About

Why I built MnemoNotes

MnemoNotes is made by me, a solo developer. I built it because no notes app I tried fit the way I take notes, and the way I try to find them again. I also wanted a decision log at work that is always close.

The notes I kept losing

Most of my notes are small. A passing thought. A quote I liked. Something to remember later. A thing someone said in a meeting. A name to follow up with. They need to be written down in seconds, before the next thing starts, and they rarely belong in a neat folder.

Weeks later, I don’t remember where I put such a note. I remember what it was about, and around when I wrote it. “That quote about focus, sometime before the summer.” The apps I used wanted me to remember a file name, a folder or the exact words.

The decision log nobody filled in

At work, things happen fast. A decision gets made in a call or a chat, and the conversation moves on within seconds. A decision log only works if adding an entry takes a moment. A shared document I have to look up and wait for to load, while everybody waits for me, is too slow. So the decision goes unlogged, and weeks later nobody remembers why we chose what we chose.

I wanted a decision log that is always close, where a quick entry takes a few seconds and is easy to find again.

So I built the app I wanted

• Capture in seconds. One shortcut opens a note with the cursor in the text. No title, no folder.
• Find it the way you remember it. Tag a note with @person and #topic while you type, then filter on who, what, when and the words you recall.
• Keep a decision log that is always close. Write down what was decided and why in seconds, and share it with your team in one place. See how a decision log works.
• Private by default. Notes can hold things that should not leak, so every note is end-to-end encrypted on your device. I cannot read them. See how the encryption works.

Why it is free

I use MnemoNotes every day, and I want to find out whether it works as well for other people as it does for me. That is easiest when trying it costs nothing, so it is free while I learn what people need from it. Paid plans with more room may come later, but there will always be a free plan. See what the free plan includes.

What if I stop?

A solo project is a fair thing to worry about when you put your notes in it. Two things keep your notes safe either way:

• You can export your notes at any time, from Settings, as JSON, a single text file, or a zipped folder of Markdown files that opens in Obsidian and most other editors.
• If I ever stop working on MnemoNotes, I will open-source it on request, if I haven’t already, so anyone can run it themselves.

Tell me what you think

What comes next depends on who uses MnemoNotes. Questions, bugs or ideas are welcome at . Type the address in your email app; it cannot be copied, which keeps it out of reach of spam bots.