Welcome to Return

Return is an AI Document Workbench — a local-first markdown editor with built-in AI for document analysis, writing, and annotation.

Your files, your machine

Every document in Return is a plain markdown file on your disk. There is no proprietary format, no cloud sync you didn’t ask for, no database sitting between you and your writing. Open your documents folder in any text editor — it all works.

AI processing can run entirely on your machine through Ollama. Your content doesn’t have to leave your computer unless you choose a cloud provider.

AI that reads with you

Return’s AI understands what you’re looking at. It sees your document, your current selection, and where you’ve scrolled. Ask a question in the Omnibox and the AI responds with full context — no need to copy-paste sections or explain what you’re working on.

When AI suggests edits, they appear as highlighted changes you can accept or reject one by one. You stay in control.

Markdown, without the markup

Return renders markdown as you type. Headings, bold text, lists, tables, and code blocks appear formatted — but the underlying file stays clean markdown. Click any formatted element to reveal its syntax and edit directly.

No mode switching. No preview tab. What you see is what you mean.

Next steps

The fastest way to get started is the Quick Start guide — it takes about five minutes to create your first document, format it, and try an AI conversation.

If you prefer to explore on your own, here’s what to try first:

Create a new document
Open Settings