Command comma asks for a sentence, Command period for a paragraph, Command slash for the full idea.
Inline completion
One key for each size of help. Tab accepts, Esc dismisses.
Write with AI. Keep your voice.
A Markdown editor for Mac, for people who read every sentence. AI suggests only when you press a key, and nothing goes into your document until you accept it.
The lighthouse
Mara reached the lighthouse just before dawn. The door stood open, and the lamp was still warm.
She climbed the stairs slowly, counting every step. At the top, the keeper’s logbook lay open to a page dated forty years ago.
Why Iliad
Good writing means reading every sentence
When an AI writes the draft for you, you get fluent text that says little and doesn’t sound like you. In Iliad you do the writing. AI helps with the next sentence, a shorter paragraph or a round of edits from Claude, and you read each change before you keep it.
The editor
A quiet page for long writing
Iliad hides the Markdown syntax on every line except the one you are editing. Drag in an image and Iliad saves it in an assets folder next to your document. Write LaTeX between $$ and it shows as a formula. The file on disk stays plain Markdown.
On attention
A reader gives a piece of writing one sentence of attention at a time. Each sentence that doesn’t earn it costs the reader something, and the ones after it pay for that.
The writing room, late afternoon.
If each of n sentences asks for attention a, the reader spends
A = n · a
and a sentence that says nothing still takes its share.
Images
Drag or paste a picture. Iliad copies it into assets/ and links it from the file.
Math
Inline $x^2$ or a $$ block. You see the formula, the file keeps the LaTeX.
Typography
Serif, sans or mono at the size you like. The setting stays in the app, out of your files.
Writing, assisted
AI at your cursor
Press ⌘, for a sentence, ⌘. for a paragraph or ⌘/ for the whole idea. A fast model on Groq writes the suggestion and follows the writing preferences you set, such as “short sentences, no adverbs”. The AI is free with a daily limit, or you can use your own Groq key.
✦ AI on a selection
Select text, press ⌘↵ and pick Rewrite, Expand, Shorten, Summarize or Turn into a list. The result appears next to your text until you accept or reject it.
Bring your own agent
Works with your agent
Leave comments on the passages you want changed, then ask Claude Code or Codex to address them. Iliad shows each change in the page, and you keep it or restore your version.
A Claude Code session in a terminal. Asked to address the comments in the open document, the agent loads the Iliad skill, runs iliad status, reads drafts/the-lighthouse.comments.md, edits drafts/the-lighthouse.md, removes the two addressed comments and runs iliad open to show the first change. Iliad then shows both changes for review.
Using Claude Code or Codex? Paste this prompt.
Set up Iliad for me: follow https://iliad.md/install.md
Your agent downloads Iliad and installs the iliad command and the skill.
Who it’s for
Writers who sign their work
Novelists
Draft chapters in one folder. When a scene stalls, ask for one sentence, then keep it or write your own.
Journalists
Shorten a piece to length and check each cut before you file.
Playwrights and screenwriters
Write scenes as plain text. Ask for a line of dialogue only when you are stuck.
Academics
Write equations in LaTeX, add figures and review every edit an agent makes to a chapter.
Students
Write your own essay. If an agent edits it, you see each change and decide what stays.
Bloggers
Your posts are Markdown files, ready for any static site or CMS.
The rest of the desk
Small things, done well
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Comments
Comment on any passage. Yours and your agent’s show in the margin, beside the text.
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Corrector
Spelling and grammar, in the page. No key needed.
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Search
Find text or file names across your folder.
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File tree
Drag to move. Iliad never overwrites a file.
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Just the page
Hide the sidebar with ⌃⌘S and keep only the page.
- Plain .md files on your disk
- Free to use
- MIT open source
- No account
Missing something? Tell me →
Get Iliad
Free · macOS 12+ · Apple Silicon
Mac only for now. Windows, Linux or Intel Mac? Watch the repo on GitHub.
Using an agent? Paste
Set up Iliad for me: follow https://iliad.md/install.md