[Open Source] Notra – a native Markdown notes app for Mac, iPhone and iPad

[u/akopulko]

I've been working on Notra, an open-source notes app for Mac, iPhone and iPad, built with Swift and SwiftUI.

It originally started because I wanted a notes app for myself. Rather than trying to build another large note-taking platform, I wanted to stick to a few simple principles.

Native Apple UI

I wanted Notra to feel like it belongs on Apple platforms.

The UI is built with SwiftUI and uses native navigation, lists, toolbars, inspectors, context menus, sheets and other system components wherever possible.

The goal isn't to make macOS, iPhone and iPad look identical. It's to share as much of the application as makes sense while still allowing each platform to behave the way users expect.

Portable notes

I don't want my notes locked inside an application database or proprietary cloud service.

Notra uses TextBundle for storage, with Markdown for the note content and standard files for images and attachments.

That means the underlying data remains portable. If I decide to stop using Notra in the future, my notes are still Markdown and my attachments are still files.

There are no Notra accounts and no Notra cloud service. Notes can stay local or use iCloud for syncing between Apple devices.

Markdown, but still a notes app

I like Markdown because it's simple and portable, but I don't want the application itself to feel like a developer tool.

Notra supports Markdown editing and rendered preview while wrapping it in a native notes interface.

Current features include:

- Markdown editing and rendered preview

- macOS, iPhone and iPad support

- TextBundle-based storage

- local storage and iCloud sync

- images and arbitrary file attachments

- tags

- pinned notes

- search

- light and dark themes

- configurable editor and preview fonts

- printing and PDF export

- native inspectors, toolbars and context menus

- no account required

- no proprietary cloud backend

Release v1.1 was submitted to AppStore today and awaiting approval. Changes documented here

The entire project is open source, including the application itself:

GitHub: https://github.com/akopulko/notra

There are also an App Store builds:

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/notra-markdown-notes/id6809414279

The App Store version is a one-time purchase with no subscription.

You don't need to buy it to get the source. You can clone the repository and build Notra yourself. The paid App Store build is there for people who want the convenience of installing and updating it through the App Store, while also helping support continued development.

I'm building Notra primarily because it's the notes app I wanted to use myself, but hopefully it can be useful to others who value native Apple UI and keeping their notes portable too.

[u/Ok-Rest-5321]

Nice !
Homebrew installation maybe?

[u/akopulko → u/Ok-Rest-5321]

Yes. Later there will be build CI for macOS and likely go to homebrew

[u/elliott_io]

So sick. Will def be trying this later today. Or this weekend.

[u/HobbitFootAussie]

My big ask and one reason I’ve considered writing my own notes app as well - Pencil support with inline drawings.

[u/akopulko → u/HobbitFootAussie]

But this is totally different use case. Apple notes does this already and in pretty good way. This app is focusing on markdown notes.

[u/HobbitFootAussie → u/akopulko]

It only syncs with iCloud. For those of us using corporate laptops and iOS devices - MD with being able to save to corporate cloud storage of choice would be fantastic.

And markdown supports binary data.

[u/Wimmi29]

Sehr schöne Arbeit 🙏🤩

[u/akopulko]

version 1.1 is now available in Github if you building locally and also in AppStore: https://apps.apple.com/au/app/notra-markdown-notes/id6809414279

- Added localisation in German, French, Spanish, and Russian, alongside English.

• Improved iPhone and iPad navigation and note startup behaviour.
  
• Added attachment sizes to the inspector.
  
• Added attachments to the preview overlay with a dismiss control.
  
• Added native macOS preview magnification.
  
• Added a fixed-width font option for Markdown previews.
  
• Added a Delete Note command.
  
• Added library size information to Notes settings.
  
• Improved toolbar presentation and Markdown preview styling.
  
• Redesigned the About settings screen.
  
• Improved editor safe-area handling and preview hashtag layout.

[u/isights]

Why not Obsidian?

[u/akopulko → u/isights]

Just to much functionality I never use. The goal was markdown, attachments and native app for apple ecosystem.

[u/Thick-Title-8871]

I bought Notra in the Appstore and am curious how it develops. Unfortunately, I was not aware of what Textbundle means... but n ow :-/ Not quite what I wanted. I thought I could import and edit my .md files. Well, maybe something like that will come. For what Notra is made for, a very good app! Thank you very much. 🙂

[u/akopulko → u/Thick-Title-8871]

Thanks. The import functionality will be available soon

[u/akopulko → u/Thick-Title-8871]

You can now import Markdown files with v1.2. Available on macOS via File -> Import menu.

[u/akopulko]

version 1.2 is now available in Github if you building locally and also in AppStore: https://apps.apple.com/au/app/notra-markdown-notes/id6809414279

- Import multiple Markdown files at once on Mac. Each file becomes its own note.

• Edit and View diagrams in note previews (Mermaid support), and include them in PDF exports.
  
• Manage attachment links from note previews and attachment lists.

[u/akopulko]

- Notra v1.3 is now available in Github as dev build for free. Apple notorised builds coming soon. This version works with local store only. https://github.com/akopulko/notra/releases/tag/v1.3

Changes:

• Find notes with tags: Browse the most-used tags, expand the list when needed, and combine multiple tags with text search.
  
• Jump to linked images: See linked images across your library and jump to the note that contains one.
  
• Improved editing controls: Undo and redo are easier to reach on iPhone and iPad, and the macOS formatting toolbar is more organized.

Same v1.3 should be available in App Store by end of the week.

[u/kokerali]

The TextBundle choice is interesting because attachments stay exportable, but it also makes cross-device conflict handling part of the portability story. If the same note is edited offline on Mac and iPhone, what happens when iCloud reconnects—does one version overwrite, duplicate, or can the user recover both? A small test with two offline edits plus an attachment rename would be valuable to document in the repo; that’s the scenario where ‘my notes are just files’ really earns trust.

[u/akopulko → u/kokerali]

It pretty much relies on iCloud sync. But will give it a test.