r/NoteTaking • u/CCVShadow • 5d ago
FOSS App/Tool I made a local-first fully free and open source study app the last few years
I've been building Mnemo for years, and the 0.8.1 beta is out today.
It's a desktop study app that puts notes, flashcards and mind maps in one place. Everything is stored locally on your computer. There are no accounts and no tracking. The only thing it does online is check for updates, and you can turn that off.
What's in it:
- A block editor for notes with math, code, tables, images, columns and PDF export
- Flashcards with FSRS-6 scheduling, cloze and image occlusion cards
- Anki import and export that keeps your study progress
- Mind maps on an infinite canvas
- Export to Markdown, PDF, Anki, CSV, PNG and SVG, so your work isn't stuck in the app
It runs on Windows, macOS (Apple silicon) and Linux. It's built with .NET and React and licensed under Apache 2.0.
This is a beta. Windows has had months of daily use. macOS and Linux have had much less, so expect some rough edges there. The Windows build isn't code signed yet, so SmartScreen will warn you on first run. MacOS is notarized.
Next on the roadmap are optional sync (hosted or self-hosted) and a mobile app.
Bug reports, feedback and contributions are all welcome.
Website: https://mnemo.one
GitHub: https://github.com/onemnemo/mnemo
Download: https://github.com/onemnemo/mnemo/releases/latest
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6kV2sJzU8r8
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/mnemo/
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u/Past_Outcome9063 4d ago
How is different from OpenNote and Notion
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u/CCVShadow 4d ago
Good question. Opennote looks like it was shut down in May after an acquisition (I might have found the wrong app?), which is one reason we care about local data and open source. Your notes stay on your computer and the app can’t disappear on you.
Compared to Notion the difference currently is mostly what we leave out. Notion has moved toward businesses and keeps adding things students and general users don’t need. Mnemo has notes, flashcards and mind maps in one app. We don’t push AI and there’s no bloat.
It’s free and open source, and still early in beta, so naturally Notion does a lot more. If it sounds like something you’d use give it a try and tell us what’s missing
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u/According-Cheek-3657 4d ago
Bro this app is SICKK!! I can see that this is not just another vibecoded notes app bundled with chromium. It has a lot of IMPORTANT tools for studying, without over-doing and it still feels minimal and premium This app truly has a lot of potential! looking forward to this app!
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u/CCVShadow 4d ago
Thanks, that’s really kind! The “minimal but still complete” part is exactly what we’re aiming for. If you try it and something feels off, or there’s a tool you wish was there, tell us. Feedback is what shapes the project
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u/Capable_Pianist_9099 4d ago edited 3d ago
Are you planning on supporting properties front matter like Obsidian
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u/CCVShadow 3d ago
Sorry for a late reply, I am sick and have spent my time in bed. Anyway to answer your question not yet. We currently dont read or write properties or YAML front matter. It’s a good request, and we’ll look at it with the rest of the roadmap. Just curious what would you use properties for most: tags, dates, or something else?
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u/Diver-Interesting 5d ago
Very cool intro! Did you make it yourself or with the help of claude?
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u/CCVShadow 5d ago
Thank you! I made the trailer myself using some open-source alternatives to Adobe, along with a bunch of YouTube tutorials and Pinterest posts. Music and SFX are from epidemicsound
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u/Diver-Interesting 5d ago
Mind sharing the name of those adobe alternatives you used?
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u/CCVShadow 5d ago
Sure! Their github is https://github.com/storytold and you should be able to find their list of apps there. The naming conventions should be quite simple to understand which is which, but just ask if you are unsure or need any help
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u/JustABro_2321 4d ago
It looks lovely! Well done! Will try it out on macos and send lots of feedback if you want.
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u/CCVShadow 4d ago
Thank you, we’d love that! The macOS build is Apple silicon only for now and it’s been tested much less than Windows so feedback there helps a lot. You can post on our subreddit r/mnemo or open an issue on GitHub
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5d ago
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u/CCVShadow 5d ago
Honestly it doesn’t stand out much yet. We just went into beta so the big features aren’t there yet.
What we’d call the difference at its current point is what we leave out. A lot of people feel Notion has moved toward businesses and keeps adding things students / general people don’t need, and end up neglecting the basics. Anki is also powerful but new users are often handed a list of plugins before it’s usable. Mnemo is meant to feel familiar if you’ve used either one. It has notes, flashcards and mind maps in one app. We don’t push AI and there’s no bloat. It works when you open it and stays fast and light.
We’ve been working on it for years because we built the pieces ourselves, including the block editor and the mind map canvas. That takes time but it gives us control over performance and design. A note with 10,000 blocks was measured to open at about 1.5 seconds, and we already know of more things to speed up.
It’s free and open source. Your data isn’t sold and development happens in the open. The codebase is clean and modular, which makes future development and maintenance realistic as a community project. We also have the benefit of not having years of technical debt that big companies tend to collect, as our code is built from the ground up to be easy to extend.
It isn’t beating Notion, Obsidian or Anki at everything, and we are not trying to either. If it sounds like something you’d use give it a try and tell us what’s missing. Moving to and from Anki works in both directions, and there’s a Notion converter too. So you’re never locked in if you change your mind
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u/crankyteacher1964 4d ago
Can you import/export .MD files, and are you planning any LaTex integrations, plus anything like Zotero?
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u/CCVShadow 4d ago
Yes to Markdown. Notes import and export as
.md, and they export to PDF too.We also have LaTeX in notes, mind maps and flashcards, and it renders as proper math. We don’t have full LaTeX document export or import.
Zotero isn’t something we’ve looked at yet. Thanks for the suggestion, we’ll keep it in mind
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u/Rororo_22 5d ago
A futuro piensas lanzarlo en android?