HelixNotes is a local-first markdown note-taking app built with Tauri, SvelteKit, and Rust.
Your notes are stored as standard Markdown files on your local filesystem. No cloud, no lock-in.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- Markdown editor with rich formatting toolbar, slash commands, and source mode.
- Wiki-links — link notes with [[Note Title]] syntax.
- Graph view — visualize connections between your notes.
- Full-text search powered by Tantivy.
- AI writing tools — improve, summarize, translate, and more (Anthropic / OpenAI).
- Version history — per-note snapshots with diff view.
- Backups — automatic zip-based vault backups.
- PDF preview — inline rendering of embedded PDFs.
- Obsidian import — convert Obsidian wiki-links to standard markdown.
- Themes — light/dark mode with customizable accent colors and fonts.
- Focus mode — distraction-free writing.
- Local-first — everything stays on your machine.
Website: codeberg.org/ArkHost/HelixNotes
Support:
Developer: ArkHost
License: GNU Affero General Public License v3.0

HelixNotes is written in Rust. Learn Rust with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
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Read our verdict in the software roundup.
Explore our comprehensive directory of recommended free and open source software. Our carefully curated collection spans every major software category.This directory is part of our ongoing series of informative articles for Linux enthusiasts. It features hundreds of detailed reviews, along with open source alternatives to proprietary solutions from major corporations such as Google, Microsoft, Apple, Adobe, IBM, Cisco, Oracle, and Autodesk. You’ll also find interesting projects to try, hardware coverage, free programming books and tutorials, and much more. Know a useful open source Linux program that we haven’t covered yet? Let us know by completing this form. |

