ghostWriter Markdown for iPhone and iPad
ghostWriter is a lightweight editor that keeps long documents approachable, turns Markdown into polished, accessible documents, and makes the tools you need easy to find.
For iPhone and iPad, running iOS or iPadOS 17.6 or later.
Features
Whether you are jotting down a short note, shaping a long article, or preparing an accessible publication, ghostWriter keeps the writing space simple while useful tools remain close at hand.
Outline navigation
Outline gathers every heading into one useful list. Choose one and ghostWriter takes you straight to that point in the document, so a long draft never becomes a maze.
Document status information
A customizable Status Bar can show the current line and column, line count, word count, character count, and other details you care about.
Markdown insertion tools
Insert Actions help with headings, links, web images, lists, quotations, code, and more. Use them with selected text or begin something new.
Library file management
Search, sort, pin, rename, duplicate, delete, and restore documents from a straightforward Library.
Sharing and export
Share your writing as Markdown, plain text, a complete web page, a Word document, a tagged PDF, an EPUB ebook, a reflowable eBraille document, or a Braille Ready Format file.
Word documents
Import Word documents while keeping their meaningful structure, including headings, lists, tables, quotations, links, and images. Export to Word when someone needs an accessible .docx file.
Find and Replace
Search within the document you are editing and replace what you find, without leaving the editor.
Images with descriptions
Add images from the web or your device, write meaningful descriptions, and identify tactile graphics. Those descriptions carry through when you render or export the document.
Recently Deleted
Deleted documents and folders wait in Deleted until you need them back. Restore returns a document to the folder it came from.
Markdown editing and HTML preview
Your Markdown stays comfortable to edit, while Render gives you a clean view of the finished document. Headings, lists, links, quotations, and other structure carry through to the result.
When it is ready to leave ghostWriter, share the original Markdown or create readable plain text, a complete web page, a structured Word document, a tagged PDF, or a reflowable EPUB ebook. Each format represents your headings, lists, tables, links, images, and other content in the way that suits it best.
You can also publish directly to braille. Create a reflowable eBraille document or a fixed-layout Braille Ready Format file in grade 1 or grade 2 Unified English Braille.
Folders, search, and sorting
The Library keeps your writing organized with nested folders, pinned favorites, and sorting by name or by when a document was created, changed, or last opened.
Search looks through document names and their contents, so the right file is never more than a few characters away. Your documents stay as ordinary Markdown files you can reach from the Files app, on this device or synced through your own iCloud Drive.
Accessibility
Clear organization, meaningful control names, scalable text, strong contrast, keyboard support, predictable focus, and thoughtful VoiceOver behavior are part of ghostWriter’s design—not extras added after the fact.
What you write stays accessible after it leaves the app. Exported web pages, Word documents, tagged PDFs, and EPUB ebooks preserve meaningful headings, lists, tables, links, and image descriptions for screen-reader navigation.
For braille readers, eBraille creates a reflowable publication with a table of contents and document metadata. Braille Ready Format creates finished pages using a standard 40-cell by 25-line layout or dimensions you choose. Both support grade 1 and grade 2 Unified English Braille, and descriptions keep images and tactile graphics meaningful in the exported document.
The result is an editor that respects how different people read, navigate, and write while keeping the experience pleasantly uncomplicated.
Editor display and behavior settings
Choose the font and appearance you find most comfortable. Adjust the Status Bar, automatic lists, keyboard shortcuts, and sound without crowding the editor itself.
ghostWriter gives you useful choices, then gets out of the way.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Use a hardware keyboard to reach common ghostWriter actions without leaving your document. Keyboard Shortcuts can be turned on or off under Editing in Settings.
Library
- New document
- Command-N
- Import document
- Command-O
- Settings
- Command-comma
While editing
- Save Now
- Command-S
- Find and Replace
- Command-F
- Render
- Command-R
- Outline
- Command-Shift-O
- Insert
- Command-Shift-I
- Jump to Line
- Command-J
- Close the editor
- Command-W
- Dismiss the editor keyboard
- Escape
Support
Need help, found a bug, or want to report an accessibility problem? Email marco@marconius.com and you will hear back from the developer.
You can also write from inside the app. Open Settings and choose Send Feedback, which fills in your app and iOS version automatically.
When reporting a problem, these details help enormously:
- Your device, such as an iPhone 15 Pro or an iPad Air
- Your iOS or iPadOS version
- The ghostWriter version, shown in Settings
- The assistive technology you use, such as VoiceOver or Voice Control
- The steps that led to the problem
Reports from VoiceOver and other assistive technology users are especially welcome. Accessibility testing is ongoing, and a specific report is the fastest way to get something fixed. Bug reports and feature requests are also welcome on GitHub Issues.
ghostWriter does not require an account and does not include advertising, analytics, or tracking. Your documents are stored with the app unless you choose to export or share them.
If you add an image from the web, ghostWriter uses the address you provide when displaying that image. The details are available in the Privacy Policy.
Project history
The original ghostWriter began as a mischievous web experiment that quietly changed a few words whenever a document was rendered. It eventually grew into a real Markdown editor and teaching tool.
The iOS app leaves your words exactly where you put them—for now.