Notesnook

Notesnook is an open-source, end-to-end encrypted cross-platform app for note-taking. It focuses on user privacy through a zero-knowledge architecture, ensuring that all data is encrypted on the local device before it ever reaches a server. The software is available as a cross-platform application, providing a consistent experience across desktop, mobile, and web browsers.

Users deploy the software via dedicated clients for Android, iOS, and desktop environments. It includes a specialized web clipper extension that allows users to capture content from the internet and save it directly into their encrypted notebooks. The application is designed for personal knowledge management, secure journaling, and organized note storage that remains synchronized across multiple devices without exposing the content to the service provider.

Key features

• End-to-end encryption using XChaCha20-Poly1305
• Key derivation and hashing using Argon2
• Zero-knowledge architecture to prevent server-side data access
• Cross-device synchronization for mobile and desktop
• Integrated web clipper for capturing web pages
• Support for web, desktop, and mobile platforms
• Open-source codebase for transparency and public auditing

The project is organized as a monorepo to maintain consistency across its various clients. The front-end is developed using React, while the desktop client utilizes Electron and the mobile applications are built with React Native. A shared core package manages the business logic across all platforms, and a dedicated cryptography library wraps libsodium to handle the encryption and decryption processes. For local data storage, the system employs a streaming interface around an IndexedDB based file system, which ensures efficient data handling within the browser and desktop environments.

Notesnook is a privacy-centric tool for users who require the convenience of cloud synchronization and cross-platform access without sacrificing the confidentiality of their personal data.