Open Source Note Taking Apps

Discover the best open source note taking apps to capture ideas, organize your thoughts. Find tools for personal or team knowledge management.

27 apps available

Apps in Note Taking

Clojure
70%
AGPL 3.0

Logseq

Knowledge Management · Note Taking

45,069

A privacy-first, open-source knowledge graph platform combining Markdown, Org-mode, bidirectional linking, and local-first storage for building your second brain.

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92
Repo Health
82
Technical
68
Dependency
Built with
Clojure 70%
OCaml 12%
Updated 6 days ago
JavaScript
26%
AGPL 3.0

Omnivore

Bookmarks Archiving · Knowledge Management · Note Taking

16,265

Self-hosted read-it-later platform with highlights, newsletters, PDFs, and seamless Obsidian and Logseq integration.

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90
Repo Health
74
Technical
65
Dependency
Built with
JavaScript 26%
TypeScript 25%
HTML 19%
Updated 1 weeks ago
JavaScript
40%
MIT

NoteDiscovery

Knowledge Management · Note Taking · Productivity

2,813

A self-hosted markdown knowledge base with MCP-powered AI integration, graph views, LaTeX math, and built-in drawing — your notes stay on your server, forever.

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80
Repo Health
59
Technical
74
Dependency
Built with
JavaScript 40%
Python 32%
HTML 24%
Updated 1 weeks ago
JavaScript
55%
Other

Lokus

Knowledge Management · Note Taking

802

Local-first note-taking with graph view, canvas & AI plugins—your Markdown files, zero telemetry, blazing-fast Rust performance.

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78
Repo Health
75
Technical
65
Dependency
Built with
JavaScript 55%
HTML 21%
Rust 12%
Updated 1 months ago
JavaScript
98%
Other

Markdrop

Note Taking

361

Visual drag-and-drop markdown editor with GitHub-specific blocks, cloud sync, and offline PWA support

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37
Repo Health
57
Technical
69
Dependency
Built with
JavaScript 98%
Updated 6 months ago

About Note Taking

In today’s fast-paced world, the ability to quickly and efficiently record thoughts, ideas, and information is essential. Note taking software provides a digital space to do just that – moving beyond traditional pen and paper to offer powerful features for organization, collaboration, and long-term knowledge management. These tools are designed for a wide range of users, from students and researchers to professionals and creative writers.

Typical features include rich text editing, allowing for formatted notes with headings, lists, and multimedia. Many applications support tagging and categorization to facilitate easy searching and retrieval of information. Advanced functionality often includes linking between notes, creating a personal knowledge base, and even version control to track changes over time. Collaboration features such as shared notebooks and real-time editing enable teamwork and brainstorming.

Note taking apps solve critical problems related to information overload and disorganization. They offer a centralized location for all your thoughts and ideas, reducing the need to sift through multiple documents or physical notebooks. By providing powerful search capabilities and organization tools, these applications help you find what you need when you need it. Beyond personal productivity, collaborative features foster better teamwork and knowledge sharing within organizations. The ability to integrate with other workflows (such as task management systems) further enhances their value, making them a core component of many modern workflows.

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