Best on Android. Works on iOS too. Requires the Google Drive desktop app.
If you have an Android phone or already pay for Google One, Google Drive is a natural fit. The catch is that Keepance needs to write to a regular folder on your computer, so you must install the Google Drive for desktop app and let it mirror Drive to a local folder.
When asked, choose Mirror files (not "Stream files"). Mirror keeps a real local copy of every file, which is what Keepance needs. Stream stores files only in the cloud and downloads on demand, which Keepance can't reliably read from.
Pick a local folder for the mirror. The default is ~/Library/CloudStorage/[email protected]/My Drive/ on Mac or G:\My Drive\ on Windows.
The "Mirror files" option is critical. If you accidentally chose "Stream files," Keepance will see an empty folder or a folder of cloud-only placeholder files it can't open. Re-run the Drive setup wizard and switch to Mirror mode.
Step 2: Point Keepance at your Drive folder
In Keepance, open File → Open Workspace.
Navigate into your mirrored Google Drive folder.
Create a folder called Keepance inside Drive.
Select that folder as your workspace and click Open.
[Screenshot: Keepance with workspace pointing at the mirrored Google Drive folder]
TODO: real screenshot of Keepance's workspace selector pointing at the Google Drive folder.
Step 3: Wait for sync
Open the Drive folder in Finder or File Explorer. The Drive desktop app shows a small status icon next to each file: a green checkmark means uploaded, a spinning arrow means in progress. Markdown files are tiny so this finishes in seconds.
Step 4: Open your workspace on your phone
Android
The Google Drive app comes preinstalled on most Android phones. If it isn't, get it from the Play Store.
Open the app, sign in with the same Google account you use on your computer.
Tap Files at the bottom, then navigate to your Keepance folder.
Tap any .md file. Drive on Android renders Markdown as plain text. For nicer rendering, install Markor and open the file with that.
Tap any .md file to read it. The iOS app renders Markdown as plain text.
[Screenshot: Google Drive Android app showing the synced Keepance workspace]
TODO: real screenshot of the Google Drive Android app browsing the Keepance folder.
Limitations to know
Treat your phone as read-only for now. Google Drive handles desktop-to-mobile changes well, but mobile-to-desktop edits can take longer to propagate and occasionally need a manual refresh on the desktop side.
Free tier is 15 GB shared across Drive, Gmail, and Photos. A Keepance workspace fits comfortably; just check that your overall Google storage isn't already full.
Mirror mode uses local disk space. Every file in your Drive lives on your hard drive. If your Drive is large and your laptop SSD is small, this matters; you can use Stream mode for the rest of Drive and switch only the Keepance folder to "Available offline" instead.
Drive's Android app shows a "Open in" sheet for unrecognized formats. Tapping a .md file may prompt you to pick an app to open it with. Pick a Markdown reader once and Android remembers your choice.
What's next
If you want a setup that works on both iOS and Android with the cleanest mobile reading experience, see the Dropbox guide. For Apple-only users, the iCloud Drive guide is the simplest path.