About
About memrynote
memrynote is a local-first personal knowledge management app that keeps notes, tasks, a daily journal, and a calendar in one end-to-end encrypted workspace for people who want their thinking private and on their own devices.
It is free for local use, open source, and built independently by one developer. This page covers what memrynote does, how it differs, who it is for, and the people and facts behind it.
What memrynote does
Notes
Markdown notes with wiki-links, backlinks, eight property types, and version history. Every note is a plain .md file in a folder you choose, so your knowledge base stays readable in any editor, long after any single app.
Tasks
Projects, custom statuses, subtasks, recurring schedules, and smart filters, viewed as a list, a Kanban board, or a calendar. Tasks live next to the notes they came from, so the context behind a to-do is one click away.
Journal
One page a day, with your schedule and tasks in a sidebar beside it, plus templates and an activity heatmap. The result is a daily writing habit with real context instead of a blank page.
Inbox
Quick capture for loose thoughts, voice memos, web clips, and PDFs. Everything lands in one place first, then you file, snooze, or clear it in a single pass.
Calendar
Tasks, deadlines, and journal days on one grid, with drag-and-drop rescheduling and separate start and due dates. You see what your week actually holds without switching apps.
End-to-end encrypted sync
Optional paid sync that encrypts every note on your device with XChaCha20-Poly1305 before upload and merges edits conflict-free with CRDTs. New devices are approved with a QR code, and vault keys never reach the server.
Command-line interface
Notes, tasks, journal, calendar, and sync, scriptable from the terminal with JSON output. It ships with memrynote for Desktop, so git hooks, scripts, and Unix pipes can read and write your vault.
Web clipper
A browser extension, live on Chrome and Firefox, that sends a page, its text, and its URL to your Inbox in one click. Research ends up in the same vault as the rest of your thinking.
What makes memrynote different
Competitor details reflect each app’s native, out-of-the-box plans as of mid-2026.
Free forever, with no note cap
The local memrynote app is free with unlimited notes and no account required. Evernote Free caps you at 50 notes on one device, UpNote’s free plan stops at 50 notes, and Roam Research has no ongoing free tier at roughly $15/mo (as of mid-2026).
Zero-knowledge encryption, not just TLS
memrynote Sync encrypts every note on your device before upload, so the server stores only ciphertext and never holds the keys. Notion and Evernote encrypt data in transit and at rest, but their servers can still read your content.
Plain Markdown files you own
Every note is a standard .md file with YAML frontmatter in a folder you pick, readable in VS Code, iA Writer, or any text editor. Notion, Evernote, Capacities, and Tana keep your notes in their own databases, and you get them back only through an export.
Tasks, calendar, journal, and inbox without plugins
Five tools ship as native features of one app. In Obsidian, tasks, a calendar, and daily journaling come from community plugins you install, configure, and keep working, and sync is a separate add-on; in memrynote, encrypted sync is part of the product.
Every desktop platform, and open source
memrynote runs natively on macOS, Windows, and Linux, while Bear, Apple Notes, and NotePlan are Apple-only. The full source is public on GitHub under AGPL-3.0, so anyone can audit the encryption claims, whereas Obsidian is closed source.
Side-by-side breakdowns for 16 apps live on the compare page.
Who uses memrynote
- Knowledge workers who juggle Notion, Todoist, and a separate journal app and want one connected workspace.
- University students keeping lecture notes, assignment deadlines, and study logs in one place.
- Freelancers managing several clients’ meeting notes, deliverables, and timelines in a single vault.
- Writers linking research, characters, and drafts with wiki-links and version history.
- Founders who want strategy docs, tasks, and private reflections encrypted, even from the vendor.
- People with ADHD who need zero-friction capture before they organize anything.
- Obsidian users tired of maintaining plugins for tasks, calendars, and sync.
- Privacy-conscious users leaving Notion, Evernote, or Google Keep for end-to-end encryption.
- Windows and Linux users who cannot run Bear, Apple Notes, or NotePlan.
- Developers who want to script notes, tasks, and their journal from the terminal.
The team behind memrynote
Kaan Karaca, founder and developer
Kaan designs, builds, and supports memrynote end to end, from the encryption layer to the pricing page. He started it because he wanted a workspace that feels less like managing software and more like continuing a thought.
How memrynote started
The first line of memrynote was written in December 2025 to build the app Kaan wished existed: local-first, private by design, with no plugin maze and no cloud lock-in. It has shipped in the open ever since, with a public changelog and roadmap.
Team composition
memrynote is an independent, founder-run company with no outside investors directing the roadmap. Revenue comes only from optional sync plans, never from ads or user data.
How memrynote works
Onboarding
Download the desktop app for macOS, Windows, or Linux, pick a folder for your vault, and start writing in under a minute. No account, email, or card is required for local use.
Turning on sync
Create an account, pick a plan, and pay through Paddle, which handles VAT and sales tax. Each additional device is approved from one you already trust by scanning a QR code.
Who you work with
Every support email is read by Kaan, the founder and developer. Pro includes priority support straight from the founder, and Believer adds a direct line to him.
Communication channels and response times
Every question, whether general, billing, privacy, or a vulnerability report, goes to kaan@memrynote.com. General questions get a reply within five business days, privacy requests within 30 days, and security reports within 24 hours. Community discussion happens on r/MemryNote and bug reports on GitHub.
Release cadence
memrynote had shipped about 70 tagged releases as of September 2026. Every release is listed in the changelog, and what comes next is on the public roadmap.
Key facts
- Company Name
- memrynote
- Type
- Independent software company; local-first personal knowledge management (PKM) app
- Founded
- 2025 (first code written in December 2025)
- Founder
- Kaan Karaca (@h4yfans on X, h4yfans on GitHub)
- Headquarters
- Remote; independent and founder-run
- Website
- memrynote.com
- Core Offering
- A local-first desktop app for notes, tasks, journal, inbox, and calendar, stored as plain Markdown files, with optional end-to-end encrypted sync
- Platforms
- macOS, Windows, Linux; web clipper for Chrome and Firefox; iOS and Android in development
- Pricing
- Free (local vault, unlimited notes); Plus $5/mo or $48/yr (1 GB sync, 1 vault); Pro $10/mo or $96/yr (10 GB, 10 vaults); Believer $500 one-time (50 GB, unlimited vaults)
- Contract Terms
- Month-to-month or annual with no minimum term; 14-day money-back guarantee on every paid plan; the local app never expires
- Services
- Desktop app, end-to-end encrypted sync, command-line interface, and web clipper
- Encryption
- XChaCha20-Poly1305, Ed25519, and Argon2id via libsodium; zero-knowledge, keys never leave your devices
- License
- Open source, AGPL-3.0
- Communication
- Email (kaan@memrynote.com), Reddit r/MemryNote, GitHub issues, X
- Notable Clients
- Not published. memrynote does not sell or disclose user data, including who its users are.
- Customers Served
- Individuals: knowledge workers, students, freelancers, writers, founders, and developers
- Releases Shipped
- About 70 tagged releases as of September 2026
- Competitors
- Obsidian, Notion, NotePlan, Capacities, Evernote, Logseq, Anytype, Apple Notes, Bear, Roam Research, OneNote, UpNote, Joplin, Google Keep, Tana, Heptabase
Frequently asked questions
Who makes memrynote?
memrynote is built by Kaan Karaca, an independent developer who started the project in December 2025. It is founder-run and not VC-funded, so the product answers to its users rather than to investors.
Is memrynote open source?
Yes. The full source code is public at github.com/memrynote/memry under the AGPL-3.0 license. Anyone can audit how notes are stored and encrypted.
Is memrynote free?
Yes. The desktop app is free for local use with unlimited notes and no account. Plus, Pro, and Believer pay only for hosted end-to-end encrypted sync.
Can memrynote read my notes?
No. Local notes never leave your device, and synced notes are encrypted on your device before upload, so the server only stores ciphertext. The keys that decrypt them never reach memrynote’s servers.
What happens to my notes if memrynote shuts down?
Nothing. Your notes are plain Markdown files in a folder on your own disk, so they keep opening in any text editor with or without memrynote installed.
Is there a mobile app?
memrynote is desktop-first on macOS, Windows, and Linux today. Mobile apps for iOS and Android are targeting late 2026, and in the meantime your vault folder works with any file sync you already use.
How do I contact the team?
Email kaan@memrynote.com for anything, from general questions to billing. Kaan reads every message, and replies go out within five business days.