Get unstuck without guessing.

Open ChatMD Studio and choose an existing folder or create a new vault.

Keep your files where they already live—ChatMD Studio does not import them into a private database.

Optional: enable Local History. If Git is not detected, the app explains that before offering an in-app install.

Optional: connect Claude Code, Codex, Antigravity, Cursor, Ollama or another compatible command-line assistant — or use a Claude, OpenAI or Grok API key kept in Secrets.

Choose Open file or select a file from the vault.

Use Edit, Split or Read when those views are available for the format.

Save normally. ChatMD Studio preserves untouched document parts instead of rebuilding the whole file.

If a feature cannot be preserved, the app should warn before conversion or saving—not after.

Open Settings → AI assistant and choose an installed provider.

Sign in or finish the provider’s own setup in the in-app terminal.

Press Test connection: your tool answers one word, none of your notes go with it, and a Sign in button appears if its sign-in has expired.

In Ask & Chat, choose notes-only, hybrid or full-chat mode near the message box.

Open a citation to check an answer against the note it came from. Ollama keeps model processing local.

Open Convert and choose Single file or Batch.

Add files, choose the output format and select where the results should go.

Read the route warning—tables, formulas, layout, images or annotations may not survive every destination.

Run the conversion. The source stays in place unless you deliberately choose another workflow.

Open Teach and add pasted text, a supported file or a web article.

Review the cleaned source and any warnings.

Approve what should be added. ChatMD Studio does not silently absorb the whole folder on a timer.

Use Brain to explore real note links and tags, then open a node back in the editor.

Enable Local History once for the vault.

Open Changes to see what moved, including grouped automated and manual work.

Open a change to read the diff before restoring anything.

Use Vault Health for unresolved links, stale claims and other maintenance signals.

Your vault stays in ordinary folders on your device.

Cloud AI may receive your question, task instructions and the file context you selected.

Settings → Usage keeps AI activity: a local record of which files each AI run was given, with failed runs recorded too. Your questions and answers are never stored there, and none of it is uploaded.

Ollama can process AI requests locally — including the search-by-meaning index, which is built and kept on this PC.

Read the Privacy Policy for the exact data paths and retention details.

Open Secrets from the left rail and choose Open, Windows Hello or a password. Values are encrypted on disk under a data key that is never stored in the clear, and ChatMD has no server to upload them to.

Paste a key, or scan folders you choose for the keys already on this PC. Nothing scans the whole disk and no file is changed.

Allow a Claude, OpenAI or Grok key for Ask and it calls that provider directly. Ask confirms before each run, and every use is written to the activity record first.

Optional: turn on the AI-tools setting so an AI tool on this PC can ask for a key, with a dialog naming the tool for every request. A forgotten password has no reset.