Grim
title: grim type: tool created: 2026-09-20 last_updated: 2026-09-20 related: ["Zettelkasten in Obsidian", "vault-cortex"] sources: ["https://github.com/ijin82/grim"] radar_quadrant: Tools radar_ring: Assess radar_position: outer
Private notes, journals and credentials kept in a note-taking app usually sit on disk as readable files. grim is a command-line tool that keeps a Markdown note vault encrypted on disk and decrypts it only into memory while the user is working, so the editor sees ordinary files but the disk never holds the plaintext.
Each note is encrypted to its own .md.age file using the age encryption format, with a master key protected by a passphrase. On unlock, notes are placed in a RAM-backed workspace and the chosen editor opens. Every save is re-encrypted to disk automatically, and the workspace is wiped on a timeout (30 minutes by default), on exit or on the lock command.
For Obsidian, grim registers the vault automatically and needs no community plugin, so graph view, wikilinks and attachments keep working. It also supports Vim, Neovim, VS Code, Helix, Emacs and others. Because notes are separate encrypted files, an encrypted vault can be synced with Git or a cloud folder.
The repository is written in Go under the MIT licence. It was created on 2026-08-22, had 0 stars and 0 open issues when checked, and its README credits an AI assistant as co-author of the codebase. These are early-stage signals.
grim is placed in Assess at the outer position. The design is sensible and reuses an established encryption format, but the project is under a month old with no adoption evidence and no first-person use. It is worth watching rather than depending on for sensitive notes.
