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HelixNotes – UpNote-inspired local-first Markdown notes in Rust

HelixNotes – UpNote-inspired local-first Markdown notes in Rust

by ArkHost·Feb 11, 2026·1 point·4 comments
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AI Analysis

●●●BangerShip ItSolve My Problem

Obsidian-level feature set with Rust performance, zero cloud, genuinely fast search.

Strengths
  • •Tantivy full-text search is noticeably faster than competitors; built-in version history with diffs
  • •Honest critique of Obsidian's UX pain points; TipTap editor + SvelteKit signals thoughtful implementation
  • •Local markdown files mean real data portability; Obsidian importer eases migration
Weaknesses
  • •Crowded category (Obsidian, Logseq, Joplin dominate); execution quality alone doesn't move the needle
  • •Bring-your-own-API for AI means cold start friction vs integrated offerings
Category
Productivity
Target Audience

Developers and knowledge workers wanting Obsidian-like functionality without cloud lock-in

Similar To

Obsidian · Logseq · Joplin

Post Description

Hi HN.

I tested literally dozens of note-taking apps over the years — free, paid, everything. They all sucked except UpNote. Great UX, clean, fast, just works. But your data lives in Google Firebase. Dealbreaker.

So I tried Obsidian. Local files, markdown, own your data — great philosophy. But the app itself? Even with everything disabled, as a plain markdown editor it was painful. I actually stopped taking notes entirely.

So I built what I wanted: inspired by UpNote's clean design but taken further; less clutter, more polished, with Obsidian's local-first ideology. Your notes are standard .md files on your filesystem. No cloud, no sync service, no lock-in.

What's in it:

- Rich markdown editor (TipTap v3) with formatting toolbar, slash commands, and source mode - Full-text search powered by Tantivy (Rust search engine) — fast and instant - Graph view to visualize connections between notes via [[wiki-links]] - Per-note version history - AI writing tools with bring-your-own-key (Anthropic/OpenAI). - Theme accent colors, light/dark mode, multiple fonts - Built with Rust, Tauri + Svelte. No Electron

Linux and Windows now, macOS coming. AGPL-3.0, source on Codeberg: https://codeberg.org/ArkHost/HelixNotes

Happy to answer questions.

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