A fast, lightweight text editor for Markdown, JSON, YAML, and TOML files. Built with Rust and egui for a native, responsive experience.
⚠️ Platform Note: Ferrite has been primarily developed and tested on Windows. While it should work on Linux and macOS, these platforms have not been extensively tested. If you encounter issues, please report them.
This project is 100% AI-generated code. All Rust code, documentation, and configuration was written by Claude (Anthropic) via Cursor with MCP tools.
About the AI workflow
- Product direction — Deciding what to build and why
- Testing — Running the app, finding bugs, verifying features
- Review — Reading generated code, understanding what it does
- Orchestration — Managing the AI workflow effectively
- Idea refinement — Discuss concepts with multiple AIs (Claude, Perplexity, Gemini Pro)
- PRD creation — Generate requirements using Task Master
- Task execution — Claude Opus handles implementation (preferring larger tasks over many subtasks)
- Session handover — Structured prompts maintain context between sessions
- Human review — Every handover is reviewed; direction adjustments made as needed
📖 Full details: AI Development Workflow
The actual prompts and documents used to build Ferrite are public:
| Document | Purpose |
|---|---|
current-handover-prompt.md |
Active session context |
ai-workflow/ |
Full workflow docs, PRDs, historical handovers |
handover/ |
Reusable handover templates |
This transparency is intentional — I want others to learn from (and improve upon) this approach.
| Raw Editor | Rendered View |
|---|---|
 |
 |
| Split View | Zen Mode |
|---|---|
 |
 |
✨ v0.2.3 Released: Editor productivity features! Go to Line (Ctrl+G), Duplicate Line (Ctrl+Shift+D), Move Line (Alt+↑/↓), Auto-close brackets/quotes, Smart Paste for links, and configurable line width. See CHANGELOG.md for full details.
- WYSIWYG Markdown Editing - Edit markdown with live preview, click-to-edit formatting, and syntax highlighting
- Multi-Format Support - Native support for Markdown, JSON, YAML, and TOML files
- Tree Viewer - Hierarchical view for JSON/YAML/TOML with inline editing, expand/collapse, and path copying
- Find & Replace - Search with regex support and match highlighting
- Go to Line (Ctrl+G) - Quick navigation to specific line number
- Undo/Redo - Full undo/redo support per tab
- Split View - Side-by-side raw editor and rendered preview with resizable divider
- Zen Mode - Distraction-free writing with centered text column
- Sync Scrolling - Bidirectional scroll sync between raw and rendered views
- Syntax Highlighting - Full-file syntax highlighting for 40+ languages (Rust, Python, JavaScript, Go, etc.)
- Code Folding - Fold detection with gutter indicators (▶/▼) for headings, code blocks, and lists (text hiding deferred to v0.3.0)
- Minimap - VS Code-style navigation panel with click-to-jump and search highlights
- Bracket Matching - Highlight matching brackets
()[]{}<>and emphasis pairs**__ - Auto-close Brackets & Quotes - Type
(,[,{,", or'to get matching pair; selection wrapping supported - Duplicate Line (Ctrl+Shift+D) - Duplicate current line or selection
- Move Line Up/Down (Alt+↑/↓) - Rearrange lines without cut/paste
- Smart Paste for Links - Select text then paste URL to create
[text](url)markdown link - Auto-Save - Configurable auto-save with temp-file safety
- Line Numbers - Optional line number gutter
- Configurable Line Width - Limit text width for readability (80/100/120 or custom)
Native rendering of 11 diagram types directly in the preview:
- Flowchart, Sequence, Pie, State, Mindmap
- Class, ER, Git Graph, Gantt, Timeline, User Journey
⚠️ Current Limitations: Mermaid support is basic and has known issues. Complex diagrams may not render correctly. Missing features include: YAML frontmatter (title:,config:), parallel edge syntax (A --> B & C), andstyle/classDefdirectives. Improvements are planned for v0.2.5. See ROADMAP.md for details.
- Workspace Mode - Open folders with file tree, quick switcher (Ctrl+P), and search-in-files (Ctrl+Shift+F)
- Git Integration - Visual status indicators showing modified, added, untracked, and ignored files
- Session Persistence - Restore open tabs, cursor positions, and scroll offsets on restart
- Light & Dark Themes - Beautiful themes with runtime switching
- Document Outline - Navigate large documents with the outline panel
- Export Options - Export to HTML with themed styling, or copy as HTML
- Formatting Toolbar - Quick access to bold, italic, headings, lists, links, and more
- Live Pipeline - Pipe JSON/YAML content through shell commands (for developers)
- Custom Window - Borderless window with custom title bar and resize handles
- Recent Files - Click the filename in the bottom-left status bar to quickly access recently opened files
Download the latest release for your platform from GitHub Releases.
| Platform | Download |
|---|---|
| Windows | ferrite-windows-x64.zip |
| Linux | ferrite-editor_amd64.deb (recommended) or ferrite-linux-x64.tar.gz |
| macOS (Apple Silicon) | ferrite-macos-arm64.tar.gz |
| macOS (Intel) | ferrite-macos-x64.tar.gz |
Linux Installation Instructions
# Download the .deb file, then install with:
sudo apt install ./ferrite-editor_amd64.deb
# Or using dpkg:
sudo dpkg -i ferrite-editor_amd64.debThis will:
- Install Ferrite to
/usr/bin/ferrite - Add desktop entry (appears in your app menu)
- Register file associations for
.md,.json,.yaml,.tomlfiles - Install icons for the system
Ferrite is available on the AUR:
- Ferrite (release package)
- Ferrite-bin (binary package)
# Release package
yay -Sy ferrite
# Binary package
yay -Sy ferrite-bintar -xzf ferrite-linux-x64.tar.gz
./ferriteBuild from Source
- Rust 1.70+ - Install from rustup.rs
- Platform-specific dependencies:
Windows:
- Visual Studio Build Tools 2019+ with C++ workload
Linux:
# Ubuntu/Debian
sudo apt install build-essential pkg-config libgtk-3-dev libxcb-shape0-dev libxcb-xfixes0-dev
# Fedora
sudo dnf install gcc pkg-config gtk3-devel libxcb-devel
# Arch
sudo pacman -S base-devel pkg-config gtk3 libxcbmacOS:
xcode-select --install# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/OlaProeis/Ferrite.git
cd Ferrite
# Build release version (optimized)
cargo build --release
# The binary will be at:
# Windows: target/release/ferrite.exe
# Linux/macOS: target/release/ferrite# Open a file
ferrite path/to/file.md
# Open a folder as workspace
ferrite path/to/folder/More CLI options
# Run from source
cargo run --release
# Or run the binary directly
./target/release/ferrite
# Open multiple files as tabs
./target/release/ferrite file1.md file2.md
# Show version
./target/release/ferrite --version
# Show help
./target/release/ferrite --helpSee docs/cli.md for full CLI documentation.
Ferrite supports three view modes for Markdown files:
- Raw - Plain text editing with syntax highlighting
- Rendered - WYSIWYG editing with rendered markdown
- Split - Side-by-side raw editor and live preview
Toggle between modes using the toolbar buttons or keyboard shortcuts.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+N |
New file |
Ctrl+O |
Open file |
Ctrl+S |
Save file |
Ctrl+W |
Close tab |
Ctrl+P |
Quick file switcher |
Ctrl+F |
Find |
Ctrl+G |
Go to line |
Ctrl+, |
Open settings |
All Keyboard Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+N |
New file |
Ctrl+O |
Open file |
Ctrl+S |
Save file |
Ctrl+Shift+S |
Save as |
Ctrl+W |
Close tab |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+Tab |
Next tab |
Ctrl+Shift+Tab |
Previous tab |
Ctrl+P |
Quick file switcher (workspace) |
Ctrl+Shift+F |
Search in files (workspace) |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+Z |
Undo |
Ctrl+Y / Ctrl+Shift+Z |
Redo |
Ctrl+F |
Find |
Ctrl+H |
Find and replace |
Ctrl+G |
Go to line |
Ctrl+Shift+D |
Duplicate line |
Alt+↑ |
Move line up |
Alt+↓ |
Move line down |
Ctrl+B |
Bold |
Ctrl+I |
Italic |
Ctrl+K |
Insert link |
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
F11 |
Toggle fullscreen |
Ctrl+, |
Open settings |
Ctrl+Shift+[ |
Fold all |
Ctrl+Shift+] |
Unfold all |
Access settings via Ctrl+, or the gear icon. Configure appearance, editor behavior, and file handling.
Configuration details
Settings are stored in platform-specific locations:
- Windows:
%APPDATA%\ferrite\ - Linux:
~/.config/ferrite/ - macOS:
~/Library/Application Support/ferrite/
Workspace settings are stored in .ferrite/ within the workspace folder.
- Appearance: Theme, font family, font size, default view mode
- Editor: Word wrap, line numbers, minimap, bracket matching, code folding, syntax highlighting, auto-close brackets, line width
- Files: Auto-save, recent files history
See ROADMAP.md for planned features and known issues.
Contributions are welcome! Please see CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
Quick Start for Contributors
# Fork and clone
git clone https://github.com/YOUR_USERNAME/Ferrite.git
cd Ferrite
# Create a feature branch
git checkout -b feature/your-feature
# Make changes, then verify
cargo fmt
cargo clippy
cargo test
cargo build
# Commit and push
git commit -m "feat: your feature description"
git push origin feature/your-featureBuilt with Rust 1.70+, egui/eframe for GUI, comrak for Markdown parsing, and syntect for syntax highlighting.
Full tech stack
| Component | Technology |
|---|---|
| Language | Rust 1.70+ |
| GUI Framework | egui 0.28 + eframe 0.28 |
| Markdown Parser | comrak 0.22 |
| Syntax Highlighting | syntect 5.1 |
| Git Integration | git2 0.19 |
| CLI Parsing | clap 4 |
| File Dialogs | rfd 0.14 |
| Clipboard | arboard 3 |
| File Watching | notify 6 |
| Fuzzy Matching | fuzzy-matcher 0.3 |
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
Libraries & Tools
- egui - Immediate mode GUI library for Rust
- comrak - CommonMark + GFM compatible Markdown parser
- syntect - Syntax highlighting library
- git2 - libgit2 bindings for Rust
- Inter and JetBrains Mono fonts
- Claude (Anthropic) - AI assistant that wrote the code
- Cursor - AI-powered code editor
- Task Master - AI task management for development workflows