Features

Plain Files

Your notes are .md files you can read with cat. No proprietary database, no lock-in, no hostage situation.

No Electron

Rust + Tauri 2.0. Actually fast, not "fast for an Electron app". Launches instantly, doesn't eat your RAM.

Privacy First

No telemetry. No cloud. No accounts. No phone-home. Your notes never leave your machine unless you decide otherwise.

External Viewer

Open any .md file from anywhere on your system. Read-only sandbox. Import it only if you want to keep it.

Rich Editor

TipTap v3 WYSIWYG with slash commands, tables, code blocks, and a source mode toggle. A clean editor that works out of the box.

Wiki Links & Graph

Link notes with [[note title]]. See how your ideas connect in the interactive graph view.

Math & Diagrams

KaTeX equations and Mermaid diagrams rendered natively. No plugins needed.

Full-Text Search

Tantivy-powered search across your whole vault. Results appear instantly. No loading spinners.

Version History

Automatic and manual snapshots per note. Preview any version, restore in one click. Never lose work again.

Daily Notes

Calendar view built in. Click any day to open or create that day's note. Journaling made simple.

AI Actions

Improve writing, summarize, translate. Runs locally with Ollama, or use your own API key. Your data stays yours.

Backups

Automatic ZIP backups of your entire vault. Set the frequency and retention. Your data, your backups.

Themes

Light and dark modes, multiple accent colors, and font choices. Make it yours.

Get HelixNotes

Free and open source. Available for desktop and Android.

Linux

Download AppImage Arch, Fedora 43+, openSUSE Tumbleweed · amd64

macOS

Download DMG macOS · Intel (works on Apple Silicon via Rosetta 2)

Windows

Download Installer Windows 10/11 · x64

Android

Download APK Tested on Android 16 · Universal

Install via APT

Add the official repository and install with automatic updates:

                            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
                        

Install via AUR

Install from the AUR using your preferred AUR helper:

yay -S helixnotes-appimage-bin

Blank or white screen on X11 or Wayland? If you see Failed to create GBM buffer, try:

                            WEBKIT_DISABLE_DMABUF_RENDERER=1
                                helixnotes
                        

Build from source

Install system dependencies for your platform:

Debian / Ubuntu / Mint

                                        sudo apt install
                                            libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev libssl-dev
                                            libayatana-appindicator3-dev
                                            librsvg2-dev build-essential
                                            pkg-config curl npm
                                    

Arch / Manjaro

                                        sudo pacman -S webkit2gtk-4.1
                                            base-devel openssl
                                            libayatana-appindicator librsvg curl
                                            npm
                                    

Fedora

                                        sudo dnf install
                                            webkit2gtk4.1-devel openssl-devel
                                            libayatana-appindicator-gtk3-devel
                                            librsvg2-devel gcc pkg-config curl
                                            npm
                                    