A project in MarkNode is a folder. Opening a folder loads its file tree into the file explorer, making all your documents available in one place. You can have multiple projects open in separate windows simultaneously.
Opening a Folder
Choose File > Open Project Folder from the menu bar. A folder picker appears — navigate to the folder you want to use as your project root and confirm. MarkNode opens a new window with that folder loaded.
Recent Projects
MarkNode keeps a list of the last 20 folders you have opened. Access them from File > Recent Projects. Click any entry to reopen that folder in a new window.
If the list becomes cluttered, choose Clear Recent Projects at the bottom of the submenu to remove all entries.
Opening from the Command Line
Once you have created the command-line launcher (see below), you can open files and folders directly from a terminal:
marknode file.md
marknode folder/
marknode .- Passing a folder opens it as a project with the file explorer visible.
- Passing a file opens it in the editor with a lightweight view — the sidebar is hidden so you can focus on the file. Click the Files icon in the navbar to reveal the full project tree. MarkNode looks for a
.dnproject config folder in parent directories to determine the project root; if none is found, the file’s parent folder is used. - Passing
.opens the current working directory as a project.
If MarkNode is already running, the file or folder opens in the existing instance rather than launching a second copy.
Creating the Command-Line Launcher
The marknode command is not installed automatically. To set it up, go to Help > Create Command-Line Launcher. MarkNode shows the folder that contains the marknode binary and offers to copy that path to your clipboard. Add that folder to your PATH, and the marknode command becomes available in any new terminal session.
Opening Files by Double-Click
MarkNode registers itself as a handler for .md and .markdown files during installation. Double-clicking a Markdown file in Finder (macOS) or File Explorer (Windows) opens it in MarkNode in the same lightweight single-file view described above — the sidebar is hidden and the file opens directly in the editor.
If another application has claimed the .md file association, you can reassign it:
- macOS — right-click a
.mdfile, choose Get Info, expand Open With, select MarkNode, then click Change All. - Windows — right-click a
.mdfile, choose Open With > Choose Another App, select MarkNode, and tick Always use this app.
Single-Click to Open
By default, clicking a file in the file explorer selects it and opens it in the editor. If you prefer a two-click behavior where a single click only selects the file and a double-click opens it, turn off Single-click to open files under Settings > Editor > File Opening.