Bike Outliner 2 Releases

Bike 2 is in preview stage

• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (311) 08 Oct 2026

  Added right-to-left and mixed-direction editing.

  Each row takes its direction from its first strong character. Outline guides and controls flip sides. Use Format > Writing Direction to set a row’s or a selection’s direction yourself.

  • Added Format > Writing Direction for rows and selections
  • Added ⌥Return to split text into a new body row
  • Added ⌘I for Document Info
  • Added type carry-over when pasting into an empty quote or list row
  • Changed New Indented Row to ⌥⌘Return
  • Changed ⇧⌘Return to insert a row above
  • Changed Expand Selection to climb through parent branches
  • Changed some command IDs (update custom keybindings)
  • Fixed newlines in attribute values breaking Markdown files
  • Fixed joining rows in “selected rows only” mode moving children
  • Fixed copying a horizontal rule’s text as a stray embed
  • Fixed differently spelled keybindings not replacing each other
  • Fixed Commands Explorer showing extension keys over yours

  For extension authors: extensions can now be localized and follow right-to-left layout (API 0.76.1).

  • Added bike.localize and locales/ for extension strings
  • Added bike.layoutDirection; panels get <html dir> and lang
  • Added StyleContext.isRightToLeft and OutlineEditor.isRightToLeft(row)
  • Added SymbolConfiguration.withLayoutDirection
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (310) 01 Oct 2026

  Added Settings > General > Move, copy & delete.

  Your options are whole branches (outline style) or selected rows only (text editor style). In both modes you still have access to alternate structural commands, but the default behavior is configured for your main use, without you having to set up a bunch of custom keybindings. In “whole branches” mode a block selection now also shows its secondary selection rows.

  • Added Back/Forward with mouse side buttons and swipes
  • Added double-click a bracket or quote to select its pair
  • Added Transpose, Transpose Words, and Complete
  • Added Page Up/Down caret movement
  • Changed some command IDs (update custom keybindings)
  • Changed Promote Children to ⌃⌥⇧←
  • Changed Demote Siblings to ⌃⌥⇧→
  • Fixed typing after a link (⌥→ or paste) extending it
  • Fixed Duplicate and Save To copies sharing a document ID
  • Fixed several problems with bike mcp
  • Fixed a crash in Scroll Line Up/Down
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (309) 26 Sep 2026
  • Added badge highlighting for filters that test attributes
  • Added filter highlighting for matches, beginswith, endswith text
  • Added pasting copied attachments as images/files in other apps
  • Fixed typing after a paste picking up the pasted text’s style
  • Fixed breadcrumbs showing half of a quote or bracket pair
  • Fixed a sheet sometimes opening on the wrong document window
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (308) 22 Sep 2026
  • Fixed breadcrumbs dropping punctuation at end of row text
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (307) 21 Sep 2026
  • Fixed typing stalls in fullscreen on ProMotion displays
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (306) 17 Sep 2026
  • Added Calendar extension option for date row insert order
  • Fixed clipped row type hint text
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (305) 14 Sep 2026

  Pasting a file from the Finder now attaches it.

  Use Paste as Link to have the old file paste behavior.

  • Split Move To into Move (caret follows) and Send (Control, caret stays)
  • Fixed cross-row extend in single extend from a caret at a row edge
  • Fixed “Prompt to send crash reports” not prompting
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (302) 10 Sep 2026
  • Added Attachment: Filename, Thumb, and Actual Size commands
  • Added Appearance ▸ Editor ▸ Default attachment style (thumb)
  • Added go:focus-out-by-level to focus the current focus’s parent
  • Changed Row ensuredLog, ensuredPersistentId, url to methods
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (301) 07 Sep 2026
  • Changed to keep unused attachments (see File > Document Info)
  • Changed Text Delete to remove selected rows
  • Changed Text Delete to leave caret on the row taking their place
  • Changed overdue due dates to a solid red badge, not an outline
  • Fixed a crash opening Markdown with a { } table cell
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (300) 03 Sep 2026
  • Added Shortcuts actions to set, remove, and get row attributes
  • Added an attributes parameter to the Create Row shortcut action
  • Fixed SVG attachments showing a file chip instead of a preview
  • Fixed empty row type hint drawing through badges and focus arrow
  • Fixed HTML documents becoming .biked, not .htmld, on attach
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (299) 31 Aug 2026
  • Added option to hide “Done” badge on completed tasks
  • Added bike.reconcile API for deriving changes from other changes
  • Changed API to report error when setting reserved attribute names
  • Fixed IME invisible placeholder after deleting unfinished codes
  • Fixed crash opening the View ▸ Typewriter/Focus Mode submenus
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (298) 25 Aug 2026
  • Added ordering/hiding of Index, Pinned, and Queries sections
  • Renamed “Attributes Palette” to “Attributes Editor”
  • Improved Extension Settings > Attributes UI
  • Removed day designator (21日, 21일) for Chinese calendar
  • Fixed attachments with percent-encoded names
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (297) 24 Aug 2026

  Changed task tracking from @done to @status.

  Previously a task’s “done” state was tracked with a @done attribute and associated date. Now it is tracked with a @status attribute with possible values of todo, started, canceled, done.

  Outlines using the old @done attribute will need to be migrated to use @status. You will be prompted when opening the document in the latest Bike. Queries that reference @done will need to be updated to use the new open() and closed() path functions. So where before you said //task not @done you can now say //task not closed().

  • Added optional row log (e.g., to track attribute change dates)
  • Added Settings › Extensions › Attributes (per-attribute setup)
  • Changed Row: Text Delete to leave an empty row with the caret
  • Fixed the context menu system shortcut not working
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (296) 14 Aug 2026
  • Added archive-done commands to the tasks extension
  • Changed Document Info to name file types like Save As does
  • Fixed blurry attachments
  • Fixed attachments in print, PDF, Quick Look, Finder thumbnails
  • Fixed Save As between bundles leaving inner file in old format
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (295) 11 Aug 2026

  Font.resolve now reports family, synthesizedBold, synthesizedOblique and substitutedMonospace, so a stylesheet can pick something better than a fake.

  • Added a Default Badge Exclusions setting
  • Added calendar structure week rows options
  • Added generated bold and italic font variants when missing
  • Added system monospace fallback for @code runs when missing
  • Added RadioGroup DOM component
  • Added family and synthesized/substituted flags to Font.resolve
  • Improved Settings > Extensions in various ways
  • Improved resource use of QuickLook and thumbnail Finder extensions
  • Fixed badges only updating in whichever window you switched to
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (294) 05 Aug 2026
  • Added row links by persistent id, session id, or row number
  • Changed “Hide outline controls when typing” into three checkboxes
  • Moved the editor toggles from General to Appearance settings
  • Fixed attachment animation when deleting the character before it
  • Fixed stale Autocorrect checkboxes after Reset settings
  • Fixed Save As freezing on OPML documents
  • Fixed modifier keys getting stuck
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (293) 01 Aug 2026
  • Added Copy Row Link ⌘L
  • Added Copy View Link ⌥⌘L
  • Added Copy Document Link ⌥⇧⌘L
  • Changed pasting rows with attachments to import their files
  • Renamed AttributeValueOption to AttributeChoice
  • Fixed “row was not found” for row links copied before saving
  • Fixed “Cannot find name” setTimeout and clearTimeout warnings
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (292) 29 Jul 2026

  Added built-in attributes for done, due, priority, estimate, flagged, and progress.

  Decided I needed to really build a bunch to help drive API design.

  The Calendar extension changed in quite a few ways. Default behavior is now to filter. Drag to filter multiple days. Double-click or Return for the old behavior of creating a day for selected row(s).

  • Added the new Attribute Palette
  • Added value pickers, including a calendar
  • Added Actual Size attachment display mode
  • Added attachment management to Document Info
  • Added a message in the editor when a filter matches nothing
  • Improved scrolling speed in big documents
  • Improved spell checking to stay out of the way
  • Fixed typing in big documents slowing as the window gets taller
  • Fixed a performance issue with Japanese and other IME input
  • Fixed unused attachment files to move to the Trash on close
  • Fixed a long filter query overflowing the toolbar
  • Fixed selection not covering a badge wrapped onto its own line
  • Fixed lone badge on a wrapped line sitting low and growing row

  For extension authors: lots of changes in attributes, badges, summary, menu, and picker APIs. They all interact and as I implemented the built in attributes I kept finding changes to make. Likely still some loose ends, but I’m using these APIs to implement all the built in attributes, and generally they seem to be working well. Biggest change from previous API is menu is now much simpler. No embedded calendar or other elements, just plain menu items. Instead there is a new picker API that allows picking specific values, such as dates or durations.

• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (291) 20 Jul 2026
  • Added menu to progress badge
  • Added @due dates integrated with Calendar
  • Added QuickLook previews and thumbnails for attachment formats
  • Changed badges to fade along with the row under writing focus
  • Removed priority extension (in example-extensions if you want it)
  • Fixed bad results when applying a filter over an active one
  • Fixed saved sidebar queries with < or & writing invalid XML
  • Fixed crash on ⌘Z caused by a stale caret-animation range
  • Fixed various attachment alignment & drawing issues

  For extension authors: badge, summary, attachment, and drag API changes.

  • Added bike.attachmentURL() for <img> and fetch() in DOM context
  • Added accepting dragged rows in DOM extensions via bike:rowdrag* events
  • Added Image.withBackground, Font.withScale, and OpenType feature builders
  • Added option for providing label when setting outline editor filter
  • Added reading attachment metadata and bytes from app context
  • Changed bike.badge, including extracting menu to editor.showMenu
  • Changed, improved, and generalized the summary API
  • Fixed a script returning a Promise to resolve it before serializing
  • Fixed a CLI/MCP promise that never settles to time out after 60s
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (290) 10 Jul 2026

  Add a file attachment with Format > Add File Attachment, or drag and drop. Right-click an attachment for other options. Format > Row Attributes is a generic UI to view and edit row attributes. Row badges and summaries let you create custom UIs to view and edit branch state.

  • Added file attachments
  • Added Format > Row Attributes
  • Added row badges and summaries
  • Added new date functions to use in outline paths
  • Fixed a Quick Look thumbnail crash on macOS 26
  • Fixed background work stalling while CLI/MCP connected
  • Fixed two ⌘Z crashes undoing after a row was removed
  • Fixed ⌘K sometimes failing to edit or remove a link’s URL

  For extension authors: three new API groups. They all need a documentation and API pass, but I don’t expect big functional changes.

  • Added input.d.ts to react to user’s typing + autocompletions
  • Added badges.d.ts to add custom UI for branch state to rows
  • Added summaries.d.ts to maintain branch summary values efficiently
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (289) 22 Jun 2026
  • Improved accessibility (fully accessible outline? Maybe?)
  • Improved support for Edit > Writing Tools
  • Changed autolink to apply to link text pasted at row start
  • Fixed a ⌘Z crash after extension commands inserted/moved rows
  • Fixed bike:// links to rows with slashes in their ids
  • Fixed bike:// links not activating Bike
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (288) 12 Jun 2026
  • Added VoiceOver support (needs testing, good enough for Cotypist)
  • Added themes back (for the 3rd, and I think final, time)
  • Added ⌘-click in sidebar to select row and focus its parent
  • Added ⌘-click in “Go To…” to select row and focus its parent
  • Changed selection to stay on-screen after focusing out

  For extension authors: a few more consistency tweaks and documentation shortening for extensions and the CLI. Think I’m done messing now, but I may have said that last release also.

• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (287) 10 Jun 2026
  • Changed filter field cancel button to highlight on mouse over
  • Changed yellow find/filter highlight to hide in focused editor
  • Reverted (@done) strikethrough formatting
  • Fixed rows briefly going blank when typing/returning quickly
  • Fixed document windows not being released after closing
  • Fixed filtered (hidden) rows showing when printing

  For extension authors: new lifecycle hooks and observe streams, and some breaking API changes. I’m trying to keep bike -h, man bike and session.d.ts documentation minimal to avoid drift and duplication.

  • Added lifecycle hooks: window.onClose, document.onClose, outline.onClose
  • Added Session/CLI observe streams: observeOutlineEditor and observeEditors
  • Added session automation docs to cover bike cli and DOM context session.d.ts
  • Changed getCommands(), evaluateScript(), and observeOutline() (breaking)
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (286) 07 Jun 2026
  • Added user keybindings to menus
  • Added Settings > General > Editor > Sort completed tasks
  • Added ⌘Return to commit a filter, keeping folds and selection
  • Changed @done rows to dim instead of crossing out
  • Changed Code format keybinding to ⇧⌘C
  • Changed Return/⇧Return to step through each filter match range
  • Fixed animation glitches entering/leaving full window
  • Fixed titlebar menu reappearing after choosing an item from it
  • Fixed editor automation commands targeting the wrong window

  For extension authors: new abilities for the bike command-line tool and extension APIs.

  • Added bike observe outline changes to the bike command-line tool
  • Added reading/writing outline files without opening Bike to the bike command-line tool
  • Added targeting specific rows, not just selection, to performCommands
  • Added streaming response bodies and more web standard API to fetch
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (285) 04 Jun 2026
  • Added new filtering behavior
  • Added new newline selection interaction
  • Added new animation behavior for “far” animations
  • Added a “View” menu to the titlebar
  • Added Settings window restore on relaunch
  • Added invisibles dot in text selections
  • Added caret bounce when an editor gains keyboard focus
  • Added ⌃Tab focus cycling in the Find and Spell Check panels
  • Added ⌥-drag on sidebar/inspector divider to mirror widths
  • Added View > Auto-Hide Toolbar (shows only while filtering)
  • Added configurable titlebar buttons (Interface Explorer)
  • Fixed slow pasting of many rows

  For extension authors: new APIs and outline path predicates, plus command permissions and buttons.

  • Added bike.session API for DOM extension scripts
  • Added bare function predicates in outline paths, e.g. //* parent()
  • Added the ability for extensions to place default buttons in the UI when declaring commands
  • Changed extensions to only perform commands they have permissions for
  • Changed CLI/automation observe to follow the frontmost outline
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (284) 27 May 2026
  • Added arrow to Calendar extension format previews in settings
  • Added Bike 1 AppleScript name selected text for selection text
  • Changed script and extension dates to follow language and region
  • Fixed a crash when undoing after a document reloaded
  • Fixed a crash running certain menu commands from automation
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (283) 27 May 2026

  Row dates are now optional.

  Created and modified row dates are off by default in new documents. Configure them for new documents in Settings > Document (per file format), and for existing documents in File > Document Options.

  Installing the bike command-line tool no longer requires sudo in Terminal on first install. It is still required when you move Bike and need to reinstall.

  • Added File > Document Options…
  • Added print theme popup in the print panel
  • Added document spell-check language (Check panel or Options)
  • Added Calendar options in Settings > Extensions (thanks, coignard!)
  • Added Box container component (Runtime/common.{js,css})
  • Changed first bike CLI install to not require sudo
  • Changed untyped format:'markdown' inserts to parse a marker
  • Fixed connection handling in the Row: Text Delete command
  • Fixed a crash right after renewing your license
  • Fixed Korean/CJK input breaking on rows with links or highlights
  • Fixed outdenting rows that span multiple top-level rows
  • Fixed outdenting rows that include folded children
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (282) 22 May 2026
  • Added JSON outline format
  • Added man bike for high level orientation
  • Added MCP tool to help you create outline paths
  • Changed OPML format to use Markdown text formatting
  • Changed revert autocorrect popups to close after 10 seconds
  • Changed Commands Explorer override alert to be less alerting
  • Improved the bike CLI with lots of work and polish
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (281) 18 May 2026

  Added Bike > Install Command Line Tool…

  Use the installed bike command in Terminal to automate Bike.app. Use bike mcp to start a Model Context Protocol server for AI agents.

  • Added text move menu items and shortcuts (hold ⌥ to see)
  • Improved text move commands
  • Fixed some text move animations
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (280) 14 May 2026

  Changed how extension permissions and enabled state are tracked.

  Previously, Bike tracked this by modifying extension metadata files. It now tracks these states through user defaults instead. One result is that disabled core extensions, such as the Calendar extension, now remain disabled across launches. Permission tracking and related alerts have also been updated.

  • Improved row text move commands
  • Changed Commands Explorer to accept comma-separated keybindings
  • Changed row text delete to preserve selection mode
  • Changed multi-row paste to splice into caret and text selections
  • Changed empty body row paste to adopt first pasted row’s type
  • Removed heading numbers from the default style
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (279) 13 May 2026
  • Added window layout options in Settings > Document
  • Added many theme options for configuring window appearance
  • Added Settings > Hide editor toolbars and panels when typing
  • Added auto-hiding glass controls in View > Enter Full Window
  • Added sidebar ⌘↑/⌘↓ and ⌥↑/⌥↓ to jump between groups
  • Added toggle behavior to Go To Sidebar/Editor/Inspector
  • Added "indent" attribute for Bike 1.x/TaskPaper over-indenting
  • Expanded sidebar drag and drop to and from most locations
  • Changed new documents to start with one empty row
  • Changed Collapse Row to fold only selection-cover rows
  • Improved default theme (see it as an example of new options)
  • Improved row text move and delete commands
  • Improved per-window state restoration (more state, more accurate)
  • Fixed IME issues, including Korean input (and likely others)
  • Fixed ordered list numbering across viewport gaps
  • Fixed Go To when the sidebar hadn’t been shown yet
  • Fixed pasted rows appearing in a broken collapsed state
  • Fixed fold state restoration for rows without a persistent ID

  For extension authors: new screen and frame APIs, and StyleContext changes.

  • Added Screen interface; screens and mainScreen on the global
  • Added StyleContext.viewportContentInsets
  • Changed Window.frame, Window.screen, and PanelHandle.frame to read/write
  • Replaced showPanel x/y/width/height/screen options with showPanel({ frame })
  • Renamed StyleContext.isInterfaceHidden to StyleContext.isFullWindow
  • Replaced StyleContext.orderedIndex with consecutivePath: number[] (ordered and heading runs)
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (278) 04 May 2026

  Refined “Go To…” and “Move To…”.

  Both can now target any row, not just sidebar items. Prefix the filter with - to search across all rows. In “Go To…”, prefix with > to execute commands.

  • Added menu items that insert these prefixes automatically
  • Added relative color syntax for use in theme files
  • Restored a broader set of built-in themes
  • Changed ChoiceBox API (breaking)
  • Changed and added to Color API (breaking)
  • Improved performance of moveText in large outlines
  • Fixed word drag losing track of the original word
  • Fixed link hover showing URLs when pointer isn’t over text
  • Fixed sidebar leaf chevron color/alpha to match its row label
  • Fixed caret to return to search anchor after a failed search

  Building your extension should type-check it to indicate needed changes.

• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (277) 02 May 2026
  • Added activate to bike, Document, Window, Editor, and Panel
  • Added prepareRow requirement to Sidebar LocationItem
  • Added light-dark(<light>, <dark>) theme color expressions
  • Changed Go To… to include all sidebar locations
  • Changed Move To… to include sidebar locations except queries
  • Improved menu organization and consistency
  • Changed default and Solarized theme colors
  • Fixed crash on quit
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (276) 30 Apr 2026
  • Added opening #ROWID links
  • Added “Disable animations in Low Power Mode” setting
  • Added Go > Sidebar (⌘1), Editor (⌘2), Inspector (⌘3)
  • Added Window.subtitle read/write access
  • Added Outline.resolveLink for resolving URLs and #ROWID
  • Updated to Swift 6
  • Fixed hang when closing an outline with an active filter
  • Fixed word-drag selection losing track of the start word
  • Fixed brief “flash” of dragged rows at their origin on drop
  • Fixed round-tripping indented blank lines in Bike Markdown
  • Fixed clicks on fold/focus decorations sometimes being ignored
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (275) 27 Apr 2026
  • Added setting to disable animations in Low Power Mode
  • Added JSRowRun bridge so the run:: axis works from JS extensions
  • Improved breadcrumb trimming to respect word boundaries
  • Fixed paste crash when inserting empty text
  • Fixed link button being unclickable due to style
  • Fixed hang when closing document with active filter
  • Fixed parent:: axis returning grandparent when evaluated from a run
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (274) 17 Apr 2026
  • Added button to show/hide inspector
  • Added Restore All Settings in General preferences
  • Changed breadcrumb to compress redundant text (calendar days)
  • Fixed word drag selection losing the double-clicked word
  • Fixed font size slider changing line height
  • Fixed font family popup resetting size to 13pt
  • Fixed window opening with zero height after Restore All Settings

  For extension authors: one AppleScript change and fixes to showAlert and bike.defaults.

  • Replaced AppleScript resolve with get row command
  • Fixed showAlert fields being silently dropped
  • Fixed bike.defaults.observe never firing in app context
  • Fixed shared Settings/Inspector bike.defaults
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (273) 15 Apr 2026
  • Changed to optional persistent ids
  • Fixed link IDs not being remapped on import
  • Fixed threading issue when deallocating editor
  • Fixed memory leaks in JavaScript extension runtime
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (272) 13 Apr 2026
  • Added external file change detection
  • Changed unfocused editors to show the caret line (if enabled)
  • Fixed spelling marks breaking typing slide animation
  • Fixed block delete dropping selection when all siblings deleted
  • Fixed formatting palette staying open when ⌘Return steals focus
  • Fixed Esc toggle restoring whole row, not prior text selection
  • Fixed imported markdown documents not restoring after relaunch
  • Fixed regex replace crash with non-participating capture group
  • Fixed wrong markdown from nested inline formatting sort order
  • Fixed .txt files loading as Markdown
  • Fixed crash accessing bike.windows in some cases
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (271) 12 Apr 2026
  • Fixed ordered list number alignment with row text
  • Fixed hide interface re-entrancy issue on macOS 26.4
  • Fixed imported markdown handling in pasteboard decoding
  • Fixed crash on quit when drag pasteboard had promises
  • Fixed links in inspector/settings/sheets not opening in browser

  For extension authors: new Keychain and settings APIs, and namespaced globals.

  • Added Keychain API for secure password/token storage
  • Added Extension settings API (Bike > Settings > Extensions)
  • Namespaced globals (such as extensionURL) to bike.extensionURL, etc.
  • Fixed rowIndexFrom character index conversion with multi-byte characters
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (270) 08 Apr 2026
  • Added Help menu items
  • Added new system fill colors for extensions
  • Improved Commands Explorer UI
  • Improved drag and drop performance in sidebar and editor
  • Fixed sidebar selection drawing
  • Fixed over-escaping in Markdown export
  • Fixed blank lines lost during Bike Markdown round-trip
  • Fixed ordered list numbering reset after blank lines
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (269) 04 Apr 2026

  The new extensionURL API generates URLs for files in an extension’s folder. The common case is showing images in a DOM context or style context.

  • Added titlebar indicator for logged errors
  • Added Settings > General > Show/hide menu images
  • Added extensionURL for files in an extension’s folder
  • Changed themes to load from extensions, without copying
  • Changed control show/hide to sync with mouse cursor visibility
  • Reworked file format handling (.bike vs .html, etc.)
  • Improved and unified explorer windows
  • Removed .bikemd format; you’ll need to rename files to .md
  • Fixed path explorer to show proper ids
  • Fixed text commands to work in text mode
  • Fixed all known crashes (keep sending!)
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (268) 24 Mar 2026
  • Added Bike > Interface Explorer
  • Added Bike > Extensions Explorer
  • Added Expand All / Collapse All commands (+ By Level)
  • Added ==mark== Markdown syntax for highlight/mark formatting
  • Added text semantics move, delete, cut, copy, paste commands
  • Added more system level commands from Cocoa keybindings
  • Changed inspector UI
  • Changed status bar popups to a standard UI
  • Changed Select All to expand immediately to document scope
  • Moved Settings > Keybindings to Bike > Commands Explorer
  • Moved Logs Explorer from the Window to the Bike menu
  • Moved Outline Path Explorer from the Window to the Bike menu
  • Fixed sorting order
  • Fixed ordered list numbering
  • Fixed Editor Filter context menu Cut/Copy actions
  • Fixed focus out decoration action to keep scroll position

  For extension authors: extension-kit has changed structure and location. It’s no longer a mono-repo that you fork and work in. Instead it’s a package that you depend on, and it now includes tooling for unit tests and releasing extensions. New location: https://github.com/bike-outliner/extension-kit

  • Added panel/window API
  • Added defaults and window restorable state JSONStore APIs
  • Added AttributedString.fromMarkdown() and fromHTML() APIs
  • Added typing to DOMScript message protocols (see example-extensions)
  • Changed extension name and id to derive from folder name
  • Removed manifest name and id
  • Split core extensions into core-extensions
  • Split example extensions into example-extensions
  • Renamed !bike.bkext to bike.bkext
  • Removed !startup.bkext
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (266) 12 Mar 2026
  • Added inspector tabs
  • Added status bar items
  • Improved performance and memory use (lots of tweaks)

  For extension authors: a status bar API, plus standard styles and components for DOM contexts. For examples of new styles and components see updated Calendar and Tutorial extensions that are included in the bike-extension-kit.

  • Added extension API for status bar messages
  • Added lots of system styles to DOM context common.css
  • Added standard components to common.ts and components.ts
  • Added SFSymbol component to show system symbols in DOM contexts
  • Changed inspector.addItem API to include tab symbol
  • Changed console.log to always show up in Window > Logs Explorer
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (265) 09 Mar 2026
  • Added get() method to color themes
  • Changed caret and active line colors to follow selection color
  • Fixed crash when pasting hierarchical (indented) text
  • Fixed unnecessary Markdown escapes (still more to do)
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (264) 06 Mar 2026
  • Fixed cut/paste sometimes cutting more than selected
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (263) 04 Mar 2026
  • Added Settings > Keybindings
  • Added keybindings to “Show Commands” lists
  • Added “Include in new documents” option to filter queries
  • Changed open URL to activate app and prompt user
  • Improved performance (benchmarking and optimization)
  • Fixed caret up/down movement getting stuck on same row
  • Fixed autocorrect doubling apostrophes with smart quotes off
  • Fixed sidebar disclosure unclickable after item gains children
  • Fixed sidebar query selection not updating on back navigation
  • Fixed setting font weight dropping other text styles
  • Fixed word marked as misspelled while still typing it
  • Fixed sidebar drag-and-drop ordering
  • Fixed Copy as Bike Markdown to exclude front matter
  • Fixed some BikeMarkdown encoder/decoder bugs
  • Fixed crash when creating heading after joining rows
  • Fixed occasional crash on extension reload
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (262) 11 Feb 2026
  • Changed sidebar selection to custom drawing without vibrancy
  • Changed hide/show interface animation to not bounce
  • Removed find/filter navigation from back/forward history
  • Fixed scroller flash when toggling hide/show interface
  • Fixed link title editing broken by paste-link-to-selection
  • Fixed theme fontWeight not overriding bold fontTraits
  • Fixed crash moving a row into itself via Move to Index Row
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (261) 10 Feb 2026
  • Added toggle interface button to toolbar
  • Added theme-configurable separator colors
  • Added navigation history for document boundary jumps
  • Added navigation history for find and filter match jumps
  • Added indentation detection for plain text and RTF paste/import
  • Changed Save panel to prefill name from first sentence
  • Improved path bar, including hover-to-expand segments
  • Fixed Logs Explorer window close detection
  • Fixed outline editor not first responder in new documents
  • Fixed stale hover highlights when typing hides the cursor
  • Fixed theme fontFamily, fontWeight, and fontTraits resolution
  • Fixed Select All scrolling to the selection head
  • Fixed large selections scrolling to the selection head
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (260) 05 Feb 2026
  • Added return key icon to Create Row
  • Added appearance metadata field to themes
  • Added anchored incremental search to the Find panel
  • Added new Logs Explorer with additional logging sources
  • Added AI-generated example themes (as starting points)
  • Improved sidebar selection behavior further
  • Removed filter field from the focus chain when collapsed
  • Applied links to selected text when pasting rich links
  • Preserved trailing whitespace for TextExpander and the like
  • Fixed a crash in typing animations
  • Fixed a crash in Typography settings
  • Fixed a crash during sidebar selection updates
  • Fixed selection not scrolling into view after moving rows
  • Fixed the spelling panel skipping the next misspelling
  • Fixed row controls acting on cursor row instead of clicked row
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (259) 03 Feb 2026

  Added lots to themes and the Theme API.

  Themes can now be used to style many common elements, see the “all features” example in bike-extension-kit/api/theme. I think I’m done making big changes to themes. Now’s a good time to explore and report any problems you run into.

  • Added Add Link to Row
  • Added Pin Row command (⌘Y)
  • Added ChoiceBox API (see bike.showChoiceBox())
  • Improved sidebar selection logic
  • Changed ChoiceBox UI to a standard flat list without preferences
  • Changed Show Commands to include more outliner commands
  • Changed Sidebar API addAction to addLocation
  • Fixed NSOutlineView crash deleting multiple sidebar items
  • Fixed Hookmark Mail links (empty queryParameters added ?)
  • Fixed autocorrect attribute extraction with substring offsets
  • Fixed autocorrect races with rapid keystrokes (I think!)
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (257) 30 Jan 2026
  • Added Sidebar (actions, index, pinned, queries)
  • Added View > Hide Interface (⌘.)
  • Added Outline > Move to Index Row
  • Added Go > Focus Index Row
  • Changed UI direction: dropped glass, added more theming
  • Expanded theming (see bike-theme.json in bike-extension-kit)
  • Removed + shortcut for unordered list replacement (use -)
  • Fixed crash opening links in Hebrew text (out-of-bounds index)

  For extension authors: new outline and row APIs, plus sidebar, style, and naming changes.

  • Added Outline.observeChanges to see fine grained outline changes
  • Added accessors to row including Row.ancestors, etc.
  • Added AttributedString.count to get character count
  • Renamed editor style editor.focusMode to writingFocusMode
  • Limited Sidebar API to new addAction call
  • Standardized on term level across AppleScript, API, and internal code
  • Updated bike-extension-kit extensions to use new APIs
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (254) 22 Dec 2025

  Holiday cooking is upon me—today: 15 lb of masa into tamales.

  Unfortunately, this preview release is not fully baked, but it has already been in prep far too long, so I am releasing it anyway. One major missing feature is outline filtering. Lots of other rough edges too. If you are using preview builds for real work, you may want to downgrade to build 253 after giving this version a quick try.

  The biggest change in this release is the adoption of Apple’s new Liquid Glass UI in Bike. I have arrived at a design that I like, but feedback is always welcome. Hopefully it can be made even better. See the forums for discussion about why the UI is the way it is.

  • Added an empty row in new documents
  • Added Move Up/Down (maintain level) commands
  • Added text wrapping keybindings (quotes, brackets, parentheses)
  • Changed .bike to require markup (empty touch files won’t open)
  • Fixed Markdown code span escaping
  • Fixed mouse cursor icon update issues
  • Fixed keybinding prefix matching (full prefix required)
  • Fixed crashes evaluating some outline paths
  • Fixed pasting short (<4 char) plain text
  • Fixed outline path queries with multibyte quoted chars ("ü")
  • Fixed Bike Markdown escaping after numbers like 1 hello
  • Fixed Delete Forward on an empty line to reattach children
  • Fixed outline keybindings to need Outline Editor focus
  • Fixed redraw moving between displays of different resolution

  For extension authors: new Row properties, transaction options and editor style functions, plus API fixes.

  • Added editor style functions selection-ancestor(), selection-descendant()
  • Added Row API properties (level, prevBranch, nextBranch, isAncestor, isDescendant)
  • Improved transaction options (labels, spring timing)
  • Updated API definitions to reflect new Row properties and transaction options
  • Removed selection-covered() editor style function
  • Fixed attributedString.replace API bug
  • Fixed multiple API crashes caused by invalid values (null, undefined)
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (253) 27 Oct 2025
  • Added Edit > Paste > Paste and Render Markdown
  • Fixed Edit > Paste > Paste and Match Style
  • Fixed a memory leak; memory drops again when closing windows
  • Fixed plaintext front-matter to be ignored unless bikemd: true
  • Fixed default outline path search to be case-insensitive
  • Fixed a crash in RTFEncoder when pasting (PDF, etc.)

  For extension authors: I’ve been working to make it easier for AIs to build Bike extensions. Part of that work is to show the AI how to use Bike’s AppleScript evaluate command to test and debug code snippets interactively. Most of these changes are to support that effort.

  • Added outline metadata APIs for extensions
  • Added explainQuery to JSOutline
  • Improved detail in error reporting from OSA Script evaluate commands
  • Changed WebViewDOMScriptManager to accept inline scripts in addition to file paths
  • Fixed selectText API in JSOutlineEditor
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (252) 23 Oct 2025
  • Improved attribute handling when reading/writing .bike files
  • Fixed text files with {"bikemd": true} to open as .bikemd
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (251) 22 Oct 2025
  • Added JSON metadata to all supported formats
  • Added escaping of Markdown syntax you type in .bikemd
  • Added encoding of unordered rows with + list marker in .bikemd
  • Fixed focus mode paragraph
  • Fixed Learn and Ignore Word
  • Fixed paste into empty document
  • Fixed invalid characters breaking file load
  • Fixed problems in save dialog when changing file formats
  • Fixed cases where autocorrect was doing the wrong thing

  For extension authors: AppleScript and API changes.

  • Changed AppleScript command to evaluate scripts
  • Changed attributes to no longer get a data- prefix at runtime
  • Changed AppleScript select row behavior to match Bike 1.x
  • Removed outline metadata APIs (a more flexible option will be added soon)
  • Fixed API bug that could include extra rows when removing or moving rows
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (247) 17 Oct 2025

  Bike Markdown is still a work in progress, but I think a lot closer to a stable format now. More details in the forums and feedback encouraged! Known bugs at moment: Problems with code spans and horizontal rules. Also no escaping is being performed yet, so if you type in Markdown syntax it will be interpreted as such on next file load.

  Runtime tag names now better align with HTML standards, for example: link → a, emphasis → em, highlight → mark, strikethrough → s, etc. This may break some things. For example those names are used in themes, so you’ll need to update any custom themes you have. Also if you have Bike Extension code that processes attributed strings, the attribute names will have changed.

  • Changed .bikemd to be strictly list-based
  • Changed .bikemd to hold all outline data, via Pandoc attributes
  • Changed runtime tag names to align with HTML standards
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (246) 09 Oct 2025
  • Added Bike Markdown format (.bikemd)
  • Added Edit > Copy > Copy as Bike Markdown
  • Added to/from Markdown API
  • Improved pasting links
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (245) 03 Oct 2025
  • Added opening row links
  • Added Window ▸ Duplicate Tab (multiple views of an outline)
  • Added Window ▸ Duplicate Tab to New Window
  • Extended Keybinding active modifiers API
  • Improved drag-and-drop animations
  • Improved typewriter scrolling animations
  • Changed Space in block mode to toggle done
  • Changed dropping a branch on itself to require a modifier key
  • Changed URL API property names and mutability
  • Fixed document file extension settings
  • Fixed row handle clicks sometimes not registering
  • Fixed crash when opening a context menu in block-mode rows
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (244) 25 Sep 2025
  • Added drag and drop

  For extension authors: also added API to support drag and drop configuration through editor styles. Including: context.isDragSource, selection-covered(), drop-indicator(), and new decoration capabilities.

• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (243) 19 Sep 2025

  Themes are currently quite limited. Goal here is to test the concept and basic implementation. I’ll add new capabilities in the future.

  • Added Themes panel in Settings
  • Moved Editor Style from View to Settings
  • Moved Text Wrap to Settings, renamed to Line Width
  • Changed selection.rows API to return only visible rows
  • Renamed some API items (update bike-theme-kit and rebuild)
  • Fixed commands affecting collapsed or hidden rows

  Extension authors: type errors will appear if your extension uses renamed items.

• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (242) 16 Sep 2025
  • Fixed OPML file save/load
  • Fixed restore split sizes on macOS 26 (Tahoe)
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (241) 14 Sep 2025
  • Added spelling highlights when typing
  • Added find highlights when ⌘F finding
  • Added search highlights when ⇧⌘F searching
  • Fixed New Document from Dock menu to activate Bike
  • Fixed document.frontmostWindow API to not always return null
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (240) 07 Sep 2025
  • Added Format > Add Link
  • Added Format > Show Formatting…
  • Added context menu to outline editor
  • Added text replacements (spelling, zzz, etc.) on Return
  • Added highlight of the last replacement until the caret moves
  • Fixed some text rendering issues with RTL text (not all)
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (239) 03 Sep 2025
  • Added crash reporter
  • Changed printing to show current focus and folds
  • Fixed problem saving as Plain Text
  • Fixed Vietnamese (and other) text input problems
  • Fixed launch problems on earlier macOS 15.x releases
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (238) 25 Aug 2025

  Implemented many settings “per editor”. If you change that setting (such as Text Wrap) then it will affect the frontmost editor and also set a new default that new editors will use. Any already open editors will keep their current value.

  • Added License panel
  • Added Preview release indicator
  • Added text caret to empty outline
  • Added View > Editor Zoom
  • Added View > Editor Style (moved from Window menu)
  • Added restorable state for folded rows
  • Added restorable state for View > Text Wrap, Focus, etc
  • Reorganized settings panels
  • Changed some of the theme and settings API
  • Fixed repeat clicks (now work) on decoration buttons
  • Fixed some broken caches; performance is a bit better
  • Fixed broken scroll correction, scroll to end of document, etc
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (237) 13 Aug 2025
  • Fixed to embed latest “Bike (default)” style
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (236) 13 Aug 2025

  I had said I would get settings connected this release. Didn’t quite make it, but I did get lots of other features implemented and bugs fixed.

  • Added ⌥-click on row handle to expand/collapse completely
  • Added View > Text Wrap menu
  • Added View > Focus Mode menu
  • Added View > Typewriter Mode menu
  • Added bike.keybindings.activeModifiers API
  • Added hiding API commands from palette with a . name prefix
  • Fixed ⌃O to split line
  • Fixed Hide Statusbar menu item label
  • Fixed crash when deleting focused row
  • Fixed crash when undoing deleted rows in some cases
  • Fixed crash when opening completely empty .bike/.opml files
  • Fixed Keybindings API initial state in new documents
  • Fixed unit tests (not in release, but it’s been a while :)
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (235) 31 Jul 2025

  Lots of work on styling internals that enables new rounded styles for block selection and blockquote rows. Also refined decoration animations to stay in better sync with text content.

  • Improved block quote styling
  • Improved block selection styling
  • Changed mergeDistance style property to mergable
  • Fixed crash on ⌥Return in a line with spaces
  • Fixed editor.transaction API to return result of passed closure
  • Fixed block selection to show all rows, not just the ends
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (234) 21 Jul 2025

  Added mergeDistance to decoration style.

  When mergeDistance is set similar decorations (equal style & nearby frames) are merged together into an irregular shape. This makes it possible to draw nice exterior borders and rounded corners around decorations that span multiple runs. In a future release I hope to make this work for text and row decorations too.

  • Added blur behind moving rows
  • Renamed OutlineStyle to EditorStyle in API
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (233) 15 Jul 2025
  • Added click focus to focus in/out
  • Added click handle to expand/collapse
  • Added click link button to open link

  For extension authors: decorations can now run commands.

  • Added API to add commands to decorations
  • Added CommandContext to CommandAction in API
  • Added commandName to Decoration style
  • Removed action from Decoration style
  • Fixed effectiveRange parameter in AttributedString API
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (232) 11 Jul 2025

  Animation polish this release.

  • Added row and caret bounce on split/join (souring on it)
  • Changed removed rows to no longer fade
  • Changed caret to snap when text wrap changes
  • Improved focus in/out animations
  • Improved scale animations (used during filtering)
  • Fixed decoration sizes when zoomed out
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (231) 03 Jul 2025

  Includes the changes from build 230.

  • Added printing
  • Added Finder Preview
  • Added Finder Thumbnails
  • Fixed clipboard read/write text APIs
  • Fixed crashes when reading some Unicode
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (229) 17 Jun 2025
  • Added back Find Count
  • Added back Text Checking
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (228) 11 Jun 2025
  • Added back Sort Rows
  • Added back Group Rows
  • Added back Delete Rows
  • Added back Duplicate Rows
  • Added back Find & Replace
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (227) 10 Jun 2025

  Lots of porting Bike 1 code to Bike 2 this release.

  I’ve ported Shortcuts and AppleScript support from Bike 1.x. Generally same features, but with a few wrinkles. For example Bike 2 doesn’t have hoisted rows, so that API is removed. Also Bike 2 adds run script commands to run Javascript code in extension app context.

  • Added back Shortcuts
  • Added back AppleScript
  • Added back Copy/Paste of rich text
  • Added back Go > Back / Forward navigation
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (226) 03 Jun 2025

  Finished user guide documentation for the updated extension system. Also finished related screencasts: Setup & Build, Creating Extensions, App Context Extensions, DOM Context Extensions, and Style Context Extensions.

  • Fixed crash when opening Window > Outline Path Explorer
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (225) 30 May 2025

  One step back, two steps forward.

  Lots of changes to the extension system. Lots of internal changes to style and layout systems. Likely introduced some new bugs in the process, but cleaned up a lot and will get to fixing visual bugs next.

  • Added new documentation and tutorials to explain it all
  • Changed styles to be part of the extension system
  • Changed themes to be called outline styles
  • Removed automatic extension builds; use the Bike Extension Kit
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (224) 05 May 2025
  • Added Outline.getRowById
  • Removed source param from Keybindings and Commands APIs
  • Fixed Outline Path Explorer window to update
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (223) 04 May 2025

  To use the fetch API your extension needs the fetch permission, and the fetched URL needs to match one of the patterns in the new host_permissions manifest key.

  • Added AttributedString.toHTML()
  • Added host_permissions manifest key
  • Fixed some memory leaks
  • Fixed spelling of AttributedString.subsring method
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (222) 01 May 2025
  • Added Window > Log Explorer for extension developers
  • Changed postMessage/onMessage API to use JSON, not strings
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (221) 29 Apr 2025

  For extension authors: improvements to building, documenting and sharing extensions.

  • Added ordering support to sidebar items
  • Added a GitHub repository to share Bike extensions
  • Changed base tsconfig.json settings to be more relaxed
  • Improved extension error logging
  • Updated Creating Extensions documentation
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (220) 28 Apr 2025

  For extension authors: debugging helpers and keybinding fixes.

  • Added bike.commands.toString for debugging
  • Added bike.keybindings.toString for debugging
  • Added value to all cases of OutlinePathValue
  • Fixed keybindings to again recognize modifiers
  • Fixed keybindings documentation to use - as separator
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (219) 18 Apr 2025

  For extension authors: this release adds a fetch API and new observe APIs.

  I have added an example inspector item to the @Bike extension that puts these changes together. To try it out fully select a word in your outline. You should see a list of synonyms show in the inspector. Dig into the @Bike extension to see how it works… but the basic idea is fetch happens in the app context. It requires the fetch permission. It sends results to the DOMScript context.

  Questions welcome!

  • Added fetch (fetch permission) API
  • Added outlineEditor.observeSelection API
  • Added window.observeFrontmostOutlineEditor API
  • Added more editor API for folding and focus testing
  • Changed some fields in outlineEditor.selection
  • Removed network access in DOMScripts (fetch should always fail)
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (218) 16 Apr 2025

  New release! Big effort this time around is giving extensions the ability to display their own UI in WebViews. Along the way I also managed to reorganize a bunch of things. Please see discussion in the forums.

  • Improved zoom animations when filtering
  • Changed filtering to show selected rows at full scale
  • Fixed sidebar clicks when multiple windows are open

  For extension authors: extensions can now show their own UI, plus new alert, URL and clipboard APIs.

  • Added bike.showAlert API
  • Added window.presentSheet (domScript permission) API
  • Added window.inspector.addItem (domScript permission) API
  • Added URL open method and other URL (openURL permission) API
  • Added type parameters to clipboard API
  • Moved Bike-provided extension code from @Startup to @Bike
  • Fixed console.log output to show in Safari inspector
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (216) 08 Apr 2025
  • Added setMetadata and getMetadata to outline API
  • Fixed memory leaks and reloading extensions after code change
  • Fixed extension keybindings that use modifier keys
  • Fixed root row (<ul>) attributes round-tripping in Bike format
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (215) 04 Apr 2025

  Added sidebar live queries.

  Sidebar queries are configured by the extension API. If you have run a previous version of Bike 2, a @Startup extension is installed that doesn’t use that API, so you won’t see live queries. To fix this, choose Bike > Extensions…, delete the @Startup extension in the Finder window that opens, and restart Bike. A new @Startup extension will be created that uses the new API.

  Now when you create a heading in your outline it should show in the sidebar under “Headings” (you might have to expand “Headings” to see it). You can modify your @Startup extension to create your own live queries.

  • Fixed layout bugs (more remain)
  • Fixed some memory leaks
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (214) 29 Mar 2025
  • Added ability to provide an ID for new rows
  • Added extension API tutorial
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (213) 28 Mar 2025
  • Added extension API for row text
  • Added extension API to create outline from query
  • Changed extension API import/export options
  • Fixed filtering to select first match in block mode
  • Fixed pasting when in text mode (e.g. Raycast emojis)
  • Fixed keybindings breaking after ⌘Tab away from Bike
  • Fixed named keys (such as space or downarrow) in keybindings
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (212) 23 Mar 2025

  For extension authors: extension API changes.

  • Added Outline.insertRows, Outline.moveRows, Outline.removeRows
  • Added Outline.query, Outline.scheduleQuery, Outline.streamQuery
  • Added Outline.importRows, Outline.exportRows
  • Fixed console.log to show in Safari inspector and Console.app
  • Fixed Outline Path Explorer to always show frontmost outline view state
  • Fixed live reload of @Startup extension
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (211) 21 Mar 2025
  • Added filtering (⇧⌘F)
  • Added extension API: Commands, keybindings, sidebar items
  • Simplified Outline > Folding
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (210) 18 Feb 2025

  Automatic software update is broken for this version. Fixed for next… I think! You’ll need to download and install manually.

  • Direct Download

  The focus of this release is on themes and outline paths. Themes have changed a lot since the previous preview release.

  Learn more:

  • Watch theme building tutorial
  • Read in progress Bike 2 Guide
• Bike 2.0 (Preview) (209) 15 May 2024
  • Added software update
  • Added app infrastructure, including settings (much unconnected)
  • Polished the selection model
  • Started outline search/filtering (work in progress)