Your everyday files, the way they should look.
hYYa ink opens the files developers and writers deal with every day — Markdown, JSON, YAML, TOML, XML, CSV, Mermaid, LaTeX, Jupyter and more — and renders them the way they're meant to look, instead of as walls of raw text. No IDE to boot up, no cloud, no account. Just tap a file and read it. Built natively for Mac (Apple Silicon + Intel), iPhone and iPad, it opens in milliseconds, and nothing leaves your device unless you run an optional AI action with your own key.
Many formats, one calm reading view.
Turn a scan into a document
A scanned page is a picture of words rather than words, so searching it finds nothing, you cannot select a line, and the AI actions have nothing to read. Make Searchable reads the page and puts the text back — the scan becomes searchable, selectable, and something the AI actions can actually work on.
Recognition runs on your device — nothing is uploaded. It covers around thirty languages and picks them out automatically.
Find your way around it
Find in document highlights every match and keeps a live count as you type. Pages and contents puts page thumbnails beside the document’s own outline. And a password-protected PDF simply opens — hYYa ink asks you for the password.
All three are free — no trial, no account.
Mark up PDFs by hand iPhone, iPad & Mac
On iPhone and iPad, mark up any PDF by hand — with Apple Pencil or a finger, using the system tool set. A single session can span several pages. Your ink stays adjustable while the document is open; saving writes a new PDF and leaves your original untouched.
On the Mac, draw with your trackpad or mouse using pen, marker, pencil and eraser, in five ink colours with adjustable thickness, and undo stroke by stroke. One session spans several pages and saves once — and, exactly as on iPad, your ink stays adjustable until you do. Only in the saved copy does it become part of the page.
PDF: add text, sign & export
Open any PDF and add text anywhere — tap the exact spot you want and type. hYYa ink never hunts for fields or boxes. Sign by hand in black or blue ink, then resize, rotate and reposition it. Undo any step, and save a copy that leaves your original untouched — all on device.
Organise, protect, compress, compare
Organise Pages reorders, rotates and removes pages, and pulls pages in from another PDF. Protect sets a password and decides whether printing and copying are allowed. Compress shows the before-and-after size before you commit to it. Watermark previews live as you set the wording. Compare shows which pages differ between two versions. And Mark Up Text highlights, underlines or strikes through the text you select.
Every one of these writes a new file. The PDF you opened is never modified.
Markdown, rendered
Headings, bold/italic, links, lists, code blocks and quotes, in a clean reading layout.
Structured data trees
JSON, YAML, TOML and XML as collapsible, color-coded trees — structure at a glance.
CSV & TSV grids
Spreadsheets as tidy tables, with the header row highlighted.
Live diagrams
Mermaid and Graphviz (DOT) render instantly, fully offline.
Math, typeset
LaTeX math, typeset cleanly with KaTeX.
Jupyter notebooks
.ipynb notebooks as clean, readable documents.
AsciiDoc & Org-mode
Long-form docs in a clean reading layout.
Diff & log files
diff, patch and log files, syntax-highlighted.
AI assistance, opt-in
One tap to Explain, Summarize, Reformat, Fix errors or Make diagram — bring your own key, off by default.
Quick Look built in
Press Spacebar in Finder to preview any supported file, beautifully.
Opens by double-click
Registers your file types so they just open.
Native, fast, private
SwiftUI, opens in milliseconds, zero tracking, zero data collection — works with no internet.
Universal & modern
One app for Mac (Apple Silicon and Intel, macOS 14+), iPhone and iPad (iOS/iPadOS 17+).
One engine, every screen you own.
Screens from the Mac, iPad and iPhone apps — the editor, then the PDF tools on every one.
Read a scan, find any word, browse by page — on every platform
The PDF tools — Add Text, Markup and Sign, on every platform
One light app that respects your files.
Other tools make you choose: a heavy IDE, a single-format viewer, or a cloud note app that imports your files into its world. hYYa ink is one lightweight, local-first app that renders many formats natively — and respects that the files are yours.
Read, export and print — all free, forever.
No account, and no trial to expire. Finding a word, browsing by thumbnail and opening a password-protected PDF are free too. Editing and the PDF tools come as a 7-day free trial you start when you choose — how long it runs, what stops working after it, and the one-time price are all shown before it begins. Then a one-time Pro unlock: a single purchase, never a subscription. One Universal Purchase covers iPhone, iPad and Mac.
| Feature | Free Forever · no account | Pro 7-day free trial, then pay once |
|---|---|---|
| Reading & output | ||
| Open and read every supported formatMarkdown, JSON, YAML, TOML, XML, CSV/TSV, Mermaid, Graphviz, LaTeX, Jupyter, diff, log, AsciiDoc, Org and PDF | ✓ | ✓ |
| Preview mode | ✓ | ✓ |
| Export to PDF | ✓ | ✓ |
| ✓ | ✓ | |
| Find in documentevery match highlighted, with a live count | ✓ | ✓ |
| Pages and contentsthumbnails beside the document’s own outline | ✓ | ✓ |
| Open password-protected PDFs | ✓ | ✓ |
| Editing | ||
| Edit in source and split modesFree stays in Preview | — | ✓ |
| Edit JSON, YAML and XML treesFree is read-only | — | ✓ |
| Edit CSV and TSV gridsFree is read-only | — | ✓ |
| Markdown formatting toolbar | — | ✓ |
| PDF tools | ||
| Add Text | — | ✓ |
| Markup by handApple Pencil or finger on iPad and iPhone, mouse or trackpad on Mac | — | ✓ |
| Sign | — | ✓ |
| Save a filled copy | — | ✓ |
| Mark Up Texthighlight, underline or strike through selected text | — | ✓ |
| Make Searchableon-device text recognition, so a scan can be searched | — | ✓ |
| Organise Pagesreorder, rotate, remove, or insert pages from another PDF | — | ✓ |
| Protecta password, plus printing and copying permissions | — | ✓ |
| Compressthe before-and-after size, shown before you save | — | ✓ |
| Watermark | — | ✓ |
| Comparewhich pages differ between two versions | — | ✓ |
| AI | ||
| AI actionsBring your own key — hYYa runs no AI server | — | ✓ |
Reading & output
Editing
PDF tools
AI
Pro is a single in-app purchase — buy it once on iPhone, iPad or Mac and it unlocks on all three.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is hYYa ink?
hYYa ink is a native app for Mac, iPhone and iPad that opens the files developers and writers deal with every day — from Markdown and JSON to CSV, Mermaid, LaTeX and Jupyter — and renders them the way they're meant to look, instead of as walls of raw text. No IDE to boot up, no cloud, no account: just tap a file and read it.
Which file formats does it support?
hYYa ink renders 16 formats. Markdown (.md) in a clean reading layout with headings, bold and italic, links, lists, code and quotes; JSON, YAML, TOML and XML as collapsible, color-coded trees; CSV and TSV as tidy grids with a highlighted header row; Mermaid and Graphviz (DOT) diagrams rendered live and fully offline; LaTeX math typeset with KaTeX; Jupyter (.ipynb) notebooks; AsciiDoc and Org-mode documents; diff/patch and log files, syntax-highlighted; and PDF, rendered page by page.
Is it free?
Opening and reading every supported format is free forever, and so are Preview mode, exporting to PDF, printing, Find in document, Pages and contents and opening password-protected PDFs — no account, no trial needed. A 7-day free trial you start when you choose then unlocks editing (source and split modes), the PDF tools — Add Text, markup by hand, Sign, Save a filled copy, Mark Up Text, Make Searchable, Organise Pages, Protect, Compress, Watermark and Compare — editing JSON, YAML and XML trees and CSV/TSV grids, the Markdown formatting toolbar, and AI actions with your own key. After the trial those need a one-time Pro unlock, a single purchase and never a subscription; one Universal Purchase covers iPhone, iPad and Mac.
Does it work offline?
Yes. All viewing and editing works with no internet connection at all — including live Mermaid and Graphviz diagram rendering and LaTeX math. By default, nothing leaves your device. The only exception is the optional AI assistant, which sends the open document’s text to the provider you connect with your own key, and only when you run an AI action.
Is my data private?
hYYa ink is local-first with no accounts, no tracking, and zero telemetry. By default, nothing leaves your device. The only exception is the optional, off-by-default AI assistant: when you use it, it sends the open document’s text to the OpenAI-compatible provider you connect with your own key — or, on the Mac, to a local model you run yourself — and only when you run an AI action; the app has no AI server of its own.
Which devices does it run on?
hYYa ink runs on Mac — both Apple Silicon and Intel, on macOS 14 Sonoma and later — and on iPhone and iPad running iOS/iPadOS 17 and later. Pro is one Universal Purchase across your iPhone, iPad and Mac — buy it once on any of them and it unlocks on all three.
Does it work with Quick Look?
Yes. hYYa ink includes a Quick Look extension — press the Spacebar on any supported file in Finder to preview it, beautifully rendered, without opening the app.
Can I edit files?
Yes. Viewing is free forever; editing is a 7-day free trial, then included in the optional one-time Pro unlock — a single purchase, not a subscription.
Can I mark up a PDF by hand?
Yes — on iPhone, iPad and Mac. On iPad you mark up with Apple Pencil or a finger using the system tool set; on iPhone with a finger; on the Mac you draw with your trackpad or mouse, with pen, marker, pencil and eraser. Either way you get five ink colours, adjustable thickness and undo stroke by stroke, and a single session can span several pages. Your ink stays adjustable for as long as the document is open — nothing is written until you save, and saving writes a new PDF that leaves your original untouched. In that saved copy the ink is part of the page, so it survives export, print and other PDF viewers.