# Note Mark puts self-hosted Markdown notes in a plain folder > Note Mark is a web-based Markdown notes application whose content lives in a standard file and folder system you control, with a TypeScript backend and frontend and OIDC sign-in. The trade is the AGPL-3.0 licence on the code and a young 1.1.x release line. **enchant97/note-mark** — Note Mark is a lighting fast, web-based Markdown notes app. - Repository: https://github.com/enchant97/note-mark - Website: https://notemark.docs.enchantedcode.co.uk/ - Stars: 774 · Forks: 26 - Language: TypeScript - License: AGPL-3.0 - Published: 2026-10-20 · Updated: 2026-10-20 · Language: en - Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/enchant97-note-mark ## Notes that live in a folder you can read without the app Note Mark is described as a fast, minimal, web-based Markdown notes app, and the feature list makes the storage decision early: it stores data in a standard file and folder system. That single line is the whole argument for the project. Notes kept in an application's own database are convenient right up until you want to move them, back them up with the tools you already trust, or read them without starting the application at all. A folder of Markdown files can be copied, synced, versioned and opened in any editor. The project states the motivation in ownership terms, saying it is open source by design to ensure you always own your notes and can transfer them at any time. The intended user is someone who wants a browser editor with Markdown niceties but refuses to have their notes living inside someone else's account. ## A backend, a frontend and a docs site as separate directories The repository layout tells you how the application is put together. At the top level there is a backend directory, a frontend directory, a docker directory and a site directory, alongside a CHANGELOG.md, a CONTRIBUTING.md, a SECURITY.md and a LICENSE.txt. A separate site directory sitting next to the application code suggests the documentation site is built from the same repository rather than maintained elsewhere, which is convenient for release notes but means contributors touch both surfaces. The split into backend and frontend also shows the app is not a single-page bundle with a bit of server code, but a client and a server that talk over the network, which is what makes a self-hosted deployment and an OIDC login flow possible in the first place. The project is written in TypeScript, and the .run-tool.yml file at the root suggests the author drives local runs through a run-tool configuration rather than a bespoke set of shell scripts. ## GitHub Flavored Markdown, friendly URLs and two views of the same note The editor is built on GitHub Flavored Markdown, with the specification linked from the README, which means tables, task lists and the rest of that dialect behave the way they do on GitHub rather than the way some other Markdown implementation decides. Two details in the feature list are worth pulling out because they change how a note behaves over time. The first is friendly URLs, described as cleaner links, so a note is addressed by a readable path instead of an identifier. The second is multiple views for a note, rendered and plain, which gives you a way to see the source of a note that the editor is otherwise interpreting for you. Both are small decisions on paper, but they are the difference between a note system you can move and one you can only read through the interface. The feature list also covers mobile friendly layouts, a dark and light theme, note sharing, asset uploads and attachments, and a fast editor with keyboard shortcuts. ## OIDC sign-in moves identity to a provider you already run Authentication is handled through OIDC for single sign-on, and there is no mention of a built-in password store in the feature list. For a self-hosted notes application this is the correct default. Running your own identity provider, whether that is a small OpenID provider on the same machine or an existing one for the rest of your infrastructure, means there is no separate password database for Note Mark to store, breach or lose. It also means access to notes is governed by the identity system you already operate rather than by an account table inside the application. The cost is setup: whoever deploys this has to point the application at an OIDC provider and register a client, and that is a step the README does not spell out, so the documentation site is where to look for it. The SECURITY.md file at the root of the repository indicates where to report a vulnerability, which is a sensible thing to find in a project that expects to be exposed to a network. ## Deployment options live in the docker directory and the documentation site The README does not give an installation command, and the project does not claim a one-liner install on its front page. Instead it links to documentation at notemark.docs.enchantedcode.co.uk and points at a roadmap on the author's GitHub projects, and the repository carries a docker directory that in a project of this shape is the place to look for a packaged deployment. Because the documentation is a separate site rather than a set of files in the repository, the quick start details are not available in the source tree itself, and the README offers no substitute for it. The same is true of the upgrade path: the CHANGELOG.md file is present at the root and is the only record of what changed between versions, and there is no statement anywhere in the repository about how migrations behave or how a database is backed up. If you are evaluating Note Mark, the documentation site is a required stop, not an optional one, and you will want to read the storage section to know exactly what ends up in that folder on disk. ## AGPL-3.0 on the code, all rights reserved on the icon The licence arrangement is unusual enough to spell out. The README states that the project is copyright 2026 Leo Spratt and splits the terms in two: the code is AGPL-3.0 with the full text in LICENSE.txt, while the icon and mark are All Rights Reserved. That split has a practical consequence. If you run Note Mark for yourself without sharing it over a network, the AGPL obligations around conveying modifications do not affect you. If you offer it to others over a network or want to to embed the application inside a product you distribute, the copyleft obligations attach to the code you ship. The icon is a separate question again, and a restrictive mark means you cannot assume you can reuse the Note Mark branding in a derivative work, even though the code is open. This is not legal advice, but it is the kind of detail that is easier to read once than to discover during a rename, and the README states it plainly enough that there is no need to infer it. ## A 1.1.x line with three tagged releases in under two months The release history shows a project in active early development. Version 1.0.3 was tagged on 2026-08-10, v1.1.0 on 2026-09-01 and v1.1.1 on 2026-10-02, and the last push to the repository was on 2026-10-02. That cadence is close enough together to say the 1.1 line is still settling, which cuts both ways. You get fixes quickly, and you also get to find out what a 1.2 release changes while you are still setting things up. The presence of a CHANGELOG.md at the root is the mechanism for that, and the roadmap linked from the README is the author's own view of what comes next. What is not visible in the repository is a support policy for older versions, and there is no separate long-term support branch listed among the tags. The read for an adopter is to pick a version, read the changelog entries between it and the current tag, and expect to follow the main branch rather than a maintained backport. ## Conclusion Note Mark suits individuals and small teams that want a browser-based Markdown editor without handing their notes to a hosted service, and that are comfortable running a container or a backend and frontend pair on their own machine. It does not suit a commercial product that needs to keep the code closed, because the code is AGPL-3.0 and only the icon is reserved. Before adopting, read the documentation at notemark.docs.enchantedcode.co.uk for the deployment route you need, check the docker directory for a packaged path, and confirm the note storage layout in the CHANGELOG, since the newest tagged release v1.1.1 dates from 2026-10-02 and the 1.1.x line is still moving. ## FAQ ### How do I install Note Mark? The README does not give an installation command and points instead to the documentation at notemark.docs.enchantedcode.co.uk. The repository contains a docker directory, which is where a packaged deployment is likely to be defined, and the app itself is split into a backend and a frontend directory. ### How does Note Mark store my notes? The feature list states that it stores data in a standard file and folder system. The project presents this as the reason you always own your notes and can transfer them at any time, and a note can be viewed in rendered or plain form. ### Does Note Mark support single sign-on? Yes, OIDC support for single sign-on is listed among the features. The README does not describe the configuration, so provider setup details would be in the documentation site rather than in the repository. ### Can I use Note Mark commercially or modify it? The code is licensed AGPL-3.0, which permits modification and use under copyleft terms that include conveying source for network use. The icon and mark are All Rights Reserved, so the branding is not available for reuse. The README states the split, with the full code licence in LICENSE.txt. ### What is the current version of Note Mark? The newest tagged release is v1.1.1 from 2026-10-02, following v1.1.0 from 2026-09-01 and v1.0.3 from 2026-08-10. The last push to the repository was on 2026-10-02, and CHANGELOG.md at the root records what changed. ## Sources - [enchant97/note-mark on GitHub](https://github.com/enchant97/note-mark) - [License: AGPL-3.0](https://github.com/enchant97/note-mark/blob/main/LICENSE) - [Project website](https://notemark.docs.enchantedcode.co.uk/) - [README](https://github.com/enchant97/note-mark/blob/main/README.md) - [Releases](https://github.com/enchant97/note-mark/releases) --- Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/enchant97-note-mark