opennotes
A dead-simple notes app focused on reducing distractions, with pluggable editors (Markdown, Code) and a Python backend.
#utilities #productivity-tools / python · poetry · postgresql · yarn
The bet
Most note apps fight you with features. Notes is a “dead-simple paper for keeping notes”: the whole product bet is that distraction-free beats powerful. The README’s summary is the mission statement: simple, extensible, open-source, minimal.
What it is
A Python backend (Poetry-managed, PostgreSQL via psycopg2) with a web frontend. The core is deliberately small: notes are just content, and the tool adapts to what you put in them.
Editors as plugins
The frontend is extensible with editors; Markdown and Code are the shipped ones. This is the architectural trick that makes the simplicity bet safe: the core stays small without capping the feature set. “Distraction-free” stops being a marketing line and becomes an architecture.
The constraint that shapes everything
The product is defined by what it doesn’t show you, which is a harder design target than adding features. Every screen earns its place, and anything that doesn’t serve the note gets cut.
The setup
Check the readme, i already walked through venv, Poetry, and the classic psycopg2/libpq header dance with distro-specific commands (apt for Debian, dnf for Fedora). Setup friction is documented as code, not tribal knowledge, a small thing that separates a project you can pick up from one you can’t.
The open-source loop
Current State
opennotes.one is currently unavailable :’(
The repo points at a backlog of open issues and welcomes contributions: the shape of the project is stable, and the open-source loop is where it grows next. It’s also live at opennotes.one if you want to see the bet in production.