.Ember (DotEmber) is the first app under the NilToDev banner. The page
below is its development log as much as its product page — origin, the
decisions that shaped the canvas, and where the build stands today.
Origin
I write almost every day, and I had stopped enjoying any of the journaling
apps I’d tried. They each optimised for organising what I’d already written.
I wanted something that optimised for the act of sitting down and beginning.
DotEmber started as a one-evening prototype: a single window, no toolbar, no
project picker, no preferences pane. Just a canvas. The version that survived
the next month of daily use is the one that became 0.1.
Design decisions
- One canvas. No tabs, no documents list, no project switcher. The
current entry is the only entry visible. Older entries are reachable by an
intentional gesture, not a sidebar.
- No format toolbar. Markdown-ish keyboard shortcuts only. The act of
reaching for a toolbar breaks the act of writing.
- Theme follows the OS. Light follows light, dark follows dark.
- Local-first. Files on disk you can grep. No server, no account, no
telemetry.
Shipping notes
DotEmber is in private beta as of May 2026. The Mac App Store release is
“Coming Soon” — the disabled CTA at the top of this page is intentional
until Apple’s review clears. The repo is private during the beta and opens
up alongside the App Store launch.