Open Source v4.8.0 ✓ Checksum Published

Download Zettlr for Windows PC v4.8.0 for Windows PC

Name: Zettlr for Windows PC
Availability: InStock
Author: Hendrik Erz

Zettlr is the Markdown editor built for academic writing — projects of plain-text files, Zotero citations, word targets, Zettelkasten links and Pandoc export...

⬇ Direct Download (150.0 MB)

Technical Specifications & System Requirements

Developer Hendrik Erz

Platform & OS Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit)

Package Size 150.0 MB

Architecture x64 (64-bit)

Package Format EXE Installer

Security Verification SHA-256 checksum published

SHA-256 Cryptographic Checksum Computed from the file we serve

              4078c648afd1141ec0230cb6cacfbb032bbd1d8afddcd822049ef9a2e6d1e8d6
            

              $ Get-FileHash .\zettlr-markdown-editor-pc.exe -Algorithm SHA256
            

Software notes

The Bottom Line: Zettlr understands a specific writer: the one with a thesis, a book, or forty articles in flight and a reference manager full of citations. Your project is a folder of plain Markdown files — Zettlr never hides them in a database — and on top it builds the scholarly toolkit: citations rendered live from your Zotero or BibTeX library, footnotes that behave, a table of contents for long documents, word-count targets per file, and YAML frontmatter that flows into Pandoc exports to PDF, DOCX, LaTeX or HTML with your citation style applied. The Zettelkasten linking (IDs, tags, a graph of your notes) is there when a research project becomes a knowledge base. It is an Electron application with the honest costs of that stack — a few hundred megabytes installed and a beat of startup time — and its opinionated design assumes Markdown and Pandoc are acceptable foundations; writers who need tracked changes for a Word-only supervisor will still finish the journey in Word. The writing environment itself (typewriter mode, distraction-free view, readability stats) is thoughtfully done. For students and researchers in the humanities and social sciences especially, Zettlr is the free tool most precisely shaped like their actual work.

Features

True academic citation workflow: cite from Zotero, BibTeX or CSL JSON as you write, with live previews and correct bibliographies on export.
Your work stays as plain Markdown files in ordinary folders — portable, version-controllable, and immune to any app's shutdown.
Pandoc-powered export to PDF, Word, LaTeX, HTML and more with templates and citation styles, the formats academia actually demands.
Zettelkasten features — unique note IDs, links, tags, and a network graph — scale a folder of notes into a research knowledge base.
Writing-focused touches throughout: per-file word targets, typewriter and distraction-free modes, readability stats, and a pomodoro timer.

Considerations

As an Electron app it is heavier and slower to start than native Markdown editors, noticeable on older laptops.
It assumes a Markdown-plus-Pandoc world; supervisors or publishers who demand native Word tracked-changes still require a final pass in Word.
The scholarly feature set is overkill for casual note-taking, and its interface has more panels than a simple notes app user wants.

About & Overview: Zettlr for Windows PC

Zettlr is a free, open-source Markdown editor built for academic and long-form writing. It manages whole writing projects as folders of plain Markdown files, with Zettelkasten-style linking, a citation engine that works with Zotero and BibTeX, live word-count targets, a distraction-free mode, and export to PDF, Word, LaTeX and HTML via Pandoc. Your texts stay as portable files on your disk — Zettlr is the writing environment researchers and authors reach for when a thesis or book is the deliverable.

How to Install & Verify Zettlr for Windows PC

STEP 1

Download the installer

Download Zettlr from the official vendor link on this page.

STEP 2

Run the setup

Open the downloaded installer file and follow the on-screen installation steps.

STEP 3

Launch the app

Start Zettlr from the Start menu or desktop shortcut.

Related Windows PC Software & Alternatives

Zotero for Windows PC 10.0.6 • Open Source

LibreOffice 24.2.5 • Open Source

LibreOffice 26.8.0 • Open Source

WordCraft 0.8.0 • Open Source

PdfCraft 0.9.0 • Open Source

diagrams.net Desktop for Windows PC 32.5.5 • Open Source

Frequently Asked Questions & Verification Guide

Is Zettlr free?

Yes. Zettlr is free and open source under the GPL, developed by Hendrik Erz. There is no paid tier; the project is supported by donations and sponsors.

How does Zettlr handle citations?

Point Zettlr at your BibTeX file or connect it to Zotero, and cite with a simple picker as you write — citations render in your chosen CSL style (APA, Chicago, MLA and thousands more) and the bibliography is generated automatically on export.

Can Zettlr export to Word and PDF?

Yes, via Pandoc. It exports to DOCX, PDF (through LaTeX), HTML, ODT and plain LaTeX, with templates for common journal and thesis formats. A LaTeX installation is needed only for the PDF-via-LaTeX route.

Where are my texts stored?

In folders on your own disk as standard .md files. Zettlr simply opens your existing folder structure — you can edit the same files in any other editor, sync them with Git or any cloud folder, and nothing is locked in.

What is a Zettelkasten and do I need one?

It is a method of linked atomic notes for research. Zettlr supports it with note IDs, links and a graph view, but you can ignore all of it and use Zettlr purely as a project-based academic writing app — many users do.