What is Simplenote used for?

Simplenote is the open-source Simplenote client for web, Windows and Linux, a React app packaged in Electron that syncs notes through Simperium. It is a good fit for using Simplenote on a Windows or Linux desktop and contributing to the Simplenote client.

Is Simplenote open source?

Yes. Simplenote is open source under the GPL-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at Automattic/simplenote-electron and is written mainly in TypeScript.

Yes. Simplenote is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.

What is Simplenote an alternative to?

Simplenote is an open-source alternative to Evernote, Google Keep, Apple Notes and Zoho Notebook. Other open-source alternatives to Evernote include Memos, Standard Notes and Notesnook.

Is Simplenote actively maintained?

Yes. The most recent commit to Simplenote was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v2.27.1, published on 1 July 2026. The project has 5.3k stars on GitHub.

Simplenote: open-source alternative to Evernote, Google Keep

About Simplenote

Simplenote Electron is the open-source desktop and web client for Simplenote, a note-taking service from Automattic. The app is built with React and packaged with Electron, which lets the same codebase run in a browser and as an installable application, with packages producible for macOS, Windows and Linux.

Notes are synchronized through the Simperium library, and the interface is written in TypeScript with ReactJS. The repository documents how to build packages and how to run unit tests. Local development currently requires an existing account on the test server or access to production credentials, because the email-first signup flow no longer allows creating accounts in the test database, and sharing and publishing features do not work in development builds.

The code is released under GPL-2.0 and follows the coding guidelines used by wp-calypso. As a client for the hosted Simplenote service, it is meant for people who already use that service rather than for self-hosting their own notes server.

Key features

React note-taking client packaged with Electron
Runs on the web, Windows and Linux
Note syncing through Simperium
Build targets for macOS, Windows and Linux
TypeScript codebase with unit tests

Good fit for

→Using Simplenote on a Windows or Linux desktop
→Contributing to the Simplenote client

Built with: TypeScript
Tags: notes; note-taking; electron; react; desktop; simplenote; typescript; sync

Simplenote: questions and answers

What is Simplenote used for?: Simplenote is the open-source Simplenote client for web, Windows and Linux, a React app packaged in Electron that syncs notes through Simperium. It is a good fit for using Simplenote on a Windows or Linux desktop and contributing to the Simplenote client.
Is Simplenote open source?: Yes. Simplenote is open source under the GPL-2.0 licence. Its source code is on GitHub at Automattic/simplenote-electron and is written mainly in TypeScript.
Is Simplenote free?: Yes. Simplenote is open source, so the software itself is free to use. A managed cloud version is also available.
What is Simplenote an alternative to?: Simplenote is an open-source alternative to Evernote, Google Keep, Apple Notes and Zoho Notebook. Other open-source alternatives to Evernote include Memos, Standard Notes and Notesnook.
Is Simplenote actively maintained?: Yes. The most recent commit to Simplenote was on 2 October 2026, and the latest release is v2.27.1, published on 1 July 2026. The project has 5.3k stars on GitHub.