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HelixNotes - a local markdown note-taking app (Rust + Tauri, AGPL-3.0) (helixnotes.com)
submitted 8 months ago by to c/selfhosted@lemmy.world
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I built a note-taking app because the one I wanted didn't exist. Clean UI, local .md files, no cloud, no account.

Built with Rust + Tauri 2.0 + SvelteKit. Full-text search powered by Tantivy. Graph view, AI writing tools (bring your own key), Obsidian import, version history.

Available for Linux (AppImage, APT, AUR), Windows, and macOS. Source: https://codeberg.org/ArkHost/HelixNotes

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[–] 1 point 8 months ago (7 children)

Hi OP. I am really enjoying using HelixNotes.

I love the way it looks and all the features. I was able to use the same folder I use MarkFlowy and Marknote.

My only critique is the Ctrl key in Windows and Linux menu shortcuts is usually changed to Cmd for Mac. It really isn't a big deal but I think a lot of Mac users will notice this instantly. I tried creating an note with Cmd + N since is the default for all other Mac apps. I saw the Shortcuts in the Info section and I was hoping you could customize the Keyboard Shortcuts, but you can't.

It isn't a big deal with me. So far I am enjoying this more than MarkFlowy and Marknote. If you don't change for whatever reason, I understand and I will continue to use your HelixNotes.

Again thank you for your work.

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  • [–] 1 point 8 months ago* (5 children)

    Me again. Last time tonight, I promise.

    My favorite features so far, making the edit toolbar disappear in source mode and Focus mode. Quick access is also really useful.

    One more thing I don't like, it was adding a header to my edited notes.

    Example:

    ***
id: "9242199e-992b-4c58-9b4f-85a6949d424d"
title: "Books"
tags: []
pinned: false
created: 2026-02-15T04:32:13.600656+00:00
modified: 2026-02-15T04:32:17.240423+00:00
***

    This doesn't look great in MacOS preview. This might be one of those things that it was simplest to just add this directly to the file rather than creating some kind of database or a bunch of dot files. Again, not a deal breaker for me. Would adding it to the bottom be possible instead?

    Thank you.

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  • [–] 5 points 8 months ago (1 child)

    Hi, not OP, but: that's known as frontmatter, it's somewhat widespread, and thus I suspect that it's much more difficult to have it live at the end of your markdown files than in a separate file or db altogether - unless OP is already rolling their own markdown parser.

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  • [–] [S] 2 points 8 months ago (2 children)

    Really appreciate the detailed feedback.

    You're right about the Mac shortcuts - Cmd should replace Ctrl on macOS. That's a bug, I'll fix it.

    As for the frontmatter - Jayjader is correct, it's standard markdown frontmatter. It's how HelixNotes tracks metadata without using a database or sidecar files. Moving it to the bottom would break compatibility with every other markdown tool that reads frontmatter. But I understand it's not pretty in a plain preview - that's the tradeoff for keeping everything in plain .md files with no hidden database.

    Glad you're enjoying it. Keep the feedback coming, this is exactly what helps improve the app.

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