(Nil) => {To.Dev;}

Apps

  1. May 2026

DotEmber

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A focused Mac journal for the present moment.

WIP
  • macOS

.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.