Open-source Inkdrop alternatives

MarkText is an open-source Markdown editor that prioritizes speed and ease of use, and it runs on Linux, macOS and Windows. It offers a realtime WYSIWYG-style preview in a clean interface meant to reduce distractions while writing. It is built with TypeScript, Electron and Vue and released under the MIT license.

It follows the CommonMark and GitHub Flavored Markdown specs with selective Pandoc support, and adds extensions such as math expressions via KaTeX, front matter and emojis. Paragraph and inline-style shortcuts speed up writing, images can be pasted straight from the clipboard, and documents can be exported as HTML or PDF. Themes such as Cadmium Light and Material Dark are included.

Writers can switch between Source Code, Typewriter and Focus editing modes depending on how they like to work. The project is funded by community sponsorship and accepts contributions and translations. It suits writers, developers and note-takers who want a local Markdown editor without a separate preview pane.

Joplin is a note-taking and to-do application, free and open source, that can manage large collections of notes organized into notebooks. Notes are written in Markdown, are searchable, can be tagged, and can be edited either in the app or in your own text editor. Apps are available for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android and iOS.

The app is offline first, so all your data lives on your phone or computer and stays accessible without a connection. Notes can be synchronized with end-to-end encryption through services such as Nextcloud, Dropbox, OneDrive and Joplin Cloud, and topics also mention WebDAV. Full-text search is available on every platform, and plugins and themes let you customize the app. A web clipper saves pages, and notes exported from Evernote can be imported with formatting, attachments and metadata intact; plain Markdown files can be imported as well.

The repository license is listed as 'Other', so check its terms if you plan to redistribute. Joplin is a popular choice for people who want an Evernote replacement that keeps data local or on storage they already control.

Trilium Notes is a free, open-source, cross-platform note-taking application focused on building large personal knowledge bases. Notes are arranged in a tree of arbitrary depth, and a single note can be cloned into several places in the tree, which lets you organize the same material along different lines without duplicating it.

The editor is a rich WYSIWYG one with tables, images, math and Markdown autoformatting, and there is also support for source code notes with syntax highlighting. Navigation relies on fast jumps between notes, full-text search and note hoisting. Notes are versioned automatically, and attributes can be used to organize, query and script notes. The interface is available in several languages, and built-in documentation opens with F1.

The project, now maintained as TriliumNext, is AGPL-3.0 licensed and built with TypeScript and Electron. It provides desktop builds as well as a server setup with Docker, so you can keep your notes on your own hardware. Stable releases are recommended, with nightly builds available for those who want the newest changes.

Notesnook is a note-taking app that puts privacy first. Everything is encrypted on your device with XChaCha20-Poly1305 and Argon2 before it syncs, following zero-knowledge principles, and the whole thing is open source. It is presented as an end-to-end encrypted alternative to Evernote, aiming to show that privacy does not have to cost convenience.

The repository contains all the code needed to build and use the web, desktop and mobile clients. They are built mainly with TypeScript and React, with Electron for desktop and React Native for mobile, and parts of the code base are still being ported from JavaScript. A server component written with .NET appears in the topics. The website covers the full feature list, roadmap and downloads, and the team encourages community involvement through Discord.

Notesnook is licensed under GPL-3.0. A hosted sync service is operated by the company behind it, and the open-source code lets you inspect how encryption is handled. It suits people moving away from Evernote or other cloud notes who want strong encryption and cross-platform apps.

Zettlr is a desktop Markdown editor aimed at academic and long-form writing. It presents itself as a publication workbench, combining note-taking, drafting, reference management and export in one application, with a focus on keeping your notes private and stored as ordinary files on your own computer.

Citations integrate with reference managers such as Zotero and JabRef, and exports rely on Pandoc, LaTeX and Textbundle, with support for LaTeX and Word templates. Other capabilities include snippets for boilerplate text, themes with dark modes and custom CSS, code highlighting, full-text search, and techniques from the Zettelkasten knowledge management method. The interface is translated into over a dozen languages.

Zettlr is built with TypeScript, Electron and Node.js and released under GPL-3.0. Installers are provided for macOS, Windows and most Linux distributions, and the repository documents building from source, command-line switches and contribution workflows. The project is also reachable through a community forum, Discord and Mastodon.

NoteGen is a local-first Markdown note-taking app built around the idea of capturing first and organizing later. It helps collect scattered snippets, records and clippings and then uses AI to arrange them into clear notes, acting as a personal knowledge base.

It is a desktop application built with Tauri and Next.js. The project topics point to Markdown editing, WebDAV sync, retrieval augmented generation, MCP and agent features, and the README describes configurable model settings with an OpenAI-compatible interface for conversations, note organization, writing assistance, translation and summarization. Knowledge base features reference embeddings, reranking, OCR and speech.

NoteGen is licensed under GPL-3.0, and downloads, documentation, a business offering and community discussions are linked from the repository. Since it is a local app, you keep notes on your own machine and choose which model provider to connect, which suits people building a personal knowledge management system.

VNote is a free, open-source note-taking application built with Qt and written in native C++. It currently focuses on Markdown, and aims to offer a pleasant editing experience while also providing notes management, so it is more than a simple Markdown editor.

Because it uses Qt, the same application runs on Linux, Windows and macOS. The project topics reference Vim-style editing, UML diagrams and MathJax math rendering, and the maintainers say that formats beyond Markdown are planned. Continuous builds from the master branch and stable releases are published on GitHub and Gitee.

VNote is licensed under LGPL-3.0, with bundled third-party icon sets recorded in a separate notices file. It is a desktop application that runs locally rather than a hosted service. It suits people who want local Markdown notes organized in notebooks, and developers who prefer a native editor over an Electron-based one.

Standard Notes is a note-taking app with end-to-end encryption, built for digitalists and professionals, aiming to keep notes, files and life's work in one secure place. Only the user can read their notes, and sync across devices is encrypted by default.

You register for an account on the web app and install clients for Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS and Android. The README highlights fast, free and encrypted sync on an unlimited number of devices, public source code, the option of hosting your own server with a few steps, and a focus on longevity and sustainability. A companion service called Listed turns notes into an online publication with email newsletters, and developers can build and publish extensions.

The web app compiles to static HTML, JavaScript and CSS files that can be served from any web server, and the README includes build and development instructions. Standard Notes is written in TypeScript and licensed under AGPL-3.0, with a forum and help pages for support. It suits privacy-minded users who want encrypted notes with the option to host their own backend.

SilverBullet is a personal knowledge base that runs in the browser and is hosted on your own server. Your content is stored as Markdown pages grouped into a Space, which you can open from a page picker as in a classic notes app, or reach through two-way wiki-style links. The project describes itself with a tongue-in-cheek phrase as a notes app on steroids.

What sets it apart is that notes can be programmed. A live-preview editor is paired with an integrated database and query syntax, and a Lua scripting environment called Space Lua lets you extend the system, build custom views and automate tasks. Repository topics highlight knowledge management, personal knowledge management, note taking and end-user programming.

SilverBullet is written in TypeScript and licensed under MIT. Because it is designed for self-hosting and plain Markdown files, it suits individuals and small teams who want a private, hackable wiki and are comfortable with a little scripting. There is no hosted service from the project.

QOwnNotes is a notepad and to-do list manager for GNU/Linux, macOS and Windows. Notes are kept as plain-text Markdown files, so they stay readable and portable, and the app works together with Nextcloud Notes and ownCloud Notes so the same notes can be reached from other devices.

Around the desktop application the project offers an Android companion app, a web app, and web companion extensions for Firefox and Chrome. Repository topics point to CalDAV task support, bookmark handling, personal knowledge management and local-first design. The program is built with Qt in C++ and the project links to community channels including Matrix, Telegram and IRC.

QOwnNotes is licensed under GPL-2.0 and runs locally on your computer, so there is no server to host unless you choose to use Nextcloud or ownCloud for syncing. It suits people who want a local-first Markdown notes app that works with their own cloud storage.