Swifty Notes is a native GTK/libadwaita Markdown notes application for Linux written in Swift.
It is designed for writing, organising, and previewing Markdown notes with a desktop-first interface, while storing notes as plain files in per-note directories instead of a separate database. The project also includes a companion CLI that works with the same notes, making it suitable for scripting and automation.
This is free and open source software.
Key Features
- File-backed Markdown notes stored in per-note directories with
note.md,meta.json, and anassets/folder. - GTK/libadwaita interface with a notes sidebar, live Markdown editor, and inspector-style preview.
- Includes first-launch seeded notes such as Markdown Showcase, About Swifty Notes, and Using Swifty Notes CLI.
- Supports autosave, manual save, import, export, duplicate, rename, delete, and open-notes-folder actions.
- Provides a settings window for choosing and moving the notes storage folder.
- Offers editor preferences for line wrapping, font size, tab width, and spaces-versus-tabs indentation.
- Includes configurable autosave delay and appearance override options for system, light, and dark modes.
- Supports a configurable note storage location, including cloud-synced folders for cross-device sync.
- Provides a CLI for listing, reading, creating, and replacing notes by stable ID.
- Persists workspace state including selection, search, sort mode, sidebar and preview visibility, and window layout.
- Includes native Wayland UI smoke coverage with headless Weston and AT-SPI.
Website: github.com/makoni/swifty-notes-gtk
Support:
Developer: Sergey Armodin
License: MIT License

Swifty Notes is written in Swift. Learn Swift with our recommended free books and free tutorials.
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Read our verdict in the software roundup.
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