ship.md

ShipMD takes a genuinely unusual approach to logistics coordination by treating your filesystem as the interface for real world shipping. Instead of juggling separate courier apps, tracking spreadsheets, and manual API integrations, it lets you move files between folders and translates those filesystem events into actual dispatch requests to delivery services. The concept sounds almost too clever until you realize how naturally it maps to workflows where physical items already have digital representations, such as order documents, packing slips, or inventory manifests. Drag a file from your warehouse folder to your customer folder, and the platform interprets that as an instruction to ship the corresponding item. This filesystem first approach means there's no new interface to learn and no context switching between your normal work and logistics management.

The system works through folder based configuration where each directory contains a ship.md manifest file that defines what that location represents. These manifests specify inventory items, contact information including email, WhatsApp, and phone numbers, physical addresses, and webhook endpoints for downstream integrations. When you move or copy a file using Finder drag and drop, terminal commands like mv or rsync, or even natural language requests through an AI agent, the watcher service picks up the filesystem event and processes it according to the rules you've defined. This creates a surprisingly powerful abstraction layer that doesn't require learning new interfaces or switching contexts from your normal file management habits. The manifest format is human readable and version controllable, meaning you can track changes to your logistics configuration the same way you'd track code changes in a repository.

Every operation generates structured JSON events that log exactly what moved, when it happened, and where it went. This audit trail lives locally alongside your files, giving you complete visibility into your logistics history without relying on external dashboards or third party record keeping. You can grep through these logs, pipe them into other tools, or build custom reporting on top of the structured data. The integration layer connects to over 25 logistics providers including Uber, DoorDash, FedEx, Amazon, and Shopify, with webhook support for custom integrations. If your preferred courier isn't in the default list, the webhook system lets you wire up anything with an API. The platform itself runs self hosted on macOS with a SQLite backend, a local dashboard for monitoring, and environment variable based credential management for API keys.

The target audience includes small business operators coordinating their own deliveries, warehouse managers who want a simpler dispatch workflow, and developers building logistics automation who prefer filesystem semantics over traditional REST APIs. There's also an interesting use case for personal delivery coordination where you might organize folders representing home, office, a friend's place, and a storage unit, then shuffle items between them as needed. The approach eliminates the mental overhead of remembering which courier service to use for which route since the manifest files encode those preferences once and apply them automatically. For operations that deal with high volumes of small shipments or frequent movements between fixed locations, this programmatic approach scales better than clicking through forms.

What makes ShipMD different from conventional logistics platforms is the inversion of the typical interaction model. Rather than opening a shipping app, filling out forms, and clicking submit, you work with files the way you already do and let the background service handle translation. The three interface options, Finder drag and drop, terminal commands, and AI agent natural language, mean you can use whichever fits your workflow best or mix them depending on context. Batch operations become trivial since moving multiple files in a single command generates multiple dispatch requests. Scripting is native rather than an afterthought. And because the watcher runs continuously in the background, there's no activation step between deciding to ship something and having it dispatched.

Deployment requires macOS and involves running a local watcher service that monitors the folders you've configured. There's no cloud dependency for the core functionality, though you'll need valid credentials for whichever courier APIs you want to use. The self hosted architecture means your shipping data stays on your machine, the manifests live in your filesystem, and you're not dependent on a vendor's uptime for basic operations. The pricing model involves a subscription that unlocks extended features beyond the basic functionality, though the exact tiers aren't prominently displayed on the marketing site. For anyone who's struggled to maintain consistency in their shipping operations or wanted a more programmatic approach to logistics without building custom software, ShipMD offers a genuinely novel solution that feels both technically elegant and practically useful for the right workflows.