I spent the past 3 years working on a personal notes app that focuses on data longevity. Everything is saved as simple files and folders. In fact, you can open any folder as notebook. External documents/files/PDFs can live alongside notes (the app shows a preview).
Files are saved as HTML to ensure that even in 20 years form now you can still access your notes with a browser even if the app should not be around.
Tags, bi-directional links, rich text, images are supported. I also added a few neat features to extract knowledge from notes like a spreadsheet view and one page summaries.
For example, let’s say you keep monthly project review notes, each with a section “Lessons Learned”. You can generate a page with all “Lessons Learned” sections from all notes tagged #postmortem to see them all on a single page.
I’m very happy that the app finally went live. Many of you will know that the last 20% of actually getting a project out of the door seem to take just as much work as the first 80% (hat tip to Vilfredo).
But my pet peeve is hidden pricing for paid products. If it's worth buying, then show the price up front. I can't easily view the price anywhere on the website, and it's not displayed on the App Store description either. I was ready to download the app and try it out if I could view this information up front
Sorry for the confusion. The app launched only yesterday. I just added the pricing details to the website. As another commenter pointed out, the tricky part is that the App Store adjusts prices for each country, but I will figure something out.
Congratulations - looks beautifully crafted. Sadly, MAS and subscriptions (as opposed to a one-time purchase with paid upgrades for major versions) make it a non-starter for me, especially given that it was made with "data longevity in mind".
I hear you. Trouble is, paid upgrades are tricky to implement in the MAS. About data longevity: if you cancel your subscription, you cannot add new notes, but you retain full access to all existing notes and all features remain active (you can edit existing notes, move stuff around, etc.). A knowledge base that locks you out once you cancel would be of no use...
Great work! Love the effort you spent on making notes retrieval easy, all while keeping a beautiful and simple UX. Especially commendable for a solo dev.
Don't be overwhelmed by the negative comments on the pricing model. To be honest, I'd prefer a one-time purchase over subscriptions too, but the recurring pricing you've kept is modest and isn't a dealbreaker for me. And as someone else commented, the monthly subscription in a way gives a sense of safety that the app is going to be actively developed and maintained.
Also I like that you've decided to keep the app usable for all actions other than adding new notes if a user stops paying. I'd need that guarantee before I can commit to a new note-taking app and migrate all my notes.
I'd echo the request of introducing mobile apps for this as well. Preferably on both iOS and Android, as I find that while a lot of folks use Mac because of their work, a significant number of them use Android phones. Also, markdown imports would be great, if it's not already supported.
I'm not taking this personal, I appreciate the feedback and I knew beforehand that subscriptions are controversial.
I contemplated the pricing model for a very long time going back and forth between the two options in my head multiple times.
In the end, the argument that convinced me what that with a subscription my focus is on adding features for my existing users. I'm constantly thinking "How can I make the app better for my users to keep my subscribers"?
Whereas for a single purchase I have to constantly think "What can I add to attract more users"?. All my other apps use one-time payments and sometimes it really pains me to put feature requests on my backpack knowing that I will never get to implement them, because they would not increase the visibility of the app.
Mobile: I have an iOS app planned, but it will take some time because I have a number of features that I want to add to the Mac app first (block based editor, smart search folders, larger calendar view).
Love the idea and, from the screenshots, the execution looks great. I've been looking for something like this and I'm still undecided, with Joplin and StandardNotes leading the pack for my use case.
It looks like you've settled on an App Store-only distribution model and a subscription-only pricing model. I'm curious about how you made that decision - subscription-only would suggest you're revenue-sensitive and want to provide continued updates, but App Store-only distribution means giving up revenues and putting someone else in control of updates. As a result, from the outside looking in, it seems a little incongruous. Just wondering :) obviously don't feel obligated to answer, either way it looks like a great piece of software.
Awesome, thanks for your feedback! Yes, I plan to provide continued updates. I have lots of more ideas (block based editor, large calendar view, smart search folders, …). I considered a one-time paid with paid upgrades model, but decided to use a subscription.
What would be your use case and is there something in particular that leaves you undecided between Joplin and StandardNotes?
I agree with the comments that a subscription model and delivery through the Apple's app store seem at odds with the 'with data longevity in mind' objective.
Requiring a subscription makes me ask what happens when you stop supporting the project? Relying on the App Store makes me wonder what happens when Apple decides to ban your developer account?
I'm not saying these are dealbreakers, but I'd like to have some sort of answer to these concerns.
Having a self-hosted way to download and pay for the app would increase my confidence level, even if I did decide to purchase through the app store. Similarly, there are 'subscription' apps that let the user keep using the latest version of the app if they cancel the subscription, they are just no longer able to get updates. You can also make a pledge to open-source the app if once you're no longer commercially supporting it.
Yes, absolutely valid concerns and I've though about those.
When cancelling the subscription, all existing notes and all data remains fully accessible (read and write). It’s a knowledge base, after all. Projects with more than 50 notes will not support adding new notes, but all other features remain fully functional.
About the idea of keeping the latest version without updates: interesting, but tricky to implement in the App Store. You'd need a feature switch for everything. OS compatibility updates would still need to go through or the app would not survive in the App Store (typically this is what would get users to upgrade for apps distributed outside of the App Store).
Even if the app were to disappear, you could still access your notes with a browser and copy the data over to another app. Not as convenient as using text files, but the ability to embed images into the notes led me to go with HTML.
I am currently a simpleton Notes.app user. It does the job enough for me.
I just downloaded this, tried it out. Fantastic work. The editor is excellent and behaves how I'd expect. I love the calendar right there. The app uses a small amount of memory/cpu.
What keeps me on Notes:
1. Subscription. I'd pay for a one time license. I'd pay for upgrades, but I'd want to own it.
> 1. Subscription. I'd pay for a one time license. I'd pay for upgrades, but I'd want to own it.
I'd love to have this, but as latchkey says for a one-time
purchase. Ideally, the app would be open source and available for Mac as well as Linux, so one could add bespoke extensions. Note the reason I say "open source" is not because I would want it for free, but because open source means I will still be able to use it in 20 years on whatever platform will be mine then.
1. If you cancel your subscription you cannot add new notes, but you can still access, edit, move, etc. your existing notes. All features remain active (and you get updates, important for OS upgrades).
2. iOS and iCloud Drive support are planned
3. It changes between light and dark mode automatically with the setting of macOS.
1. strangely these days I'm a lot more relieved to see subscriptions over one-time payments because those projects tend to have the funding to update their software.
2. agree, syncing is to a mobile device is required
Congratulations on the launch! Downloaded and seems quite polished.
Recently found and use 30% of something called Obsidian so native UI and attachments are welcome.
I saw the option to view as Spreadsheet but wasn’t obvious how one was made? The concept of fields seems cool. Are there plans for data extraction/APIs?
Thanks for your feedback! The spreadsheet view works in combination with metadata fields.
Let's say you have a number of notes for your contacts. You tag each note with #contact and add a few fields like "Name", "Department", "Diet".
Type #contact into the location bar to find all contacts and switch from there to the spreadsheet view.
You'll get a list of your contacts and you can quickly tell who is a vegetarian, for example. Great for planning a party (once in person meetings are a thing again).
Another neat thing:
Add a new note and add the tag #contact. The right sidebar will now suggest fields and headings that you used in other contact notes. This way you can use the same fields to keep your notes consistent.
I always find myself looking for a mobile companion for these types of apps, though (it's what made me stop using Roam). Do you have any plans for a mobile app in the future? I assume the files could probably sync over iCloud as an optional feature.
Thank you! Yes, I have plans for an iOS app, but want to add a few things to the Mac app before that. I have a block-based editor 70% ready and want to get that shipped before working on an iOS version. Syncing will work through iCloud Drive. Since the app already saves as plain files and folders there is not a lot of work needed there (mainly conflict handling).
This is surprisingly sophisticated and loaded with features for a 1.0, congratulations on the release! I totally know what it's like to work on a productivity app for a long time before it feels like it meets the minimum bar for release, serious props for making it over the line. The smart summaries feature in particular looks really interesting.
While I confess that I'd also like the option to purchase a 1.0 license and then pay to upgrade to 2.0 later, I fully recognize that the App Store makes that sort of arrangement extremely awkward and difficult to achieve, and think you priced it more than fairly anyways.
Thank you! Those last 10% always seem to take just as long as the first 90! Ask me one day about that typo that a friend discovered that showed in all marketing materials so that I had to redo all screenshots and the demo video.
Pricing: yes, agreed.
One Page Summaries: I have more ideas on that front. I'd like to add a way to "save" the summary config as kind of a "smart search" so that you could have them in the outline on the left or even embedded as a block inside a note.
Another idea is a kind of command line syntax for the location bar:
This would find all notes tagged "meetingminutes" in the current note and below, pull all sections with level 2 headings "Lessons Learned" and show them as summary on one page.
Looks really cool. The introduction video was very informative, but on a kinda unrelated sidenote, the way the narrator talks reminds me of a 90s infomercial - the cube-swipe also has a pretty nostalgic vibe.
Thanks for your feedback! I was looking for a voice over that does not sound as polished as a radio ad. Sounds like I went a bit overboard with that :)
Mac desktop market is 1/10 of that of Windows. There are however multiple "buts". Windows users are more reluctant to pay for software. When they do, they want to pay less. They tend to have less regard for aestheics and well-crafted UI/UX, but those that do will be sold instantly on the app that have 'em.
Regrettably, the percentage of Windows users that do value build and design quality over the abundance of features and low pricing is, maybe, 10-20%. On the plus side, however, this acts as a natural filter and you end up with the userbase that really groks what you make and how you make it. This alone is a huge plus. "Those who like it, like it a lot."
Long story short, if you can take your well-made Mac app and port it to Windows, retaining the polish - do it. It's totally worth it, in all aspect of it. Just make sure it looks and feels native, and it's not an Electron ;)
I had similar thoughts. The app looks really good and interesting but mac-only is a non-starter for me as I can only use it on a small subset of my devices.
That being said, congrats to OP for launching. The execution seems to be great with attention to detail and focus on the right things.
Well, I did a thorough marked analysis, weighted pros and cons and...
...no, I really just wanted a good notes app that had all the features I wished for. So I went ahead and got started (not done yet :). That was 3 years ago. 2 years ago I wrote an importer and transferred all my notes over from the app I was using at the time and have been using my own app ever since. And I plan to use this for the rest of my life to save the things I learn(ed) along the way. That's why the focus on data-longevity.
It's often easier to start out with focusing on making a really good product for a single platform first, and then branching out to other platforms. That even counts for things built with Electron, Qt, etc since even if 90% of the app is cross platform there's still a sizable surface between the app and each supported platform that needs to be tested and polished.
No SwiftUI, just plain Swift and AppKit/Cocoa. I considered SwiftUI, but at the time it was not ready and was missing a few core things I needed, like an outline view (this was 3 years ago).
Sometimes I wonder if I should have gone for a Catalyst app like Craft, for example, but again, at the time when I started Catalyst was in a very early stage. Today I'd probably give it another try. I also considered a Swift wrapper around an HTML/JS core (kind of my own slim Electron version) but decided to go for a native Mac app.
Congrats, looks great! I'm a huge fan of notes in general and I use a few different apps. I love the idea of quick linking and tags. Layout is polished.
Awesome! Let me know how the app works out for you. One pet peeve of mine is that many notes apps make it easy to enter notes, but when it comes to retrieving content all I'm left with is full text search.
I added two additional ways, the spreadsheet view and one page summaries. The summaries are shown towards the end of the demo video. If you take lots of notes, this might be useful for you to extract knowledge from your notes.
Looks great. Are there similar applications for Linux? No remote capabilities and storing data in open format is a must. Preferably native app, not packaged web app.
[+] [-] ricg|4 years ago|reply
I spent the past 3 years working on a personal notes app that focuses on data longevity. Everything is saved as simple files and folders. In fact, you can open any folder as notebook. External documents/files/PDFs can live alongside notes (the app shows a preview).
Files are saved as HTML to ensure that even in 20 years form now you can still access your notes with a browser even if the app should not be around.
Tags, bi-directional links, rich text, images are supported. I also added a few neat features to extract knowledge from notes like a spreadsheet view and one page summaries.
For example, let’s say you keep monthly project review notes, each with a section “Lessons Learned”. You can generate a page with all “Lessons Learned” sections from all notes tagged #postmortem to see them all on a single page.
I’m very happy that the app finally went live. Many of you will know that the last 20% of actually getting a project out of the door seem to take just as much work as the first 80% (hat tip to Vilfredo).
Looking forward to your feedback!
[+] [-] beachwood23|4 years ago|reply
But my pet peeve is hidden pricing for paid products. If it's worth buying, then show the price up front. I can't easily view the price anywhere on the website, and it's not displayed on the App Store description either. I was ready to download the app and try it out if I could view this information up front
[+] [-] shadowoflight|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ricg|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] miles|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ricg|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ibdf|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] rspoerri|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] amjd|4 years ago|reply
Don't be overwhelmed by the negative comments on the pricing model. To be honest, I'd prefer a one-time purchase over subscriptions too, but the recurring pricing you've kept is modest and isn't a dealbreaker for me. And as someone else commented, the monthly subscription in a way gives a sense of safety that the app is going to be actively developed and maintained.
Also I like that you've decided to keep the app usable for all actions other than adding new notes if a user stops paying. I'd need that guarantee before I can commit to a new note-taking app and migrate all my notes.
I'd echo the request of introducing mobile apps for this as well. Preferably on both iOS and Android, as I find that while a lot of folks use Mac because of their work, a significant number of them use Android phones. Also, markdown imports would be great, if it's not already supported.
[+] [-] ricg|4 years ago|reply
I'm not taking this personal, I appreciate the feedback and I knew beforehand that subscriptions are controversial.
I contemplated the pricing model for a very long time going back and forth between the two options in my head multiple times.
In the end, the argument that convinced me what that with a subscription my focus is on adding features for my existing users. I'm constantly thinking "How can I make the app better for my users to keep my subscribers"?
Whereas for a single purchase I have to constantly think "What can I add to attract more users"?. All my other apps use one-time payments and sometimes it really pains me to put feature requests on my backpack knowing that I will never get to implement them, because they would not increase the visibility of the app.
Mobile: I have an iOS app planned, but it will take some time because I have a number of features that I want to add to the Mac app first (block based editor, smart search folders, larger calendar view).
[+] [-] torstenvl|4 years ago|reply
It looks like you've settled on an App Store-only distribution model and a subscription-only pricing model. I'm curious about how you made that decision - subscription-only would suggest you're revenue-sensitive and want to provide continued updates, but App Store-only distribution means giving up revenues and putting someone else in control of updates. As a result, from the outside looking in, it seems a little incongruous. Just wondering :) obviously don't feel obligated to answer, either way it looks like a great piece of software.
[+] [-] ricg|4 years ago|reply
What would be your use case and is there something in particular that leaves you undecided between Joplin and StandardNotes?
[+] [-] rubatuga|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ricg|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] hunterb123|4 years ago|reply
This looks good if you are looking for something a bit more for school or something.
[+] [-] colecut|4 years ago|reply
Using HTML instead of Markdown gives some nice advantages if you want to use more than just text, so I am going to give this new app a try.
[+] [-] ricg|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] andjd|4 years ago|reply
Requiring a subscription makes me ask what happens when you stop supporting the project? Relying on the App Store makes me wonder what happens when Apple decides to ban your developer account?
I'm not saying these are dealbreakers, but I'd like to have some sort of answer to these concerns.
Having a self-hosted way to download and pay for the app would increase my confidence level, even if I did decide to purchase through the app store. Similarly, there are 'subscription' apps that let the user keep using the latest version of the app if they cancel the subscription, they are just no longer able to get updates. You can also make a pledge to open-source the app if once you're no longer commercially supporting it.
[+] [-] ricg|4 years ago|reply
When cancelling the subscription, all existing notes and all data remains fully accessible (read and write). It’s a knowledge base, after all. Projects with more than 50 notes will not support adding new notes, but all other features remain fully functional.
About the idea of keeping the latest version without updates: interesting, but tricky to implement in the App Store. You'd need a feature switch for everything. OS compatibility updates would still need to go through or the app would not survive in the App Store (typically this is what would get users to upgrade for apps distributed outside of the App Store).
Even if the app were to disappear, you could still access your notes with a browser and copy the data over to another app. Not as convenient as using text files, but the ability to embed images into the notes led me to go with HTML.
Happy to answer more questions!
[+] [-] throwthere|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] eps|4 years ago|reply
I am a simple man, I see a well-made installable desktop software, I upvote it. Even if it's just for Mac.
Well done, OP. Break a leg.
Ah, damn! A subscription! For a desktop app! Noooo...I have to withdraw my praise and the upvote. Subscriptions for installable apps are completely unacceptable.
[+] [-] ricg|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] latchkey|4 years ago|reply
I just downloaded this, tried it out. Fantastic work. The editor is excellent and behaves how I'd expect. I love the calendar right there. The app uses a small amount of memory/cpu.
What keeps me on Notes:
1. Subscription. I'd pay for a one time license. I'd pay for upgrades, but I'd want to own it.
2. It needs a mobile version with sync.
3. I don't see a way to switch into light mode.
[+] [-] jll29|4 years ago|reply
I'd love to have this, but as latchkey says for a one-time purchase. Ideally, the app would be open source and available for Mac as well as Linux, so one could add bespoke extensions. Note the reason I say "open source" is not because I would want it for free, but because open source means I will still be able to use it in 20 years on whatever platform will be mine then.
Wish list:
- plug-in for Emacs, Atom and Sublime.
- versioning support (Git integration)
[+] [-] ricg|4 years ago|reply
1. If you cancel your subscription you cannot add new notes, but you can still access, edit, move, etc. your existing notes. All features remain active (and you get updates, important for OS upgrades).
2. iOS and iCloud Drive support are planned
3. It changes between light and dark mode automatically with the setting of macOS.
[+] [-] baran1|4 years ago|reply
2. agree, syncing is to a mobile device is required
[+] [-] oceankid|4 years ago|reply
Recently found and use 30% of something called Obsidian so native UI and attachments are welcome.
I saw the option to view as Spreadsheet but wasn’t obvious how one was made? The concept of fields seems cool. Are there plans for data extraction/APIs?
Congrats again!
[+] [-] ricg|4 years ago|reply
Let's say you have a number of notes for your contacts. You tag each note with #contact and add a few fields like "Name", "Department", "Diet".
Type #contact into the location bar to find all contacts and switch from there to the spreadsheet view.
You'll get a list of your contacts and you can quickly tell who is a vegetarian, for example. Great for planning a party (once in person meetings are a thing again).
Another neat thing:
Add a new note and add the tag #contact. The right sidebar will now suggest fields and headings that you used in other contact notes. This way you can use the same fields to keep your notes consistent.
[+] [-] bjtitus|4 years ago|reply
I always find myself looking for a mobile companion for these types of apps, though (it's what made me stop using Roam). Do you have any plans for a mobile app in the future? I assume the files could probably sync over iCloud as an optional feature.
[+] [-] ricg|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] njhaveri|4 years ago|reply
While I confess that I'd also like the option to purchase a 1.0 license and then pay to upgrade to 2.0 later, I fully recognize that the App Store makes that sort of arrangement extremely awkward and difficult to achieve, and think you priced it more than fairly anyways.
[+] [-] ricg|4 years ago|reply
Pricing: yes, agreed.
One Page Summaries: I have more ideas on that front. I'd like to add a way to "save" the summary config as kind of a "smart search" so that you could have them in the outline on the left or even embedded as a block inside a note.
Another idea is a kind of command line syntax for the location bar:
. / #meetingminutes / H2:Lessons Learned | View:OnePageSummary
This would find all notes tagged "meetingminutes" in the current note and below, pull all sections with level 2 headings "Lessons Learned" and show them as summary on one page.
[+] [-] wodenokoto|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ricg|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] bachmeier|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] eps|4 years ago|reply
Regrettably, the percentage of Windows users that do value build and design quality over the abundance of features and low pricing is, maybe, 10-20%. On the plus side, however, this acts as a natural filter and you end up with the userbase that really groks what you make and how you make it. This alone is a huge plus. "Those who like it, like it a lot."
Long story short, if you can take your well-made Mac app and port it to Windows, retaining the polish - do it. It's totally worth it, in all aspect of it. Just make sure it looks and feels native, and it's not an Electron ;)
[+] [-] zorr|4 years ago|reply
That being said, congrats to OP for launching. The execution seems to be great with attention to detail and focus on the right things.
[+] [-] ricg|4 years ago|reply
...no, I really just wanted a good notes app that had all the features I wished for. So I went ahead and got started (not done yet :). That was 3 years ago. 2 years ago I wrote an importer and transferred all my notes over from the app I was using at the time and have been using my own app ever since. And I plan to use this for the rest of my life to save the things I learn(ed) along the way. That's why the focus on data-longevity.
[+] [-] kitsunesoba|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] jitl|4 years ago|reply
When it’s Electron/Web: wHy nOt nATivE
When it’s iOS: wHy nOt aNDroId; 80% oF tHe wOrLd
When it’s Android: i pErSoNALly prEfeR iOS fOr tHe UX
Maybe I should take a break from HN
[+] [-] mxuribe|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ricg|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] alfonsodev|4 years ago|reply
Would you make different technology choices if you started today?
[+] [-] ricg|4 years ago|reply
Sometimes I wonder if I should have gone for a Catalyst app like Craft, for example, but again, at the time when I started Catalyst was in a very early stage. Today I'd probably give it another try. I also considered a Swift wrapper around an HTML/JS core (kind of my own slim Electron version) but decided to go for a native Mac app.
[+] [-] convivialdingo|4 years ago|reply
I'll definitely have to try it out.
[+] [-] ricg|4 years ago|reply
I added two additional ways, the spreadsheet view and one page summaries. The summaries are shown towards the end of the demo video. If you take lots of notes, this might be useful for you to extract knowledge from your notes.
[+] [-] butz|4 years ago|reply
[+] [-] schultzie|4 years ago|reply
As the name suggests, all notes are stored as markdown files.