Bring one unfinished idea.
Markdown viewer · Mac · Free
Graze through your ideas.
Make the smallest version that explains it.
Reading font
Layout
Appearance
Take the controls
Click a sentence to focus it. Arrow keys move through the document; Space highlights. Esc releases the controls.
Palette / Pasture DarkAll colors ↓
Interactive website demo of Pasture.
Open a Markdown file as a deck. Skim one idea at a time, swipe between sections, and keep the parts worth coming back to.
Your file stays Markdown.
Pasture 0.1.2 for Mac.
The same file
You read more Markdown
than you write.
A plan, a README, a long note. Here is one file as a scroll, and the same file as a deck.
Drafted by the agent. Review before we build.
Navigation
Move your way.
Swipe. Tap. Keep reading.
Make the smallest version that explains it.
notes.md01 / 01
Trackpad
Two-finger gestures
Arrow Keys
Familiar directions
Vim Keys
Stay on the home row
Three ways to move. One reading flow.
Read with a pen
Keep what
matters.
Highlight what matters. Redline what goes. Redact a passage to cover it on screen, then export a kept copy without it. A whole-card redaction adds the stamp.
Internal reminder: check the venue with Alex before sharing the final plan.
## Working notesInternal reminder: check the venue with Alex before sharing the final plan.
## Working notesInternal reminder: check the venue with Alex before sharing the final plan.
Redaction covers text on screen and leaves it out of the kept copy. The words stay in your original file, so it isn’t secure deletion.
Reading modes
Choose your reading room.
The same document. Three ways to settle in.
Coach, First Class, and Private show the same notes.md. Bring one unfinished idea. Make the smallest version that explains it. Leave with a clear next step, not a longer to-do list.
01
Coach
Keep the whole deck in view.
Neighboring stacks and card edges stay visible.
02
First Class
Settle into a single stack.
A closer fit. Just this stack.
03
Private
Just you and the page.
The window becomes the card.
Switch layouts without leaving the document.
On screen
Put the idea
on screen.
Move through the file one idea at a time. A clean surface for a walkthrough, a conversation, or your own thinking.
Colors
The same file. A quieter view.
From the terminal
From the terminal.
Into the deck.
cat shows you the asterisks. Pasture opens the same file as a deck in its own window, from any folder.
Terminal
pasture notes.md from the folder that holds the file, or give it the path.
Finder
Choose Open With → Pasture, or set Pasture as the default Markdown app.
Dock
Drop a file on the icon.
Make it yours
Make room
for your taste.
Thirty palettes, split into dark and light. Pick one and this window follows, along with the page.
Dark15
The idea
Make the smallest version that explains it.Then add everything else.
Previewing Pasture
Light15
Or drop in any .itermcolors file, and keep separate schemes for light and dark.
Even the icon.
Porcelain · Dark · Prompt
A LITTLE BIT OF YOU IN THE DOCKAlongside
A different way through
the same file.
Keep the tools you write in. Choose how you move through the result.
Why add it to the workflow?
| On the Mac | PastureCard reader | MarkedPreview | iA PresenterSlides | DecksetSlides |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The file | ||||
| Open the file you have | Yes, built in | Yes, built in | No. Imports into its own document | Yes, built in |
| Read it rendered | Yes, built in | Yes, built in | Yes, built in | Yes, built in |
| The pass | ||||
| Move through it as cards | Yes, built in | No, not built in | No, not built in | No, not built in |
| Mark what stays, in the file | Yes, built in | Yes. Highlights can be written back | No, not built in | No, not built in |
| The room | ||||
| Present it to a room | Yes, built in | No, not built in | Yes. As slides, in its own document | Yes. As slides |
| A deck of its own, with notes | No. Not a slide tool | No, not built in | Yes, built in | Yes, built in |
Built in× Not built in
Marked already reads the file. iA and Deckset already present it as slides. Pasture is the step between: mark what stays, then show that same file, without making a deck.
Why this, instead of a viewer?
| Tool | Built for | What you would notice |
|---|---|---|
| PastureCard reader | A document you still have to get through, not a file you only need to see. | Headings become stacks of cards. Down and up move inside the section. Left and right move to the next one. |
| MarkedPreview | A styled preview beside the editor you already trust. | The established way to read a file you are not writing. Pasture adds the cards. |
A viewer is for a glance. Pasture is for the document you still have to get through.
Why this for a review pass?
| Tool | Built for | What you would notice |
|---|---|---|
| PastureThe pass before the rewrite | A decision in the rendered file, before anyone commits to rewriting it. | Highlight what stays. Mark what goes. The annotated file remains, and a kept copy can leave without the marks. |
| MarkedProofing | Highlights, comments, and a fuller proofing pass. | Pasture does not explain the mark. It records the decision. |
The reason to keep it is the kept copy. A decision in the file, before anyone rewrites it.
Why this, instead of slides?
| Tool | Built for | What you would notice |
|---|---|---|
| PastureThe same cards | A walkthrough, a lesson, a demo, or a meeting, from the file you were just reviewing. | The room sees the cards you already marked. No speaker script. No second file. |
| iA PresenterSlides | Existing text, turned into slides, with notes beside the talk. | The talk becomes its own document. Pasture keeps the original file in the room. |
| DecksetMarkdown slides | Turning Markdown into slides, beside the editor you already use. | A deck. Pasture presents the review, not a slide file derived from it. |
This is not a better way to build slides. It is a way to walk someone through work the review already did.
These tabs describe a difference in job, not a scored feature list. Pasture does not replace the editor you write in.
A few things before your first file
Still wondering?
Here’s what to expect.
Something else on your mind? ↗
Is Pasture really free?
Yes. Pasture is a free Mac app, with no subscription, account, or required email signup. It’s one of the small, focused tools we’re building at ABEANT. The source code is currently private.
Is it an editor?
No. Pasture does not put a cursor in the text. What it writes are the marks you choose, saved as plain Markdown in the same file, plus a separate kept copy when you export one.
Does this replace my editor?
No. Keep the editor you write in. Open the same Markdown in Pasture when you want to move through it, mark it, or put a card on screen.
Can I open files from the terminal?
After installing Pasture, run pasture notes.md from the folder containing that file, or give it the full path. In Finder, choose Open With → Pasture; double-click works if Pasture is your default Markdown app. You can also drop a file on its Dock icon.
Do I need to know Vim?
No. The arrow keys, buttons, and trackpad work too. Start with up/down for cards and left/right for sections. The Vim motions and counts are there when you want them; press ? in the app for the key guide.
Can I use my own terminal theme?
Yes. Drop an .itermcolors file onto any Pasture window. You can also import one in the theme picker or Themes settings. Pasture uses its background, foreground, red, and yellow to build the reading palette. You can choose separate schemes for light and dark appearance.
What kinds of files can I open?
Markdown files: .md, .markdown, .mdown, .mkdn, and .mkd. Research exports, drafts, notes, READMEs, and proposals all fit. Convert a PDF, Word document, or web page to Markdown first. The Markdown file stays the source of truth.
What do marks do to my file?
Reading alone changes nothing. A mark is written into the same Markdown file. Space writes ==highlight==. D writes ~~redline~~ or %%redact%%, whichever you chose in Settings → Markup. Redline marks a cut. Redact covers the passage on screen. Undo reverses a mark. Export Kept Copy writes a new file with redlined and redacted passages removed and highlight markers taken off. The annotated file stays where it is.
Are the dark bars secure redaction?
The bars do not erase words from your annotated source. Redacted passages are removed from the kept-copy export, but remain recoverable in the original Markdown. Review the exported file before sharing sensitive material. The REDACTED stamp shows that a whole card is marked; it isn’t a security label.
Can I present with it?
Yes, for showing a document cleanly. Choose the Private layout in Settings, go full screen, and step through with the arrow keys. Pasture doesn’t have presenter notes, timers, or slide transitions.
Does the Dock icon change everywhere?
Your choice shows in the Dock and the app switcher. Finder shows the standard icon, and macOS Tinted and Clear appearances use the bundled system icon. Your choices stay saved.
Can I keep writing in my current editor?
Yes. Use your editor to write and rewrite; open the same Markdown in Pasture to read, mark, and trim. Pasture detects external changes and asks you to resolve a conflict when an outside edit overlaps a pending save.
Can Markdown files open in Pasture by default?
Yes. After installing, select a Markdown file in Finder. Choose Get Info → Open with → Pasture → Change All. That makes Pasture the opener for that file type; you can change the choice later.
Which computers will the first release support?
Pasture 0.1.2 is a universal Mac app for Apple silicon and Intel, for macOS 11.0 or newer. Windows and Linux downloads aren’t available yet.
Pasture · Free for Mac
Open your next file
differently.
Start with the one you’ve been putting off: the README, the plan, the notes for Friday.
Pasture 0.1.2 for Mac.
Local. Your files stay on your Mac.Free. No account or subscription.Portable. Your work stays Markdown.