Description

Building Note Studio: why I made another notes app

I’ve tried them all. Evernote, Notion, OneNote, Obsidian, Roam. Every single one eventually made me angry.

Either they started charging for basic features, or they stored my notes on servers I don’t control, or they needed five seconds to load a blank page. And somewhere along the way, I stopped taking notes. The friction won.

So I built Note Studio. It’s the notes app I actually wanted.

The problems I couldn’t ignore

First: lock-in. Most apps store your notes in encrypted databases you can’t read outside the app. If you want to leave, good luck exporting clean Markdown. Note Studio stores everything as plain text. You can open your notes in Notepad right now if you wanted.

Second: the cloud. I don’t trust that someone else’s server will be there in five years. I don’t want my teaching notes sitting on servers in countries with different privacy laws. Note Studio runs entirely on your computer. No sync means no surveillance.

Third: cost. I’m a solo developer and part-time tutor. I refuse to pay monthly for a text editor. This app stays free. No hidden tier. No “pro” upgrade. Just free.

What it actually does

You create notebooks. Inside them, you create notes. Write in Markdown, see the preview side-by-side, or focus in clean edit mode. Drag notebooks to reorder them. Export everything as JSON for backup, or print to PDF for sharing with students.

The whole thing fits in one window. No AI popups. No “team collaboration” features you’ll never use. No notifications. Just your words.

Three ways to run it

Download the Windows installer if you want Start Menu integration. Grab the portable EXE for a USB stick — it leaves no traces on the host machine. Or open the PWA version in your browser and install it like a native app. Same app, same files.

Who this is for?

Teachers planning lessons. Freelancers tracking project notes. Students organising research. Anyone who just wants to write without a monthly bill.

I use it every day. You can too.

No signup.

No email required.

Just download and write.

 

Q: Does it sync between my devices?
A: No, and that’s intentional. Note Studio is a local-first app. Your notes stay on the computer where you write them. Use a USB stick with the portable version or manage sync yourself via Dropbox, Syncthing, or any folder-syncing tool.

Q: Is it really free forever?
A: Yes. No upsells, no future paywall, no “premium” tier. I built this for my own use and decided to share it. If that ever changes (it won’t), you’ll still have your plain Markdown files to take elsewhere.

Q: Can I import from Evernote or Notion?
A: Not directly. Export from those apps to Markdown or HTML, then copy-paste into Note Studio. I kept import simple on purpose — no complex migration code means fewer bugs.

Q: Does it work on Mac or Linux?
A: The Windows version runs fine under Wine. The PWA version works in any modern browser on any OS. A native macOS version isn’t planned.