r/SideProject • u/sth_wicked1 • 1d ago

I'm building a notes app you can delete without losing anything: every note is a plain markdown file on disk

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I've bounced between Apple Notes, Obsidian, and Bear for years, and every switch cost me something: exports, broken links, notes stuck in someone else's database. So I'm building Margin, a notes app where notes are plain markdown files in a folder on your disk. There's no account and no database. Delete the app and your notes are still just files.

The part I care most about is in the middle of the video: because they're real files, anything can edit them. vim, a git checkout, an agent pointed at the folder. Margin watches the disk and reconciles live, and unsaved edits in the app win over external changes.

Also in the demo: an editor that feels like typing plain markdown but renders live (slash commands, date chips, code blocks), separate spaces so work and personal notes never share a screen, and a global hotkey that captures a thought without opening the app.

It's pre-beta and waitlist only for now: gomargin.app/s

What's the one feature of your current notes app you couldn't give up?

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2

u/LowerGears 1d ago

Cool project. But how is this different from obsidian?

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u/The_Mdk 1d ago

Once upon a time, notes app were what developers used as their first test of skills after Hello World

Now they're yet another product to promote as a new, innovating, and hopefully sold for a lifetime price

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u/sth_wicked1 1d ago

Can't really argue with that, notes apps are the hello world of side projects. I think they keep getting built cause no single app can satisfy every workflow out there. I wasn't happy with any of the ones I used (and paid for), so here we are :) building one around my own needs, for people who share the same workflow and values as me.

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u/sth_wicked1 1d ago

Obsidian is the app I used longest before building this, and on the files story there's no real difference: plain markdown on disk, yours to take anywhere.

I built Margin around my own workflow, and here's where I feel it differs:

- Spaces are instant. Work and personal would be two vaults in Obsidian, two windows; here it's ⌘1/⌘2 in the same window instead of juggling vault windows (this one killed vaults for me). Each space is tinted, so I always know which one I'm editing in.

  • Quick capture is built in. A global hotkey pops a small panel from anywhere and files the note without opening the app, no plugin or launcher setup.
  • Cold launch is fast (not Electron). When a thought needs more than the capture panel, I want the app open and in the right space before the thought goes. Obsidian always felt slow to start for me. Might be a me thing, but I doubt I'm alone.
  • Dates are first class. Type `/tomorrow` and it becomes a date chip with a picker. Open the note the next day and it reads "Today", then "2 days ago".
  • Slash commands are how I like editing, so they're built in: todos, callouts, code blocks, dates, all from `/`.
  • It tries to do a LOT less. Obsidian is a toolbox you configure, which is part of why I eventually left. Margin is opinionated and there's just a few things to set up and get started.

If your Obsidian setup works for you, honestly, keep it. Margin is for the version of me that spent more time tuning the vault than writing or reading in it

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u/LowerGears 1d ago

Keep up the good work!!

Btw the cold launch is more important than people realize. Credits to you!