Name: Ferrite
Author: Ferrite

Question 1

What is Ferrite?

Accepted Answer

Ferrite is a fast, native Markdown editor built with Rust. Unlike Electron-based editors, it uses native code for maximum performance - launching in under a second and using minimal memory.

Question 2

Is Ferrite free?

Accepted Answer

Yes! Ferrite is completely free and open source under the MIT license. No subscriptions, no paywalls, no feature gates.

Question 3

What platforms does Ferrite support?

Accepted Answer

Ferrite runs on Windows 10+, macOS 11+ (both Intel and Apple Silicon), and Linux (Ubuntu 20.04+, Fedora 35+, and other distributions).

Question 4

Why "Ferrite"?

Accepted Answer

Ferrite (iron oxide) is a nod to Rust - the programming language used to build the editor. It represents the strength and durability we aim to bring to the editing experience.

Question 5

Why Rust instead of Electron?

Accepted Answer

Electron apps bundle an entire Chromium browser, leading to high memory usage (300MB+) and slower startup. Rust compiles to native code, giving us ~72MB memory usage and sub-second startup times.

Question 6

Is my data stored locally?

Accepted Answer

Yes, 100%. Ferrite stores all your files locally on your computer. We don't have servers, accounts, or cloud storage. Your data never leaves your machine.

Question 7

Does Ferrite work offline?

Accepted Answer

Absolutely. Ferrite is entirely offline-capable. All features including Mermaid diagrams, syntax highlighting, and rendering work without an internet connection.

Question 8

What file formats does Ferrite support?

Accepted Answer

Ferrite supports Markdown (.md), JSON, YAML, TOML, CSV/TSV files with specialized viewers, and plain text files. We're working on more formats for future releases.

Question 9

Does Ferrite support plugins?

Accepted Answer

Not yet, but a plugin system is on our roadmap for v0.5.0+. We're designing a modular architecture where features can be added or removed based on your needs.

Question 10

Does Ferrite support LaTeX math?

Accepted Answer

Not yet. Native LaTeX math rendering is planned for v0.4.0. In the meantime, you can use Mermaid diagrams for visualizations.

Question 11

Can I sync between devices?

Accepted Answer

Ferrite doesn't have built-in sync, but you can use any file sync service (Dropbox, OneDrive, iCloud, Syncthing) since your files are just local markdown files.

Question 12

Does Ferrite support Vim keybindings?

Accepted Answer

Vim mode is planned for v0.2.6. Stay tuned!

Question 13

What Mermaid diagram types are supported?

Accepted Answer

Ferrite supports 11 diagram types: flowchart, sequence, state, class, ER, pie, git graph, gantt, mindmap, timeline, and journey. All rendered natively in Rust without JavaScript.

Question 14

Windows Defender flags Ferrite as suspicious

Accepted Answer

This is a known issue with unsigned Rust applications. We're working on code signing for v0.2.6. For now, you can click "More info" then "Run anyway" or add an exception in Windows Defender.

Question 15

macOS won't let me open Ferrite

Accepted Answer

Right-click on Ferrite and select "Open" from the context menu, then click "Open" in the dialog. Alternatively, go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy and click "Open Anyway".

Question 16

Large files are slow

Accepted Answer

Files over 10MB may experience slower performance. We're implementing lazy loading and view-only mode for large files in v0.2.6.

Question 17

IME candidate window appears in wrong position

Accepted Answer

This is a known limitation with Chinese/Japanese/Korean input methods. We're tracking this issue and working on improvements.

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