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Dev tools · alternatives · 2026

24 alternatives to Files.md – Open-source alternative to Obsidian

🌱 Private, quiet space for thinking. Simple app for .md files. - zakirullin/files.md

Files.md is an open-source note-taking application designed as an alternative to Obsidian. It provides a platform for users who want markdown-based note management with the transparency and flexibility of open-source… Below are 24 products that do a similar job, ranked by how close each is in meaning and then by launch-day votes.

  1. 1
    note.md▲280

    your notes and research documentation now a local LLM Memory

    Jun 2026 · notemd.org · its alternatives →

  2. 2

    A free, open-source Markdown editor for macOS with customizable appearance profiles, optional Vim keys, and local writing corrections.

    Aug 2026 · writemd.app · its alternatives →

  3. 3OS

    https://github.com/acheong08/obsidian-sync Hello HN, I'm a recent high school graduate and can't afford $8 per month for the official sync service, so I tried my hand at replicating the server. It's still missing a few features, such as file recovery and history, but the basic sync is working. To the creators of Obsidian.md: I'm probably violating the TOS, and I'm sorry. I'll take down the repository if asked. It's not ready for production and is highly inefficient; Not competition, so I hope you'll be lenient.

    2023 · its alternatives →

  4. 4
    Glance▲81

    Preview .md files instantly with quick look

    May 2026 · glance.md · its alternatives →

  5. 5

    Obsidian Mobile brings the power of our desktop app to your mobile devices.

    2021 · obsidian.md · its alternatives →

  6. 6

    Convert any page to clean Markdown instantly

    Apr 2026 · github.com · its alternatives →

  7. 7
    Write.md▲137

    Sharable, distraction free markdown editor.

    2020 · its alternatives →

  8. 8WM
  9. 9

    A feather-light, local-first Markdown editor built for you and your agent.

    Jul 2026 · openmarkdown.dev · its alternatives →

  10. 10

    📝Rich Text / WYSIWYG Editor built for Modularity and Extensibility. - CannerCMS/canner-slate-editor

    2018 · github.com · its alternatives →

  11. 11

    Hi HN. I tested literally dozens of note-taking apps over the years — free, paid, everything. They all sucked except UpNote. Great UX, clean, fast, just works. But your data lives in Google Firebase. Dealbreaker. So I tried Obsidian. Local files, markdown, own your data — great philosophy. But the app itself? Even with everything disabled, as a plain markdown editor it was painful. I actually stopped taking notes entirely. So I built what I wanted: inspired by UpNote's clean design but taken further; less clutter, more polished, with Obsidian's local-first ideology. Your notes are standard…

    Aug 2026 · helixnotes.com · its alternatives →

  12. 12

    Native (Mac & iOS) note-taking based on local Markdown files

    2020 · noteplan.co · its alternatives →

  13. 13
    showmd▲204

    Markdown was never meant to be previewed plain text

    Apr 2026 · showmd.yetanother.one · its alternatives →

  14. 14OS
  15. 15FM
  16. 16

    I've developed a Python API service that uses GPT-4o for OCR on PDFs. It features parallel processing and batch handling for improved performance. Not only does it convert PDF to markdown, but it also describes the images within the PDF using captions like `[Image: This picture shows 4 people waving]`. In testing with NASA's Apollo 17 flight documents, it successfully converted complex, multi-oriented pages into well-structured Markdown. The project is open-source and available on GitHub. Feedback is welcome.

    2024 · github.com · its alternatives →

  17. 17

    Thank you for your comments, just some context: - The app is available for iOS, Android, Windows, Mac, Apple Vision Pro, and the Web. - The Web version is implemented as a Progressive Web Application that is very responsive, local first, offline first, can be installed, and is entirely free to use. - Native (hybrid) versions do not require subscription fees and have small one-time payment. - You can store your notes in Git using any Git provider such as GitHub, GitLab, or Bitbucket. However, it has the best built-in integration with GitHub. Self-hosted scenarios like Gitea are also…

    2024 · about.noteshub.app · its alternatives →

  18. 18

    Manage project tasks using plain text markdown file.

    2020 · marketplace.visualstudio.com · its alternatives →

  19. 19

    Forms.md is a free and open source JavaScript library that lets you build powerful multi-step forms with minimal code.

    2025 · forms.md · its alternatives →

  20. 20
    Design.MD▲111

    Feels a bit like Figma, but for coding agents. Instead of going back and forth with prompts, you give the agent a DESIGN.md that defines the design system up front, and it generally sticks to it when generating UI. Google Stitch seems to be moving in this direction as a standard, so we put together a small collection of DESIGN.md files based on popular web sites.

    Apr 2026 · getdesign.md · its alternatives →

  21. 21

    Opensidian is an open-source, vault-compatible markdown notes app for Linux. Wikilinks, backlinks, graph view and Obsidian community themes. Rust + Tauri v2, no Electron.

    8d ago · opensidian.org · its alternatives →

  22. 22LA

    A privacy-first, open-source platform for knowledge management and collaboration.

    2020 · logseq.com · its alternatives →

  23. 23AF

    Hello, Motivated by this discussion https://goo.gl/te4BFv, I have created a simple (free and open-source) command line note organizer. The tool, called npmnotes, take a folder with notes (written in markdown/texdown) and creates a webpage that lets you search and browse through the notes. You can then publish this webpage or use it locally. The result (built with npmnotes) looks something like this https://npmnotes.org. Currently, this is just a (working) prototype and I plan to add more features soon (based on the feedback I get). What do you think of it?

    2018 · its alternatives →

  24. 24PO

    Hello Hacker News, This message is relevant to those of you who use [Obsidian](https://obsidian.md/) for personal knowledge management. py-obsidianmd is a python library that enables you to change your notes’ metadata in batch. You can also easily move your metadata between the frontmatter and inline notation (dataview style). Checkout: - the presentation video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRPBAKiu37Y - github repository: https://github.com/selimrbd/py-obsidianmd - example usage:…

    2022 · its alternatives →

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Ranked by how close each launch is in meaning, then by votes. Prices were read from each product’s own site when checked and can change. Refine with your own description →