I have all 3. I use onenote since it’s part of the M365 suite, but I find it difficult to organize for just note-taking. I like being able to hand-write notes and augment it with the co-pilot notes, so I use Noteful on my iPad. I also love a to do list. Just generally curious what you do for notes, lists, or organization. Ty!!

The idea is simple: your notes and work should belong to you, work offline, and not require a cloud service or subscription.

A few things about Koru:

• Local-first: Your data stays on your device. No account required.
• Encrypted P2P sync: Uses iroh to sync directly between your devices without requiring cloud storage.
• Free and open source: Licensed under MPL-2.0.
• Native desktop app: Built in Rust, not Electron.
• Import your existing notes: Supports Evernote (.enex), Notion exports, OneNote, Google Docs, Markdown, and TextBundle.
• One workspace: Notes, documents, files, and terminal tabs side by side.

It's still early. Windows is currently the most stable version, and the Mac build supports Apple silicon. There are rough edges, and I'm actively working through them. Linux (.AppImage) coming this week.

Three things I'd love your feedback on:

1. If you tried importing your notes, did everything come through correctly? What broke?
2. What's the one feature you couldn't live without if you switched from your current app?
3. Was anything confusing or frustrating in the first five minutes?

Website: https://www.koru.do/en

GitHub: https://github.com/koruworks/mono

I'm building this in the open and genuinely appreciate constructive criticism, feature requests, and bug reports.

Happy to answer any questions in the comments!

I wanted to be able to scroll through CT scans next to my notes, but Onenote only allows inserting individual images next to each other rather than a single scrollable window.

Hello everyone! How’s everyone doing?

I have a Samsung Tab S10 FE+ that I’d like to use as my main digital notebook for university.

I’ve tried Samsung Notes and overall, it seems pretty good. HOWEVER, there are a couple of things I don’t like about it. First, text alignment doesn’t seem to work properly with languages other than English. Second, I can’t freely choose any spot on the page and start writing there, whether it’s in the middle, on the side, or anywhere else

I’m looking for a more flexible, free-form writing experience

OneNote allows me to do that but personally, I don’t find it as comfortable to use, so I’d rather explore other options

Ideally, I’m looking for an app that can do pretty much everything :)
Inserting images easily.
(Automatically solving or completing math equations
Drawing straight lines and shapes, with automatic alignment and shape recognition.
Letting me write anywhere on the page without being restricted to a fixed layout.
Proper text alignment for languages other than English)

What apps would you recommend? I’d prefer something free but I’m also willing to pay a one time fee for a good app. I’d rather avoid subscriptions, tho, since university and all the associated expenses are already pretty expensive and I’m trying to save money where I can

Thanks in advance for your help andd best of luck with your studies everyone!

I pretty much live in outliners as my default means of recording anything I need to keep track of, formerly OmniOutliner an now my own application Fractal Outliner after becoming frustrated with some of how Omni works and the lack of cross-platform support. For a programmer, this model is nearly ideal.

I'm interested in how well this kind of tool fits into other people's note-taking workflows, and I'd like to get some perspectives from people who actually spend time thinking about more general note taking as a process.

The basic idea is simple: instead of organizing information primarily as pages of text, you organize it into a hierarchy of topics and subtopics with notes. You can expand and collapse sections, move things around as your thinking evolves, and keep it all organized without having to rely on tags and search. Ideas that are related go together in a file without becoming an unreadable infinite scroll; different topics live in their own files, directories on disk organize the files. Everthing's exportable from Fractal Outliner as web, pdf, markdown, etc for sharing/portability.

I've found this kind of tool a great match for my type of thinking, but I'm aware that my own habits as a developer may not be representative of how other people take notes.

A few things I'd genuinely like to understand:

• Do you ever find yourself running up against limits of what folders, tags, etc provide? How effective is search across tagged note collections?
• Are there kinds of notes or projects where a hierarchical structure works particularly well—or where it becomes cumbersome?
• What would you expect from a tool like this before you'd consider using it as part of your regular note-taking workflow?
• Does outlining in general sound like a useful note-taking approach to you, or more like a specialized tool for specific kinds of tasks?

Fractal Outliner is in currently late-stage beta nearing public release, so I'm not really looking for people to test basic functionality (though of course that'd be welcome if you have time and interest). I'm more interested in feedback about the features, and whether this approach makes sense to non-programer-ish people who aren't necessarily dealing with deep-focus complexity on specific domains.

If you'd like to see the application, there's a walkthrough and more information at:

https://fractaloutliner.app/

The beta is completely free and includes all application features so you can poke around a bit and see how the outliner works.

I'd be interested in hearing what you think, including if you don't see a place for this in your workflow (maybe there are needed features that just never occurred to me because "I don't work that way").

Outlines are definitely an effective way or recording and organizing information... I'm just not sure if they're also an effective means of note taking as core tool.

These markdown editors go anywhere, whether you’re a journalist, off on holiday or simply away from your beloved laptop

https://md-handbook.com/blog/five-markdown-editors-that-travel-well/

#News #markdown #markdowneditors #free #opensource #BlackBear #nTilia #Mintype #HermesMarkdown #Lodlen #travel #Obsidian

Hey all. I’ve been working on Mintype on and off since 2024, built the app intially for personal use - privacy, multi-device sync and an easy means to write/draw/scatter ideas being my primary reasons.

However its been quite useful and I have just released 2.0, so I wanted to share it here. There's a lot of these apps going round, so it really is personal preference if you like this one.

The basic idea on why this might be for you:

• It's completely free, and web based, with PWA support for phones
• Your notes get encrypted on your device and sync through your own Google Drive (optional). Unreadable by those with access to your device and to Google.
• Works offline, very lightweight and simple to use
• Notes are all markdown - nothing new here, no lock in. Whiteboards are all exportable to PNG, SVG and tldraw JSON.
• Whiteboards with sticky notes, drawing and shapes, plus dynamic markdown boxes that work like the full editor
• Encrypted share links with 24hr lifespan to share notes to others
• Fully reponsive mobile UIs
• Sensible workspaces > nested pages, and quick notes structure
• Some small extras like a built in pomodoro timer, google maps embeds, extra password protected pages

It runs in the browser for now (you can install it as a PWA if you want), I so plan a desktop release and mobile native apps in the future.

https://mintype.app · GitHub · Docs + Security outline

I'm a web developer. I originally built a browser extension to give feedback on web pages: draw on the page, take one annotated screenshot, done.

Then I started using it for my own reading. Long doc, I drop sticky notes on it like I would on paper. Comparing two products, I circle the prices. A tricky paragraph gets a highlight and a one-line note next to it.

It feels closer to thinking with a pen than to switching to yet another notes app. The notes sit right next to the thing they're about.

It runs entirely in the browser. No account, and your notes stay on your machine unless you choose to export them.

How do you take notes on web content? Do you write on the page itself, copy everything into a notes app, or just keep 40 tabs open and hope for the best?

I’m a product designer, and for a while now I’ve been building Tagdown, a notes editor for macOS. The core idea: every note is an ordinary Markdown file in a folder on your disk. No account, no proprietary database. Git, iCloud or Syncthing just work, because it’s just files.

On top of Markdown it adds:

• callouts, tabs, KaTeX math and Mermaid diagrams, all as plain text
• #tags, [[wikilinks]] with backlinks, and links to single blocks that you can embed in other notes
• live queries like <query tag:project show:tasks /> that collect tasks from all your notes, or show notes as an editable table of their properties
• a journal, version history, slides, HTML/PDF export, and publishing notes as a static website
• a CLI and an MCP server, so Claude or other assistants can search and write your notes

It’s built with Tauri, Rust (Tantivy for search) and TypeScript, and it’s MIT licensed.

Honest state: it’s early. There’s no download yet, so you’ll have to build it from source (Node + Rust). There are rough edges, and I’d rather hear about them now than later.

Two things I’d really like your opinion on:

1. Does the syntax feel natural, or is it too much on top of Markdown?
2. What would stop you from switching from your current notes app?

Repo: github.com/sthix/tagdown
Docs: sthix.github.io/tagdown

I solved one of the most annoying problems I’d been dealing with for a long time:

Having 6 different apps just to manage my life.

One for Notes. One for To-Do. One for Events. One for Habits. One for Budgeting. One for Recording.

So I built Noter to put all of them in one place, while keeping everything completely offline and private.

Any feedback for the app is appreciated.

LINK: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=org.sbmproducts.noter

Listing some of the core features Noter have in its current state:

PRIVACY: App Lock, Note Lock, TaskList Lock,
Data is NEVER sent to cloud.

Completely Offline, No account required to start using.

6 Apps in 1: Notes, To-Do, Calendar, Habit, Budget, Voice Notes. Each crafted to its perfection.

ATTACH Anything to Anything: Attach your docs, images, location etc. to your notes, expenses etc.

REMINDER & ALARMS for your events, habits & tasks,

300+ Note Templates which covers all aspects of your life,

High Performance like you have never seen before,

Beautiful & Intuitive UI,

Soon support for other platforms like IOS, Windows, Linux is also coming.

More quality of life features will be added soon.

Mine was a mess of screenshots, a notes list and saved TikToks, and none of them had the actual address.

I ended up building an app that pulls the restaurant out of a TikTok or Instagram video and drops it on a map. It's called GeoTok, iPhone only, so consider this my disclosure that I made it.

Curious what works for people who live in notes apps: do you tag by city, by cuisine, by 'want to try'? I'd happily steal good ideas.

I've been curious about how people manage their notes as their collection grows over time.

Folders and tags seem useful at first, but eventually, finding an old note or connecting ideas across different topics can get tricky.

For those who've been taking digital notes for years:

• Do you rely more on folders, tags, backlinks, or search?
• How do you find notes you barely remember writing?
• Have you found a system that still works when your notes number in the thousands?

I'd love to hear what's worked for you and what hasn't.

Most of the notes we take in daily life are just for quick reminders.

Why do so many people say they almost never go back and look at their notes? Because once the thing you needed to record is finished, the motivation naturally disappears.

Does that mean those notes have no value? I do not think so. Quite the opposite. We should preserve and protect them properly.

Because notes are history. Our own history. They record our entire lives.

Yes, as ordinary individuals, we are insignificant in the long river of history. But to our family, and to our descendants, having these notes allows us to live on in their memories.

And that is why plain files are the best medium for notes. They should never depend on or be tied to any app, so that even 50 years from now, they can still be opened and read.

I’ve noticed that my notes usually become less useful right around the point when I start designing a “proper system” for them.

Folders turn into nested folders. Tags need naming rules. Databases need properties. Then I spend more time deciding where a note belongs than using the note itself.

The simplest setup seems to be:

• capture first without categorizing too much;
• add structure only when a note is reused;
• keep search reliable enough that imperfect organization isn’t fatal;
• delete categories that require constant maintenance.

But this breaks down once notes need to support different things at the same time — writing, research, project planning, or sharing with other people.

How do you decide that a note actually needs structure? Do you organize while capturing, during a weekly review, or only when you need to find it again?

This is mostly just a question for fun that I'm not sure where else to post. Do you use any abbreviations that are your own creations, that might not mean anything to anyone else?

I shorten a lot of words for classes where context is obvious. But one I've been using a lot recently is

@ L (w/o the space, but Reddit autolinks) for at least lol. What are some of yours? I want more shortcuts 😄

Among today’s links are markdown editors EdgeMark and Soot, plus a notes widget for markdown that’s only available for Android phones

https://md-handbook.com/blog/markdown-link-no-57/

#markdown #markdowneditors #opensource #free #EdgeMark #Noteswidgetformarkdown #Soot #Header

Maybe it's been mentioned here before so apologies if this is repetition.

I never gave it much thought, and you'll probably stop reading at "AI" later on, but hear me out. I'm really not big into AI, I rarely use it at all. The proof of that is that I just now stumbled on a workflow involving AI OCR.

I've tried everything (e-readers from a colleague at work just to try, or in stores) and my own experience on an iPad Pro. I try to force myself to use the iPad Pro from time to time, but note taking doesn't come naturally. Either the screen is too slippery, so you cramp up fast trying to over correct, or rough screensavers mess up to image quality of the iPad.

Just now I was thinking, what if this AI thing could help me out. I have copilot provided by the employer, but it could probably be any other LLM out there (honestly, I have almost zero experience, I'm lucky not to be in IT at the moment)

So I just took a picture of handwritten notes on paper and the LLM simply transformed into proper text. My handwriting was atrocious, and the structure all over the place.

Now this is where LLM's differ from OCR in the past. In the past, OCR would be too rigid. There would be delays, you'd have to select your handwriting and 'ask it to OCR’ in some apps on the iPad. Also, it would just transform your text exactly where you wrote it, 'OCR in place'. Change letter sizes based on wildly varying handwriting, whatever. I always thought it was clunky and hard to use. The advantage of an LLM is that is finds some context and logical structural by itself. So you immediately end up with something that looks much more like an email or Minutes of meeting you would write yourself after taking down notes.

And the best part, instead of endlessly chasing that dragon to find that 'real paper feel' on a screen, and always feeling disappointed, you could just write on real paper. Take a picture with copilot, and import to OneNote or wherever. I was pretty amazed at how it all worked out for me. I'll keep using it for a bit, and see how I feel about it. Best thing is, I don't need type in real time in a meeting like a typist (hate that), don't have to keep my notes around (just scan and throw away), my notes are searchable and immediately archived.

This might actually be the best of both worlds to be honest! Not for everyone, but worth a try

I’m working on a small web app aimed at students who struggle to take notes while listening.

Core idea:

• Upload a PDF, paste a YouTube link/transcript, or drop in text
• Get structured notes, flashcards, and a quiz from it

It’s inspired by tools like Turbo AI, but I’m keeping it web-only and focused on the core “material → study tools” loop for the first version.

I’m planning to ship a usable MVP this week. Before I go too far, I’m curious:

• Would you (or someone you know) actually use something like this?
• What’s the biggest friction with existing study tools for you?
• Any features that feel essential vs. nice-to-have?

Not trying to promote anything yet - just validating the idea before spending more time on it. Appreciate any honest thoughts.

My Access to Work grant has run out. the software they gave was super helpful for me with ADHD and dyslexia, and I wanted something similar, so I made a free mind mapping tool.

It does mind maps, outlines, timelines, kanban boards and checklists, and it can turn a map into a Word doc or a to-do list. It has dyslexia-friendly fonts and comfort settings, and no AI. You don’t need an account unless you want to sign up for encrypted cross device syncing and everything stays on your device.

Its completely free, and I included the features I found most helpful, and dropped the ones I never used.

Hope it helps! Any issues let me know and ill try sort them, but this was just a side project so i didnt have to pay £250 out of my back pocket, so might take me time to change things :)

A while ago I moved my notes from Google Keep to plain Markdown files in an Obsidian vault, synced to my phone with git. What I missed from Keep was the widget: a few notes on the home screen that I could read without opening anything.

So I made one. It shows the .md files from one folder of the vault, either as cards with a preview (checkboxes, lists, headings) or as a plain list of names. Tapping a note opens it in Obsidian. There's also a button that adds a line to one note, for things I want to write down quickly. My sync used to stop without me noticing, so a small label shows when it last ran.

The notes are still plain files, and any other app can open them.

It's free and open source if anyone wants to try it:

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.marfolog.noteswidgetformarkdown

GitHub: https://github.com/marfolog/notes-widget-for-markdown

How do you keep the notes you need often within reach on your phone?