Faq

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Korppi.

General

What is Korppi?

Korppi is a markdown editor with integrated version history and conflict-free merging. It lets you write, track changes, and collaborate asynchronously, all locally, with no dependence on third-party servers.

Why "Korppi"?

Korppi means "raven" in Finnish. At first I wanted to use Pijul an open source tool named after the Pijul for the patch engine, and so I wanted to give my tool also a bird name. In the end I didn't stick with Pijul, but kept Korppi.

Is Korppi free?

Yes! Korppi is free and open source software, released under the GPLv3 license.

What platforms does Korppi support?

  • Linux (AppImage)
  • macOS (DMG)
  • Windows (EXE and MSI installer)

Did you write Korppi?

No, I designed Korppi, but Korppi was written 100% by LLMs!

Documents

What's a .kmd file?

A .kmd (Korppi Markdown Document) file is Korppi's native format. It's a ZIP archive containing your markdown content, version history, comments, and metadata. See File Format for details.

Can I open regular Markdwon or Word files?

Currently, Korppi uses its own .kmd format, but you can import .md, (and some variants, such as .rmd, .qmd) and .docx files.

How do I share documents with non-Korppi users?

Export your document:

  • Export MD for markdown files
  • Export DOCX for Word documents

I accidentally closed without saving. Can I recover my work?

If you didn't have autosave on, and if you ignored the prompt telling you that you had unsaved changes, too bad!

Features

How is this different from Git?

Git manages code. Korppi manages writing. It provides non-technical collaborators with intuitive version history and automatic reconciliation so parallel edits can be merged into a clean, unified document.

Can multiple people edit at once?

No. Korppi is not a live collaborative editor. Instead, it’s designed for asynchronous collaboration: the workflow where people exchange revised versions of a document, add comments, and make tracked changes independently. Korppi streamlines this process by providing built-in reconciliation, making it easy to merge these parallel edits into a single, coherent document.

Do comments appear in exported files?

No. Korppi keeps comments and discussion inside the editor. The goal is to use Korppi for drafting, review, and revision. Once the content is finalized, you can export to Word and focus on formatting and layout there.

Can I customize keyboard shortcuts?

No. Korppi is designed for business users who generally prefer consistent, preset shortcuts rather than custom configurations.

Timeline & History

How far back does the history go?

Korppi saves your complete edit history within each .kmd file. There's no limit, all patches are preserved.

Can I delete history?

Currently, no. History is considered valuable data. A future release may add the option to compact history.

What's a "pending" patch?

Pending patches are changes imported via reconciliation that haven't been reviewed yet. You can approve or reject them.

I restored an old version. Can I undo that?

Use Ctrl+Z (Undo) immediately after restore, or reconcile with a backup of your newer version.

Troubleshooting

Open an issue on GitHub if something's wrong.

Development

How do I report bugs?

Open an issue on GitHub.

Can I contribute?

Yes! See Contributing for guidelines.

What's Korppi built with?

  • Frontend: JavaScript, HTML, CSS
  • Editor: Milkdown (ProseMirror)
  • Backend: Rust (Tauri)
  • Sync: Yjs (CRDT)

Still Have Questions?