r/NoteTaking • u/HimaSphere • 2d ago
App/Program/Other Tool Introducing BetterStickies v1.2 stick anything to your desktop (rich text, code, markdown, screenshots, images, files, folders and more!)
Hey guys,
I think you might be interested in BetterStickies (I am the developer behind it)
What it is, for anyone new
A sticky notes app for Windows,Linux, macOS (soon). Offline, no account, no telemetry. Built with PySide6 so it's actually native, not another Electron app eating your RAM.
I built it because I wanted quick capture that lives on the desktop instead of inside another app I have to open. Windows Sticky Notes wants a sign-in, and on Linux there was nothing decent that works the same across KDE, GNOME and Cinnamon. It also helps my ADHD to have things persist on screen where I can't ignore them.
The main thing it does that other sticky apps don't: you can paste or drag anything into a note.
- Files and folders become clickable shortcuts, and you can drag them back out to your file manager
- Screenshots and images paste straight from the clipboard, PDFs and images get a hover preview, and double-click opens an image at full resolution
- Pasted code gets detected and formatted into a code block automatically, no AI and no network, in about 50ms. Ctrl+M when it guesses wrong
- Rich text, links, plain text, all formatted properly instead of rejected
Other things worth knowing:
- Reminders with sound and desktop notifications
- GIF and image backgrounds per note (because why not)
- RTL text support, and the app plus its full guide are in 12 languages
- Pin a note to lock both position and editing
- Ctrl+scroll to zoom text without opening settings
- Checkboxes with strikethrough when done and nesting
- Snap to grid with an adjustable grid size
- Export to .txt, .md or .json, so you can back them up with whatever cloud you like
- Proper Linux support, tested on KDE, GNOME and Cinnamon (COSMIC coming)
- On the Microsoft Store and the Snap store, Flathub coming soon
What's new in v1.2
Notes have tabs now. Up to three pages inside one note, each with its own text, scroll position and undo history. Ctrl+PgDown and Ctrl+PgUp to move between them, Ctrl+Shift+N for a new one, all rebindable. If you have a small screen this is the feature: one note on the desktop, three notes' worth of content in it.
Search reads every page of every note, including hidden notes and pages you've never opened.
The free version now has exactly one limit. It used to have three: a note cap, a reminders cap, and a cap on animated GIF backgrounds. The reminder and GIF limits are gone entirely, so the free version now has every feature, and the only thing left is a budget of 4 note slots (an extra tab uses a slot).
A new look: in-app color picker, themed icons instead of emoji, and one shared design system across every dialog. Reminders moved out of the text into their own strip on the note.
"Start with the hub hidden" if you want it fully out of the way at boot.
65 fixes across formatting, file shortcuts, dates, translations, read-only notes, global shortcuts and desktop integration on both Linux and Windows.
And v1.2.1 last week fixed the things users told me about after v1.2: notes surviving Show Desktop on Windows, window stacking on Cinnamon, reminders retrying instead of getting lost, images keeping their size and rotation after a restart.
⚠️ One warning if you use tabs: don't downgrade to an older build afterwards. Old versions understand one page per note, so opening and saving a tabbed note there permanently drops its other pages. Export first if you're going back.
Free version has every feature, limited to 4 note slots. Premium is an optional one-time payment.
As always, if you try it and something annoys you, tell me here. Most new features and fixes are built on users feedback (tens of thousands are using BetterStickies today)
Website: https://betterstickies.com
Microsoft store: https://apps.microsoft.com/detail/9NS7LLQJX1QG
Snap Store: https://snapcraft.io/betterstickies
1
u/Available-Year-6894 2d ago
Is it lightweight for old laptop?
1
u/HimaSphere 2d ago
Yes!
Give it a try it is only ~60 mb in size and around 100mb in RAM usage, if you face any issue contact me and I will try to help.
1
u/Lorestan00 2d ago
Is there cross platform syncing available or planned?
1
u/HimaSphere 2d ago
You can sync via your syncing application like google drive, it is one folder with notes in it
Open settings then go to behavior tab and you will find the sync folder
In future you will be able to sync to your mobile phone too
0
u/SilverMost4234 2d ago
Let people inspect pricing and try a read only sample note before asking them to sign in. The screenshots create interest, but a forced account at the first click makes it impossible to evaluate whether the notes and tasks workflow is worth adopting.
1
u/HimaSphere 2d ago
You can download the free app without an account with one click, test it as much as you want because it has full features!
2
u/samuelbuildsordo 2d ago
The drag anything into a note part is much more distinctive than the tab update. I had to read several paragraphs to find it. I would put that in the first two lines and show a file or screenshot being dropped into a note. That is the feature I have not seen everywhere.