Mac App Store
The App Store listing is called Glassine Writer — the name “Glassine” alone was already reserved there. The app itself, its window, its icon and its files are all still Glassine. The first version, 0.2.3, was submitted to App Review on September 3, 2026. When it is live, the link will be here and in the README.Direct download
A notarized.dmg for the direct version will be published under Releases on GitHub. The direct version checks GitHub once a day for a newer release and tells you under Help → Check for Updates…; you can turn that off under Settings → General.
Build from source
You need Xcode, free from the App Store. Its command-line tools are all the build uses; the Xcode app itself never has to open.1
Clone the repository
2
Build and install
Glassine.app into /Applications, and opens it. If a copy is already running it is asked to quit first.3
Update later
./build.sh builds into build/Glassine.app without installing, ./build.sh --run builds and opens it from there, ./build.sh --debug compiles faster while you are changing the code, and ./build.sh --appstore builds the sandboxed App Store flavor locally. Opening Package.swift in Xcode and pressing Run works too and is handy for debugging, but the assembled app from build.sh is the one to use day to day: it has the icon and a stable identity for macOS permissions.
First launch
The direct version asks for permission to reach iCloud Drive. Say yes; that is where the library lives. A Glassine folder appears at the top level of iCloud Drive with a welcome document inside it, and you are in the editor. The App Store version cannot read iCloud Drive directly, so it keeps its documents in an iCloud folder of its own. Finder shows that folder as Glassine in iCloud Drive as well, with the app’s icon. If you would rather it used the same folder as the direct version, or any other folder, point it there under Settings → General; the permission is remembered.If iCloud Drive is turned off on the Mac, documents stay local. Everything else works.
What differs between the two versions
The privacy page says the same in more detail.