Getting Started
Install
Download Legible for macOS (Apple Silicon), open the disk image, and drag Legible to your Applications folder. The app is signed and notarised by Apple, so it opens without Gatekeeper warnings.
First run
The first time you open Legible, a short wizard walks you through two things:
- Choose your notes folder. Point Legible at any folder of Markdown files:
the root of an Obsidian vault, a subfolder, or any collection of
.mdfiles. Legible reads it; it never writes to it. - You're done. Legible indexes the folder and opens it in the reader.
Read-only by design
Legible never modifies your notes. It opens the folder read-only, so there is no risk to your vault.
Activate your license
Legible starts as a 14-day trial. When you buy, your license key arrives by email. To activate:
- Open Preferences from the menu bar icon.
- Paste your key into the License field and click Activate.
- Legible switches out of trial mode and relaunches itself.
One license activates Legible on up to 2 Macs. See Licensing & Updates for details.

Changing your vault
Switched projects, or want to read a different folder? Open Preferences and, under Vault, click Change…, then pick the new folder. Legible re-indexes and reloads.
