Reader spreads minds.
Someone sends you a Synap mind. You need to open it. If Reader is paid, the mind dies in your inbox. If it's free, you read it. That's why Synap exists.
AN EDITORIAL · 4 MIN READWhy Reader
Why Reader
stays free.
It's not a marketing trick. It's load-bearing. Here's the math, the philosophy, and the contract.
“The people who pay should be the ones who get value, not the ones who consume value.”
Pablo RiveraFOUNDER · SYNAP
THE REASONINGThree reasons
Three reasons
Reader is free.
We earn it before charging.
We don't want you to pay until Synap saves you hours. Reading is the on-ramp. If Reading is locked behind a paywall, no one ever discovers Synap is worth paying for.
Your minds outlive us.
If Synap shuts down, your .md files still open. Reader is the contract: your knowledge is yours, with a free, open viewer that works forever.
$0COST · FOREVERno upgrade prompts, no time limits
0SERVERSfully local, nothing to maintain
0TELEMETRYwe don't even know you opened it
1PROMISEopen-source backup if we shut down
WHAT'S FREE / WHAT'S PAID
Honest split.
We don't hide what costs money. Here's the line.
ALWAYS FREE · READER
Read any mind
Open any .md folder as a Synap mind
Markdown, Mermaid, code, search, graphs
Local-only. No telemetry. No login.
Works on macOS, Windows, Linux — 30 MB
PAID · SYNAP
Write, sync, collaborate
Edit + version your minds across devices
Team memory with PR-style change requests
Cortex (Claude integration) with structured context
Synced storage of your choice (Vercel Blob / S3)
“Reader is the contract. Synap is the offer. You always get to walk away with your Markdown.”
Sofia RiveraPRODUCT · SYNAP
We share
the same goal.
Your knowledge, in your hands, working forever — with or without us.