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Getting Started

Install Telescopo, understand Markdown Viewer and Markdown Studio, open Markdown files, restore purchases, and learn what changed in v7.

What is Telescopo?

Telescopo is a native macOS app for reading, creating, editing, previewing, navigating, and exporting Markdown documents.

Telescopo is built around two experiences:

  • Telescopo Markdown Viewer: the free core reading experience for Markdown files.
  • Telescopo Markdown Studio: the paid workspace for creating, editing, previewing, monitoring, navigating, and exporting rich Markdown documents.

Markdown Viewer is designed for fast local reading. Markdown Studio adds the full authoring workspace: split-view editing, live preview, templates, Live Monitoring, Telescopo Navigator, AI Assistant, PDF export, additional themes, and advanced document workflows.

What is the difference between Markdown Viewer and Markdown Studio?

Telescopo Markdown Viewer is the free reading tier. It focuses on opening and reading Markdown files with native macOS polish.

Markdown Viewer includes:

  • Fast Markdown rendering.
  • Light and dark themes.
  • Contrast Light and Contrast Dark themes.
  • Reading width controls.
  • Font and zoom controls.
  • Manual reload for files that changed outside Telescopo.
  • Search.
  • Basic document navigation and section shortcuts where available.
  • Local-first file handling.

Telescopo Markdown Studio is the paid upgrade. It turns Telescopo into a full Markdown workspace.

Markdown Studio includes:

  • Split-view Markdown editing with live preview.
  • Reader-only and split-view modes.
  • 200+ Markdown templates.
  • Live Monitoring for externally changed Markdown files.
  • Telescopo Navigator.
  • AI Assistant on supported Macs.
  • Theme-aware PDF export.
  • 30+ handcrafted reading themes.
  • Rich insert tools for Mermaid diagrams, LaTeX math, tables, callouts, and Markdown blocks.
  • Continued standalone viewing support for code files and SVG.
  • Legacy preview support for PDF, EPUB, and standalone LaTeX files, deprecated as of v7.0.0.

Is Telescopo free?

Yes. Telescopo can be downloaded for free from the Mac App Store. The free experience is Telescopo Markdown Viewer.

Telescopo Markdown Studio is available as a one-time in-app purchase. The current price is shown in the Mac App Store purchase sheet.

Telescopo does not require a Telescopo account, subscription, or recurring charge.

How do I unlock Telescopo Markdown Studio?

To unlock Markdown Studio:

  1. Open Telescopo.
  2. Open a Studio upgrade prompt from the app menu, Settings, or a locked Studio feature.
  3. Click the unlock button.
  4. Complete the Mac App Store purchase sheet.
  5. After the transaction is verified, Telescopo unlocks Markdown Studio.

After purchase, Studio features should become available automatically. If they do not, quit and reopen Telescopo, then use Restore Purchase.

How do I restore my Studio purchase?

Use restore when you already purchased Markdown Studio but the app is currently showing the free Viewer experience.

To restore:

  1. Open Telescopo.
  2. Open Settings.
  3. Select Telescopo.
  4. Click Restore Purchase.
  5. Sign in with the Apple ID that originally purchased Markdown Studio if macOS asks.

You can also restore from the Unlock Markdown Studio window.

If restore does not find the purchase, confirm that:

  • You are signed into the same Apple ID that purchased the upgrade.
  • The purchase completed successfully in the Mac App Store.
  • The Mac has an internet connection.
  • You are using the Mac App Store version of Telescopo.

I previously bought Telescopo Pro. Do I get Markdown Studio?

Yes. Existing Telescopo Pro customers continue to receive access to the paid Telescopo Markdown Studio features.

Telescopo 7.0 renames and expands the paid experience from Telescopo Pro to Telescopo Markdown Studio. If you purchased the previous Pro upgrade, Telescopo should honor that purchase and unlock Markdown Studio.

If you believe you previously purchased Telescopo Pro but Studio is not unlocked:

  1. Open Settings > Telescopo.
  2. Click Restore Purchase.
  3. Make sure you are signed into the Apple ID used for the original purchase.
  4. Restart Telescopo.

If the issue continues, contact support and include the app version, macOS version, and whether the purchase appears in your Apple purchase history.

Why does Telescopo still say Markdown Viewer after I installed the app?

Telescopo Markdown Viewer is the free base experience. The same app can run as either Viewer or Studio depending on whether Markdown Studio is unlocked.

After you purchase or restore Markdown Studio, Telescopo unlocks the Studio workspace and paid features. You do not need to download a separate app.

How do I open Markdown files in Telescopo?

You can open Markdown files several ways:

  • Click Open File on the welcome screen.
  • Choose File > Open File.
  • Drag a Markdown file onto Telescopo.
  • Use Open With > Telescopo in Finder.
  • Use recent files from the welcome screen or Files popover.
  • Open local Markdown links from inside a Markdown document.

For Markdown Studio users, the Files popover also includes document creation, recent files, reload/status controls, Live Monitoring, and PDF export access where available.

How do I create a new Markdown document?

Creating new documents is a Markdown Studio feature.

To create a new document:

  1. Open Telescopo Markdown Studio.
  2. Click New Document on the welcome screen, or use the Files popover.
  3. Choose a blank document or one of the included Markdown templates.
  4. Pick a save location.
  5. Start writing in the Studio editor.

Markdown Studio includes 200+ templates across planning, product work, engineering docs, finance, education, writing, meetings, and more.

How do I set Telescopo as the default app for Markdown files?

To set Telescopo as the default app for .md or .markdown files:

  1. In Finder, select a Markdown file.
  2. Choose File > Get Info.
  3. In Open with, select Telescopo.
  4. Click Change All.
  5. Confirm the change.

After this, double-clicking Markdown files should open them in Telescopo.

What Markdown file extensions does Telescopo support?

Telescopo is focused on Markdown files, including common Markdown extensions such as:

  • .md
  • .markdown
  • .mdown
  • .mkd
  • .mdwn

Some Markdown-like files may still open as plaintext or code depending on their extension and content. For the best experience, use .md or .markdown.

How do local Markdown links work?

Telescopo supports local Markdown links and wiki-style links for neighboring Markdown files.

Examples:

[Project Notes](project-notes.md)
[[project-notes.md]]
[[Project Notes]]

When the target can be resolved safely, Telescopo opens the linked Markdown document in a new tab.

For best results:

  • Keep linked Markdown files in the same folder or a folder Telescopo has permission to access.
  • Include the file extension when possible, such as [[project-notes.md]].
  • Use normal relative links for nested folders, such as [Plan](docs/plan.md).

Why does macOS say Telescopo does not have permission to open a linked file?

Telescopo is a sandboxed Mac App Store app. macOS only lets sandboxed apps access files that the user has selected or previously granted access to.

If a Markdown file links to a neighboring file that Telescopo has not been allowed to access, macOS may block the open request and show a permission message.

To fix this:

  1. Open the linked file manually once using Open File.
  2. Or open the folder/project in a way that grants Telescopo access to the neighboring files.
  3. Then try the Markdown link again.

This behavior comes from macOS privacy and sandboxing rules. Telescopo avoids bypassing those rules so local documents remain under user control.

What changed in Telescopo 7.0?

Telescopo 7.0 is a major Markdown release.

Highlights include:

  • Telescopo Markdown Viewer as the free core reading experience.
  • Telescopo Markdown Studio as the paid full Markdown workspace.
  • Split-view Markdown editing with live preview.
  • 200+ Markdown templates.
  • Live Monitoring.
  • Telescopo Navigator.
  • AI Assistant on supported Macs.
  • Richer Mermaid and LaTeX rendering.
  • Mermaid diagram magnification.
  • Local Markdown links and wiki-style links.
  • Reading width controls.
  • Contrast Light and Contrast Dark themes.
  • Refined toolbars, popovers, onboarding, and upgrade messaging.
  • Continued Studio access for existing Telescopo Pro customers.

What preview formats are deprecated in Telescopo 7.0?

Telescopo 7.0 is focused on Markdown as the primary supported path.

As of v7.0.0, standalone LaTeX and MathJax-style .tex file preview support is deprecated in favor of KaTeX-style TeX syntax inside Markdown. Native EPUB preview support and native PDF preview support are also deprecated.

These legacy preview paths may be removed in a future version to reduce code complexity and keep Telescopo focused on its strongest Markdown workflows.

Markdown-to-PDF export is not deprecated. Exporting rendered Markdown to PDF remains a core Markdown Studio feature.

Standalone SVG viewing and code viewing remain supported. However, Markdown is the primary future path for rich SVG diagrams, images, and code syntax inside Telescopo documents.