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Show HN: Glimpse, Markdown reader using Apple's on-device foundation model
Glimpse is a native macOS markdown viewer. The thing I built it around:
the AI features run entirely on-device through Apple's FoundationModels
(the same model behind Apple Intelligence). Summaries, key insights, an
auto-glossary of jargon in whatever you're reading. Nothing leaves your
machine, no API key, no account.
I read long markdown all day, mostly engineering docs and RFCs, and the
existing options frustrated me. Electron apps felt slow. The fast native
ones had no AI. The ones with AI wanted me to send a private spec to
someone's cloud to get a summary. I wanted to open a 40-page doc and ask
"what's actually new here" without it leaving my Mac.
Other things it does: double-click any rendered block to edit just that
part of the source, file watching that doesn't fight you while you edit,
presentation mode, KaTeX and Mermaid offline, and a QuickLook extension
so .md files preview the same way in Finder.
Worth being upfront. AI needs macOS 26 because FoundationModels doesn't
exist before it. The viewer and editor still work on older macOS, AI is
just gated. Mac App Store only right now. 14 day free trial, then
monthly or yearly subscription. I went with subscription because I want
runway to keep shipping, but I'm honestly not sure it's the right model
for a tool like this, so push back if it bugs you.
- AMLFI 4mo agoInteresting use of the on-device foundation model. I've been using Apple's Vision framework for OCR in a Mac App Store app and the sandboxing constraint is what makes on-device models so appealing for this kind of tool. No network entitlement needed, works offline, passes App Review without needing to justify external data flows. Curious whether you're using the Foundation Models framework from WWDC25 or an older approach.