What is Notingly?
Notingly is a local-first, privacy-focused writing app. Your notes are stored entirely in your browser — no account required, nothing sent to a server. It works offline and is built for speed, focus, and ownership of your own data.
You can write in Markdown (live-rendered syntax) or Rich Text (WYSIWYG), organize notes with tags and spaces, and unlock advanced features with a Pro subscription.
Creating notes
Click the + button at the top of the sidebar and choose New .md or New .rtf. You can also use File → New .md / New .rtf from the menu bar.
You can also open an existing file from disk — Notingly detects the format automatically from the file extension (.md, .rtf, .txt, .html).
Quick note from a URL: append ?new=1&title=My+Title&body=Content to the Notingly URL to instantly create a pre-filled note. Useful for browser bookmarklets.
The editor
Click any note in the sidebar to open it. The editor takes up the main area — just start typing.
- Markdown — formatting renders live. Bold, italic, headings, code, tables, checkboxes, and blockquotes all render as you type.
- Rich Text — formatting is applied immediately using the toolbar or keyboard shortcuts. Enter creates a new paragraph; in a list, pressing Enter twice exits the list.
- Read-only lock — click the lock icon in the note header to prevent accidental edits. The editor becomes non-interactive until unlocked.
- Auto-save — every keystroke is saved automatically. The status bar shows "Saved just now" after each change.
Slash commands
Type / anywhere in the editor to open the slash command menu. It works in both Markdown and Rich Text notes.
/h1Heading 1
/h2Heading 2
/ulBullet list
/olNumbered list
/codeCode block
/tableTable
/quoteBlockquote
/hrDivider
/linkInsert link
/imgInsert image
Keyboard shortcuts
Ctrl/Cmd+NNew Markdown note
Ctrl/Cmd+SSave note to disk
Ctrl/Cmd+OOpen file
Ctrl/Cmd+PPrint
Ctrl/Cmd+FFind in note
Ctrl/Cmd+HFind & replace
Ctrl/Cmd+KCommand palette
Ctrl/Cmd+JQuick switch notes
Ctrl/Cmd+ASelect all
Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+SSave as…
Wiki links Pro
In Markdown notes, type [[ to open an autocomplete picker and link to another note by name. The linked note will show a Backlinks section at the bottom listing every note that links to it.
Wiki links power the Graph view — a visual map of how your notes connect to each other.
Wiki links and backlinks are available on Pro plans. The [[Note name]] syntax is still saved in Markdown files — only the live autocomplete and backlink panel require Pro.
Search & filters
The search bar at the top of the sidebar filters the note list in real time. It matches note names, body text, and tags.
- Saved searches — click the bookmark icon to save the current search query. Saved searches appear below the search bar for one-click recall.
- View filters — switch between All notes, Starred, and Trash using the view buttons.
- Tag filters — click any tag in the sidebar to filter by it.
- Sort — sort by name, date modified, or date created (ascending or descending).
Batch actions
Check the checkbox on any note row to enter batch selection mode. A panel appears with actions that apply to all selected notes at once.
- Select all visible — selects every note currently shown in the list.
- Apply tags — add tags to all selected notes.
- Move to trash — trash all selected notes at once.
- Restore — restore selected trashed notes.
- Export — download selected notes as individual files in a zip.
Click the × in the batch panel or collapse the sidebar to exit batch mode.
Spaces
A space is a named collection of notes — think of it as a project or workspace. Your current space name is shown at the bottom of the sidebar and can be renamed by clicking it.
- File → New space — start a fresh empty space.
- File → Open space… — load a previously saved space from a zip archive.
- File → Save space as… — export your entire space (all notes) as a zip archive. Use this as your primary backup.
Spaces are stored independently — switching to a new space does not delete the current one; it replaces what's loaded in memory. Always save your space before opening a different one.
Import
Use File → Open… to import a file from disk. Supported formats:
.mdMarkdown note
.rtfRich Text note
.txtImported as Markdown
.htmlImported as Rich Text
Use File → Open space… to import a full space zip archive (previously exported from Notingly).
Export & save
- File → Save (Ctrl/Cmd+S) — saves the active note to disk in its native format (
.md or .rtf).
- File → Save as… — save with a custom filename.
- File → Save space as… — export all notes as a zip archive. The recommended way to back up your work.
- File → Print — print the active note or save it as a PDF via your browser's print dialog.
- Batch export — select multiple notes and use the batch panel to export them together.
Templates Pro
Create a new note from a built-in template via File → New from template…. Templates provide pre-structured content for common workflows — meeting notes, daily journal, project brief, and more.
Templates are available on Pro plans.
Split & merge
Tools → Split by headings splits the active note into separate notes at each heading — useful for breaking up long documents. Each heading becomes the title of a new note.
Tools → Merge notes combines multiple selected notes into one. The merge dialog lets you choose the order and a title for the merged result.
Snapshots Pro
Snapshots are saved versions of a note you can restore at any time. Open them via Tools → Note snapshot.
- Manual snapshots — click "Take snapshot" to save the current state of the note.
- Auto-snapshots — configure a periodic auto-save interval in Edit → Settings → Behavior. Notingly will automatically snapshot the active note on that schedule.
- Restore — clicking a snapshot replaces the current note content with that version. The previous content is preserved as a new snapshot before restoring.
Snapshots are available on Pro plans.
Find & replace
Ctrl/Cmd+F opens the Find bar to search within the active note. Matches are highlighted as you type.
Ctrl/Cmd+H opens Find & Replace — type the search term and a replacement, then replace one match at a time or all at once.
Document stats
Open Tools → Document statistics (or click the word count in the status bar) to see a detailed breakdown of the active note: word count, character count, paragraphs, sentences, unique words, average word length, estimated reading time, and current writing streak.
LLM token count Pro
Open Tools → LLM token count to estimate how many tokens the active note would consume when passed to an AI model. Shows estimates for GPT-4/GPT-5, Claude, Llama, and Gemini. Useful for staying within context window limits.
Available on Pro plans.
Summarize & Ask AI Pro Beta
Notingly includes two local AI features accessible from the Tools menu. Both run an AI model entirely on your device — your notes never leave your browser.
Summarize note
Generates a concise summary of the active note. Choose a format (Paragraph, Bullets, or TL;DR) and a length (Short or Long) before running. Access via Tools → Summarize note.
To summarize only part of a note, select the text you want first — the summary will be based on your selection. If nothing is selected, the entire note is used.
Ask a question
Type any question and get an answer drawn from the active note's content. Useful for quickly extracting details or exploring ideas. After an answer appears, refine your question and click Ask again to run another pass. Access via Tools → Ask AI.
- First use — the AI model is downloaded once and cached in your browser. An internet connection is required for this initial download only. Once cached, both Summarize and Ask AI share the same model so you only ever download it once.
- Privacy — all inference runs locally using your own compute. No note content is transmitted to any server.
- Performance — for best results, use a GPU-enabled device and a browser with WebGPU support (Chrome 113+, Edge 113+). Without WebGPU the model falls back to software rendering, which is slower.
- Mobile not recommended — the AI model requires significant memory and processing power. Performance on phones and tablets is likely to be very slow or may fail entirely. Use a desktop or laptop for the best experience.
- Beta status — these features work well for most notes but may produce imperfect results on very long or complex content.
Available on Pro plans.
Pomodoro timer Pro
Enable the Pomodoro timer from Tools → Pomodoro timer. It adds a countdown in the toolbar and plays a chime when time is up. Configure work session length and break intervals in Edit → Settings.
Available on Pro plans.
Graph view Pro
Open View → Graph view to see a visual map of your note network. Nodes represent notes; edges represent wiki links between them. Click a node to open that note. Drag nodes to rearrange the graph layout.
The graph is a great way to discover connections and gaps in your notes. Available on Pro plans.
Focus & reading mode
- Reading mode (View → Reading mode) — renders the note without any editor chrome. Ideal for reviewing formatted content.
- Focus mode (View → Focus mode) — hides the sidebar and toolbar, leaving only the editor. The cleanest writing surface.
- Full screen (View → Full screen mode) — expands the browser window to fill the screen.
- Reading rail — shows a vertical progress indicator on the right edge of the editor in reading mode.
Ambient sound Pro
Enable white noise or ambient audio from Tools → White noise. Several sound environments are available. Volume is adjustable from the Tools menu. Ambient sound plays as long as the tab is open and active.
Available on Pro plans.
Appearance & settings
Open Edit → Settings to customize every aspect of Notingly.
Appearance
Light, dark, or system theme. Accent colour. Canvas texture. UI density (compact / default / relaxed).
Typography
Choose a typeface (serif, sans-serif, monospace, or custom). Adjust font scale, line height, letter spacing, and writing direction (LTR / RTL).
Behaviour
Word wrap, spell check, proofing underlines, auto-snapshot interval, writing streak display, mood pulse, and key sounds.
Account & Pro
Notingly works without an account — your notes stay in local browser storage. Creating an account lets you manage a Pro subscription.
- Sign up / Sign in — via email or Google OAuth from the account button in the menu bar.
- Pro — unlocks wiki links, graph view, snapshots, templates, Pomodoro, ambient sound, and LLM token count. Available monthly ($2/mo) or annually ($20/yr).
- Manage subscription — open File → Account to upgrade, change plan, or cancel. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the billing period.
Privacy & data
Notingly is local-first. Your notes are stored in your browser's local storage and are never sent to any server. No note content is ever transmitted or stored remotely. See our Privacy Policy and Terms of Service for full details.
If you use an account, only your email address and subscription status are stored on our servers. Nothing you write leaves your device.
Important: Browser local storage can be cleared by the browser or when clearing site data. Export your space regularly using File → Save space as… — especially before clearing browser data, switching browsers, or getting a new device.