MarkerDown

A hierarchical markdown-based knowledge management system for students. View, organize, and manage multi-fidelity versions of information as unified entities.

The Problem

University students face information fragmentation:

• Same content exists across formats (PDF, notes, summaries)
• Multiple fidelity levels (raw → dense → condensed) create file sprawl
• Flat folder structures lose conceptual hierarchy
• Old notes become inaccessible clutter
• Manual extraction from PDFs is tedious

The Solution

MarkerDown treats multiple versions of information as a single entity and uses a hierarchical markdown structure that maps directly to your filesystem.

Entity Model

[Entity: "Percentages"]
├── Raw: percentages-textbook.pdf
├── Dense: percentages-full.md
└── Condensed: percentages-keypoints.md

Three files, one logical entity.

Hierarchical Structure (Sidecar Convention)

math/
├── percentages.md           ← Parent content
├── percentages/             ← Children folder (same name, no .md)
│   ├── simple-interest.md
│   └── compound-interest.md
├── algebra.md
└── algebra/
    ├── quadratics.md
    └── linear.md

A markdown file can be both content and a container for children.

Features

MVP (Phase 1)

• Hierarchical markdown viewer
• Sidecar folder convention for parent-child relationships
• Tree navigation that mirrors Explorer structure
• Markdown rendering with syntax highlighting

Completed

• Entity system: Group raw/dense/condensed as one entity via naming convention
• AI summarization: PDF → user-defined variants via Claude CLI
• Agent chat: Integrated Claude CLI assistant panel

Planned

• Markdown editor: Edit files directly with image pasting support
• Smart note-taking: New Note → raw capture → "Organise with Claude" → drag to hierarchy
• Todo management: Agent-managed todos via sidebar tabs
• Full file management: Rename, delete, reorder, tags, drag & drop external files
• Archive system: Hide old content while keeping it agent-searchable
• Consistency checker: Flag and resolve conflicts across entity versions
• User context: Store personal context to inform agent & summarizer
• Polish: Keyboard shortcuts, right-click menus, custom wallpaper, PDF improvements

Tech Stack

• Runtime: Electron
• UI: React + TypeScript
• Markdown: remark/rehype ecosystem
• File watching: chokidar
• Styling: TBD (Tailwind or CSS Modules)

Development

# Install dependencies
yarn install

# Run in development
yarn dev

# Build for production
yarn build

Project Structure

markerdown/
├── src/
│   ├── main/           # Electron main process
│   ├── renderer/       # React UI
│   │   ├── components/
│   │   ├── hooks/
│   │   └── utils/
│   └── shared/         # Shared types and utilities
├── agents/             # Claude agent configuration
└── package.json

License

MIT