ZenNotes

Keyboard-first local Markdown notes with Vim motions, diagrams, databases, workflows, and first-party MCP integration.

Plain files. Fast editing. One shared core across desktop, self-hosted web, and a planned hosted mode.

zennotes.org · Download Latest Release · Main Repository · Join Discord · Report an Issue

• Plain-file vaults: notes are normal .md files on disk, no hidden database, and an Obsidian-shaped vault works as-is, since the system folders (Inbox, Quick Notes, Archive, Trash) can map to any directories you already have
• Keyboard-first editing with first-class Vim mode, leader flows, a command palette, and pane/tab motion; every feature ships with a key
• Live-preview editor (CodeMirror 6): GFM tables as an editable grid, callouts as cards, wiki links, transclusion with ![[Note]], footnotes, and heading folding, with the cursor line always showing its raw source
• Rendering both ways: KaTeX or Typst for math (Typst definitions can follow a note's tags), Mermaid, TikZ, JSXGraph, and function-plot for diagrams, plus bring-your-own code languages via TextMate grammars
• Databases: any .csv opens as a Notion-style table or board with typed columns, AND/OR filtering, and rows that open as real notes
• Excalidraw drawings as first-class items, embeddable inline in notes
• Tasks everywhere: inline checkboxes, whole-note task files, Kanban with custom statuses, bullet-journal forwarding, and daily, weekly, and monthly notes
• Workflows: repeatable pipelines over the vault written as plain .md and drawn on a canvas; the engine only plans, every change is counted before you approve, and Undo restores byte for byte (opt-in)
• Vault-wide search (built-in, ripgrep, or fzf), backlinks for wiki and plain Markdown links, tags, quick capture, and URL embeds with bookmark cards
• Make it yours: Obsidian-style CSS themes and snippets, no-code quick tweaks, fonts, and rebindable keymaps that travel in config.toml
• Real exits: Word export built from Word's own Heading styles, copy-for-email HTML, and PDFs that state their title
• The zn CLI for scripting and capture, against a local vault or your self-hosted server
• First-party MCP server with desktop install flows for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and Codex; every note result is a clickable zennotes:// link
• Self-hosted Docker deployment with secure-by-default auth, a server-backed vault picker, and LAN/home-server access

ZenNotes ships from one monorepo with one shared app core:

• Desktop: Electron shell with native menus, app updater, floating note windows, signed macOS builds, and Windows / Linux installers
• Self-hosted: Vite web client plus a Go server, deployable via Docker on your own machine or home server
• Hosted: planned, built on the same web/server stack

• Latest desktop release downloads (macOS, Windows, Linux x64 + arm64)
• Package managers: brew install --cask zennotes/tap/zennotes, yay -S zennotes-bin (AUR), Nix flake in-repo, docker pull adibhanna/zennotes
• Source code
• Docs · Releases and demos
• Community Discord