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 (v1.3.5)

Linux

AppImage

The AppImage works only on Fedora 43+, Arch Linux, and openSUSE Tumbleweed (x86_64).

Download AppImage

Distro-specific packages

Fedora 43+ (DNF)

sudo dnf config-manager addrepo \
  --from-repofile=https://repo.arkhost.com/helixnotes.repo
sudo dnf install helix-notes

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

Arch / Manjaro (AUR)

yay -S helixnotes-appimage-bin

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)
    ];
  };
}

Manual package downloads

• .deb (Ubuntu 22.04+)
• .rpm

Windows

Download Installer (Windows 10/11)

macOS

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

Download .dmg (Intel)

The Apple Silicon build is signed and notarized by Apple. The Intel build may still trigger a Gatekeeper warning. If macOS reports that the Intel build is damaged, run this once after installing or updating it:

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 (1.88+)
• Node.js (18+)
• pnpm
• System dependencies for Tauri: see Tauri prerequisites

Development

pnpm install
pnpm tauri dev

Verification

Run the frontend checks and tests, Rust tests and lints, and production frontend build with one command:

pnpm verify

Production Build

pnpm tauri build

Screenshots

License

AGPL-3.0