56 open-source note-taking and writing apps
Open Source Note-Taking & Writing Apps
The most popular open-source note-taking and writing apps for Windows, macOS and Linux on GitHub are AppFlowy, AFFiNE and Marktext. appsgit lists 56, including free alternatives to Notion, Evernote and Typora, each with its platforms, license and install commands.
Updated Oct 28, 2026
Open Source Note-Taking & Writing Apps
AppFlowy
AppFlowy-IO/AppFlowy
Bring projects, wikis, and teams together with AI.
Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026
OfficialNotes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxAFFiNE
toeverything/AFFiNE
There can be more than Notion and Miro. AFFiNE(pronounced [ə‘fain]) is a next-gen knowledge base that brings planning, sorting and creating all together.
Active · last commit Oct 27, 2026
OfficialNotes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxMarktext
marktext/marktext
A simple and elegant markdown editor, available for Linux, macOS and Windows.
Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxJoplin
laurent22/joplin
Joplin - the privacy-focused note taking app with sync capabilities for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.
Active · last commit Oct 27, 2026
OfficialNotes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxSiYuan
siyuan-note/siyuan
An open-source, privacy-first, self-hosted knowledge workspace where humans and AI agents work together 开源、隐私优先、自托管的知识工作空间，让人与智能体在此协作.
Active · last commit Oct 20, 2026
OfficialNotes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxLogseq
logseq/logseq
A privacy-first, open-source platform for knowledge management and collaboration.
Active · last commit Oct 27, 2026
OfficialNotes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxTrilium
TriliumNext/Trilium
Build your personal knowledge base with Trilium Notes.
Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxSuper Productivity
super-productivity/super-productivity
Super Productivity is an advanced todo list app with integrated Timeboxing and time tracking capabilities.
Active · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxNotesnook
streetwriters/notesnook
A fully open source & end-to-end encrypted note taking alternative to Evernote.
Active · last commit Oct 27, 2026
OfficialNotes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxElectron Builder
electron-userland/electron-builder
A complete solution to package and build a ready for distribution Electron app with “auto update” support out of the box.
Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026
OfficialNotes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxZettlr
Zettlr/Zettlr
Your One-Stop Publication Workbench.
Active · last commit Oct 27, 2026
OfficialNotes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxNote Gen
codexu/note-gen
Capture first. Organize later. A local-first Markdown app that turns scattered records into clear notes with AI.
Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxDust
bootandy/dust
A more intuitive version of du in rust.
Active · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxWaybar
Alexays/Waybar
Highly customizable Wayland bar for Sway and Wlroots based compositors.
Maintained · last commit Oct 19, 2026
Notes & writingLinuxLepton
hackjutsu/Lepton
Democratizing Snippet Management (macOS/Win/Linux).
Active · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxAnarlog
fastrepl/anarlog
Open source Granola AI Alternative.
Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxAnytype
anyproto/anytype-ts
Official Anytype client for MacOS, Linux, and Windows.
Active · last commit Oct 23, 2026
OfficialNotes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxMiaoYan
tw93/MiaoYan
A quiet, local-first Markdown writing app for Mac, to help you write great sentences.
Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026
Notes & writingmacOSFsnotes
glushchenko/fsnotes
Fast Markdown note-taking app for Mac and iPhone.
Active · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Notes & writingmacOSmassCode
massCodeIO/massCode
A free, open-source developer workspace. Snippets, notes, HTTP requests, calculations, and dev tools in one local-first app.
Active · last commit Oct 15, 2026
OfficialNotes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxPurocean
purocean/yn
A highly extensible Markdown editor featuring version control, AI Copilot, document annotations, mind maps, document encryption, executable code snippets, chart embedding, HTML applets, plugins, and…
Active · last commit Oct 17, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxStandard Notes
standardnotes/app
Think fearlessly with end-to-end encrypted notes and files.
Active · last commit Oct 27, 2026
OfficialNotes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxTaskwarrior
GothenburgBitFactory/taskwarrior
Taskwarrior - Command line Task Management.
Active · last commit Oct 26, 2026
OfficialNotes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxQOwnNotes
pbek/QOwnNotes
QOwnNotes is a plain-text file notepad and todo-list manager with Markdown support and Nextcloud / ownCloud integration.
Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026
Notes & writingmacOSLinuxMarkEdit
MarkEdit-app/MarkEdit
Just like TextEdit on Mac but dedicated to Markdown.
Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026
Notes & writingmacOSPlanify
alainm23/planify
Task manager with Todoist, Nextcloud & CalDAV support designed for GNOME.
Active · last commit Oct 21, 2026
Notes & writingLinuxFloral Notepaper
Achilng/floral-notepaper
花笺，轻量优雅的跨平台桌面便签工具，支持 Markdown 编辑与预览.
Active · last commit Oct 12, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxTagspaces
tagspaces/tagspaces
TagSpaces is an offline, open source, document manager with tagging support.
Active · last commit Oct 19, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxSaber
saber-notes/saber
The cross-platform open-source app built for handwriting.
Active · last commit Oct 27, 2026
OfficialNotes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxOpen Knowledge
inkeep/open-knowledge
Beautiful, AI-native markdown IDE and LLM wiki.
Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026
OfficialNotes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxNotes
nuttyartist/notes
Fast and beautiful note-taking app written in C++.
Maintained · last commit May 15, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxDnote
dnote/dnote
A simple command line notebook.
Active · last commit Oct 17, 2026
OfficialNotes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxEdgeever
tianma-if/edgeever
AI-native knowledge base & Evernote/Obsidian alternative with instant sync & native MCP.
Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxMindforger
dvorka/mindforger
Thinking notebook and Markdown editor.
Active · last commit Sep 27, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxZennotes
ZenNotes/zennotes
Keyboard-first local Markdown notes with Vim motions, diagrams, and MCP integration.
Active · last commit Oct 27, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxManuskript
olivierkes/manuskript
A open-source tool for writers.
Maintained · last commit Sep 1, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxMarkFlowy
drl990114/MarkFlowy
A high-performance, local-first Markdown editor and general-purpose text editor for Windows, macOS, and Linux, with WYSIWYG and Markdown source editing.
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxAnubias
4xmen/anubias
Developed mobile apps so easy and native with GUI.
Maintained · last commit Oct 6, 2026
OfficialNotes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxOnenote
patrikx3/onenote
Linux Electron Onenote - A Linux compatible version of OneNote.
Maintained · last commit Jun 6, 2026
OfficialNotes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxKanri
kanriapp/kanri
Modern offline Kanban board app for Windows, MacOS and Linux made with Tauri and Nuxt.
Maintained · last commit Oct 17, 2026
OfficialNotes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxSleek
ransome1/sleek
todo.txt manager for Linux, Windows and Mac, free and open-source (FOSS).
Active · last commit Oct 18, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxTidGi Desktop
tiddly-gittly/TidGi-Desktop
TidGi is an privacy-in-mind, automated, auto-git-backup, freely-deployed knowledge management Desktop note app, based on Tiddlywiki, with REST API for web-clipping and Anki connect.
Active · last commit Aug 24, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxAI Novel Writer
EthanYoQ/AI-Novel-Writer
书童 Pagekin（原名 AI 小说作家）：开源免费的 AI 长篇小说写作桌面软件，从设定、蓝图到正文、审稿、定稿；支持拆解仿写、续写、改写，可导入写作 Skill（如去 AI 味）。模型需自行配置，作品在本地。Pagekin (formerly AI Novel Writer): free, open-source AI novel writing app for long novels…
Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSPoi
poooi/poi
Scalable KanColle browser and tool.
Active · last commit Oct 25, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxSolomd
zhitongblog/solomd
A markdown editor — and the bridge to your LLM.
Active · last commit Oct 28, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxBeaver Notes
Beaver-Notes/Beaver-Notes
Open-source, local-first workspace for notes, projects, and meetings.
Maintained · last commit Aug 13, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinuxImgui Markdown
enkisoftware/imgui_markdown
Support development of imgui_markdown through GitHub Sponsors or Patreon Note: development happens on the dev branch and is merged to the main branch when complete.
Maintained · last commit Jul 3, 2026
OfficialNotes & writingWindowsInno Agent
hhyqhh/inno-agent
An open-source personal learning agent with three-layer memory (learner profile / wiki knowledge base / cross-conversation recall), a proactive scheduler, personal IM channels, and a…
Active · last commit Oct 24, 2026
Notes & writingWindowsmacOSLinux
Showing 1-48 of 56 by GitHub stars. All desktop apps A to Z · JSON API
What are the best open-source note-taking and writing apps?
By GitHub stars, AppFlowy is the most popular (77,859 stars), followed by AFFiNE and Marktext. People often use these instead of Notion, Evernote and Typora. Each page lists the platforms, license and last commit.
Which of these run on Windows, Mac and Linux?
49 of the 56 open-source note-taking and writing apps listed here run on Windows, 52 on macOS and 49 on Linux; on a Mac, the most starred is AppFlowy. 26 can be installed with a package manager such as Flathub, Homebrew, winget or Chocolatey.
Are these open-source note-taking and writing apps free?
54 of the 56 use an open-source license, so they are free to use and change. 2 are source-available (AFFiNE and Anytype): the code is public but the license restricts some uses.
How are these open-source note-taking and writing apps chosen?
Apps come from desktop awesome lists (Awesome Linux Software, awesome-mac, awesome-windows, awesome-electron and the media and file sections of awesome-cli-apps), more than 70 GitHub topics such as desktop-app, electron-app, tauri-app, gtk, qt, macos-app, pdf-editor, cad and remote-desktop, and a hand-picked list of flagship apps. An app is listed only if it has a license (one GitHub detects, or one appsgit checked by hand), a README and a commit in the last six months, is not archived or a fork, and has 1000+ GitHub stars (topics), 500+ (awesome lists) or 100+ (hand-picked). It must also be an end-user application with a desktop signal: installers in its releases, install instructions for Windows, macOS or Linux, or a Flathub, Homebrew, winget, Chocolatey, Snap or AUR package. Libraries, frameworks, themes, plugins and servers are left out, and source-available apps are labelled as such.