mdbase

An mdbase is a folder of Markdown files with enough shared structure for applications to understand them. The files remain readable in a text editor and can be moved, copied, versioned, or changed with ordinary tools.

Applications can use these files without importing them into private databases. mdbase Connect can host a collection online, synchronize it with a local copy, and control which applications may use it. If a collection remains on your computer, the mdbase Connector serves the folder locally.

A collection is a folder containing Markdown records and the definitions that describe them. In this example, a project application and a text editor can work with the same files.

projects/
├── mdbase.yaml
├── _types/
│   ├── project.md
│   └── person.md
├── projects/
│   └── website-redesign.md
└── people/
    └── sam.md

Each record is an ordinary Markdown file. Frontmatter holds fields that applications can validate and query, while the body remains prose.

---
type: project
title: Website redesign
status: active
owner: "[[people/sam.md]]"
---

The new site should make mdbase
easier to understand.

A type definition stored in the collection explains what these fields mean. Conforming tools use the same rules for links, queries, validation, and updates.

A collection can remain as a folder on your computer or be hosted by mdbase Connect. The Connector serves a local folder directly to approved applications. A hosted collection keeps its main copy online and can synchronize with a local Markdown mirror for offline work.

Applications use Connect to ask for access to a collection and list the operations they need. You might allow an application to find, create, and edit project records while leaving deletion blocked.

Connect checks that permission whenever the application uses the collection.

You can share a hosted collection with other people. Invite viewers who can read, or editors who can read and change records. Each person can connect compatible applications within the permissions you allow.

Invitations currently require a registered, verified Connect account. Sharing is available for hosted collections, not folders served locally by the Connector.

Access is not ownership. You can change a member’s role or remove their access, and narrow, pause, or revoke an application’s permission.

Removing an application does not remove the collection. Your records remain, and other approved applications can keep using them.

See the current applications, read the developer documentation, or learn about the optional runtime profile. Connect is also available in open beta.