Most note apps assume you should organize everything upfront —
folders, tags, backlinks, hierarchies.
In practice, I found myself either over-organizing or not organizing at all.
Notaly is built around a different idea:
write freely, mark lines as data, and query them later.
You don’t decide where notes belong.
You decide what a line means.
For example:
- I write meeting notes, study notes, random thoughts — anywhere.
- When a line represents something actionable, I mark it as a TODO.
- Queries automatically collect those TODOs across all pages into one live view.
There’s no dedicated “task page” or manual linking.
Queries always reflect the current state of your notes.
Key ideas:
- No upfront structure
- Local-first desktop app
- Markdown-based
- Queries over folders or tags
It’s still early, and I’m actively refining the query model and UX.
I’d love feedback on whether this mental model makes sense and where it breaks.
I built a desktop note app called Notaly.
Most note apps assume you should organize everything upfront — folders, tags, backlinks, hierarchies. In practice, I found myself either over-organizing or not organizing at all.
Notaly is built around a different idea: write freely, mark lines as data, and query them later.
You don’t decide where notes belong. You decide what a line means.
For example: - I write meeting notes, study notes, random thoughts — anywhere. - When a line represents something actionable, I mark it as a TODO. - Queries automatically collect those TODOs across all pages into one live view.
There’s no dedicated “task page” or manual linking. Queries always reflect the current state of your notes.
Key ideas: - No upfront structure - Local-first desktop app - Markdown-based - Queries over folders or tags
It’s still early, and I’m actively refining the query model and UX. I’d love feedback on whether this mental model makes sense and where it breaks.
Short demo video on the landing page: https://notaly.dev
Thanks for reading.