OpenNote

A local-first, data-sovereign Notion-style workspace for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Notion's UX with none of the lock-in — the source of truth is a plain Markdown vault on your disk (Obsidian-friendly), backed by an embedded Postgres that treats the cloud as optional.

Why

Your notes should outlive the app that edits them. In OpenNote the local database is a rebuildable cache; durability comes from:

• a Markdown mirror — every page is written as a real .md file with YAML frontmatter into ~/Documents/OpenNoteVault, atomically (temp + rename), so the vault alone can rebuild your whole workspace, and
• an optional self-hosted sync server you run yourself (pg_dump-able).

No account. No cloud requirement. Your files, your disk, your server.

Features

• Block editor — BlockNote rich text: headings, lists, checklists, code, quotes, nested blocks, callouts, toggles, columns, a table of contents, a breadcrumb, and image / file / video / audio uploads into the vault; / slash commands.
• Hierarchical pages — sidebar tree with favorites, page icons, and cover images; drag-to-reorder over fractional-index ordering; duplicate and move-to. Pages can be embedded as sub-page and linked-database blocks.
• Databases — table / board / calendar / list / gallery / timeline views with filter, sort, group-by, and per-view column show/hide, over typed properties: text, number, select, multi-select, status (colored pills), date, checkbox, url, email, phone, relation, rollup (count / sum / avg / min / max / show), formula, files, person, and created / last-edited time & by.
• Wiki — [[wiki-links]], a backlinks index, and CJK-safe full-text search (⌘K, with recently-opened pages), plus Markdown export and Markdown + Notion-CSV import.
• Page history — git-backed snapshots of the Markdown vault with in-app restore.
• Multi-device sync — offline-first outbox with per-block last-write-wins; edits queue locally and replay on reconnect.
• Trash & undo — soft delete with an undo toast and a restore browser.
• Templates — meeting notes, weekly plan, project brief.
• Light + dark themes — warm-dark, follows the OS by default, WCAG-AA contrast in both, and honors prefers-reduced-motion.

Architecture

• Thin native shell (Electron) — only a window, a preload bridge, and file-mirror IPC. No application logic, so the web core stays portable.
• Web core — React + TypeScript + BlockNote.
• Local store — PGlite (Postgres in WASM) persisted in the renderer; a rebuildable cache.
• Sync — a small node:http write API + pull cursor over the same Queryable interface, so the server core runs on PGlite in tests and on Postgres in production. Conflicts resolve by arrival order via a monotonically increasing server_seq — never client clocks.
• One schema, both sides — shared/migrations/*.sql is executed identically by the client PGlite and the server Postgres.

Development

npm install
npm run dev          # web core in the browser (mirror disabled)
npm start            # build + launch the Electron app
npm run sync-server  # run the local sync server (Postgres-in-PGlite)
npm run verify       # typecheck + tests + build (CI gate)
npm run dist         # package installers (dmg / nsis / AppImage / deb)

The test suite is ~150 tests over the ordering keys, Markdown round-trip, repository layer, sync convergence (offline replay, LWW, idempotency), backlinks, search, Notion-CSV import, recent-pages, and database views (filter / sort / column visibility / status colors).

Repository layout

electron/            thin native shell (window + mirror/dialog IPC only)
server/              sync core (Queryable) + node:http API + runnable entry
shared/              sync protocol types + migrations (client == server SQL)
src/
  db/                schema bootstrap + repository layer (all SQL lives here)
  sync/              client outbox engine + HTTP transport
  lib/               pure logic: fractional keys, markdown, wiki-links, theme
  components/        sidebar, editor, database views, search, trash, popovers
docs/                design spec, screenshots

Milestones

All shipped; each is a tagged snapshot (git tag):

• M1 — local-first editor (Electron + BlockNote + PGlite + mirror)
• M2 — sync server + offline outbox + per-block LWW
• M3 — database views (table / board / calendar)
• M4 — wiki-links, backlinks, full-text search, Markdown import/export
• M5 — relation / rollup / multi-select property types
• M6 — trash & restore, favorites, page icons & covers, dark mode
• M7 — page templates + electron-builder packaging
• M8 — Notion-parity pass: filter/sort/group + list/gallery/timeline views, per-view column show/hide, formula / files / people / timestamp / email / phone / status properties, callout / toggle / column / table-of- contents / breadcrumb blocks, image / video / audio upload, sub-page & linked-database blocks, git-backed page history, drag reorder, duplicate / move-to, Notion-CSV import, ⌘K recents

License

MIT