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Roadmap · Updated 26 May 2026

Where we're going

What's shipped, what's next, what's on the table.

SteelNote is built in the open by a solo dev. This page is updated as features land so you can see the cadence and the priorities. No vapor — if it's listed under "Shipped", it's in your TestFlight build (or rolling out within a few days).

01

Shipped

In your TestFlight build (or rolling out)

0.14.0 — Multiplatform

Submitted next
  • Native macOS app — same SwiftUI codebase, native NSTextView editor, reads from the same iCloud folder as your iPhone and iPad. Edit a note on your phone, finish it on Mac, no friction. Not Catalyst — real AppKit. Universal Purchase: one app, three platforms.
  • Live-styled markdown editor on Mac — headings, bold, italic, code, lists, blockquotes, tags, wikilinks all render inline as you type. Markdown markers fade to invisible on lines you're not editing (Bear-style focus reveal) — the file on disk stays clean .md.
  • Images render inline on Mac — paste (⌘V) or drag-drop from Finder / Photos / Safari to insert. Right-click any image for Copy / Save As / Delete.
  • Mac menu bar with formatting shortcuts — ⌘B / ⌘I / ⌘1 / ⌘2 / ⌘3 / ⇧⌘7 / ⇧⌘8 / ⇧⌘L / ⌘K / ⇧⌘K / ⇧⌘- all wired to the editor, each edit lands in the undo stack.
  • Checkbox tap-to-toggle on Mac — click the [ ] directly to check it off.
  • iPad support — universal app, 3-pane NavigationSplitView.
  • Hybrid CloudKit sync — your `.md` files stay in iCloud Drive (yours, in clear, openable in any markdown editor), but the sidebar index (titles, previews, tags, dates) syncs through CloudKit private database with push notifications. A note created on iPhone appears on Mac in ~1 second, even before the body has finished syncing. The best of both worlds: file ownership preserved, near-instant cross-device updates.
  • iCloud Sync — Phase 2 — NSFileCoordinator + NSFilePresenter for safe concurrent edits, smart-merge migration, conflict surfaces. The file layer is bulletproof.
  • Disable iCloud Sync — opt-out flow with two paths (keep iCloud copies for other devices, or erase everywhere).
  • Inline color preview — type #FF6B35 or rgb(255, 107, 53) and the code renders with its actual color. Designer-friendly, no plugin.
  • Apple Notes-style capsule toolbar — flat icons in one unified pill, no more per-button chips.
  • Swipe to Move a note into another folder — secondary trailing swipe, opens the folder picker.
  • Duplicate note — long-press menu, useful for templates and drafts.
  • Bulk select mode — Select button in the toolbar, multi-select with Move / Delete batch actions.
  • Default view on launch — pick a folder as your home view in Settings.
  • Wikilink and tag buttons in the markdown palette.

0.13.0

In App Store review
  • Apple Notes import — native iOS 18+ markdown export, single folder or bulk parent-folder.
  • Multi-source imports — Bear, Ulysses, Craft, Drafts notes are auto-routed to Imports/Bear/, Imports/iA Writer/, etc.
  • TextBundle / TextPack / .zip all supported through one picker.
  • Wikilinks — type [[Note Title]] to link between notes. Tap to navigate, tap a missing one to create.
  • Nested tags — #work/2026/project renders as a collapsible tree in the sidebar.
  • Files.app integration — "Open With → SteelNote" for .textbundle / .textpack files.
  • Apple Notes-style sidebar — inset-grouped cards, yellow folders, collapsible sections, cumulative note counts.
  • Auto-title toggle in Settings — opt out if you don't want the first line elevated.
  • Restore Sample Notes — bring back the welcome notes if you deleted them.

0.11.0

Live on TestFlight
  • First public TestFlight release.
  • Markdown editor with live styling — headings, bold, italic, code, lists, images inline.
  • Folders and basic tags.
  • Local plain-markdown storage. Files visible in Files.app.
  • Long-press a note for Pin / Move / Export / Delete.
02

In progress

Right now, this sprint

  • Mac polish — Phase 2 (M4)

    Drag-and-drop .md files from Finder into the sidebar to import, multi-window support (open a note in its own window for side-by-side editing), "Open With → SteelNote" Finder integration on Mac. The editor and sync layer are stable — this is the desktop-class quality-of-life pass.

    1 – 2 weeks

  • Beta feedback polish

    Small UX improvements rolling in based on tester reports — discoverability tweaks, inline tag highlighting on creation, smarter Enter handling for wrap markers, scroll-jump fix near image attachments on iPhone.

    Continuous
03

Next up

Next 1 – 2 months

  • Backlinks pane

    For each note, show every other note that wikilinks TO it. Closes the loop on the [[Note]] graph and makes a real knowledge base out of a folder of files. The index already tracks the references — this is the surface to expose them.

  • Per-note share & export shortcuts

    Faster paths to export a single note as Markdown, PDF, or plain text — directly from the note row. On Mac, this becomes a real Export menu with format and destination options.

  • Quick Note (Mac global shortcut)

    A system-wide hotkey (default ⌃⌥⌘N) that pops up a small capture window from anywhere — even when SteelNote isn't focused. Saves to your Inbox, ready to expand later.

  • Note templates

    Save any existing note as a template. New Note menu lets you start from a template instead of blank. Useful for meeting notes, daily logs, recurring formats.

04

Considering

Would love your input

  • Per-note Face ID lock

    Privacy feature à la Apple Notes — encrypt individual notes behind your biometric. Asking: would you use it for sensitive notes, or is iCloud's Advanced Data Protection enough for you?

  • Smart folders

    Saved searches that auto-update. "All notes tagged #work modified this week" as its own sidebar entry. Useful — but adds a layer; not sure it's worth the complexity at our scale yet.

  • Plugin system

    Opt-in modules for templates, automations, optional AI integrations (transcription, summarization). Big architectural decision — we'd build it as additive, never required.

  • Web clipper Safari extension

    Save a clean reader-mode article into SteelNote with one click from Safari. Tech is ready; we paused it to focus on import / sync first.

  • Shared notes via CloudKit

    Co-editing a note with another iCloud user. Different architecture from the file-based core, so it would be a separate sync layer for shared notes only.

05

Won't do

Because focus

  • Real-time Google Docs-style collaboration

    Beautiful when it works, but it forces a database backend and breaks the "plain Markdown files" promise. If we ever do collaborative editing, it'll be async + conflict-aware, not real-time.

  • AI rewriting your notes

    Your notes should sound like you, not like a model. Optional opt-in features that read your notes (summarize, search) are fine. Features that change your notes aren't on the table.

  • Block-based editing (Notion-style)

    Markdown lines stay markdown lines. That's the point. Block-based editors are great products — they're just a different product.

  • Subscription pricing for sync

    Sync uses your iCloud — no SteelNote server, no SteelNote cloud cost. Therefore no SteelNote subscription for sync. Future pricing (if any) will be one-time or feature-tier, not "rent your own data back."