Notes as plain Markdown files

Every ask, newest first

Each line is an AI paraphrase of what the writer wanted. The link goes to their own words on Hacker News.

Reader’s note. Many counted items were generic note app recommendation asks.

1. Feb 2026Would spend $100 on a Typora-like Markdown editor with iOS support and encrypted folders, keeping plain files. Read it: a comment in “Windows 11 Notepad to support Markdown”
2. Apr 2025Wants an OSS cross-platform Obsidian-like note tool with no cloud hosting and pure standard Markdown. Read it: a comment in “Taking Notes with Joplin”
3. Mar 2025Wants a cross-platform notes and to-do app storing data where they choose, for self-hosted sync; would pay. Read it: a comment in “Ask HN: If I build another note taking app, would you use it, if not why?”
4. May 2024Wants a phone app to browse and search Markdown notes offline with sync; Joplin uses its own format. Read it: a comment in “Lowercase – A simple way to take and share notes”
5. Feb 2022Would pay a few dollars monthly for cloud sync of an open source, Markdown, hierarchical notes app. Read it: a comment in “Ask HN: What features are you looking for in a note-taking app?”
6. Oct 2021Wants end-to-end encrypted sync for Obsidian like Joplin offers. Read it: a comment in “Obsidian – A knowledge base from a local folder of plain text Markdown files”
7. Oct 2021Wants notes sync with end-to-end encryption as top priority; private git repos still hold plaintext on third-party servers. Read it: a comment in “Show HN: Stormah, cloud notes stored in your own Git repo”
8. May 2020Would pay a lot yearly for an Obsidian-like private notes app on many platforms, rejecting data-harvesting features. Read it: a comment in “Notion for everyone”
9. Feb 2020Wants git-backed note apps so notes are versioned and mirrored across hosts, instead of trusting Drive or Dropbox. Read it: a comment in “Joplin – an open source note taking and to-do application with sync”
10. Nov 2019Wants a fast, native, attractive Ulysses-like Markdown app for Android or Linux working on a plain syncable folder. Read it: a comment in “Show HN: A Markdown Notepad App”
11. Jun 2019Would pay to get the backend source of a Markdown notes app so they can self-host it. Read it: a comment in “I've been building a Markdown note-taking app for 3 years”
12. Apr 2019Wants a local-hosted Markdown wiki with revision history, linking, attachments and perhaps runnable code like Jupyter. Read it: a comment in “Ask HN: Products that suck but you still use?”
13. Mar 2018Wants a Markdown notes app working on a chosen folder, pasting images, highlighting code and syncing their way. Read it: a comment in “Quiver – The Programmer's Notebook”
14. Feb 2018Wants a Markdown editor with fast Notational Velocity style search and creation that saves plain files to disk. Read it: a comment in “Abricotine – WYSIWYM Markdown editor – open source and cross platform”
15. Jan 2018Wants a cross-platform notes app that is a pleasant interface over plain text folders on any cloud drive. Read it: a post: “Ask HN: What do you use to jot down random thoughts and ideas at any time/place?”