# uFocus — Distraction-free text editor

> Distraction-free plain text editor for writers with Markdown and Fountain support. (iPhone/iPad app by Nicolas Kick.)

- Source: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ufocus/id583995251 (this page in markdown: same URL + `.md`)
- Developer: [Nicolas Kick](https://appshunter.io/developer/583995254)
- Category: Productivity
- Price: Free
- Rating: 4.70/5 from 34 App Store ratings · 142 written reviews indexed
- Age rating: 4+
- Requires: iOS 15.0 · 7 MB
- Languages: American English
- Released: 2012-12-16
- Data updated: 2026-08-25
- Monetization: paid
- User reviews in markdown: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ufocus/id583995251/reviews.md

## What is uFocus?

uFocus is a distraction-free writing environment that supports plain text files and allows you to keep them organized inside libraries. It allows everyone to express their creativity in the most simple way.

• Unobtrusive interface: the navigation bar disappears while writing.
• Swipe to show the sidebar. Here you can link your favorite libraries and quickly access your documents.
• Show text statistics including character and word count and reading time.
• MultiMarkdown: easily add headings, quotes, ordered and unordered lists, links, images, italics, bold, footnotes, citations, glossaries and acronyms. You can then export your documents to HTML or PDF. With CriticMarkup and Live Edit Mode you can easily mark removals, additions and substitutions, add highlghts and comments, and accept or reject them.
• Fountain: create screenplays with the Markdown-inspired markup syntax and print or export them as PDF with industry-standard formatting.
• Highlighting: you can stay even more focused by fading out all the text but the current sentence or paragraph.
• Typewriter scrolling: automatically scrolls the text when you get on a new line.
• Sound mode: experience the ultimate feeling of a typewriter.
• No deletions mode: disable deletions and replacements if your greatest temptation is always to edit your text instead of writing.
• Fullscreen: focus on your words and hide everything else.
• Choose between three different editor widths, four font sizes and a light, dark, sepia or amber theme, or create your own theme.
• Print single files or entire directory hierarchies.


If you have any requests, suggestions or bug reports, you're welcome to visit the website through the Support link.

## Key features

- Unobtrusive interface
- Text statistics
- MultiMarkdown support
- Fountain screenplay support
- Highlighting options
- Typewriter scrolling
- Customizable themes

## Recent user reviews (10 of 142)

All indexed reviews: https://appshunter.io/ios/app/ufocus/id583995251/reviews.md

### 4/5 — Nice viewer with quick-look preview, but ..

*2026-06-21*

.. this tool seems to have a "beep" mode, like "vi" has. I don’t know how it can be disabled, so it’s only a nice previewer in combination with quick-look.

What I do to enable beep mode: I double-click an existing .md file in my repo and the program will load it in beep mode. The menu bar doesn’t reveal how to disable it. Well, that’s not what I have expected.

I’ll keep the program for a while and look what news some updates might introduce. Until then TextEdit will do better, since files are EDITABLE.

If the beep mode can be disabled one day, it’ll get’s my 5 stars.

**Developer response:** Thank you for your comment. I don’t know what you mean with “repo”, but uFocus is a text editor and of course supports editing. Perhaps it’s easier to find out what the issue is by contacting me on the website and sending more detailed reproduction steps and perhaps even a video. Thank you for your time.

### 5/5 — Nice but

*2026-05-05, version 2.1*

Can’t get the toolbar to show up in the editor, tried the gestures you mentioned in the app they’re still hidden. No way to contact you through the app and the app support link on your webpage is down so writing it here.

### 5/5 — Best Free Writing App I Have Found!

*2026-04-08, version 4.0.3*

Now, I am not usually the type who writes reviews—in fact this is my first review I have ever written for an app. This app has honestly changed my writing for the better, and I felt it deserved a review. Before I downloaded uFocus, I would write in Apple Pages and constantly try to ignore my highly distracting Grammarly edit bubble. I would draft once, and then edit in the same document. However, I was wanting a tool to help me write faster and without distractions. I considered Freewrite but didn’t have the budget to buy one. Then I found uFocus. The app is extremely plain and small. Utilizing .txt files, my longest documents are still no more than 50 KB, compared to the 300+ KB that the same document is in Pages. The interface is easy to navigate, and if you want to work with bold and italics, there are keys to use them. I use uFocus for all of my first drafts (the typewriter sounds keep me going), then edit them in Pages later. For a free writing app, I cannot recommend more highly uFocus.

Update: Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, I discovered the Markdown (.md) files, which have improved dramatically my ability to create ordered notes.

### 5/5 — Parfaite

*2026-03-29, version 4.0.3*

C’est l’application que je cherchais depuis des mois. Elle est minimaliste, élégante, avec le juste ce qu’il faut de fonctionnalités nécessaires, libéré du superflu. Qui plus est sont développeur est réactif et à l’écoute. Bravo!

### 1/5 — Не работает вообще

*2026-03-24, version 2.0.3*

Загружается стартовая страница. Возможности редактировать ознакомительный файл нет. При попытке добавить любой файл формата .md или .txt - добавляет документ библиотеку. Но не открывает его. Попробовал 10 разных файлов - приложение не открывает ничего. Возможности создать документ также нет. Зачем это приложение было сделано, если у него ни одна функция не работает?

### 1/5 — doesn't work

*2026-03-02*

app looks great and seems to have potential; however, I wasn't able to open any files: the app just says „couldn‘t open file“. File is plain text in .md format.

**Developer response:** Thank you for your comment. How are you opening the file? I would suggest to link a folder in the app sidebar and then browse and create files. Thank you for your time.

### 5/5 — uFocus

*2026-02-25*

uFocus is hands-down the best free distraction free text editor I've used on Mac. It keeps everything super simple with plain .txt files no bloat, no subscriptions, no proprietary formats and lets you organize notes in libraries or folders effortlessly. The minimalist interface vanishes when you write, with solid Markdown support, optional typewriter sounds that actually motivate you, nice themes, focus mode, and typewriter scrolling that feels perfect for long sessions. It's lightweight, fast even on older Macs, fully offline, and still gets updates in 2026. Minor gripes like basic library search or no direct .docx export don't bother me since I use it purely for first drafts before polishing elsewhere. If you want pure, uninterrupted writing without paying a dime, uFocus is unbeatable 5 stars all the way.

### 4/5 — Nice!

*2026-01-29, version 2.0.2*

I earlier wrote a less than positive review for this app. Since then the developer contacted me and the app has been updated. (I’m sure the update was in the works already.) Anyway, the sync and stability issues I encountered before are no longer happening. Considering its tiny footprint and free price tag, this is a winner.

### 4/5 — (UPDATED) How to get around autosave failure

*2026-01-22, version 2.0.1*

I wrote a review on this app about a year ago saying that it fails to autosave, and I think that if you don't intentionally check whether the file has saved yet, there is still quite a risk that you will lose the past maybe paragraph or so. I did actually continue using the app, and I've thoroughly enjoyed it for writing all kinds of free-form text; and specifically, I've come to write my whole diary in it!

There is still something, however, of a learn curve, to the saving function. If you write a file, open the menu and click again on that file. If there is a sligh delay before it jumps to the top (or shows the rest loaded in), it likely saved; if not, that it instantly seems to reload the file, you may need to select it all, copy it, reload the app, paste it in, and then click on the file again that there is a delay caused by saving. This is something I learnt over time using the app; it seems to only autosave in regular periods, and if you leave before the next period, anything you wrote after the last autosave will not be saved.

I still would recommend a manual save button to be added alongside autosaving, since it would just allow the user more confidence that the file is saved; but I think in some way the autosaving function might either need to save more frequently, or, as I've seen some writing apps do, also save every time the user lowers the keyboard, such that any break in writing where the user might exit the app or work on another file is already preceded by a save.

Other than this issue, I do really love this app; it has the perfect style and interface for focusing on writing large streams of text without getting distracted or too caught up in it all; and I like that the files are saved simply to the device as the files they are, that, should the app stop working or the user move to any other software, they can be simply read in the folders they were written to in the first place. I just would recommend any new users to, especially if they are writing large works that are a pain to rewrite, select everything, or the last paragraph or two, and save it to the clipboard before attempting to save (by clicking on the file being edited again in the menu) and checking whether it was really saved. That way, you won't lose your work.

### 2/5 — Well…

*2026-01-06, version 2.0.1*

This app looks promising, but whenever I attempt to use the Find/Replace function it completely crashes the app, and it often doesn’t save all the text I’ve written. Too bad, because there seems to be a lot to like in it. Hopefully, it will be updated/fixed and I’ll try it again.

## Frequently asked questions about uFocus

### What is uFocus?

uFocus is a distraction-free writing application that supports plain text files and helps users organize their documents. It aims to provide a simple yet powerful environment for creative writing, offering features to minimize distractions and enhance focus.

### What writing formats does uFocus support?

The app supports plain text files and offers advanced markup syntax for both MultiMarkdown and Fountain. MultiMarkdown allows for headings, lists, links, images, and more, with export to HTML. Fountain is designed for screenplays, enabling industry-standard formatting for printing or PDF export.

### How does uFocus help with focus?

uFocus provides several features to aid concentration, including an unobtrusive interface that hides navigation bars, highlighting options to fade out non-current text, typewriter scrolling, and a 'no deletions' mode to prevent constant editing. Fullscreen mode further removes external distractions.

### Is uFocus compatible with different devices?

The provided description does not specify compatibility with different operating systems or devices. However, it is presented as a mobile application, suggesting it is designed for smartphones and tablets.

### What are the customization options in uFocus?

Users can customize their writing experience by choosing from three different editor widths, four font sizes, and several themes including light, dark, sepia, and amber. It's also possible to create custom themes to suit individual preferences.

## Version history (last 5 releases)

### 2.1.3 — 2026-08-21

• Fixed an issue that caused the “delete” sound to be played when compositing characters (such as accented letters or Chinese characters) and typewriter sounds were enabled.
• Fixed an issue that caused the theme to not be switched automatically when the system appearance changed between light and dark and the app was in the background.
• Implemented a workaround for an iOS issue that causes the navigation bar of the sidebar to be hidden when opening a document in portrait mode and rotating the device to landscape mode.
• Fixed an issue that caused forced character names with only one letter to not be recognized in a Fountain document.

### 2.1.2 — 2026-05-30

• Fixed an issue that caused the custom font setting to be ignored.

### 2.1.1 — 2026-05-28

• Fixed an issue that caused inline markdown in a heading to have a different text size than the rest of the heading.
• Fixed an issue that caused uppercase dialogue to be formatted as a character name in a Fountain document.
• Fixed an issue that caused text that is both italic and underlined to be formatted incorrectly in a Fountain document.
• Fixed an issue that caused dialogue that is completely italic or underlined to be indented incorrectly in a Fountain document.

### 2.1 — 2026-04-14

• Added menu items to enable CriticMarkup Live Edit Mode, approve and reject changes, and add highlights and comments. (uFocus only supports CriticMarkup that doesn’t span multiple lines. Live Edit Mode doesn’t support adding or removing newlines.)
• Fixed an issue that caused typewriter sounds to pause any playing music.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused outline items to be nested incorrectly.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes caused the color to be applied incorrectly for newly typed text in a Fountain document.
• Fixed an issue that caused menu items for commands that are only available to either Markdown or Fountain documents to be visible for other document types.

### 2.0.3 — 2026-03-12

• The keyboard shortcuts are now visible in the cheat sheet that appears when holding the Command key on iOS 18 and older.
• The custom font and text size are used when applying Markdown for printed documents.
• Fixed an issue that caused live formatting to be applied incorrectly while typing in a Fountain document.

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| [EZText - Text Editor](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/eztext-text-editor/id1616281411) | 4.2 (27) | Free | Productivity |
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## More apps by Nicolas Kick

- [Disk Graph](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/disk-graph/id697942581)
- [Patchword](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/patchword/id6475396748)

All apps by Nicolas Kick: https://appshunter.io/developer/583995254

## Related topics

[text editor focus](https://appshunter.io/ios/topics/text-editor-focus)

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*Data collected daily from the US App Store and indexed by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/). User reviews are verbatim App Store reviews. Ratings, prices and chart positions refresh continuously; this snapshot is from 2026-08-25.*