QOwnNotes is an open-source Markdown note-taking application for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It uses simple plain-text files stored on your machine. You pair it with file-sync tools like Nextcloud, ownCloud, Dropbox, or any local folder structure. The UI is lightweight, customizable, and geared toward users who prefer transparency and control over their data.
If you want a note system that isn’t locked behind a cloud provider, QOwnNotes stands out. Your notes remain standard .md files you can read anywhere. This makes long-term access, backups, and portability simple. It’s especially useful for professionals who already run Nextcloud or self-hosted infrastructure and want a privacy-friendly workflow. Developers and technical users like it because they can automate, script, or version control their notes without proprietary formatting.
QOwnNotes scans a local folder on your system and displays your Markdown files. You edit notes using a built-in editor with live previews, tag support, backlinks, and scripting options. The app can integrate with Nextcloud Notes for metadata syncing (tags, trash, note revisions), but all content still lives as local Markdown files.
You can enable an internal script system to build custom extensions, shortcuts, and UI tweaks. It also includes basic task management, quick search, note encryption for sensitive notes, theming, and daily journaling functions.
