Opportunities › Markdown knowledge base management for macOS › Proposed app
Stillpage
A calm Markdown notebook that works on your own files and stays small on purpose.
- Score
- 46
- confidence 62
- Evidence
- 12
- items on the page
- Rivals
- 5
- named in sources
- First version
- 35 d
- estimate
- Type
- Desktop app
- PWA: runs in the browser, installs on Mac and Windows
- Market since
- 2016
- Established market · AI estimate
ScreensConcept
Desktop app: macOS users write and organize Markdown notes in a calm, focused environment at their desk for extended work sessions. Sample screens on a computer, in the proposed brand. Their numbers are sample data.
Notes
Files in sync412 notes
- Folder~/Notes
About this appAI proposal
Stillpage opens a folder of plain Markdown files and gives you a quiet place to write, link and find notes. Your files stay yours: no import, no database, no lock-in. Edit them in Stillpage or in any other editor.
It is for Mac users who like the calm of Bear but want real .md files, and who find Obsidian, Notion and Craft more complex with each release. Stillpage keeps a short public list of things it will not do, such as a canvas or databases.
Extensions exist, but they are small and sandboxed. They can change how notes look, or import and export them. They cannot add new panels or screens. The core aims for stability over new features.
- Tagline
- Your Markdown files, in one quiet window.
- Voice
- calmplainsteady
- Why this name
- Still means calm and unchanged; page points to the plain file at the center. Two plain words, easy to say.
In the first version
Members say which features they would use. It tells PWAS what people want; it changes no score.
Works on real Markdown files
Pick a folder and Stillpage reads and writes plain .md files in place. Changes made in other editors show up in the app.
No member yet
One calm window
A note list, an editor and search. No tool sidebars, no dashboards, no canvas.
No member yet
Links and backlinks
Link notes with [[double brackets]] and see which notes point back to the one you are reading.
No member yet
Small, sandboxed extensions
Add themes, exporters and importers. Extensions cannot add panels or change the layout.
No member yet
Brand identityAI proposal
Check the name against trademark registers before using it.
Palette
#F7F3EAPaper · surface#23211CInk · text#2F5D50Pine · primary#C8553DClay · accent#8A7F6AStone · secondary text and data
Typography
Aa
Stillpage
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 0123456789
Your Markdown files, in one quiet window.
PricingAI proposal
Based on VERIFIED pricing pages: Bear lists $2.99 a month plus a free plan; Obsidian lists $5 to $10 a month plus a free plan. Tiers are a starting point to test.
Free
Free
- Open any folder of Markdown files
- Editor, search, links and backlinks
- Works offline
Plus
$3 a month
- Sync between devices
- Publish notes as read-only pages
- Extensions and themes
- Vote on the Not-Doing list
Plus yearly
$30 a year
- Everything in Plus
- Two months free
Would you pay Plus yearly · $30 a year?
Your answer tells PWAS which prices people accept. It changes no score.
No answers yet.
What it could be worthEstimate
What a software business making this much sells for today, from real deals. Pick a monthly revenue.
If it makes
Worth about
$194,000
Sale range $132,000 to $263,000
$120,000 a year in revenue
From 87 software businesses listed and sold on Empire Flippers in the last year, revenue vetted by the broker: they sell for about 19× their monthly revenue, most between 13× and 26×.
Measured on profit, the middle deal is 32× monthly net profit: about 2.7 years of profit.
An estimate, not an offer or financial advice. A real price depends on profit, growth, churn, how much of the work is the owner's, and the buyer.
How it would growAI proposal
How the product would reach new customers through its own use, and how the first ones would be found. A plan to test, not a result.
- Built-in loop
- Shared outputs. Users publish a note as a read-only page. Each page carries a small Stillpage mark and a link, so readers see the product through real notes.
- Do they become customers?
- Readers of a page may not write notes, so most only see it. Test whether the share of readers who click through and start a free account is high enough.
- First customers
- Mac users who keep a personal Markdown knowledge base and complain about feature bloat in Obsidian or Notion, such as developers and writers.
- Where to reach them
- Hacker News: Post a Show HN with the Not-Doing list and a demo on a plain folder of files.
- Obsidian and Markdown communities: Offer the free tier and an import guide in forums where users discuss complexity.
- First milestone
- Twenty paying Plus users from one community in 60 days, with at least half still active after a month.
Why people already pay for this
- Public claimUsers would pay for a focused, well-designed Markdown knowledge base app for macOS
- Public claimExisting tools like Obsidian, Notion, and Craft suffer from excessive feature creep that detracts from core functionality
- Public claimThere is demand for an app that combines Obsidian's plugin support with Bear's minimalist design philosophy
- AI inferenceUsers value focused design that avoids feature creep over feature-rich but complex alternatives
- Verified
Tech stack
Every proposal builds on the same PWA base, installable from the browser on any phone or computer. Dashed boxes are what this app adds.
- AppNext.js and TypeScript
- PWAManifest and service worker
- UITailwind CSS
- Data and authSupabase Postgres
- PaymentsStripe
- EmailResend
- HostingVercel
- This app · Local filesFile System Access API with a fallback importReads and writes the user's own .md files in place. Support varies by browser.
- This app · SyncEncrypted file sync over object storageKeeps notes the same across devices without a notes database.
RisksAI inference
- PlatformDirect folder access depends on browser support. Safari may not offer it, which would limit a Mac-focused PWA to Chromium browsers or need a fallback.
- CommercialObsidian already has a free plan and works on local files. Stillpage must prove that being smaller is enough for people to pay.
- TechnicalTwo-way sync with files edited elsewhere can cause conflicts or lost edits. It needs careful testing on large folders.
- CommercialThe case rests on public comments, not verified demand. A promise to add few features limits growth and may annoy users who want more.
- Intellectual propertyThe material suggests an open-source core. License choice and extension rules affect whether others can copy and resell it.
Everything marked AI proposal or AI inference was written by a model from the evidence on the opportunity page. The proposed name must be checked against trademark registers before it is used.