Notes is an open-source, cross-platform note-taking application written in C++ with Qt, built for people who want a private, local-first place to write Markdown notes on Linux, macOS, or Windows.

What it is

Notes is a native desktop note-taking application created by Alex Spataru and a group of contributors, released under the Mozilla Public License 2.0 (MPL-2.0). It is written in C++ with the Qt framework and runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows from the same code base. The project is published on GitHub as nuttyartist/notes and has its own website at notes-foss.com, with continuous integration handled through GitHub Actions. The repository holds 4,267 stars and 384 forks, with 137 open issues at the time of writing. The README states the goal plainly: the app is open source, cross-platform, and completely private, tracking nothing.

The concrete problem it solves is the trade-off between convenience and ownership in note-taking software. Rather than sending notes to a hosted service, Notes keeps its database and settings file on the user's own machine, stored under %APPDATA%\Awesomeness on Windows, ~/.config/Awesomeness on Linux and macOS, and the corresponding Snap and Flatpak locations on Linux. It works without an account and without telemetry, which means the notes remain readable and portable data on disk. For people who already write in Markdown, it replaces the usual pairing of a proprietary cloud note client with a separate Markdown editor, combining folders, tags, and a keyboard-driven desktop workflow in a single native application. A paid Pro tier exists alongside the open-source build, which means everyday writing is covered by the free version while Kanban editing sits behind a licence.

Key capabilities

• A native application written in C++ with Qt, available for Linux, macOS, and Windows from one code base.
• Full Markdown support, so text can be formatted without leaving the keyboard.
• Markdown tasks can be turned into a Kanban board; editing directly inside the Kanban view is reserved for the Pro version.
• Hierarchical organisation through nested folders, combined with tags that cut across the folder tree.
• Three themes: Light, Dark, and Sepia.
• Feed View, which shows several selected notes one after another inside the editor.
• The app runs in the background and is summoned with the global hotkey Win + Shift + N on Windows or Ctrl + N on macOS.
• Keyboard shortcuts are documented in docs/keyboard_shortcuts.md for users who prefer to work without a mouse.
• No tracking of any kind, with all data held in the local database and settings file.

Who uses it and how

• Individuals maintaining a personal knowledge base on a single desktop machine, using nested folders for structure and tags for cross-cutting themes.
• Writers and developers who work primarily from the keyboard and want the app available at a keystroke through Win + Shift + N or Ctrl + N.
• Privacy-conscious users who want notes stored locally in the app's own database rather than synced to a third-party service.
• Linux users installing through Snap or Flatpak, whose configuration paths the README documents explicitly.
• Developers who build the application from source in order to access the Pro features at no cost, as the README states.

Getting started

The documented route is to build from source, following the platform-specific instructions in docs/build_on_windows.md, docs/build_on_macos.md, and docs/build_on_linux.md, with additional options described in docs/build_options.md. The README does not document a prebuilt binary download, though the Snap and Flatpak configuration paths it lists indicate that packaged Linux builds are in use.

How it compares

The facts provided name no comparable note-taking tools, so Notes stands alone in this registry rather than being positioned against a set of alternatives. What can be said is that it pairs an MPL-2.0 open-source core with an optional paid Pro licence, and that the README explicitly allows anyone to obtain the Pro features free of charge by compiling the app themselves.

When to use it — and when not to

A self-hoster does not need to run a database server, object storage, or SMTP, because Notes is a desktop application that writes to a local database and settings file; the operational burden is limited to installing and updating the app. Anyone who needs a mobile client, built-in syncing, or .txt import and export today should look elsewhere, since all three appear only on the roadmap, and the roadmap also foreshadows replacing the database with support for an arbitrary folder. The README is fairly short and defers heavily to the website, the Pro checkout, and separate build documents, so users who want extensive in-repository documentation will find it thin.