Document tools that never upload your file
Nine tools for writing, formatting and checking documents — an editor, a converter, a book formatter, slides, compare, readability, tables, a CV typesetter and a code viewer — all running entirely in your browser. No account, no server, nothing leaving your computer.
The tools
Markdown reader and editor
Open a .md file and read it typeset, or write with source and page side by side, both editable. Tables, task lists, footnotes, find and replace, six colour schemes.
Open the editor →Document converter
Markdown, Word, EPUB, HTML and plain text, in any direction. Build an ebook or a Word file without handing your document to anyone.
Open the converter →Book formatter
Turn a manuscript into a typeset book: real pages at your trim size, running heads, a contents page with page numbers, and a print-ready PDF or EPUB.
Format a book →Markdown to slides
Write a talk in Markdown, split slides with a rule, and present full screen with speaker notes, or save the deck as a PDF or a single HTML file.
Make slides →Document compare
See exactly what changed between two versions of a document, word by word, as a redline. Works with Markdown, Word, EPUB and plain text.
Compare documents →Readability checker
Reading grade, Flesch score and five more measures, with long sentences, passive voice and padding highlighted in your own text.
Check readability →Table editor
Paste CSV, a spreadsheet range or a Markdown table, edit it as a grid, and copy it out as Markdown, CSV, HTML or JSON. Opens .xlsx files too.
Edit a table →CV typesetter
Write your CV in Markdown and get a clean, print-ready A4 or Letter page in one of four styles, with a fit-to-one-page control.
Typeset a CV →Code viewer and formatter
Open any source file with highlighting and line numbers. Format or minify JSON, XML and CSS, find syntax errors, print it, or copy it with colours.
View code →Why in the browser
Online document tools almost all work the same way. You upload a file, a server processes it, and you take it on faith that the copy is deleted. That bargain is fine for a shopping list and wrong for a contract, a manuscript, a medical letter or a client's draft.
Recto does the work where the document already is. The pages use the browser's own file reading, compression, parsing and printing to build Word files, ebooks, slide decks and PDFs locally. There is no back end to send anything to, and you do not have to believe that — open your browser's network panel and watch it stay empty while you work.
Built to outlast the tools
Everything here reads and writes open formats. Markdown is plain text you can open in any editor in fifty years. EPUB and .docx are documented standards. Nothing is stored in a proprietary database you would have to export from later, because nothing is stored at all.
Works offline
Each tool is a single HTML file with no dependencies — no frameworks, no web fonts, no CDN. The hosted pages load Google Analytics to count visits, and nothing else; your document is never part of it. The offline copy drops even that, so it makes no network requests at all. Save it, open it from disk, and it behaves identically with no connection.
Questions
What is Recto?
A set of document tools that run entirely in your browser: a Markdown reader and editor, a converter between Markdown, Word, EPUB, HTML and text, a book formatter, Markdown slides, document compare, a readability checker, a table editor, a CV typesetter and a code viewer.
Are the tools free?
Yes. Every tool runs on your own computer, so there is no server cost to pass on, no account, no trial and no usage limit.
Why does it matter that nothing is uploaded?
Most online editors and converters process your file on their servers, which means handing over contracts, manuscripts and client documents to a third party. Recto does the work in the page, so there is nothing to hand over.
Do I need to create an account?
No. There are no accounts, because there is no server storing anything about you.
Is Recto open source?
The whole program is delivered to your browser as readable source. You can view it, save it and run it offline.