QOwnNotes is a free, open-source Markdown note editor and task manager for Windows, macOS and Linux. It works with local text files and optionally connects to Nextcloud or ownCloud for sharing, recovery and task access.
Notes remain local files
Users choose a note folder, open existing Markdown files or create new notes. QOwnNotes can derive filenames from each note’s first heading and rename files when that heading changes. Users can disable that behavior. Multiple note folders and subfolders keep separate collections, while the editor watches changes from other applications and offers a comparison of the changed text.
The source editor highlights Markdown, and the preview renders headings, lists, images and links. Formatting shortcuts insert emphasis or code markup around a selection. The Navigation panel lists the note’s headings. Users can insert attachments through a file dialog and follow links to other notes directly from the editor.
Optional wiki links connect notes through names, heading anchors and aliases. Backlinks show incoming references. The Note relations panel builds a graph from note links across several levels; users can zoom and double-click a node to open its note.
Tags and search expressions
QOwnNotes organizes tags hierarchically. Double-clicking a tag assigns or removes it from the current note, while a separate action tags several selected notes together. Selecting tags filters the note list.
Search checks filenames and note text, highlights matches and combines ordinary search words with AND. Users can narrow the query with these forms:
- Quotation marks keep a phrase together.
- The n: or name: prefix limits a term to note names.
- The w: or word: prefix searches complete words.
Search expressions can combine these operators. Queries need at least two characters.
Cloud files and recovery
QOwnNotes does not transfer note files, images or attachments between devices itself. A separate file synchronization client handles those files. The desktop app connects to Nextcloud or ownCloud for public sharing and server history. Nextcloud uses the QOwnNotes Nextcloud App for history and trash; ownCloud uses the legacy QOwnNotesAPI app.
The version dialog lists earlier copies and shows either their complete text or differences from the current note. Users choose a version and restore its text. For server trash, users can restore a note together with its history or download only its text. The full server restore waits for the external synchronization client to bring the file back.
Local Git versioning offers another history route. Users enable it for each note folder, and QOwnNotes automatically commits changes to that folder’s Git repository. Builds without libgit2 support require a Git executable.
CalDAV task lists
The task dialog retrieves a chosen calendar’s tasks through CalDAV. Users enter a summary, description, tags, priority and reminder, then save the task back to the server. Checking a task changes its completion state on that server. Filters show completed tasks or restrict the list to tasks due today. Nextcloud, ownCloud and other CalDAV servers can supply these lists.
Note encryption
QOwnNotes encrypts a note’s body with AES-256 after the user supplies and confirms a password. It leaves the first two lines readable. Editing an encrypted note opens a decrypted editor, and saving changes encrypts the text again. A separate decrypt action permanently returns the body to plaintext. Ordinary note search can match the readable name, but it excludes the encrypted body.
Capture and export
The Web Companion browser extension sends a webpage, selected text or a screenshot into QOwnNotes. It needs the desktop app running and a matching security token. The extension also reads links from the current note and notes with the bookmarks tag. Users can search those bookmarks by name, URL, tags or description.
Evernote import reads ENEX notes with images, attachments, tags and basic formatting; another importer accepts Joplin notes. For output, users can export Markdown with optional attachments or save the rendered preview as HTML. PDF export and printing offer either source text or rendered Markdown.
Scripts, spelling and AI
Users can load local QML scripts or install scripts from the repository; the scripting engine runs JavaScript inside QML. Optional AI scripts send selected text to a chosen backend for completion, summaries or translation. Provider settings control the model and API key. An optional authenticated MCP interface lets AI clients search names and previews, then fetch a complete note from the current folder.
The dictionary manager adds or removes spellchecking dictionaries. Builds with LanguageTool support can check visible editor text through a local or remote service. QOwnNotes marks grammar or style issues, and users choose corrections through the context menu.
Android companion
The separate Android client imports accounts through the Nextcloud Files app. It caches note edits locally and synchronizes them when the server becomes reachable. Users can also create a note from text that another Android application shares.
