New Ensō
Productivity
distraction-free writing app
SHOW HN2025
251points
87comments
#238of 3,837 in 2025
Top 7%of 2025 by points
How HN took it
MixedNo clear lean
18 positive, 23 neutral or asking, 6 mixed, 8 critical, out of 55 comments about the project. Thread score +0.23.
Design: 9 for, 1 againstDocs: 0 for, 5 againstIdea: 2 for, 1 againstExecution: 1 for, 0 againstPrivacy: 1 for, 0 against
The thread, comment by comment
Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.
positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker
What HN said
What people liked
Calm, well-designed look and coffee shop mode
From 4 comments
Very nice, I've been wanting to build something like this myself but haven't gotten to it. The coffee shop mode is great! My biggest feature request would be changing the font…
iNic on HNJust want to say beautiful website and product. Ensō looks well designed. And your "digital garden" is gorgeous as well.
jlarks32 on HNExcellent! I made something similar inspired by this few times in the past. I think this is already quite perfect, ambient music I can provide myself. While I did thought of new…
desireco42 on HNVery playful website - I love it.
Fuzzy1000 on HN
Good for writing without self-editing
From 2 comments
It's great if you want to "think aloud but with your mouth shut". I wrote 7k words with it just thinking through a problem. The exact word count is meaningless of course -- my…
rpastuszak on HNOh this is gonna be terrible for me, I love it
yapyap on HN
Respects privacy by omitting analytics
From 1 comment
Huge kudos for omitting analytics tracking for an app like this. Your reasoning totally resonated with me, and I hope more app devs follow suit!
seabass on HN
Objections
Landing page and post don't explain what the app is
From 4 comments
I dont know what Enso is. This page doesn't tell it in first few paragraphs. I wasn't to homepage of this website. That also mentions Enso but without a link. There is a link to…
smusamashah on HNI read the first few screens and still had no idea what we were talking about. I came to the conclusion that maybe it was a paperwhite display of some sort. Apparently it’s an…
raylad on HNI appreciate the artistic and programming skills of the developer but not the "cleverness" and "quirkiness" of their announcement post. It took me too long to figure out that…
urig on HNYeah the article is quite bad for the uninitiated but it seems that is how he talks to its own community. Looks like a text editor
owebmaster on HN
Only available on Mac; no Linux or Windows version
From 3 comments
Appears to be Apple only, for anybody spending time on the page trying to work out what it's about.
mellosouls on HNYeah had me confused, product link is <https://enso.sonnet.io/>. Apparently only for mac. Not to be confused with Ensso, maker of fountain pens <https://www.ensso.com/>.
webstrand on HNLongtime Ensō user here. Your update to query interest in a Linux version has given me hope. The last thing someone actively trying to avoid distraction needs is an open browser…
handedness on HN
Cannot select or edit text, which some find limiting
From 2 comments
> You can’t select or edit text, but you can download and review it once you’re done. What? Damn.
johnisgood on HNThis has its uses. However, I tend to use writing for reasoning about stuff, where you can’t keep everything relevant in your head simultaneously, and then it’s pretty crucial to…
layer8 on HN
Requests
Linux version
From 1 comment
Longtime Ensō user here. Your update to query interest in a Linux version has given me hope. The last thing someone actively trying to avoid distraction needs is an open browser…
handedness on HN
Change font and remove blinking cursor
From 1 comment
Very nice, I've been wanting to build something like this myself but haven't gotten to it. The coffee shop mode is great! My biggest feature request would be changing the font…
iNic on HN
Fixed-width font option
From 1 comment
I really want a fixed-width font. I know most people dislike writing prose with monospace fonts. But I'm a developer, and proportional fonts always feel wrong.
ryanianian on HN
Questions
Is it open source?
From 1 comment
Very nice! Looks like OmmWriter. Is it open source?
lowwave on HN
Is it related to the Enso application launcher or Enso Analytics?
From 2 comments
There used to be a really neat application launcher called Enso. Is this related in any way?
jnsie on HNUnfortunate naming collision with Enso Analytics (formerly Luna compiler).
binary132 on HN
Alternatives named
Apostrophe
From 3 comments
Reminds me of Apostrophe actually. https://flathub.org/apps/org.gnome.gitlab.somas.Apostrophe
spookie on HNLooks a lot like https://flathub.org/apps/org.gnome.gitlab.somas.Apostrophe for anyone on Linux
WD-42 on HNApostrophe does the same thing, it’s just not really shown on the store page. It provides both distraction free and Hemingway modes. Hemingway mode doesn’t let you use backspace!
WD-42 on HN
The Most Dangerous Writing App
From 1 comment
This reminds me of https://github.com/maebert/themostdangerouswritingapp
Velorivox on HN
OmmWriter
From 1 comment
Very nice! Looks like OmmWriter. Is it open source?
lowwave on HN