{"slug": "apple-notes", "name": "Apple Notes", "category": "notes", "category_name": "Notes and knowledge", "description": "Apple's built-in note-taking app for iPhone, iPad and Mac, synced through iCloud.", "recommenders": 5, "commenters": 23, "warners": 2, "score": 6.949, "rising": 2.35, "first": "2025-12-08", "latest": "2026-10-28", "why": "HN commenters like Apple Notes for its simplicity, free iCloud sync between iPhone and Mac, and quick capture of thoughts and checklists.", "why_is_quote": false, "has_verdict": true, "sentiment": {"recommend": 5, "neutral": 17, "compare": 1, "warn": 3}, "spark": [0, 0, 1, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 2, 1], "listed": true, "loved": ["Quick capture", "Simplicity"], "caveat": "Data lock-in", "short_quote": "I switched to Apple Notes and have been very happy.", "icon": false, "domain": null, "github_repo": null, "official_url": "", "pricing": "free", "aliases": ["Apple Notes"], "verdict": [{"text": "HN commenters like Apple Notes for its simplicity", "cites": [{"id": 744266224, "item_id": 46516639, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46516639", "by": "mcdow", "date": "2026-01-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "satisfies the same requirements as Apple notes(dead simple, iCloud sync, free)", "excerpt": "This is awesome! I\u2019ve been looking for a way to batch export my notes out of Apple notes, will this work for that purpose? I totally agree with you that most notes apps miss the mark. I\u2019m working on one now which I hope satisfies the same requirements as Apple notes(dead simple, iCloud sync, free) but has some things I want (improved search, first class markdown support). I\u2019ve been using it as my daily driver for a w", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Stash \u2013 Sync Markdown Files with Apple Notes via CLI"}, {"id": 795043233, "item_id": 49690202, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49690202", "by": "thiagoperes", "date": "2026-09-14", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "like most I gravitated to Apple Notes due to simplicity, but I still missed so many things", "excerpt": "I built a simple, stoic and free markdown note app (free) called Beauty. https://www.markdown.beauty/ Why? There's no why. The world doesn't need another Markdown editor. I still made one. Everything is on-device, purposefully human-centric without being anti-AI. I built this because I wanted to work on a project that I could sweat the details unconstrained by deadlines, investors, etc. I was frustrated with other wr", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026)"}, {"id": 749559793, "item_id": 46847487, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46847487", "by": "moeen-mahmud", "date": "2026-02-01", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I've been using Apple Notes and Google Keep for years. I'm a big fan of the simplicity and ease of use.", "excerpt": "I've been using Apple Notes and Google Keep for years. I'm a big fan of the simplicity and ease of use. But most of the time, I always forget the keywords to search for a specific note. This project was started as an R&D to see if I can run a language model on a device to make it simple and easier to capture my messy thoughts, voices, tasks, scans, reminders and organize (because I'm a lazy a$$, can't even want to ad", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "I ran an LLM on iOS to build another privacy focused notes app"}]}, {"text": ", free iCloud sync between iPhone and Mac", "cites": [{"id": 797988384, "item_id": 49874274, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49874274", "by": "librasteve", "date": "2026-09-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I already use Apple Notes as my daily driver over Obsidian, Bear and the others", "excerpt": "ok \u2026 I\u2019ll play ball. I really like your idea and the demo is very convincing. I already use Apple Notes as my daily driver over Obsidian, Bear and the others because I do not want to pay $$ per month just to sync notes between iPhone and Mac. However, I would much prefer a native md option over whatever proprietary rtf stuff that Notes does. So I am your perfect target user. Show me a well designed md centric notes t", "context": "wants no-subscription sync between iPhone and Mac", "use_case": "daily note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Building a Markdown editor for Mac, iOS and web"}, {"id": 744266224, "item_id": 46516639, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46516639", "by": "mcdow", "date": "2026-01-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "satisfies the same requirements as Apple notes(dead simple, iCloud sync, free)", "excerpt": "This is awesome! I\u2019ve been looking for a way to batch export my notes out of Apple notes, will this work for that purpose? I totally agree with you that most notes apps miss the mark. I\u2019m working on one now which I hope satisfies the same requirements as Apple notes(dead simple, iCloud sync, free) but has some things I want (improved search, first class markdown support). I\u2019ve been using it as my daily driver for a w", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Stash \u2013 Sync Markdown Files with Apple Notes via CLI"}]}, {"text": ", and quick capture of thoughts and checklists.", "cites": [{"id": 752904481, "item_id": 47056530, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47056530", "by": "Brajeshwar", "date": "2026-02-17", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Apple Notes for quick, ephemeral notes and for Shared Family Notes.", "excerpt": "Similar to mine. I use Apple Notes for quick, ephemeral notes and for Shared Family Notes. If they are the ones that are more important, they go into the plain-text notes in the Obsidian folder. The Notes folder(s) is sync with a Cloud Service. So, I use iA Writer[1] (a brilliant Notes App) to have a pleasant writing experience on other mobile devices. They are just Markdown, so I can open them in any Notes App that ", "context": "", "use_case": "quick and shared family notes", "switched_from": "", "story": "I Use Obsidian"}, {"id": 784369584, "item_id": 49023099, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49023099", "by": "erickhill", "date": "2026-07-23", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I still use Apple Notes, but more as a place to store copy/paste info I want to save or checklists.", "excerpt": "This is why I use a reMarkable tablet for my notes. I noticed a few years ago that when I wrote down my notes I actually remembered them more easily. Something about the hand/brain connection helped etch my thoughts more deeply. I still use Apple Notes, but more as a place to store copy/paste info I want to save or checklists. But for meeting or game design notes? Writing those down 100%.", "context": "", "use_case": "storing snippets and checklists", "switched_from": "", "story": "Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain"}, {"id": 756973744, "item_id": 47310859, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47310859", "by": "bilsbie", "date": "2026-03-09", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use iPhone notes to write down all my thoughts and things I want to track.", "excerpt": "I use iPhone notes to write down all my thoughts and things I want to track. I want to make an app that turns each one into a heading text, and AI generated image or short video. And then I can scroll through them like tik tok and interact with them by adding more notes, etc.", "context": "", "use_case": "capturing thoughts", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (March 2026)"}]}, {"text": " The most common complaints are proprietary storage that keeps notes out of the file system", "cites": [{"id": 799139520, "item_id": 49946220, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49946220", "by": "dreamcompiler", "date": "2026-10-03", "stance": "warn", "quote": "This is why as a Mac user I don't use those apps.", "excerpt": "> My notes in Apple Notes belong to Apple Notes, not my filesystem. My texts live in iMessage's database, not my Documents folder. This is why as a Mac user I don't use those apps. Nor do I use Photos or whatever iTunes is called now. I've been burned too many times by having my work locked away in some kind of proprietary Apple database. Yes, you can usually export stuff but that's not a solution. You export your li", "context": "Mac user", "use_case": "notes", "switched_from": "", "story": "Make Tmux the OS"}, {"id": 797988384, "item_id": 49874274, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49874274", "by": "librasteve", "date": "2026-09-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I already use Apple Notes as my daily driver over Obsidian, Bear and the others", "excerpt": "ok \u2026 I\u2019ll play ball. I really like your idea and the demo is very convincing. I already use Apple Notes as my daily driver over Obsidian, Bear and the others because I do not want to pay $$ per month just to sync notes between iPhone and Mac. However, I would much prefer a native md option over whatever proprietary rtf stuff that Notes does. So I am your perfect target user. Show me a well designed md centric notes t", "context": "wants no-subscription sync between iPhone and Mac", "use_case": "daily note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Building a Markdown editor for Mac, iOS and web"}, {"id": 761009792, "item_id": 47563112, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47563112", "by": "saadn92", "date": "2026-03-29", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "a bridge that exposes Apple Notes over HTTP so I can access them from a Linux VM", "excerpt": "There's something really satisfying about these kinds of personal pipelines. You stitch together a few tools that weren't designed to work together, automate the glue, and end up with something that fits your workflow better than any single product could. I love it. I've built a few of these for myself -- a bridge that exposes Apple Notes over HTTP so I can access them from a Linux VM, a sync tool that pulls Notion p", "context": "", "use_case": "accessing notes from Linux VM", "switched_from": "", "story": "I turned my Kindle into my own personal newspaper"}]}, {"text": " and limited formatting control, including lost line breaks and no line-spacing setting.", "cites": [{"id": 804006305, "item_id": 50250394, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50250394", "by": "k310", "date": "2026-10-26", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Notes blows away line breaks.", "excerpt": "Notes blows away line breaks. Use Text Fixer. [0] I use it every day to make video transcripts readable. Such tools pop up and go away as ad or other revenue fails to pay the bills. Two modes: > Convert line breaks to paragraph breaks (it makes paragraphs by converting single line breaks to double line breaks) > Add a paragraph break after sentences (for text with absolutely no line breaks, this can dramatically incr", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Why Notes will never let us edit Markdown"}, {"id": 769290672, "item_id": 48080667, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48080667", "by": "k310", "date": "2026-05-09", "stance": "warn", "quote": "There is no way to adjust line spacing, so paragraphs look (according to reddit commentators) super crunched or smooshed.", "excerpt": "Re: Apple Notes. There is no way to adjust line spacing, so paragraphs look (according to reddit commentators) super crunched or smooshed. To make notes really readable, one must insert a blank line. I copy such notes into Pages and increase the line/paragraph spacing. I have not explored synching in Pages other than just posting to iCloud drive. And I have not adopted notion or obsidian since trashing Evernote. My s", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Notion or Obsidian or Apple Notes?"}]}], "praise": [{"label": "Quick capture", "summary": "Commenters use it to jot down thoughts, ideas, checklists and copy-pasted info.", "quotes": [{"id": 752904481, "item_id": 47056530, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47056530", "by": "Brajeshwar", "date": "2026-02-17", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Apple Notes for quick, ephemeral notes and for Shared Family Notes.", "excerpt": "Similar to mine. I use Apple Notes for quick, ephemeral notes and for Shared Family Notes. If they are the ones that are more important, they go into the plain-text notes in the Obsidian folder. The Notes folder(s) is sync with a Cloud Service. So, I use iA Writer[1] (a brilliant Notes App) to have a pleasant writing experience on other mobile devices. They are just Markdown, so I can open them in any Notes App that ", "context": "", "use_case": "quick and shared family notes", "switched_from": "", "story": "I Use Obsidian"}, {"id": 784369584, "item_id": 49023099, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49023099", "by": "erickhill", "date": "2026-07-23", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I still use Apple Notes, but more as a place to store copy/paste info I want to save or checklists.", "excerpt": "This is why I use a reMarkable tablet for my notes. I noticed a few years ago that when I wrote down my notes I actually remembered them more easily. Something about the hand/brain connection helped etch my thoughts more deeply. I still use Apple Notes, but more as a place to store copy/paste info I want to save or checklists. But for meeting or game design notes? Writing those down 100%.", "context": "", "use_case": "storing snippets and checklists", "switched_from": "", "story": "Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain"}, {"id": 756973744, "item_id": 47310859, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47310859", "by": "bilsbie", "date": "2026-03-09", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use iPhone notes to write down all my thoughts and things I want to track.", "excerpt": "I use iPhone notes to write down all my thoughts and things I want to track. I want to make an app that turns each one into a heading text, and AI generated image or short video. And then I can scroll through them like tik tok and interact with them by adding more notes, etc.", "context": "", "use_case": "capturing thoughts", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (March 2026)"}]}, {"label": "Simplicity", "summary": "Commenters describe it as dead simple and easy to use.", "quotes": [{"id": 744266224, "item_id": 46516639, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46516639", "by": "mcdow", "date": "2026-01-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "satisfies the same requirements as Apple notes(dead simple, iCloud sync, free)", "excerpt": "This is awesome! I\u2019ve been looking for a way to batch export my notes out of Apple notes, will this work for that purpose? I totally agree with you that most notes apps miss the mark. I\u2019m working on one now which I hope satisfies the same requirements as Apple notes(dead simple, iCloud sync, free) but has some things I want (improved search, first class markdown support). I\u2019ve been using it as my daily driver for a w", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Stash \u2013 Sync Markdown Files with Apple Notes via CLI"}, {"id": 795043233, "item_id": 49690202, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49690202", "by": "thiagoperes", "date": "2026-09-14", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "like most I gravitated to Apple Notes due to simplicity, but I still missed so many things", "excerpt": "I built a simple, stoic and free markdown note app (free) called Beauty. https://www.markdown.beauty/ Why? There's no why. The world doesn't need another Markdown editor. I still made one. Everything is on-device, purposefully human-centric without being anti-AI. I built this because I wanted to work on a project that I could sweat the details unconstrained by deadlines, investors, etc. I was frustrated with other wr", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026)"}, {"id": 749559793, "item_id": 46847487, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46847487", "by": "moeen-mahmud", "date": "2026-02-01", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I've been using Apple Notes and Google Keep for years. I'm a big fan of the simplicity and ease of use.", "excerpt": "I've been using Apple Notes and Google Keep for years. I'm a big fan of the simplicity and ease of use. But most of the time, I always forget the keywords to search for a specific note. This project was started as an R&D to see if I can run a language model on a device to make it simple and easier to capture my messy thoughts, voices, tasks, scans, reminders and organize (because I'm a lazy a$$, can't even want to ad", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "I ran an LLM on iOS to build another privacy focused notes app"}]}, {"label": "Free sync", "summary": "It syncs between iPhone and Mac over iCloud at no cost and with no subscription.", "quotes": [{"id": 797988384, "item_id": 49874274, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49874274", "by": "librasteve", "date": "2026-09-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I already use Apple Notes as my daily driver over Obsidian, Bear and the others", "excerpt": "ok \u2026 I\u2019ll play ball. I really like your idea and the demo is very convincing. I already use Apple Notes as my daily driver over Obsidian, Bear and the others because I do not want to pay $$ per month just to sync notes between iPhone and Mac. However, I would much prefer a native md option over whatever proprietary rtf stuff that Notes does. So I am your perfect target user. Show me a well designed md centric notes t", "context": "wants no-subscription sync between iPhone and Mac", "use_case": "daily note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Building a Markdown editor for Mac, iOS and web"}, {"id": 744266224, "item_id": 46516639, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46516639", "by": "mcdow", "date": "2026-01-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "satisfies the same requirements as Apple notes(dead simple, iCloud sync, free)", "excerpt": "This is awesome! I\u2019ve been looking for a way to batch export my notes out of Apple notes, will this work for that purpose? I totally agree with you that most notes apps miss the mark. I\u2019m working on one now which I hope satisfies the same requirements as Apple notes(dead simple, iCloud sync, free) but has some things I want (improved search, first class markdown support). I\u2019ve been using it as my daily driver for a w", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Stash \u2013 Sync Markdown Files with Apple Notes via CLI"}]}, {"label": "Evernote replacement", "summary": "One commenter left Evernote for Apple Notes and has been very happy.", "quotes": [{"id": 781907024, "item_id": 48869189, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48869189", "by": "JSR_FDED", "date": "2026-07-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I switched to Apple Notes and have been very happy.", "excerpt": "I was so annoyed with how slimy Evernote had become and how the product regressed and they were clearly not spending money on it, I switched to Apple Notes and have been very happy.", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "Evernote", "story": "New York City to become first in US to ban deceptive subscription practices"}]}, {"label": "Shared notes", "summary": "One commenter uses it for shared family notes.", "quotes": [{"id": 752904481, "item_id": 47056530, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47056530", "by": "Brajeshwar", "date": "2026-02-17", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Apple Notes for quick, ephemeral notes and for Shared Family Notes.", "excerpt": "Similar to mine. I use Apple Notes for quick, ephemeral notes and for Shared Family Notes. If they are the ones that are more important, they go into the plain-text notes in the Obsidian folder. The Notes folder(s) is sync with a Cloud Service. So, I use iA Writer[1] (a brilliant Notes App) to have a pleasant writing experience on other mobile devices. They are just Markdown, so I can open them in any Notes App that ", "context": "", "use_case": "quick and shared family notes", "switched_from": "", "story": "I Use Obsidian"}]}, {"label": "Markdown import", "summary": "The macOS app can import Markdown files and render them.", "quotes": [{"id": 756704467, "item_id": 47294029, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47294029", "by": "alwillis", "date": "2026-03-07", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "The Notes app that comes with macOS can import markdown files and render them.", "excerpt": "> This looks really nice, but I suppose I might ask the hard questions - how does this compare to Obsidian, To be honest, other than both of them allowing you to write markdown, they're not comparable. Obsidian is the current favorite of the \"make a second brain\" crowd which is based the concept of a Zettelkasten [1]. There are thousands of plugins to customize Obsidian to turn it into whatever you want. It just so h", "context": "", "use_case": "rendering markdown", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ghostmd: Ghostty but for Markdown Notes"}]}], "caveats": [{"label": "Data lock-in", "summary": "Notes live in a proprietary Apple database instead of portable files.", "quotes": [{"id": 799139520, "item_id": 49946220, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49946220", "by": "dreamcompiler", "date": "2026-10-03", "stance": "warn", "quote": "This is why as a Mac user I don't use those apps.", "excerpt": "> My notes in Apple Notes belong to Apple Notes, not my filesystem. My texts live in iMessage's database, not my Documents folder. This is why as a Mac user I don't use those apps. Nor do I use Photos or whatever iTunes is called now. I've been burned too many times by having my work locked away in some kind of proprietary Apple database. Yes, you can usually export stuff but that's not a solution. You export your li", "context": "Mac user", "use_case": "notes", "switched_from": "", "story": "Make Tmux the OS"}, {"id": 797988384, "item_id": 49874274, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49874274", "by": "librasteve", "date": "2026-09-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I already use Apple Notes as my daily driver over Obsidian, Bear and the others", "excerpt": "ok \u2026 I\u2019ll play ball. I really like your idea and the demo is very convincing. I already use Apple Notes as my daily driver over Obsidian, Bear and the others because I do not want to pay $$ per month just to sync notes between iPhone and Mac. However, I would much prefer a native md option over whatever proprietary rtf stuff that Notes does. So I am your perfect target user. Show me a well designed md centric notes t", "context": "wants no-subscription sync between iPhone and Mac", "use_case": "daily note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Building a Markdown editor for Mac, iOS and web"}, {"id": 761009792, "item_id": 47563112, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47563112", "by": "saadn92", "date": "2026-03-29", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "a bridge that exposes Apple Notes over HTTP so I can access them from a Linux VM", "excerpt": "There's something really satisfying about these kinds of personal pipelines. You stitch together a few tools that weren't designed to work together, automate the glue, and end up with something that fits your workflow better than any single product could. I love it. I've built a few of these for myself -- a bridge that exposes Apple Notes over HTTP so I can access them from a Linux VM, a sync tool that pulls Notion p", "context": "", "use_case": "accessing notes from Linux VM", "switched_from": "", "story": "I turned my Kindle into my own personal newspaper"}]}, {"label": "Formatting limits", "summary": "It removes line breaks and offers no way to adjust line spacing.", "quotes": [{"id": 804006305, "item_id": 50250394, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50250394", "by": "k310", "date": "2026-10-26", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Notes blows away line breaks.", "excerpt": "Notes blows away line breaks. Use Text Fixer. [0] I use it every day to make video transcripts readable. Such tools pop up and go away as ad or other revenue fails to pay the bills. Two modes: > Convert line breaks to paragraph breaks (it makes paragraphs by converting single line breaks to double line breaks) > Add a paragraph break after sentences (for text with absolutely no line breaks, this can dramatically incr", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Why Notes will never let us edit Markdown"}, {"id": 769290672, "item_id": 48080667, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48080667", "by": "k310", "date": "2026-05-09", "stance": "warn", "quote": "There is no way to adjust line spacing, so paragraphs look (according to reddit commentators) super crunched or smooshed.", "excerpt": "Re: Apple Notes. There is no way to adjust line spacing, so paragraphs look (according to reddit commentators) super crunched or smooshed. To make notes really readable, one must insert a blank line. I copy such notes into Pages and increase the line/paragraph spacing. I have not explored synching in Pages other than just posting to iCloud drive. And I have not adopted notion or obsidian since trashing Evernote. My s", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Notion or Obsidian or Apple Notes?"}]}, {"label": "Missing features", "summary": "Commenters want better search and first-class Markdown support.", "quotes": [{"id": 744266224, "item_id": 46516639, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46516639", "by": "mcdow", "date": "2026-01-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "satisfies the same requirements as Apple notes(dead simple, iCloud sync, free)", "excerpt": "This is awesome! I\u2019ve been looking for a way to batch export my notes out of Apple notes, will this work for that purpose? I totally agree with you that most notes apps miss the mark. I\u2019m working on one now which I hope satisfies the same requirements as Apple notes(dead simple, iCloud sync, free) but has some things I want (improved search, first class markdown support). I\u2019ve been using it as my daily driver for a w", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Stash \u2013 Sync Markdown Files with Apple Notes via CLI"}, {"id": 795043233, "item_id": 49690202, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49690202", "by": "thiagoperes", "date": "2026-09-14", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "like most I gravitated to Apple Notes due to simplicity, but I still missed so many things", "excerpt": "I built a simple, stoic and free markdown note app (free) called Beauty. https://www.markdown.beauty/ Why? There's no why. The world doesn't need another Markdown editor. I still made one. Everything is on-device, purposefully human-centric without being anti-AI. I built this because I wanted to work on a project that I could sweat the details unconstrained by deadlines, investors, etc. I was frustrated with other wr", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026)"}, {"id": 749559793, "item_id": 46847487, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46847487", "by": "moeen-mahmud", "date": "2026-02-01", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I've been using Apple Notes and Google Keep for years. I'm a big fan of the simplicity and ease of use.", "excerpt": "I've been using Apple Notes and Google Keep for years. I'm a big fan of the simplicity and ease of use. But most of the time, I always forget the keywords to search for a specific note. This project was started as an R&D to see if I can run a language model on a device to make it simple and easier to capture my messy thoughts, voices, tasks, scans, reminders and organize (because I'm a lazy a$$, can't even want to ad", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "I ran an LLM on iOS to build another privacy focused notes app"}]}, {"label": "Not for power users", "summary": "A defender says it is built for the masses, not for power users.", "quotes": [{"id": 801799730, "item_id": 50112483, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50112483", "by": "Grombobulous", "date": "2026-10-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I gave on both pretty quick and accepted being stuck in Apple Notes for now.", "excerpt": "I really don\u2019t understand the criticism of Apple\u2019s software. I think we need to keep in mind a couple of things: 1. It\u2019s software designed for the masses. It\u2019s not intended to be a power user\u2019s playground. 2. There\u2019s no such thing as perfect software. If you really look hard for alternatives to the Music or Photos app (to use your examples), it\u2019s actually extremely difficult to find anything that is without compromis", "context": "", "use_case": "notes with sharing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple routed a graphite pipe through the iPhone Duo's hinge to dissipate heat"}]}], "who": [{"by": "Quothling", "context": "has ADHD", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49913208", "date": "2026-09-30"}, {"by": "librasteve", "context": "wants no-subscription sync between iPhone and Mac", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49874274", "date": "2026-09-28"}, {"by": "zxlk21e", "context": "essay author", "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47678706", "date": "2026-04-07"}], "tags": ["for Apple device users", "for quick notes", "for journaling", "for shared family notes"], "use_cases": ["note-taking", "notes", "journaling", "notes with sharing", "capturing ideas", "daily note-taking"], "compared": [{"slug": "obsidian", "name": "Obsidian", "co": 9, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "notion", "name": "Notion", "co": 5, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "evernote", "name": "Evernote", "co": 2, "switched_from": 1, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "logseq", "name": "Logseq", "co": 1, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 1}, {"slug": "claude-code", "name": "Claude Code", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}, {"slug": "pages", "name": "Pages", "co": 2, "switched_from": 0, "switched_to": 0}], "makers": [], "threads": [{"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49022152", "title": "Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain", "mentions": 2}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50273171", "title": "Emacs Turns 50", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50250200", "title": "Why Notes will never let us edit Markdown", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50068203", "title": "Apple routed a graphite pipe through the iPhone Duo's hinge to dissipate heat", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49937540", "title": "Make Tmux the OS", "mentions": 1}, {"url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49904314", "title": "LinkedIn Larpmaxxing", "mentions": 1}], "sentiment_by_month": {"2025-11": {}, "2025-12": {"neutral": 3, "compare": 1}, "2026-01": {"recommend": 1}, "2026-02": {"neutral": 2}, "2026-03": {"neutral": 3}, "2026-04": {"neutral": 3}, "2026-05": {"warn": 1}, "2026-06": {}, "2026-07": {"recommend": 1, "neutral": 2}, "2026-08": {"neutral": 1}, "2026-09": {"neutral": 2, "recommend": 2}, "2026-10": {"warn": 2, "recommend": 1, "neutral": 1}}, "quotes": [{"id": 804385513, "item_id": 50274094, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50274094", "by": "cyrialize", "date": "2026-10-28", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I sometimes venture out to other apps (like Joplin, Obsidian, Apple Notes, Apple Reminders, etc)", "excerpt": "About 10+ years ago I found a guide on Helm [0] and a guide on Org-mode [1] when I was just getting into Emacs. This helped me move on from using Spacemacs to making my own configuration. I no longer use Helm (I'm doing Vertico/Orderless/Consult), but I've stuck with Org-mode since then. I sometimes venture out to other apps (like Joplin, Obsidian, Apple Notes, Apple Reminders, etc), but Org-mode just works best for ", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Emacs Turns 50"}, {"id": 804006305, "item_id": 50250394, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50250394", "by": "k310", "date": "2026-10-26", "stance": "warn", "quote": "Notes blows away line breaks.", "excerpt": "Notes blows away line breaks. Use Text Fixer. [0] I use it every day to make video transcripts readable. Such tools pop up and go away as ad or other revenue fails to pay the bills. Two modes: > Convert line breaks to paragraph breaks (it makes paragraphs by converting single line breaks to double line breaks) > Add a paragraph break after sentences (for text with absolutely no line breaks, this can dramatically incr", "context": "", "use_case": "", "switched_from": "", "story": "Why Notes will never let us edit Markdown"}, {"id": 801799730, "item_id": 50112483, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50112483", "by": "Grombobulous", "date": "2026-10-16", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I gave on both pretty quick and accepted being stuck in Apple Notes for now.", "excerpt": "I really don\u2019t understand the criticism of Apple\u2019s software. I think we need to keep in mind a couple of things: 1. It\u2019s software designed for the masses. It\u2019s not intended to be a power user\u2019s playground. 2. There\u2019s no such thing as perfect software. If you really look hard for alternatives to the Music or Photos app (to use your examples), it\u2019s actually extremely difficult to find anything that is without compromis", "context": "", "use_case": "notes with sharing", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple routed a graphite pipe through the iPhone Duo's hinge to dissipate heat"}, {"id": 799139520, "item_id": 49946220, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49946220", "by": "dreamcompiler", "date": "2026-10-03", "stance": "warn", "quote": "This is why as a Mac user I don't use those apps.", "excerpt": "> My notes in Apple Notes belong to Apple Notes, not my filesystem. My texts live in iMessage's database, not my Documents folder. This is why as a Mac user I don't use those apps. Nor do I use Photos or whatever iTunes is called now. I've been burned too many times by having my work locked away in some kind of proprietary Apple database. Yes, you can usually export stuff but that's not a solution. You export your li", "context": "Mac user", "use_case": "notes", "switched_from": "", "story": "Make Tmux the OS"}, {"id": 798611329, "item_id": 49913208, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49913208", "by": "Quothling", "date": "2026-09-30", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "my \"hey this is a brilliant idea, I gotta write it down\" ADHD notes I have in apples notes thing", "excerpt": "What? It's how the job market works. It's like 90% connections and bullshit. I use GP somewhat similar to GP. Not as directly, but still targeted at helping my career. I've got a few people who write a lot of buzz that are also actually good for a couple of interesting comments back and forth. Once in a while they'll share someone new and I'll link up with them. This keeps you in the algorithm and it doesn't require ", "context": "has ADHD", "use_case": "capturing ideas", "switched_from": "", "story": "LinkedIn Larpmaxxing"}, {"id": 797988384, "item_id": 49874274, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49874274", "by": "librasteve", "date": "2026-09-28", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I already use Apple Notes as my daily driver over Obsidian, Bear and the others", "excerpt": "ok \u2026 I\u2019ll play ball. I really like your idea and the demo is very convincing. I already use Apple Notes as my daily driver over Obsidian, Bear and the others because I do not want to pay $$ per month just to sync notes between iPhone and Mac. However, I would much prefer a native md option over whatever proprietary rtf stuff that Notes does. So I am your perfect target user. Show me a well designed md centric notes t", "context": "wants no-subscription sync between iPhone and Mac", "use_case": "daily note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Building a Markdown editor for Mac, iOS and web"}, {"id": 796848498, "item_id": 49803031, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49803031", "by": "Cider9986", "date": "2026-09-22", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "Apple notes is awesome.", "excerpt": "Me too. Android for the most part has much better UI. The rotation thingy alone infuriates me on iPhones. The Android implementation is perfect. Android keyboards are in a different class from iOS. And I use a source available privacy respecting one. VPNs work much better on Android. Settings is laid out better. Haptics are used much more which I appreciate. lack of back button is a crime. can't customize home screen", "context": "", "use_case": "notes", "switched_from": "", "story": "Apple has added persistent 'ads' to iOS, and it's driving users crazy"}, {"id": 795043233, "item_id": 49690202, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49690202", "by": "thiagoperes", "date": "2026-09-14", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "like most I gravitated to Apple Notes due to simplicity, but I still missed so many things", "excerpt": "I built a simple, stoic and free markdown note app (free) called Beauty. https://www.markdown.beauty/ Why? There's no why. The world doesn't need another Markdown editor. I still made one. Everything is on-device, purposefully human-centric without being anti-AI. I built this because I wanted to work on a project that I could sweat the details unconstrained by deadlines, investors, etc. I was frustrated with other wr", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What are you working on? (September 2026)"}, {"id": 787744673, "item_id": 49234042, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49234042", "by": "r0fl", "date": "2026-08-09", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use apple notes and voice notes alternatively with no real plan", "excerpt": "I use apple notes and voice notes alternatively with no real plan I dump all that into ChatGPT and say build this into a plan for tomorrow with 15 min increments and incorporate travel time, some breaks like the pomodoro method and left over tasks are to be saved for future days I then get a printable version in a docs file, a csv if I want it in excel and a .ics file to dump into my calendar I usually don\u2019t dump int", "context": "", "use_case": "dumping notes", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: An app to dump notes during the day and plan todos without distraction"}, {"id": 784422801, "item_id": 49026425, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49026425", "by": "stillpointlab", "date": "2026-07-23", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I'll also journal in Google Docs, Apple notes, or text docs in VS Code.", "excerpt": "I was cleaning my office a couple of days ago and found stacks upon stacks of paper. I've had a habit for over a decade of taking printer paper, folding it half length-wise, and scribbling notes on it as I work. I use it like a temporary scratch pad. It is an ingrained habit at this point, as soon as I have difficult focused work to do I reach for the paper and pen. Urgent site-wide outage? Start scribbling. Big feat", "context": "", "use_case": "journaling", "switched_from": "", "story": "Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain"}, {"id": 784369584, "item_id": 49023099, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49023099", "by": "erickhill", "date": "2026-07-23", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I still use Apple Notes, but more as a place to store copy/paste info I want to save or checklists.", "excerpt": "This is why I use a reMarkable tablet for my notes. I noticed a few years ago that when I wrote down my notes I actually remembered them more easily. Something about the hand/brain connection helped etch my thoughts more deeply. I still use Apple Notes, but more as a place to store copy/paste info I want to save or checklists. But for meeting or game design notes? Writing those down 100%.", "context": "", "use_case": "storing snippets and checklists", "switched_from": "", "story": "Writing by Hand is Good for your Brain"}, {"id": 781907024, "item_id": 48869189, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48869189", "by": "JSR_FDED", "date": "2026-07-10", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "I switched to Apple Notes and have been very happy.", "excerpt": "I was so annoyed with how slimy Evernote had become and how the product regressed and they were clearly not spending money on it, I switched to Apple Notes and have been very happy.", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "Evernote", "story": "New York City to become first in US to ban deceptive subscription practices"}, {"id": 769290672, "item_id": 48080667, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48080667", "by": "k310", "date": "2026-05-09", "stance": "warn", "quote": "There is no way to adjust line spacing, so paragraphs look (according to reddit commentators) super crunched or smooshed.", "excerpt": "Re: Apple Notes. There is no way to adjust line spacing, so paragraphs look (according to reddit commentators) super crunched or smooshed. To make notes really readable, one must insert a blank line. I copy such notes into Pages and increase the line/paragraph spacing. I have not explored synching in Pages other than just posting to iCloud drive. And I have not adopted notion or obsidian since trashing Evernote. My s", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Notion or Obsidian or Apple Notes?"}, {"id": 766548096, "item_id": 47909256, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47909256", "by": "ianhxu", "date": "2026-04-26", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "all of them just sitting in Apple Notes", "excerpt": "I've had several product ideas a week for years, all of them just sitting in Apple Notes. In the last month, I built three of them into a usable beta and I use all of them every day.", "context": "", "use_case": "storing product ideas", "switched_from": "", "story": "It's OK to Use Agentic to Revive the Projects You Never Were Going to Finish"}, {"id": 765835074, "item_id": 47864692, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47864692", "by": "languagehacker", "date": "2026-04-22", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "review things I've written in my Apple Notes (journaling of various kinds, mostly)", "excerpt": "I used https://github.com/Kevjade/migrate-openclaw, and then started running Claude Code with remote exec against an empty folder that I've advised it to start adding new memories into. So far, my bot's personality is back, and it can utilize the same skills as before, which is was failing on last week. I don't have an especially heavyweight implementation, because I only use mine to review things I've written in my ", "context": "", "use_case": "journaling", "switched_from": "", "story": "Anthropic says OpenClaw-style Claude CLI usage is allowed again"}, {"id": 762859297, "item_id": 47678706, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47678706", "by": "zxlk21e", "date": "2026-04-07", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I write in apple notes", "excerpt": "Author here. I did not use AI to write this essay. I write in apple notes and then move to an old app I use called Hemingway that I've used for years. I've gotten this a lot on the 3 essays I have up, so I avoided Hemingway entirely on the latest one I posted today https://www.terrygodier.com/body-language - I left it significantly more wordy and less edited. I hope someday these sort of comments will ease up a littl", "context": "essay author", "use_case": "drafting essays", "switched_from": "", "story": "The Last Quiet Thing"}, {"id": 761009792, "item_id": 47563112, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47563112", "by": "saadn92", "date": "2026-03-29", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "a bridge that exposes Apple Notes over HTTP so I can access them from a Linux VM", "excerpt": "There's something really satisfying about these kinds of personal pipelines. You stitch together a few tools that weren't designed to work together, automate the glue, and end up with something that fits your workflow better than any single product could. I love it. I've built a few of these for myself -- a bridge that exposes Apple Notes over HTTP so I can access them from a Linux VM, a sync tool that pulls Notion p", "context": "", "use_case": "accessing notes from Linux VM", "switched_from": "", "story": "I turned my Kindle into my own personal newspaper"}, {"id": 756973744, "item_id": 47310859, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47310859", "by": "bilsbie", "date": "2026-03-09", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use iPhone notes to write down all my thoughts and things I want to track.", "excerpt": "I use iPhone notes to write down all my thoughts and things I want to track. I want to make an app that turns each one into a heading text, and AI generated image or short video. And then I can scroll through them like tik tok and interact with them by adding more notes, etc.", "context": "", "use_case": "capturing thoughts", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (March 2026)"}, {"id": 756704467, "item_id": 47294029, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47294029", "by": "alwillis", "date": "2026-03-07", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "The Notes app that comes with macOS can import markdown files and render them.", "excerpt": "> This looks really nice, but I suppose I might ask the hard questions - how does this compare to Obsidian, To be honest, other than both of them allowing you to write markdown, they're not comparable. Obsidian is the current favorite of the \"make a second brain\" crowd which is based the concept of a Zettelkasten [1]. There are thousands of plugins to customize Obsidian to turn it into whatever you want. It just so h", "context": "", "use_case": "rendering markdown", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ghostmd: Ghostty but for Markdown Notes"}, {"id": 752904481, "item_id": 47056530, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47056530", "by": "Brajeshwar", "date": "2026-02-17", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Apple Notes for quick, ephemeral notes and for Shared Family Notes.", "excerpt": "Similar to mine. I use Apple Notes for quick, ephemeral notes and for Shared Family Notes. If they are the ones that are more important, they go into the plain-text notes in the Obsidian folder. The Notes folder(s) is sync with a Cloud Service. So, I use iA Writer[1] (a brilliant Notes App) to have a pleasant writing experience on other mobile devices. They are just Markdown, so I can open them in any Notes App that ", "context": "", "use_case": "quick and shared family notes", "switched_from": "", "story": "I Use Obsidian"}, {"id": 749559793, "item_id": 46847487, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46847487", "by": "moeen-mahmud", "date": "2026-02-01", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I've been using Apple Notes and Google Keep for years. I'm a big fan of the simplicity and ease of use.", "excerpt": "I've been using Apple Notes and Google Keep for years. I'm a big fan of the simplicity and ease of use. But most of the time, I always forget the keywords to search for a specific note. This project was started as an R&D to see if I can run a language model on a device to make it simple and easier to capture my messy thoughts, voices, tasks, scans, reminders and organize (because I'm a lazy a$$, can't even want to ad", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "I ran an LLM on iOS to build another privacy focused notes app"}, {"id": 744266224, "item_id": 46516639, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46516639", "by": "mcdow", "date": "2026-01-06", "stance": "recommend", "quote": "satisfies the same requirements as Apple notes(dead simple, iCloud sync, free)", "excerpt": "This is awesome! I\u2019ve been looking for a way to batch export my notes out of Apple notes, will this work for that purpose? I totally agree with you that most notes apps miss the mark. I\u2019m working on one now which I hope satisfies the same requirements as Apple notes(dead simple, iCloud sync, free) but has some things I want (improved search, first class markdown support). I\u2019ve been using it as my daily driver for a w", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: Stash \u2013 Sync Markdown Files with Apple Notes via CLI"}, {"id": 743007472, "item_id": 46437967, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46437967", "by": "matt_s", "date": "2025-12-30", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "The latest \"tool\" for me is just Apple Notes for me with a todo list of tasks on a page.", "excerpt": "The latest \"tool\" for me is just Apple Notes for me with a todo list of tasks on a page. Its a struggle for me to get any momentum going on personal projects. I think its because I'm a person that is externally motivated - like I know I get paid, promotions potentially, etc. via my employment. When it comes to personal projects I can't get going. I only mention this because I would also change out what/how I use to m", "context": "", "use_case": "personal project todo list", "switched_from": "", "story": "Ask HN: What do you use to manage your coding projects?"}, {"id": 742567153, "item_id": 46410447, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46410447", "by": "Brajeshwar", "date": "2025-12-28", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I do use Project Managers, Calendars, Apple Notes/Obsidian, Phone Apps, etc.", "excerpt": "As we have come this far, here is another POV for writing things down, when it comes to \u201cNO\u201d or \u201cNot Now!\u201d items that get streamed in our lives. You are working on something, but a cool/new/interesting thing pops into your brain or someone pings/calls/texts to tell you about something; your default is to do that first lest you forget about it. No, Don\u2019t Do That. Instead, write it down so you don\u2019t forget, but no need", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Calendar"}, {"id": 739243088, "item_id": 46202693, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46202693", "by": "delis-thumbs-7e", "date": "2025-12-09", "stance": "compare", "quote": "What does this do that sai Apple\u2019s Notes doesn\u2019t?", "excerpt": "I don\u2019t want to put anybody down, but I don\u2019t get this. What does this do that sai Apple\u2019s Notes doesn\u2019t? Or million other applications? And why on Earth is this hosted on web, this is something you clearly do not want to leave you device? Also, I use pen and a notebook. It is better than anything electronic, since we are monkeys and using our eye-hand coordination has proven effects on concentration and learning.", "context": "", "use_case": "note-taking", "switched_from": "", "story": "Show HN: I built a system for active note-taking in regular meetings like 1-1s"}, {"id": 739235888, "item_id": 46202243, "url": "https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46202243", "by": "k310", "date": "2025-12-08", "stance": "neutral", "quote": "I use Apple notes to save interesting stuff to post.", "excerpt": "I have used paper notebooks for decades. One set for journals and others for project ideas and plans. Mostly 5 by 7 or so Moleskine or clones. Why not electronic? I use Apple notes to save interesting stuff to post. Also, I just swiped something on this phone and lost about a half hour of typing. I use GhostText on the computer, and sometimes really detest ios for the many ways it enrages me. It's a toy. That explode", "context": "", "use_case": "saving things to post", "switched_from": "", "story": "My Apple notes should've been my journal"}]}