Paragraph Focus
Sable keeps your attention on the paragraph as you write, allowing you to focus on what matters, and reduce distractions.
⇧⌘F Paragraph Focus
Sable Markdown Writer
Built for Writers to Focus and Build Expansive Worlds!
Sable is Free and Open Source.
Free to download from this site. Future App Store releases may have a slight cost.
Curl up, sip a coffee, and eliminate distractions so you can write with focus.
The writing desk
A sidebar when you need it, hidden when you don’t. Access your files and folders in a click.
⌃⌘S Show or hide the writing desk
Various themes
A variety of themes to fit your needs and your style, with more to come. Some are dark, some are light, some are cozy, and some transport you to another dimension.
⌥⌘, Writing Style
Not just a good markdown writer, but a fiction suite to build your expansive world.
Character cards and scene tags
Summon your cast of characters, or your array of locations, as you need them. Pin a card or let it collapse while you write. Access your expansive world knowledge at a click.
The Manuscript tab
Access your novel’s stats at a glance, whether it is your manuscript or individual chapters.
Export
Turn your markdown into usable formats for publication, editing, and other use (PDF, EPUB, Word, Markdown). More export features are being crafted to suit your needs.
⇧⌘E Export Manuscript
Our goal is to continue to provide more tools and continued support, while maintaining our commitment to focus and creating a distraction-mitigating environment.
No Account. No Collection. No Proprietary Files. All Markdown. All Yours. All Local.
No AI Integration
Sable will never directly integrate AI into the program. We encourage you to put your prose on the page, and focus on improving your craft. Writing requires practice and challenge to learn and grow, which you won’t get from having a robot write for you.
Questions
How much does Sable cost?
Free to download from this site, and open source. Future App Store releases will have a slight cost.
Does Sable lock my writing into a proprietary format?
No, all written files are Markdown files, which can be opened by any other markdown editor or program that supports markdown.
Will you release a Windows version?
A Windows port is not currently in the works.
Who is Sable for?
Anybody who writes and prefers a clutter-free and focused workspace. Sable is designed to be a great markdown editor first and foremost, with a suite of features for fiction writers on top.
Does Sable sync with other devices?
Sable does not operate a cloud service, but you can connect your writing folder to your preferred cloud provider (iCloud, Dropbox, etc.) to sync your files across devices.
Is Sable on the App Store? Will it support iOS or iPadOS?
Sable is not on the App Store yet. If it comes, it will have a small cost associated with it. Sable is free to download from this site. Any planned iPad or iPhone releases will have one time payments.
Focus on your writing today, not tomorrow. What are you waiting for?
Opening Sable for the first time
Instructions from Claude: Sable is signed for updates but isn’t notarized by Apple, which needs a paid developer membership, so macOS asks you to approve it once. It takes about a minute, and you only do it the first time.
| Step | What you’ll see | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Open Sable from your Applications folder. macOS says it “can’t be opened” or that Apple couldn’t check it for malware. | Click Done. Don’t choose “Move to Bin”. |
| 2 | Open System Settings → Privacy & Security and scroll down to the Security section. It says “Sable Markdown Writer” was blocked. | Click Open Anyway. |
| 3 | macOS asks once more and may want your password or Touch ID. | Confirm, then click Open. |
| 4 | Sable opens and asks you to choose or create a writing folder, or to just open a file. A folder is optional. | From now on it opens like any other app. Updates arrive inside Sable, verified with the project’s signing key. |
On macOS 14 you can also Control-click the app and choose Open, then Open again. Prefer Terminal? xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Sable Markdown Writer.app" does the same thing. Only do this for a download from this page or the GitHub releases.