Open-source product
A Markdown editor that can follow its source
Aviv began as a native editor for ordinary Markdown files. PitchAI later added live URL documents on macOS, with separate handling for incoming changes, unsaved local edits and authenticated saves back to the source.
- Context
- Writing tools
- Stage
- Released native applications
- Published
Keep the document in a plain-text file
The original editor focused on a single writing surface. It renders Markdown inline while keeping the underlying .md file editable. Syntax becomes visible on the active line, and native document windows handle opening and saving.
The writer edits a formatted document and saves ordinary Markdown. The public project now includes native macOS and Windows applications.
Open a source that can change elsewhere
The macOS extension lets a user open an HTTPS Markdown URL. Aviv retains the opened URL, resolved source and a stable source identifier with the document.
It checks for changes using conditional requests. The server can answer that the document is unchanged rather than sending another complete copy. A changed source identifier is treated as an error instead of silently accepting another document.
Hold incoming changes when local work is unfinished
When both the local and saved text match the accepted source version, an incoming version can be applied. When local changes exist, the incoming version is held as a pending conflict.
The writer can use the incoming version, explicitly replace the remote version with the local text, or keep editing. The ordinary save path refuses to continue while an incoming conflict remains unresolved.
The macOS release verification exercised both a clean external update and a conflict with unsaved local work. It also checked that applying an update preserved the caret and viewport.
Save to the source with its version attached
A public download link is not automatically writable. Save-back requires a source that advertises a write endpoint, an authentication credential and an ETag: the server's identifier for that version of the document.
Aviv sends that version with the write request. If the server reports that the version has changed, the editor reports a conflict. A successful save must return a version identifier before the session accepts it.
This workflow shipped in the macOS 1.1 release in August 2026, with published installers and verification of external updates, conflict handling and save-back in the installed app.
The extension took Aviv beyond local-file editing while keeping a clear distinction between reading a URL and changing its contents. The editor is available as a PitchAI product and as MIT-licensed open-source software.