Getting Started with MarsEdit

Setting up your blog

When you first open MarsEdit, it will ask for details about your blog. If you want to add additional blogs, choose the File > New Blog… menu item.

After you enter the name and URL of your blog’s home page, MarsEdit will usually figure out the rest of the settings it needs.

If MarsEdit doesn’t automatically detect the settings, refer to the Manual Configuration page for instructions on configuring popular blog systems.

Downloading and browsing recent posts

If MarsEdit detected your blog settings automatically, your posts will begin to download automatically. To manually download posts at any time, click the Refresh button in the toolbar. Typically you will not need to “Refresh” your blog unless you or another person has made changes to the blog outside of MarsEdit or on another computer.

Note: When MarsEdit asks for your blog password, it is stored securely in the system keychain. For most blogs, the username and password are the same as you use to log in to your blog from a web browser. Some blog systems require a different password:

On WordPress.com and Tumblr blogs, if you have enabled two-factor authentication, you may need to use a special password called an “application-specific password.” See the security section of your account on these services for more information about creating an application-specific password to connect with MarsEdit.
On Movable Type and TypePad blogs, the password for connecting from apps like MarsEdit is different from your regular password. It is called the “web services password.” You can find this password in your Movable Type user settings on the web.

When MarsEdit finishes downloading, the titles of your posts will appear in the top half of the main window. Select an item to see a preview of the full post in the bottom half of the window.

What to do if there’s an error

Refresh failures might be due to problems with your network connection, or because of a configuration problem in the blog’s settings.

The error message should include information from the blog about the cause of the failure, though these messages are not always helpful.

Double-check that you have the correct settings for your blog. The System Name, System API, API Endpoint URL, and Blog ID fields must be correctly configured.
If you’re still having trouble, feel free to contact us for assistance. We’ll be glad to help get you up and running!