HelixNotes/README.md

HelixNotes

A local 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.

Download (v1.3.3)

Linux

Arch / Manjaro (AUR)

yay -S helixnotes-appimage-bin

Debian / Ubuntu / Mint (APT)

curl -fsSL https://repo.arkhost.com/gpg.key | sudo gpg --dearmor -o /usr/share/keyrings/arkhost.gpg && echo "deb [signed-by=/usr/share/keyrings/arkhost.gpg arch=amd64] https://repo.arkhost.com stable main" | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/helixnotes.list && sudo apt update && sudo apt install helix-notes

Solus (EOPKG)

sudo eopkg it helixnotes

NixOS

flake.nix

{
  inputs = {
    nixpkgs.url = "github:NixOS/nixpkgs/nixos-unstable";
    helix-notes = {
      url = "git+https://gitlab.com/ArkHost/HelixNotes";
      # inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
    }
  };

  outputs = {
    nixpkgs,
    helix-notes,
    ...
  }: let
    system = "x86_64-linux";
    pkgs = nixpkgs.legacyPackages.${system};
  in {
    nixosConfigurations.default = nixpkgs.lib.nixosSystem {
      system = system;
      specialArgs = { inherit helix-notes; };

      modules = [
        /path/to/configuration.nix
      ];
    };
  };
}

configuration.nix

{
  config,
  lib,
  pkgs,
  helix-notes,
  ...
}:
{
  users.users.<USERNAME> = {
    packages = with pkgs; [
      (helix-notes.packages.${pkgs.stdenv.hostPlatform.system}.default)
    ];
  };
}

AppImage (Arch, Fedora 43+, openSUSE Tumbleweed)

Download AppImage

.deb (manual)

Download .deb (Ubuntu 22.04+)

Windows

Download Installer (Windows 10/11)

macOS

Download .dmg (Apple Silicon) (M-series Macs)

Download .dmg (Intel) (older Macs, or Apple Silicon via Rosetta)

"HelixNotes is damaged and can't be opened"? The app isn't damaged. The macOS build isn't notarized by Apple yet, so Gatekeeper blocks it on Apple Silicon. Run this once in Terminal, then open it normally (you'll need to redo it after each update):

xattr -cr /Applications/HelixNotes.app

Android

Download APK

---

All releases: gitlab.com/ArkHost/HelixNotes/-/releases

Features

• Markdown editor with toolbar, slash commands, source mode, code highlighting
• Tasks view: aggregate - [ ] checklists from across all notes, set priority and due dates, work in a list or a calendar (drag a task to reschedule)
• [[Wiki-links]] and graph view
• Full-text search (Tantivy), CJK-aware for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean
• Outline panel, daily notes with calendar view, tags with autocomplete, drag-and-drop
• Live KaTeX math editor (/math, /imath) with modal preview, double-click to edit
• Mermaid diagrams (opt-in render, copy as PNG, save as PNG/SVG)
• Encrypted secret blocks (/secret) stored as portable helix-secret markdown fences
• Insert date/time (/date, /time, /now), color swatches (/color), configurable week start
• Manual notebook sorting (drag to reorder above, into, or below)
• External .md viewer mode with import-to-vault flow
• PDF preview, Obsidian import, "Show in File Manager"
• AI writing tools (Ollama / OpenAI-compatible / Anthropic / OpenAI)
• Optional WebDAV sync to your own server (Nextcloud, ownCloud, a NAS): manual or automatic, with keep-both conflict copies
• Version history with diffs, automatic backups
• Multi-window, file associations, focus mode, view mode
• Themes (light, dark, and 14 palettes), accent colors, fonts, 80-200% interface scale
• Local plain-text files, no company cloud

Full documentation: helixnotes.com/docs

Tech Stack

• Frontend: SvelteKit (Svelte 5) + TailwindCSS v4 + TipTap v3
• Backend: Rust (Tauri 2.0) + Tantivy (search) + Notify (file watcher)
• Platforms: Linux (AppImage), Windows, macOS, Android

Building from Source

Prerequisites

• Rust (1.77+)
• Node.js (18+)
• pnpm
• System dependencies for Tauri: see Tauri prerequisites

Development

pnpm install
pnpm tauri dev

Production Build

pnpm tauri build

Screenshots

License

AGPL-3.0