Local-first Markdown notes for Linux and Windows.
Write, read, and find your notes in one local collection. Nota has a centered writing area, Markdown Preview, Search, Tags, pinned notes, and recoverable deletion. Your notes stay on your computer. There are no accounts, telemetry, or sync services.
This image combines equal halves of two native Windows captures of the same note. Screenshot details describe the capture and composition.
The Linux app uses GTK4 and Relm4. The Windows app uses WinUI 3. Both share the Rust note model, Markdown rendering rules, and storage formats.
The current version is 2.0.0-alpha.1. This is a native alpha, not a stable
release. Linux packaging targets an x86_64 AppImage. Windows packaging produces
an unsigned, self-contained x64 ZIP.
On Windows, download the Nota-windows-x64 artifact from a successful
CI run.
Extract the workflow artifact, then extract the app ZIP inside it and run
Nota.Windows.exe. Keep its files together. Preview requires WebView2 Runtime.
See the Windows guide for prerequisites and limitations.
To build from source, install mise and the platform dependencies in Contributing, then run:
git clone https://github.com/astrazds/nota.git
cd nota
mise install
mise run devmise run dev starts GTK on Linux and WinUI on Windows. Preview and Split are
included in the normal build. mise.toml pins Rust and the Windows .NET SDK.
Cargo declares Rust 1.95 as the minimum version.
On Linux, install the packaging prerequisites and build an AppImage:
mise run package:appimage
./dist/Nota-x86_64.AppImageOn Windows, build the self-contained ZIP:
mise run package:windowsThe Linux packager downloads linuxdeploy tools and bundles fonts and WebKitGTK
helpers. The Windows output is dist/Nota-windows-x64.zip. See
the AppImage rehearsal for package verification.
- Select New note or press
Ctrl+Nto start writing. - Switch between Write, Preview, and Split in the footer. Split places the editor beside Preview in wide windows and stacks them in compact windows.
- Open Notes to search, filter by Tags, or select a pinned note.
Ctrl+Fopens the drawer and focuses Search. Queries support words, quoted phrases,title:,tag:, andis:pinned. - Open Settings for Theme and Markdown help. About Nota is in the Notes drawer footer and also in Windows Settings.
- Expand Recently deleted in the Notes drawer to restore deleted notes.
- Open Notes, then Backup. Backup / Export writes active Notes, Recently Deleted, Theme, and Backup Health. Import / Restore brings a file back.
Notes save automatically. Existing collections open in Preview, and new notes open in Write. The Notes drawer overlays the page without shifting the reading column. The user guide explains editing, filtering, saving, backup confirmation, and recovery.
Linux stores data under $XDG_DATA_HOME/net.astrazds.Nota, normally
~/.local/share/net.astrazds.Nota. Windows uses
%LOCALAPPDATA%\net.astrazds.Nota and supports an isolated --data-dir.
Nota does not encrypt its collection or exported files.
Notes Backups merge into an existing collection. Complete-notebook exports
restore into an empty notebook on either platform. Backup v1 and
desktop-transition v1 remain compatible with legacy noter.* identifiers.
To migrate from a browser-era build, use a previously exported file. Native
Nota cannot read browser LocalStorage directly.
Preview blocks scripts, remote images, and network resource loads. Allowed links you activate open through the system handler. Read Privacy for storage and network details, or Security to report a vulnerability.
mise run setup:rust
mise run verifyWindows verification includes the WinUI build and C# checks against the actual
Rust library. Linux GTK editing and font checks need a display and run separately
with mise run test:gtk and mise run test:gtk:fonts.
Contributing covers feature checks, packaging, and pull request evidence. Documentation links the architecture, design, domain reference, and historical decisions. Nota is licensed under MIT.