Why

I created The NoteWriter to keep my notes in a safe place for a very long time.

The NoteWriter is the result of many years struggling and experimenting with my note-taking workflow.

Caution

The NoteWriter source code is available on GitHub. You should probably not use it as long as I am the only contributor. I didn’t published it to attract contributors although contributions are welcome. I work in public to document my reflection on the subject.

💪 Notes > Applications

Finding a great note-taking application is easy. Finding users that stay satisfied with their workflow for a very long time is hard. When someone is migrating to a new tool, someone else is moving from this tool.

I want to write notes, not use different applications or migrate notes between them. Notes deserve attention. Applications are distractions.

Tip

The NoteWriter was designed to keep the focus on your notes. You write them using your favorite editor and only use the desktop application to improve the experience. The NoteWriter is optional.

💪 Notes > Applications

Many popular applications for note-taking exist. Most have incredible UIs and an endless list of plugins. All will die someday. Large codebase are expensive to evolve. Even OSS projects require full-time maintainers, financed through their commercial offering, until money starts to become too scarce… Business as usual.

I want my notes to outlive any application. Notes are immortal. Applications are ephemeral.

Tip

The NoteWriter was designed to keep the codebase minimal, to make possible for a single person to maintain it over decades as a side project. It’s the only option for long-term existence. The NoteWriter is here to stay.

💪 Notes > Applications

Manipulating physical notes will always be special. It’s hard to be more flexible than notes spreaded on your desk or post-its sticked on a wall. But as a software developer, I cannot be satisfied with it.

I want my notes to be durable, always with me, but I also want to manipulate them like I would use physical notes.

Tip

The NoteWriter Desktop was designed to make the most use of your notes. Every feature was introduced to maximize the interactions with my notes. Notes are first-class citizens. Applications are their servants.

One more tool…

Too many tools don’t match their tagline. Too many ideas die in notebooks. Too many notes are organized without taking action. The NoteWriter tries a new approach.

When taking note-taking seriously, I think no business can pretend to store our notes. Notes must be considered immortal. Your notes should outlive you. The NoteWriter is an application to make your notes even more useful. Your notes are Markdown files. You don’t need The NoteWriter to write them, to read them, to understand them, to share them, and more important, to preserve them.