Macro Docs Review

Macro Docs is a markdown editor built on CRDTs, so several people can edit at once, edits apply locally first, and conflicts reconcile in the background. Each document runs as its own Cloudflare Durable Object in the cloud. Documents have properties such as status, assignee, tags, dates, and custom fields, plus slash commands, inline comments with resolved threads, and version history you can restore or fork. @mentions turn people, docs, tasks, channels, and calls into live inline pills, and AI agents can edit with a visible cursor. The repository README describes docs with offline editing, and calls version control a first version that is not git-like.

Self-hosting runs through the Macro repository, which includes a Docker Compose stack and a Nix dev shell, with docs/RUNNING_LOCALLY.md as the starting point. The README does not list hardware or software requirements, and the platform has dozens of services, so it is a big deployment for a docs-only use. The hosted app at macro.com is the easier path, and it also has an iOS app, with Android listed as coming soon.

The editor is markdown-first with formatting applied as you type, and exports to plain markdown, which reduces lock-in compared with block-based tools. The distinctive part is the cross-linking: mention a task or an email thread inside a doc and it stays connected. We did not use it hands-on; this section reflects the README, product pages, and OpenAlternative.

• Real-time collaborative markdown editing based on CRDTs
• Document properties, slash commands, inline comments, and version history
• @mentions that link docs to people, tasks, email, channels, and calls
• AI agents that edit documents with a live cursor
• Unified search across docs, tasks, email, and chat

• Markdown-native documents that export to plain markdown
• Docs that connect directly to tasks, email, and chat in one workspace
• Open source under AGPL-3.0, with very active development

• Not available as a standalone docs tool, so you adopt the Macro suite
• Version history is not git-like, and the README describes it as a first version
• Heavy self-hosting footprint, with Cloudflare Durable Objects used for collaboration
• No local-first vault like Obsidian, and a smaller template and integration ecosystem than Notion

Self-hosting is free under AGPL-3.0. Hosted Macro lists Free at $0 with limited AI usage and 5 GB of storage, Pro at $40/seat/month, and Max at $200/seat/month. Team plans need a paid seat for every member.

Notion is the established workspace for docs and wikis, with databases, templates, and a large integration library. Macro Docs is closer to a markdown document editor tied into an engineering workflow, without Notion's database-heavy approach. Obsidian and Evernote are note-taking tools with a different focus: Obsidian is local and file-based, which Macro is not.

• Teams that want real-time markdown docs connected to tasks and email
• Engineering groups that prefer plain markdown over block-based pages
• Organizations that want to self-host an open-source workspace

• Individuals who want a local-first notes vault
• Teams that rely on Notion databases and its template ecosystem
• Anyone who wants only a docs app, not a full suite