Cook MD

Installation

Cook Editor is distributed as a signed desktop build for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Every release is published on GitHub.

Go to github.com/cook-md/editor/releases/latest and pick the build for your platform. Auto-update is built in, so you only have to do this once.

macOS

  • macOS 11 (Big Sur) or later
  • Apple Silicon and Intel
  • Signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple
  1. Download the .dmg from GitHub Releases.
  2. Open the disk image and drag Cook Editor into your Applications folder.
  3. Launch it from Applications or Spotlight.

First launch blocked? If macOS shows "Cook Editor cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified", right-click the app in Applications, pick Open, and confirm. You only need to do this once.

Windows

  • Windows 10 or later, x86_64
  1. Download the .exe installer from GitHub Releases.
  2. Run the installer and follow the prompts.
  3. Launch Cook Editor from the Start menu.

SmartScreen warning? The Windows build isn't yet signed with a code-signing certificate, so Microsoft Defender SmartScreen will warn about an unrecognised publisher on first run. Click More info → Run anyway. The installer is published from our GitHub Releases — you can verify the file against the SHA256 sum listed there. Code signing is on the roadmap.

Linux

  • Most x86_64 distributions with glibc 2.31+ (Ubuntu 20.04, Debian 11, Fedora 33, or newer)
  1. Download the .AppImage from GitHub Releases.
  2. Make it executable: chmod +x Cook-Editor-*.AppImage
  3. Run it: ./Cook-Editor-*.AppImage

First Launch

The first time you open Cook Editor, it asks you to pick a folder. This folder becomes your recipe collection — everything inside it (.cook, .menu, and any other files) is what Cook Editor indexes and shows in the sidebar.

If you already have a recipes folder synced with the Cook.md mobile apps, point Cook Editor at that folder. Otherwise, pick or create any folder you like — you can always change it later from File → Open Folder.

Empty folder? That's fine — create your first .cook file from inside the editor and start writing. See Getting Started for a walkthrough.