Getting started

The Interface

Opening a workspace

When you first launch Stet, you'll see a welcome screen with an "Open a folder" button. Pick any folder containing markdown files. Stet remembers your recent workspaces, so next time you can pick from the list.

If you don't have a project to try, use File > Open Stet Demo to load a sample workspace with pre-made suggestions to explore.

Three panels

Stet's workspace is split into three panels.

Files panel (left)

Shows all your project's documents in a folder tree. Click any file to open it in the editor. Arrow keys move through the tree and open files as you go.

The funnel icon opens Filters, which narrow the tree: watched files only, CLAUDE.md files, AGENT.md files, HTML files, only documents with changes, or shared documents. A blue dot on the funnel reminds you when a filter is narrowing the view.

The left panel is also where folder controls live. Right-click any folder and choose Folder settings, or use File > Folder controls, to open the Controls view in the same panel. That's where you set what gets watched and how much review each source of changes needs — see Review Policy by Source.

Editor (center)

This is where you write. It works like any word processor: type, format, and your changes save automatically. You'll see a "Saved" indicator when your work is captured.

When you're previewing a suggestion, the proposed changes appear directly in the editor as colored highlights.

Suggestions panel (right)

Shows incoming changes from contributors or from external edits, grouped by source. The panel switches between an Edits lens and a Comments lens when comments are available.

Small floating pills appear along the right edge of your editor, lined up with where each change would go in your document. Hover or click them to see the full preview.

The clock icon in the document header opens Version history, where you can browse previous versions of the document and restore one.

The menu bar

Stet uses the Mac menu bar. Nine menus cover the app:

• File — New Document, Open Folder, Open Recent, Open Stet Demo, sharing and Google Drive sync, Open in your AI agent, Folder controls, the hook command, Export as HTML, and Print
• Edit — undo, clipboard (including Paste as Plain Text, Copy as Markdown), Find, and Find and Replace
• Paragraph — headings, lists, quotes, tables, code fences
• Format — bold, italic, links, images, Clear Formatting, Smart Typography
• Review — Add Comment, Accept Change, Reject Change, Next and Previous Change, Insert AI Note, Show Review Sidebar
• View — the sidebar toggle, Paper or Seamless surface, focus modes, zoom, and word count

Tip

Hide both side panels when you want a distraction-free writing experience. For deeper focus, the View menu has Focus Mode (F8), which dims every paragraph except the one you're writing in, and Typewriter Mode (F9), which keeps your cursor vertically centered as you type.