FAQ

Common questions from readers and writers. For syntax-level issues, see Common pitfalls.

Using the app

Q: Do I need an account to use Rho MD?

No. Everything local — reading, writing, Psi, canvas — works with no account and no network. An account only matters when you want the cloud: sync, sharing, publishing, and following other people's galaxies. Sign in from Settings → Cloud.

Q: Do documents I open from rho.md work offline?

Yes. Published documents you've opened are cached on disk, so they keep working offline and load instantly next time. The cache checks for updates in the background whenever you're online.

Q: Where do my files actually live?

On your disk, as plain .md files. Psi indexes your folders where they already are — it never moves, converts, or locks your files. Delete Rho MD tomorrow and every note is still a readable text file.

Q: Can I password-protect a note?

Yes — right-click a document in Psi to protect it. A fully encrypted document is unreadable on disk and shows a lock badge in your library. Don't lose the password: encryption is real, there is no recovery back door.

Q: What's the fastest way to find anything?

Ctrl+P fuzzy-finds files (open tabs, recents, and your whole Psi library). Ctrl+Shift+P finds commands — every action in the app is there. F1 opens these guides.

Q: Can I read a whole book in Rho MD?

Yes — a long document with layout: book in its frontmatter opens as turnable pages, remembers where you stopped, and keeps its interactive blocks alive. See Reading books.

Writing

Q: Where do I start?

→ Getting started — the app in five minutes → 5-minute tour — every AINP capability, quickly → Your first interactive doc — build a compound-interest calculator step by step → Cheatsheet — one-page syntax reference

Q: Will my `.md` files still work everywhere else?

Yes — this is a design guarantee, not an accident. Standard markdown renders normally in any tool; AINP blocks (charts, sliders, scenes) degrade to visible code fences in readers that don't understand them. Nothing is lost, it just stops moving. See Plain-text fallback.

Q: Is it safe to open documents other people wrote?

Yes. AINP is declarative — a document can't run arbitrary JavaScript, make network calls, or touch your files. Documents opened from the cloud additionally drop raw HTML entirely. The worst a malformed block can do is render as a plain code block.

Q: Can AI write these documents?

Very well — AINP was designed for it. The built-in Rho AI plugin (Settings → bring your own key, stored in your OS keychain) speaks AINP fluently: ask it to turn data into a chart or build an interactive explainer, then read what it wrote to learn the syntax yourself.

Q: How do I share what I wrote?

Sign in, then publish from the cloud panel — your document becomes a star at rho.md/p/your-slug under your handle, readable on the web and inside every Rho MD app. Readers need no account.

Q: How do I avoid common mistakes?

→ Common pitfalls — the errors everyone makes once, and their fixes.

Concepts

Q: What's the relationship between AINP and Rho MD?

AINP is the open protocol — the fence syntax that makes markdown interactive (CC BY 4.0, anyone may implement it). Rho MD is this app: the reference reader for AINP, plus everything around it (Psi, canvas, cloud). See the Glossary.

Q: Stars, constellations, galaxies — what?

Rho MD's map of knowledge: a document is a star, a category is a constellation, a library or account is a galaxy. Your local Psi library is your galaxy; publishing puts stars in your public one at rho.md/@you. See Psi & the Cloud.

Q: My question isn't here — where do I ask?

Bugs and usage questions → GitHub
These guides — press F1 in the app any time; the @rho-guide galaxy is always current.

FAQ