FSNotes

A fast, native notes app for macOS and iOS that keeps every note as a portable Markdown or plain-text file and handles collections of 10,000+ notes.

7.6k stars, 587 forks Swift On GitHub since July 2017

Visit website View on GitHub How to run it

What is FSNotes?

FSNotes gives you a focused writing space while your notes stay ordinary files instead of a proprietary database, so you can open them in any other app now or years from now. Search and navigation stay quick even across tens of thousands of notes. It supports Markdown with syntax highlighting, tags, pinned notes, AES-256 encryption for private notes and optional Git backups, and syncs through iCloud Drive, Dropbox or any folder you choose. The iOS app shares the same files.

Good fit if

  • You use a Mac and an iPhone and want one notes library across both.
  • You keep a very large collection of notes and care about speed.

Look elsewhere if

  • You need Windows or Linux apps: Joplin or QOwnNotes.
  • You want a minimal Mac-only app with fewer options: MiaoYan.

Before you adopt it

FSNotes is MIT-licensed; the ready-made apps are sold on the Mac App Store and App Store, and those purchases fund development. Its creator, Oleksandr Glushchenko, writes most of the code.

Drafted with AI from the project's README and repository data, then checked against that data on 30 October 2026. Report a correction

FSNotes health: is it still maintained?

66 of 100, actively developed

  • Activity
    44 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 27 October 2026.
    20 / 30
  • Contributors
    6 people wrote the 44 commits of the last 90 days; the most active wrote 84% of them.
    11 / 20
  • Releases
    14 releases in the last 12 months; the latest, v7.4.0, on 26 October 2026.
    19 / 20
  • Replies to issues
    Maintainers answered 46% of recent issues, with a median first reply after 37 hours.
    13 / 20
  • Security practices
    OpenSSF Scorecard 3 of 10.
    3 / 10

Read from GitHub on 1 November 2026. How the score works

FSNotes license: is it open source?

FSNotes uses MIT, an open-source license approved by the OSI.

  1. July 2017First published on GitHub.
  2. TodayMIT.

How to run FSNotes yourself

Docker
No Docker files in the repository
Compose file
None in the repository
Setup effort
Not rated: no compose file to judge from
Kubernetes
No Helm chart in the repository
Desktop and mobile
No app builds in GitHub releases
Interface languages
7 languages

Install instructions: fsnot.es or the README on GitHub.

Alternatives to FSNotes

  • MiaoYanA quiet, local-first Markdown writing app for Mac, to help you write great sentences. 75 health · MIT · 8.7k stars
  • QOwnNotesQOwnNotes is a plain-text file notepad and todo-list manager with Markdown support and Nextcloud / ownCloud… 79 health · GPL-2.0 · 5.9k stars
  • flatnotesA self-hosted, database-less note taking web app that utilises a flat folder of markdown files for storage. 41 health · MIT · 3.3k stars
  • Trilium NotesBuild your personal knowledge base with Trilium Notes 80 health · AGPL-3.0 · 38.6k stars
  • NotesnookA fully open source & end-to-end encrypted note taking alternative to Evernote. 74 health · GPL-3.0 · 14.9k stars

All 34 projects in Notes & knowledge bases

Questions about FSNotes

Is FSNotes open source?

Yes. FSNotes is published under MIT, an OSI-approved open-source license.

Is FSNotes still maintained?

Its health score is 66 of 100 (actively developed). It had 44 commits in the last 90 days, the latest on 27 October 2026, and its latest release came out on 26 October 2026.

How do I run FSNotes?

The repository has no Docker files or app builds, so you build it from source. The README on GitHub has the steps.

What are the alternatives to FSNotes?

Close alternatives in the Notes & knowledge bases category include MiaoYan, QOwnNotes, flatnotes.