Usage & Feature Guide

3.1 In-Place Hybrid WYSIWYG

Traditional Markdown editors fall into one of two camps: the rigid, disconnected two-pane layout where you write source on the left and preview on the right, or a rich-text presentation that easily corrupts the underlying syntax. Akileas takes an in-place hybrid WYSIWYG approach.

• Editing reveals the source. When the cursor enters a paragraph, math formula, table, or heading block, that block immediately expands into clear Markdown source syntax so you can fine-tune it with precision.
• Leaving renders the layout. Once the cursor leaves the block, the content is rendered in place as polished vector typesetting: headings gain weight and scale, formulas become print-quality mathematical notation, tables become self-adapting grids, and code blocks receive syntax highlighting.
• Zero syntax corruption. Clean, plain Markdown text is always what gets stored underneath. No redundant, disordered, deprecated HTML tags are ever introduced.

3.2 Multi-Document Split Views

For literature comparison, long-form chapter-by-chapter writing, and reference-heavy work, Akileas provides native split-screen support.

• Split Right. Divide the current viewport horizontally into two (the shortcut can be triggered from the menu), each side scrolling independently.
• Split Down. Place two viewports one above the other for vertical comparison.
• Bidirectional live sync for the same document. When both viewports have the same document open, they share a single copy of its content. Typing in the left viewport updates the rendered right viewport at millisecond-level latency, while each side keeps its own fully independent scroll position and cursor selection.
• Seamless focus travel. Press Ctrl + H / J / K / L to move focus between split viewports as smoothly as in Vim.

3.3 Outline Navigation & the Search System

Floating outline navigation tree

The floating document outline tree (Cmd + D / Ctrl + D) automatically extracts every H1 through H6 heading in the current document and displays them as an indented tree hierarchy. Click a node to jump smoothly to the matching section, and the tree automatically highlights the heading node that owns the reading position as you scroll.

Inline find and replace

Inline find and replace (Cmd + F / Ctrl + F, Cmd + H / Ctrl + H) supports plain text search, Whole Word matching, and Match Case, plus a powerful and extremely fast Regex Match mode. Hits are shown in the viewport as a translucent golden highlight overlay, and Enter / Shift + Enter move quickly up and down through them.

Workspace-wide and file-level access

• Global workspace search (Cmd + B / Ctrl + B) instantly scans every Markdown document under the currently open folder, with fast fuzzy search by file name or text fragment.
• Quick explorer (Cmd + E / Ctrl + E) conveniently summons the file directory tree at the side, so you can manage your workspace structure lightly and efficiently.

3.4 The Git-Free Local Time Machine

Many users work in project directories that are not configured with Git, and so risk accidentally deleting text, corrupting files, or overwriting content. Akileas ships with a built-in time machine that works out of the box.

• Summon the time machine panel. Press Cmd + Shift + H (macOS) or Ctrl + Shift + H (Windows/Linux).
• Runs independently, with no dependencies. Whether or not the current file sits inside a Git repository, Akileas maintains its own dedicated history database and keeps a rolling set of up to 100 saved snapshots.
• Character-level diffing. The time machine interface presents character-level additions and deletions between different historical versions (green for additions, red for deletions, with corresponding line numbers), with no external tool required.
• Second-scale checkout and restore. Click a version in the history list to preview that historical state, then click Restore to roll back safely.

You can also create a milestone snapshot manually at any time with Cmd + Shift + S / Ctrl + Shift + S.

3.5 Native LaTeX and Mermaid Diagrams

No external plug-ins and no network connection are required: Akileas renders professional typesetting components natively.

LaTeX math formulas

Inline formulas use $E = mc^2$ and are typeset elegantly within the flow of text. Block-level display formulas use $$ ... $$ and support complex integrals, matrices, calculus, and systems of equations. Nineteen mathematical vector fonts are built in, giving beautiful and crisp glyphs.

Modern Mermaid vector diagrams

• Supports flowcharts (graph TD), sequence diagrams (sequenceDiagram), state diagrams, class diagrams, and mind maps.
• Full support for modern Mermaid syntax, including box grouping containers in sequence diagrams (for example box rgb(240, 248, 255) business module ... end) and multi-line labels (<br> or <br/>).
• Dynamic interaction and a local magnifier: smooth mouse-wheel zooming and hold-and-drag panning, and when a diagram is scaled down a 360x240 locally shaded magnifier activates automatically so that the details of complex architecture diagrams stay perfectly legible.

3.6 The AI Agent Configuration Workbench

A purpose-built tool for next-generation developers and AI Agent architects working with SKILL.md and AGENTS.md.

• Automatic specification recognition. When you open SKILL.md, AGENTS.md, or .github/copilot-instructions.md, the editor switches automatically into the dedicated Agent-enhanced working mode.
• Lossless line-level lexical analysis. Within a safe boundary of 64KB / 512 lines, frontmatter metadata is scanned quickly while the user's original field ordering and comment formatting are strictly preserved.
• Floating Problems diagnostics panel. Automatically detects missing required fields (such as name, description, and version), validates that directory names and identifiers match the Skill specification, and strictly validates Semantic Versioning (SemVer) formats.
• One-click Quick Fix. Click the fix button in a diagnostic, and the specification template and any missing fields are patched into the document immediately.

3.7 Publication-Grade Typst PDF Export

Say goodbye to the blurriness and broken layout produced by printing a PDF through a browser. Akileas embeds Typst, a modern typesetting engine, and writes vector documents directly.

• Trigger the export. Click the menu File -> Export as PDF….
• Professional export parameters. International standard page sizes A4 or US Letter; Portrait or Landscape orientation; custom margins set precisely from 5mm to 60mm; and page number and header controls that let you freely choose whether to print headers, footers, and dynamic page numbers.
• True vector embedding. Markdown text, mathematical formulas, and Mermaid topology diagrams are all converted into high-precision vector metadata and embedded in the PDF, staying absolutely smooth and sharp at ten-thousand-fold magnification and reaching the print quality of academic journals and publications.

3.8 Cross-Platform Shortcut Reference

Shortcuts follow each platform's conventions; macOS uses Cmd where Windows and Linux use Ctrl, except for split viewport travel, which is Ctrl-based everywhere.