the typography is the point. Text is justified by default, and each of the thirty-plus themes defines fifty-one colour roles shared by on-screen reading and PDF export alike. There is no toolbar and no menu bar — F1 lists the shortcuts, Esc closes whatever is open. Beyond markdown it reads EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, FB2 and CBZ/CBR comics, and it is bold enough to strip a book's own CSS and apply its own layout. Right-to-left scripts such as Arabic and Hebrew ship with embedded fonts and proper shaping. No network, no account, no telemetry.
Instant display: under 100 ms from cold to content, with memory staying flat however far you scroll and whatever the file size — there is no loading state to watch.
Full markdown syntax: CommonMark plus the GitHub extensions (tables, task lists, strikethrough, footnotes, alerts and math), plus heading IDs, definition lists, sub- and superscript, highlight and abbreviations, with KaTeX for equations and syntax highlighting for code.
Books and comics: EPUB, MOBI, AZW3 and FB2 open straight into the app's own typography rather than the publisher's CSS, and CBZ/CBR comics are readable too.
PDF export: export in the current theme and get on paper what you see on screen, with no round trip through a browser's print dialog.
Thirty-plus themes: every theme defines fifty-one colour roles used for reading, editing and export alike, with a theme browser and a theme editor built in, so nothing needs downloading.
Keyboard driven: no toolbars, no menu bar and no panes; F1 shows the shortcut list and Esc dismisses anything, with in-document search and regex replace included.
Right-to-left support: Latin, Arabic and Hebrew fonts are embedded so books in those scripts lay out correctly, and system fonts can be substituted if you prefer.
The author's premise shows: it began as a renderer and only later became an editor, so the typography is the point. Text is justified by default, and each of the thirty-plus themes defines fifty-one colour roles shared by on-screen reading and PDF export alike. There is no toolbar and no menu bar — F1 lists the shortcuts, Esc closes whatever is open. Beyond markdown it reads EPUB, MOBI, AZW3, FB2 and CBZ/CBR comics, and it is bold enough to strip a book's own CSS and apply its own layout. Right-to-left scripts such as Arabic and Hebrew ship with embedded fonts and proper shaping. No network, no account, no telemetry.
Features
Instant display: under 100 ms from cold to content, with memory staying flat however far you scroll and whatever the file size — there is no loading state to watch.
Full markdown syntax: CommonMark plus the GitHub extensions (tables, task lists, strikethrough, footnotes, alerts and math), plus heading IDs, definition lists, sub- and superscript, highlight and abbreviations, with KaTeX for equations and syntax highlighting for code.
Books and comics: EPUB, MOBI, AZW3 and FB2 open straight into the app's own typography rather than the publisher's CSS, and CBZ/CBR comics are readable too.
PDF export: export in the current theme and get on paper what you see on screen, with no round trip through a browser's print dialog.
Thirty-plus themes: every theme defines fifty-one colour roles used for reading, editing and export alike, with a theme browser and a theme editor built in, so nothing needs downloading.
Keyboard driven: no toolbars, no menu bar and no panes; F1 shows the shortcut list and Esc dismisses anything, with in-document search and regex replace included.
Right-to-left support: Latin, Arabic and Hebrew fonts are embedded so books in those scripts lay out correctly, and system fonts can be substituted if you prefer.
