qownnotes

QOwnNotes [options]

QOwnNotes is a plain-text note-taking application that stores notes as standard Markdown files on disk. Notes are fully portable and can be edited with any text editor, while QOwnNotes provides a rich interface with syntax highlighting, a preview panel, tagging, note searching, and hierarchical folder organization.Optional integration with ownCloud or Nextcloud enables cloud synchronization across devices, including server-side encryption and versioning. The application also supports scripting for custom workflows, Vim keybindings, and portable mode for running from removable media.

--portable

Run in portable mode, storing settings alongside the executable.

Run with a different context for settings and internal files. Useful for troubleshooting without losing current settings.

Clear all settings before starting the application.

Print a dump of current settings and environment in GitHub Markdown format, then exit.

Trigger a menu action after startup. Use customAction_identifier for scripted custom actions.

Allow multiple instances of QOwnNotes even if disallowed in settings.

Generate shell completion code. Supports fish and bash.

Print version number and exit.

Show available command-line options.

Qt-based application requiring a display server. The binary name may vary by platform: QOwnNotes on Linux (native), qownnotes on Snap. Cloud sync requires a separate ownCloud or Nextcloud server. When only one instance is allowed (default), launching a second instance with --action triggers the action in the already-running instance.

QOwnNotes was created by Patrizio Bekerle as an open-source, cross-platform plain-text Markdown note-taking application. It is built with Qt/C++ and focuses on keeping notes in standard Markdown files that remain portable and editable outside the application. Optional Nextcloud/ownCloud integration provides cloud sync with server-side versioning and encryption.

joplin(1), notable(1)