ColumnPad is a Windows writing app for drafting notes, plans, prompts, checklists, and structured text in clean side-by-side columns. It is built for people who want an offline writing surface that keeps ideas separated, readable, recoverable, and easy to export.
Get the latest Windows app from the ColumnPad Releases page.
Latest download:
ColumnPadStudio.exe
ColumnPad is currently shipped as a portable single-file Windows app. Download the .exe, place it somewhere you want to keep it, and open it like a normal desktop app.
You do not need Visual Studio, Git, or the .NET SDK to use the released app.
Your writing stays local. On startup, ColumnPad only makes a brief best-effort request to the public GitHub releases page to see whether a newer stable version exists; no document content is sent.
Note: ColumnPad is not code-signed yet, so Windows SmartScreen may warn the first time you open it. Only download builds from this repository.
- Drafting notes across several columns without losing structure.
- Keeping separate workspace tabs for different projects or writing sessions.
- Planning prompts, release notes, checklists, comparisons, and app ideas.
- Opening and saving clean
.txtand.mddocuments. - Saving full ColumnPad workspaces so columns, titles, settings, images, and content reopen together.
- Building repeatable planning flows with the built-in Workflow Builder.
- Multi-column writing with clean resize behavior.
- Workspace tabs for separate writing sessions.
- Single-text mode and column mode switching.
- Clean
.txtand.mdopen, save, and export. - Native
.columnpad.jsonworkspace save/load. - Multi-workspace session save/load.
- Auto-recovery and crash restore.
- A quiet GitHub release check that shows an update button only when a newer stable version is available.
- Line numbers, word wrap, spell check, proofing-language selection, and lined-paper mode.
- Default, light, and dark theme modes with preference saving.
- Bullet/checklist paste helpers and checklist gutter support.
- In-column pictures with drag-and-drop placement, proportional resizing, front/behind-text layering, and native layout persistence.
- Built-in Workflow Builder with starter templates, node colours, JSON workflow import/export, and readable workflow
.txt/.mdexports.
ColumnPad v2.3.0 focuses on dependable pictures, editing, layouts, and workflow data:
- Pictures now stay inside their own column and can be moved, resized proportionally, or placed in front of or behind text.
- Fixed blank white picture panels and unstable picture resizing.
- Improved column sizing so default columns fill the available space while saved custom widths remain intact.
- Kept checklist state aligned through typing, paste, delete, replace, and undo operations.
- Strengthened layout, recovery, and workflow validation so damaged or incomplete data is handled more safely.
- Improved Workflow Builder change tracking and unsaved-change protection.
Full notes: docs/releases/v2.3.0.md
- Windows 10 or Windows 11.
- No account required.
- No internet required after download.
- No .NET SDK required for the released EXE.
This repository contains the source code, tests, release notes, screenshots, and maintenance docs for ColumnPad.
src/ColumnPadStudio/- WPF app shell, UI, services, resources, and Workflow Builder.src/ColumnPadStudio.Domain/- reusable text, list, and workspace rules.tests/- smoke and domain checks.docs/- release notes, structure notes, screenshots, workflow maps, and QA checklists.tools/- helper scripts used during app maintenance.
More structure detail: docs/REPOSITORY_STRUCTURE.md
Development and release decisions follow the ColumnPad app-building standard: docs/APP_BUILDING_STANDARD.md
- Current releases ship as a portable single
.exe. - The app is not code-signed yet.
- A full installer, Start menu shortcuts, uninstall support, and automatic updates can be added later.
MIT. See LICENSE.