Paragraph Notes
A private Markdown notes app for Mac
176 followers
A private Markdown notes app for Mac
176 followers
Paragraph Notes is a privacy-focused Markdown notes app for Mac. Write in a simple, distraction-free plain text editor. Paragraph Notes collects no data and never connects to the internet. Notes are stored locally in an open, portable format. Use Paragraph Notes free for up to 20 notes. Upgrade to Pro with a one-time in-app purchase for unlimited notes.
Hey PH! I'm João, a product designer based in Lisbon, Portugal. I’ve been working on a privacy-focused notes app for Mac, and I’m happy to share that Paragraph Notes is now available on the Mac App Store. The idea for Paragraph Notes came from wanting a notes app that was simple, private, fully local, and gave users control over their data.
Main features:
- Simple plain text editor with Markdown syntax.
- Clean, distraction-free interface.
- Local-only. Never connects to the internet.
- Open, portable database stored in a single JSON file. Easy to back up and store.
- Lock database with password.
User guide: https://paragraphnotes.md/guide/
Mac App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/paragraph-notes/id6787725025?mt=12
Thanks for checking it out! Special thanks to @chrismessina for hunting 🙏
@jlft Hey João! Long time no see, mate. It was a fantastic surprise being drawn to this hunt and then noticing it's one of your creations. Congratulations on the launch and on being hunted by Chris. All the best! Looks elegant and simple, which we know doesn't happen without a lot of thought put into it. Cheers.
@andr3 Oi André! Thanks for the kind words, great to hear from you!
Notes that don't sneak off to the cloud to have a little meeting about you haha. Simple, local, one-time upgrade. Nice work! @jlft
the 20 note free cap before the one-time unlock is a fair way to do it, better than a subscription for something this simple. since there's no sync at all, what happens if I want the same notes on two macs, do I just point both at the same folder over icloud drive myself, or is that not supported
@galdayan Hey Gal! Yes, you can point the database to an iCloud Drive–synced folder (via 'Settings > Database location') and use the same database file on both Macs. iCloud Drive will then sync the database between the Macs.
that's exactly what I needed to know, thanks. one follow-up - if both Macs are editing at the same time before iCloud finishes syncing, does the database file handle that gracefully or is there a real risk of a conflicted copy corrupting things?
@galdayan The app is not designed for simultaneous editing from multiple Macs. However, it works well when there is enough time for iCloud Drive to finish syncing before switching between computers. The app periodically checks whether the database file on disk has changed. If it detects a change made by the other Mac, it will prompt you to either reload the database from disk or ignore the changes and continue with your current state.
@jlft that's a sane middle ground, prompting instead of silently picking a side means the user notices something happened instead of quietly losing an edit. good enough for how most people actually use two Macs day to day, thanks for walking through it
Love how opinionated this is. Local-first, no account, no subscription treadmill, and the single portable JSON file is such a nice touch. Simple products done properly are underrated. Congrats on the launch, João.