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A home
for your thoughts.

ZenNotes keeps every note as a local .md file you own, with real Vim motions, live math & diagrams, an MCP server for your assistant, and a bundled zn CLI. Native on Mac, Windows, Linux, iPhone, iPad, and Android, or self-hosted in any browser.

Download Browse all platforms

Free & open source Mac · Windows · Linux · iOS · Android

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Vim-native

If you know Vim,
you already know it.

Motions, operators, registers, marks, macros, folds, the ex prompt. All of it works the way your muscle memory expects, because it's real Vim underneath, not a sprinkle of shortcuts dressed up as one.

Markdown, fully lived-in

Write rich notes
in plain files.

Math with KaTeX. Diagrams with Mermaid, TikZ, JSXGraph, and function-plot. All of it renders from ordinary fenced code blocks. The files stay plain text under the hood, so there's nothing to migrate out of later if you change your mind.

Read the docs
notes.md · split 
# Gradient descent

Minimise $f(\theta)$ by stepping
against its gradient:

```math
\theta_{t+1} = \theta_t - \eta\nabla f(\theta_t)
```

```mermaid
flowchart LR
  start --> step --> check
  check --> step
  check --> done
```

Gradient descent

Minimise f(θ) by stepping against its gradient:

θt+1 = θt − η ∇f(θt)
MCP

Your vault,
open to assistants.

There's an MCP server in the box, with one-click setup for Claude Code, Claude Desktop, and Codex. Your assistant edits the same Markdown files you do, straight on disk, with no export step and no closed database in the middle.

claude · zennotes

> Summarize my notes tagged #graphics

tool zennotes.search_by_tag "graphics"

→ 4 notes found

Across four notes you’re circling one idea: SDFs give cheap implicit geometry, and anti-aliased coverage falls out almost for free…

> ▍

Terminal

Drive your vault
from the command line.

zn ships with the desktop app. Read and write notes, search, tag, toggle tasks, capture straight from a pipe, run the MCP server. Pass --json on data commands and the output drops cleanly into jq or wherever your shell wants to send it. Install from Settings → CLI on macOS or Linux, or get the standalone tool from the TUI page for any desktop platform.

zsh · ~/notes

$ zn capture "Meeting takeaways" --tag work

→ inbox/2026-04-29-meeting-takeaways.md

$ pbpaste | zn append inbox/Daily.md --body -

$ zn search "deadline" --json | jq '.[].path'

"inbox/Q2-Plan.md"

"projects/Launch.md"

$ zn task list --unchecked --tag work

$ ▍

Everything in one app

The bits you'll actually reach for.

One keyboard-first app for capture, writing, and finding, while your source of truth stays in plain Markdown files.

Plain .md files

A vault is just a folder. Sync it with Git, iCloud, Dropbox, or not at all. No hidden database, nothing proprietary, nothing to migrate out of.

Split, preview, reference

Split a tab side-by-side, pin a reference, or pop a note into its own floating window.

Math & diagrams

KaTeX inline and in blocks. Mermaid, TikZ, JSXGraph, and function-plot render straight from fenced code.

Tasks, tags, backlinks

Write #tag anywhere. Check - [ ] tasks vault-wide. Follow [[wikilinks]] and chase unresolved ones.

Vault-wide search

Full-text search across every note. Uses ripgrep or fzf if you have them, the built-in engine if you don't.

Daily notes

One keystroke opens today's note. Auto-create ISO-dated dailies in a folder you choose.

Obsidian-friendly vaults

Point ZenNotes at a vault you already have. Loose files show up in the tree, ![[image.png]] embeds resolve, and the layout is read from disk so new notes land where you'd expect.

Slash & @ shortcuts

Type / for headings, callouts, code blocks, tables, and links. Type @ for dates.

Inline note comments

Highlight a passage, drop a comment in the side panel. The marker stays anchored as you edit around it.

Zen mode

One keystroke strips every sidebar, tab, and status bar. Only the editor or preview stays on screen.

Desktop or self-hosted

Native on Mac, Windows, and Linux. Or self-host the web app from the published adibhanna/zennotes Docker image and open it from any browser on your network.

Themes & type

Light and dark theme families. Pick separate fonts for UI, prose, and code, each sized for a long writing session.

New · ZenNotes Cloud

Sync. Back up. Publish.

Keep one vault current on every device, create recovery points, and share notes on the web.

Sync across devices

Keep the same vault current on desktop and mobile. See when sync last ran and pull changes on demand.

Recover with backups

Run daily or manual backups, restore one note or the whole vault, and download a complete ZIP.

Publish to the web

Turn a note into a public link, choose its theme and logo, and unpublish it whenever you want.

ZenNotes stays free and open source. Local vaults and iCloud keep working without a Cloud plan.

Create a Cloud account See pricing
Workflow

Capture. Write. Find. Without lifting your hands.

  1. 01

    Capture

    A Quick Note, a daily note, or a fresh inbox buffer, each one keystroke from anywhere in the app.

    ⎵q
  2. 02

    Write

    Stay in normal mode and edit with motions. Live preview renders math, diagrams, and plots as you go.

    i
  3. 03

    Navigate

    Fuzzy note finder, outline jumps, buffer switching, which-key overlays: every surface is keyboard-first.

    ⎵f
  4. 04

    Organize

    Move between inbox, archive, and trash from the ex line. Tasks, tags, and backlinks stay in sync.

    :mv
iPhone · iPad · Android

Your vault, in your pocket.

The same plain .md files on iOS and Android. Live KaTeX math, tasks with calendar and Kanban, and full-text search. Keep vaults local, use iCloud on Apple devices, or connect ZenNotes Cloud across platforms.

Download on the App Store Get it on Google Play iOS 17+ · Android 6+
ZenNotes on iPhone showing the recent notes home screen
ZenNotes on iPhone rendering live KaTeX math from plain Markdown
ZenNotes on iPhone showing tasks in a weekly calendar view
Download

Make it yours.

Free, open source, and yours. Pick your platform to start the download.

macOS universal · .dmg
Apple Silicon .dmg · M-series Download Intel .dmg · x64 Download
Homebrew brew install --cask zennotes/tap/zennotes View tap
Windows x64 & ARM64 · .exe
x64 installer .exe · Windows 10 / 11 Download ARM64 installer .exe · Windows 11 on ARM Download
Linux x86_64 & arm64
Debian / Ubuntu .deb package x86_64 arm64
Fedora / RHEL / openSUSE .rpm package x86_64 arm64
Arch .pacman package x86_64 arm64
Universal portable AppImage x86_64 arm64
Arch User Repository yay -S zennotes-bin View on AUR
iPhone & iPad iOS 17+ · App Store
ZenNotes for iOS Universal · iPhone & iPad App Store
Android Android 6+ · Google Play
ZenNotes for Android Phone & tablet Google Play

AppImage won't launch on Arch/CachyOS/Fedora? Those ship FUSE 3. Install fuse2, run with --appimage-extract-and-run, or just use the AUR / .pacman / .deb package.

On Fedora, RHEL, or openSUSE? Grab the native .rpm (x64 and arm64) above and run sudo dnf install ./ZenNotes-*.rpm.

Self-hosting? Run the published adibhanna/zennotes Docker image or grab the source on GitHub.