It has often been said that information confers power, and that the most important currency in our culture today is information. Keeping track of bits and pieces of information is a minefield.
In part, this is because of passable short term memory, coupled with what can only be described as ‘brain fog’. To combat this, we arm myself with open source software that helps us efficiently capture a lot of information. We generally prefer to keep our information local and cloud-free, primarily for security reasons. And we primarily advance software which doesn’t tie itself to any specific company or service, whether it’s Evernote, Google, or Microsoft.
Note-taking apps are the online equivalent of notebooks, and because they’re digital, they can do more for you than paper can. Note-taking apps also include text search, so in a matter of seconds, you can find whatever notes you need.
A sticky note (often known as a Post-it Note) is a small piece of paper with a re-adherable strip of glue on its back, made for temporarily attaching notes to documents and other surfaces. Virtual sticky notes have been created for computers in the form of desktop notes.
Here’s our verdict captured in a legendary LinuxLinks-style ratings chart. Only free and open source software is eligible for inclusion.
Let’s explore the 14 apps to take notes at hand. For each application we have compiled its own portal page, a full description with an in-depth analysis of its features, a screenshot, together with links to relevant resources.
| Note Taking Software | |
|---|---|
| Sticky | Very simple utility offering a good range of features |
| PrimeNote | Modern and highly customizable sticky note application |
| NoteSH | Terminal-based sticky notes app |
| KNotes | A simple Qt-based application |
| Xpad | Sticky note application for jotting down things to remember |
| GloboNote | Simple and easy to use open source note taking application |
| Sticky Notes | Simple note taking program designed for GNOME |
| Notejot | Billed as a stupidly simple sticky notes applet. |
| MyNotes | Customizable sticky notes program |
| redthread | Sticky-note pegboard for your terminal |
| Jorts | Colourful sticky notes program |
| Indicator Stickynotes | Write reminders on notes |
| LinSticky | Modern sticky notes application |
| Clues | Sticky notes app with connections |
This article has been updated to reflect the changes outlined in our recent announcement.
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Knotes is dead. It is no more part of Kde Gear since 24.08 release.
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The project is still receiving commits. In any event, even if a project becomes unmaintained, this doesn’t necessarily mean that it is removed from a roundup.
I just use Xpad, because it is supported on pretty much any Linux or BSD distro.
I like Xpad too, as it’s GTK+.