NoteMark: A Fast, Local-First Markdown Notes App for Desktop

Write in Markdown, keep your notes as plain .md files, and find anything in a keystroke. A free, open-source note-taking app for Windows, macOS and Linux, built with Electron, React and TypeScript.

Download · Features · Shortcuts · Development · Roadmap

Project Overview

NoteMark is a desktop notebook for people who like Markdown but don't want their notes locked inside an app. Each note is a normal .md file in a folder on your computer (~/NoteMark by default). You get a clean editor that shows formatting as you type, a sidebar of your notes, and a command palette that searches every note at once. Because the files are plain text, you can also open them in VS Code, sync them with Dropbox or OneDrive, or keep them in Git, and NoteMark notices changes made by those tools.

It started as a small Electron + React learning project and has grown into a complete app. The 2.0 rewrite added a safer file layer, autosave that can't write into the wrong note, search, export, theming, and automated tests.

Features

• Rich Markdown editor: headings, bold/italic/underline, lists, checklists, tables, links, images, quotes, horizontal rules and code blocks with syntax highlighting. Toggle to raw source mode whenever you want.
• Your notes stay yours: every note is a plain .md file. No database, no account, no cloud. Pick any folder (a synced one works well).
• Command palette (Ctrl/⌘ + P): jump to a note, search inside all notes with highlighted snippets, or run any command.
• Autosave: changes are written shortly after you stop typing and when you switch notes, with a saved/saving indicator.
• Quick capture: Ctrl/⌘ + N creates a note instantly; type its name and press Enter. Click the title (or press F2) to rename.
• Export to PDF or HTML, from the palette or by right-clicking a note.
• Live folder sync: edits made outside NoteMark (another editor, Git, a sync client) show up automatically.
• Light, dark or system theme, a custom title bar, and a distraction-free focus mode.
• Sidebar filter, note previews, relative edit times, word count and reading time.
• Safe by design: deleted notes go to your system trash, note titles are validated so nothing is written outside your notes folder, and the window is sandboxed.

Search every note from the command palette	Light theme

Download

Installers for Windows (.exe), macOS (.dmg) and Linux (.AppImage, .deb) are attached to each GitHub Release. The builds are not code-signed yet, so:

• Windows: if SmartScreen appears, choose More info → Run anyway.
• macOS: right-click the app and choose Open the first time.
• Linux: make the AppImage executable (chmod +x NoteMark-*.AppImage) or install the .deb.

You can also build it yourself in a couple of minutes.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl/⌘ + N	New note
Ctrl/⌘ + P	Command palette: search notes and commands
F2	Rename the open note
Ctrl/⌘ + S	Save now (autosave also runs on its own)
Ctrl/⌘ + \	Show or hide the sidebar
Ctrl/⌘ + Shift + F	Focus mode (Esc to leave)
Ctrl/⌘ + K	Insert a link (while editing)

Right-click any note in the sidebar to rename, export, show it in its folder, or delete it.

How It Works

flowchart LR
  subgraph Renderer["Renderer (React, sandboxed)"]
    UI[Editor, sidebar, palette] --> Store[Jotai store + autosave]
  end
  Store -- "window.context (typed IPC)" --> Preload
  Preload --> Main
  subgraph Main["Main process (Node)"]
    IPC[IPC handlers] --> Notes[Note file layer]
    IPC --> Export[PDF / HTML export]
    Watcher[Folder watcher] -- external edits --> IPC
  end
  Notes --> Disk[("~/NoteMark/*.md")]
  Watcher --> Disk

Loading

• The renderer never touches the file system. It calls a small typed API (window.context) that the preload script exposes, and every call is validated in the main process.
• Note titles are file names, so they are checked against the rules of all three operating systems before any file is read or written.
• Autosave is debounced per note and runs saves one at a time, so a slow save can never overwrite newer text.

Development

Requires Node.js 22.12 or newer.

git clone https://github.com/AbdulDevHub/NoteMark.git
cd NoteMark
npm install
npm run dev          # start the app with hot reload

Command	What it does
npm run verify	Typecheck, lint and run unit tests (what CI runs)
npm test	Unit tests with Vitest
npm run test:e2e	Build, then drive the real app with Playwright
npm run build:win	Windows installer (build:mac, build:linux too)

Set NOTEMARK_NOTES_DIR to point the app at a different notes folder while developing, so you don't touch your real notes.

Tech stack: Electron 45, electron-vite, React 18, TypeScript, Jotai, MDXEditor (Lexical), cmdk, Sonner, Tailwind CSS, marked, Vitest and Playwright.

Roadmap

• Folders, tags and pinned notes
• Images stored next to your notes
• Automatic updates and signed installers
• Backlinks between notes

Have an idea? Open an issue.

Contributing

Bug reports and pull requests are welcome. See CONTRIBUTING.md for setup and guidelines.

License

NoteMark is released under the MIT License.