diff --git a/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml b/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
index ba0b42b..9da57ca 100644
--- a/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
+++ b/android/app/src/main/AndroidManifest.xml
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@
     <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.READ_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />
     <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.WRITE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE" />
     <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.MANAGE_EXTERNAL_STORAGE"/>
+    <uses-permission android:name="android.permission.QUERY_ALL_PACKAGES"/>
 
     <application
         android:label="muzzlevelocity"
@@ -57,5 +58,8 @@
         <intent>
             <action android:name="android.settings.MANAGE_ALL_FILES_ACCESS_PERMISSION"/>
         </intent>
+        <intent>
+            <action android:name="android.intent.action.VIEW"/>
+        </intent>
     </queries>
 </manifest>
diff --git a/lib/note_list.dart b/lib/note_list.dart
index ca334e0..4a461d8 100644
--- a/lib/note_list.dart
+++ b/lib/note_list.dart
@@ -2,7 +2,9 @@ import 'dart:io';
 import 'package:flutter/material.dart';
 import 'package:file_picker/file_picker.dart';
 import 'package:google_fonts/google_fonts.dart';
+import 'package:open_filex/open_filex.dart';
 import 'package:path/path.dart' as path;
+import 'package:permission_handler/permission_handler.dart';
 import 'package:path_provider/path_provider.dart';
 import 'package:shared_preferences/shared_preferences.dart';
 import 'note_editor.dart';
@@ -30,6 +32,7 @@ class _NoteListScreenState extends State<NoteListScreen> {
   List<File> filteredNotes = [];
   String? notesDirectoryPath;
   String? defaultDir;
+  bool _useExternalEditor = false;
 
   @override
   void initState() {
@@ -45,12 +48,33 @@ class _NoteListScreenState extends State<NoteListScreen> {
     });
   }
 
+  Future<void> _requestStoragePermission() async {
+    if (Platform.isAndroid) {
+      if (await Permission.storage.request().isGranted) {
+        print("✅ Basic storage permission granted.");
+        return;
+      }
+
+      if (await Permission.manageExternalStorage.request().isGranted) {
+        print("✅ Full file access granted.");
+        return;
+      }
+
+      print("❌ Storage permission denied. Opening settings...");
+      await openAppSettings(); // Open settings if denied
+    }
+  }
+
   Future<void> _initializeApp() async {
+    final prefs = await SharedPreferences.getInstance();
     final dir = await getApplicationDocumentsDirectory();
+
     setState(() {
-      defaultDir = dir.path; // Update state with defaultDir
+      defaultDir = dir.path;
+      _useExternalEditor = prefs.getBool('use_external_editor') ?? false;
     });
-    await _loadNotes(); // Load notes after setting defaultDir
+
+    await _loadNotes();
   }
 
   void _showDirectoryChoiceDialog(String defaultPath) {
@@ -79,6 +103,7 @@ class _NoteListScreenState extends State<NoteListScreen> {
             ),
             TextButton(
               onPressed: () async {
+                await _requestStoragePermission();
                 Navigator.pop(context); // Close the current dialog
                 await _selectNotesDirectory(); // Allow user to pick a folder
               },
@@ -194,6 +219,25 @@ class _NoteListScreenState extends State<NoteListScreen> {
         .trim();
   }
 
+  Future<void> _openExternalEditor(File noteFile) async {
+    if (!noteFile.existsSync()) {
+      print("❌ File does not exist: ${noteFile.path}");
+      return;
+    }
+
+    try {
+      if (Platform.isAndroid) {
+        await _requestStoragePermission();
+      }
+
+      final result = await OpenFilex.open(noteFile.path);
+      print("✅ OpenFilex result: ${result.type}, message: ${result.message}");
+    } catch (e) {
+      print("❌ Failed to open external editor: $e");
+    }
+  }
+
+
   void _deleteNote(File note) {
     final trashDir = Directory('${note.parent.path}/trash');
     if (!trashDir.existsSync()) {
@@ -326,6 +370,14 @@ class _NoteListScreenState extends State<NoteListScreen> {
                       widget.toggleTheme(!widget.isDarkMode);
                     });
                     break;
+                  case 'External Editor':
+                    setState(() {
+                      _useExternalEditor = !_useExternalEditor;
+                    });
+                      SharedPreferences.getInstance().then((prefs) {
+                      prefs.setBool('use_external_editor', _useExternalEditor);
+                    });
+                    break;
                   case 'Select Folder':
                     _showDirectoryChoiceDialog(
                         notesDirectoryPath ?? ''); // Re-trigger popup
@@ -359,6 +411,21 @@ class _NoteListScreenState extends State<NoteListScreen> {
                     ),
                   ),
                 ),
+                PopupMenuItem<String>(
+                  value: 'External Editor',
+                  child: ListTile(
+                    leading: Icon(
+                      _useExternalEditor
+                          ? Icons.open_in_new_off
+                          : Icons.open_in_new,
+                    ),
+                    title: Text(
+                      !_useExternalEditor
+                          ? 'Use External Editor'
+                          : 'Use Internal Editor',
+                    ),
+                  ),
+                ),
                 PopupMenuItem<String>(
                   value: 'Select Folder',
                   child: ListTile(
@@ -410,19 +477,42 @@ class _NoteListScreenState extends State<NoteListScreen> {
                             children: tagSpans))
                     : null,
                 onTap: () async {
-                  await Navigator.push(
-                    context,
-                    MaterialPageRoute(
-                      builder: (context) => NoteEditorScreen(
-                        note: File(path.join(notesDirectoryPath!,
-                            noteFile.uri.pathSegments.last)),
-                        isDarkMode: widget.isDarkMode,
-                        notesDirectoryPath: notesDirectoryPath,
+                  if (_useExternalEditor) {
+                    // Open with system's default editor
+                    try {
+                      if (Platform.isLinux) {
+                        final result = await Process.run('which', ['xdg-open']);
+                        if (result.stdout.toString().trim().isNotEmpty) {
+                          await Process.run('xdg-open', [noteFile.path]);
+                        } else {
+                          print("❌ `xdg-open` is not available.");
+                        }
+                      } else if (Platform.isAndroid) {
+                        await _requestStoragePermission();
+                        final result = await OpenFilex.open(
+                          noteFile.path,
+                          type: "text/markdown",
+                        );
+                        print("✅ OpenFilex result: ${result.type}, message: ${result.message}");
+                      }
+                    } catch (e) {
+                      print("❌ Failed to open external editor: $e");
+                    }
+                  } else {
+                    // Open internally
+                    await Navigator.push(
+                      context,
+                      MaterialPageRoute(
+                        builder: (context) => NoteEditorScreen(
+                          note: File(path.join(notesDirectoryPath!, noteFile.uri.pathSegments.last)),
+                          isDarkMode: widget.isDarkMode,
+                          notesDirectoryPath: notesDirectoryPath,
+                        ),
                       ),
-                    ),
-                  );
-                  _loadNotes(); // Reload notes after returning
-                  setState(() {}); // Force UI refresh
+                    );
+                    _loadNotes(); // Reload notes after returning
+                    setState(() {}); // Force UI refresh
+                  }
                 },
               ),
             );
diff --git a/pubspec.lock b/pubspec.lock
index e599e15..c89ff32 100644
--- a/pubspec.lock
+++ b/pubspec.lock
@@ -336,6 +336,14 @@ packages:
       url: "https://pub.dev"
     source: hosted
     version: "1.0.0"
+  open_filex:
+    dependency: "direct main"
+    description:
+      name: open_filex
+      sha256: dcb7bd3d32db8db5260253a62f1564c02c2c8df64bc0187cd213f65f827519bd
+      url: "https://pub.dev"
+    source: hosted
+    version: "4.6.0"
   path:
     dependency: "direct main"
     description:
diff --git a/pubspec.yaml b/pubspec.yaml
index 3e5f11c..a8d1a00 100644
--- a/pubspec.yaml
+++ b/pubspec.yaml
@@ -46,6 +46,7 @@ dependencies:
   permission_handler: ^11.4.0
   shared_preferences: ^2.5.2
   highlight: ^0.7.0
+  open_filex: ^4.6.0
 
 dev_dependencies:
   flutter_test: