> Free companion tool for VSProse

ProseDrop v0.2.0

Drop in a manuscript (.docx, .rtf, .txt, or .md) and it comes out as one Markdown file per chapter, ready to open in VSProse.

Stand-alone app. You don't need VSProse installed to use it. Runs entirely on your machine. No account. No upload. No network calls (except an optional update check you can turn off).

// Download ProseDrop

Version 0.2.0 for macOS Apple Silicon.

> Apple Silicon or Intel? Apple menu → About This Mac. Look for Chip:. An M1, M2, M3, or M4 there means Apple Silicon. If you see Processor: with an Intel name, the Intel build is coming in v0.3.0.

// macOS Apple Silicon

M1 · M2 · M3 · M4: arm64

↓ Download DMG

ProseDrop-0.2.0-mac-arm64.dmg (222 MB)

// macOS Intel

x86_64: coming in v0.3.0

↓ DMG (coming in v0.3.0)

Not yet available. Email us if you need it urgently.

// Windows

coming in v0.3.0

↓ EXE (coming in v0.3.0)

Not yet available.

SHA-256 checksums

Run shasum -a 256 <filename> in Terminal and compare:

ea5b87cdd4a872d45a6c98f32b71809758dd75730cb75fe737eb27ac4f744d7a  ProseDrop-0.2.0-mac-arm64.dmg

Downloads are ~220 MB because Pandoc 3.9.0.2 (GPL-2.0+) is bundled inside the app. It handles the heavy lifting of converting .docx and .rtf files.

// macOS install & Gatekeeper

ProseDrop isn't notarised with Apple yet, so macOS will flag it the first time you open it. The fix takes about a minute and you only do it once.

Step 1: Install from the DMG

Open the DMG

Double-click the downloaded .dmg file. A window opens showing the ProseDrop icon and an Applications shortcut.

Drag to Applications

Drag the ProseDrop icon across to the Applications folder shortcut in the DMG window.

Eject the disk image

Right-click the mounted disk in Finder's sidebar → Eject, or drag it to the Trash.

Step 2: Clear the Gatekeeper warning

macOS blocks unsigned apps on first launch. You'll see one of two dialogs depending on your macOS version. Pick whichever matches what you see:

Dialog A: "developer cannot be verified" (macOS 12 Monterey and earlier)

"ProseDrop" cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified.

Fix:

Click Cancel (do not click Move to Trash).
Open Finder → Applications.
Right-click ProseDrop.app → Open. (Right-click is essential; a different dialog appears that includes an Open option.)
Click Open in the new dialog.

Dialog B: "damaged and can't be opened" (macOS 13 Ventura and later)

"ProseDrop" is damaged and can't be opened. You should move it to the Trash.

The app isn't damaged. Ventura attaches a quarantine flag to anything downloaded from the web and refuses to open apps that still carry it. One Terminal command removes it permanently:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/ProseDrop.app

Click Cancel (do not click Move to Trash).
Open Terminal through Spotlight: ⌘ Space, type Terminal, press Return.
Paste the command above and press Return.
Open ProseDrop from Applications. It launches normally.

You only need to do this once. Future launches just work. The xattr command also works for Dialog A if the right-click route doesn't show an Open option.

> Why isn't it signed?

Notarisation requires a paid Apple Developer Program membership. The certificate is in flight; we'll ship a signed build in v0.3.0 and this step will disappear. If you'd rather not run unsigned software, the source is on GitHub under GPL-3.0 and you can build from source.

// What's in v0.2.0

First public release. Released 2026-06-05.

Five split strategies: Auto, H1 heading, H2 heading, text pattern (regex), and scene divider, plus a Smart preset (Auto with H1 fallback) that covers most fiction manuscripts reliably.
Preview before writing: review chapter titles and boundaries, rename chapters, merge adjacent chapters, split, or reorder before any files are written.
Post-split panel: multi-select output files, drag them to Finder, or click Send to project folder to export directly into your VSProse projects directory.
Send to project folder: configure a VSProse projects directory once in Preferences; ProseDrop exports there in one click without a second file dialog.
Five themes: Light, Sunset, Matrix, Blade Runner, Ghost, matching VSProse's theme set.
Optional update check: opt-in check against the GitHub Releases API on launch; disable it in Preferences → Check for updates on launch.

Input formats

.docx · .rtf · .txt · .md

Requirements

macOS 12 Monterey or later · Apple Silicon (arm64)

Known issues

Very large .docx files (> 500 pages) may take several seconds to parse.
The text-pattern strategy requires a valid ECMAScript regular expression. An invalid pattern shows an inline error and does not crash the app.

// Privacy & source

ProseDrop runs entirely on your machine. The only network call is an optional update check against the GitHub Releases API on launch; you can turn it off in Preferences → Check for updates on launch. Your manuscripts never leave your computer.

Free and open-source under GPL-3.0-or-later. Source: github.com/2oby/ProseDrop