keepnote

keepnote [OPTION]... [NOTEBOOK]

-n, --new
    Create a new notebook

-p PROFILE, --profile=PROFILE
    Specify profile directory

-t TITLE, --title=TITLE
    Title of new notebook

--import-dir=DIR
    Import directory as notebook

--import-file=FILE
    Import file as page

--page=PAGE
    Open notebook to specific page

-?, --help
    Show help message and exit

-V, --version
    Show version number and exit

KeepNote is a cross-platform, open-source note-taking tool for creating richly formatted notebooks with hierarchical organization. Users can nest pages, embed images, attachments, and equations, with features like full-text search, spell-checking, versioning, and backups. Written in Python with GTK+ GUI, it suits Linux desktops for personal knowledge management, research notes, or journaling.

The keepnote command launches the application, opens existing notebooks (stored as directories with SQLite index), or creates new ones. Notebooks are portable across platforms, supporting export to HTML, PDF, or LaTeX. Ideal for academics or anyone needing structured, searchable notes beyond plain text editors.

No longer actively maintained (last release 0.7.2 in 2012); relies on Python 2 and GTK2, may fail on modern distros without compatibility layers.

Notebooks are self-contained directories with SQLite index.db and HTML/MIME pages; portable and git-friendly.

On Debian/Ubuntu: sudo apt install keepnote (older repos); or pip install keepnote (Python 2). Build from source for latest.

Developed by Matt R. Pearson from 2006; version 0.7.2 (2012) added notebook encryption and cloud sync. Project inactive since, archived on GitHub.

gnote(1), tomboy(1), zim(1)