About Hubble.md
Hubble is a free, open-source note-taking app that stores notes as Markdown and HTML files in a folder you control. It aims to feel familiar to people used to Notion or Apple Notes, with slash commands, Markdown shortcuts and support for file properties and frontmatter, while keeping everything as plain files.
A key idea is working alongside AI agents. You can point a coding agent at your notes folder, and Hubble reloads live as the agent edits files. Beyond text, the app can display HTML-based apps, so with the right skills installed an agent can turn a folder of notes into a table, a bookshelf or a map, depending on what you ask for.
Hubble ships as a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux, with signed builds on macOS and unsigned builds elsewhere. It is written in TypeScript and licensed under MIT, and it can be compiled from source with Node.js and pnpm. It suits people who keep their notes in Markdown and want an editor that works smoothly with AI coding agents.
Key features
- Markdown editing with slash commands
- Frontmatter and file properties support
- Live reload when agents edit files
- HTML apps rendered from notes folders
- Desktop apps for macOS, Windows, Linux
- Notes stored as plain files
Good fit for
- →Collaborating with a coding agent on notes
- →Turning a notes folder into a custom view
- →Keeping notes in portable Markdown files
- Built with
- TypeScript
- Tags
- note-taking
- markdown
- desktop-app
- ai-agents
- local-first
- notepad
- typescript
- html-apps
Hubble.md: questions and answers
- What is Hubble.md used for?
- Hubble.md is a free desktop notepad for Markdown that feels like Notion or Apple Notes and is designed so AI agents can read, edit and build views on your notes. It is a good fit for collaborating with a coding agent on notes, turning a notes folder into a custom view and keeping notes in portable Markdown files.
- Is Hubble.md open source?
- Yes. Hubble.md is open source under the MIT licence. Its source code is on GitHub at bholmesdev/hubble.md and is written mainly in TypeScript.
- Is Hubble.md free?
- Yes. Hubble.md is open source, so the software itself is free to use.
- Can I self-host Hubble.md?
- Yes. Hubble.md can be self-hosted on your own server or infrastructure; there is no official hosted version.
- What is Hubble.md an alternative to?
- Hubble.md is an open-source alternative to Notion, Bear, Ulysses and iA Writer. Other open-source alternatives to Bear include FSNotes, WitNote and Lumen.
- Is Hubble.md actively maintained?
- Yes. The most recent commit to Hubble.md was on 1 October 2026. The project has 1.5k stars on GitHub.
Open-source alternatives to Hubble.md
See all
FSNotes
Note Taking
Fast Markdown note-taking app for Mac and iPhone
MITvs Bear★ 7.5kWitNote
Note Taking
WitNote is a local-first AI writing companion for macOS and Windows.
OSSvs Typora★ 570
Zettlr
Note Taking
Your One-Stop Publication Workbench
GPL-3.0vs Typora★ 14k
Paperling
Note Taking
A minimal, distraction-free markdown editor built with Tauri, React, and TypeScript
Apache-2.0vs Typora★ 574
Lumen
Note Taking
A free, open-source note-taking app that syncs with markdown files in your GitHub reposito
MITvs Obsidian★ 721
MarkText
Note Taking
📝A simple and elegant markdown editor, available for Linux, macOS and Windows.
MITvs Typora★ 62k
SaaS alternatives to Hubble.md
See all
Notion
Note Taking
Notion is an AI-enabled workspace for notes, docs, wikis and projects, with agents, meeting notes and search across connected apps.
SaaS
Bear
Note Taking
Markdown notes app for Apple devices with tags and nested organization
SaaS
Ulysses
Note Taking
Markdown writing app for Apple devices with libraries and export options
SaaS
iA Writer
Note Taking
Minimal markdown writing app with focus mode and cross-device sync
SaaS
Typora
Note Taking
Minimal markdown editor with live preview
SaaS
UpNote
Note Taking
Notes app with notebooks, tags and sync across mobile and desktop
SaaS

