there's no separate library to manage. the folder where you already keep your scripts is the library, and open prompter reads it as is.
most teleprompter apps make you import. you paste a script, or upload it, and now there are two copies: the real one in your notes and the stale one trapped in the app. open prompter skips that. it points at a folder you already have and reads what's inside.
the idea#
pick a folder once. every markdown file in it shows up as a script. that's the whole model.
no "new document" button that creates a file the app owns. no proprietary library you have to keep in sync with your actual writing. the file you wrote on your mac this morning is the same file you read on the phone tonight. one source of truth, in a place you chose.
if you already keep scripts, notes, or outlines in iCloud Drive, you already have a teleprompter library. you just haven't pointed an app at it yet.
setup, once#
open the folder picker and choose the folder your scripts live in. open prompter holds onto that choice with a security-scoped bookmark, so it sticks. you don't re-grant access every launch, and you don't re-pick the folder every time you open the app.
after that, every .md and .markdown file in the folder lists as a script. write a new one in any editor, save it into that folder, and it joins the list. delete one, it leaves. rename one, the name updates. the app is reading the folder, not a copy of it.
there's no upload step in any of this. the files stay where they are. open prompter makes no network calls of its own. iCloud is the one moving bytes between your devices, and that's between you and apple.
the honest sync story#
here's the part most apps fudge. sync is not instant, and open prompter doesn't pretend it is.
you write on your mac. you save. iCloud picks the change up and pushes it to the phone. that usually takes somewhere between 10 and 60 seconds. sometimes faster, sometimes slower, depending on your connection and what iCloud is doing.
a lot of apps hide this. they show you the old version with no hint that a newer one exists, and you find out you were reading stale text halfway through the take. open prompter does the opposite. it watches the folder for changes and shows a checking-for-updates / last-edited indicator, so you can see whether the phone has caught up to what you just saved.
that honesty is the feature. you'd rather know the phone is still a few seconds behind than read the wrong draft on camera. when the indicator says it's current, it's current.
it doesn't have to be iCloud#
iCloud is the obvious one for apple folks, but the picker reads any folder iOS Files can reach. point it at a Dropbox folder, an Obsidian vault, or a shared folder a collaborator set up. the rule is simple: if Files can see the folder, open prompter can read the markdown in it.
so the same workflow runs on whatever sync service you already pay for. nothing here is locked to iCloud.
no import, no container, no upload#
worth saying plainly, because it's the opposite of how the category usually works.
- no import. you don't copy a script into the app. it reads your file in place.
- no proprietary container. there's no app-owned database your scripts get swallowed into. they're plain markdown in your folder, openable by anything.
- no upload. your files never leave your device through open prompter. the only thing moving them between machines is your sync provider, doing what it already does.
and because the file stays a file, the in-app editor writes back through the system file coordinator. tap the pencil, fix a line on the phone, and iCloud syncs that change to your mac like any other edit. no round-trip through an export.
organizing it#
two small habits make the list pleasant to scroll.
one folder or subfolders, your call. a single scripts folder is the simplest setup, and it's plenty if you're not shooting a ton. once the list gets long, subfolders by project or client keep things sane. point the picker at the parent and the structure carries.
name files so you can find them at a glance. the filename is what you see in the list, so q3-launch-vo.md beats untitled-3.md. and since takes saved next to the script borrow the script's name, a clear filename pays off later when the finished .mov lands beside it in the same folder.
that's it. pick the folder, write where you already write, and the library takes care of itself.