I'm building an app to replace Overleaf and Notion
Hi HN, Since 2019, I’ve been working on a writing platform designed for creating complex documents (e.g., theses). I personally use it for everything as it also allows to classify documents in categories so you can organize them efficiently. As of a few months ago, the app is also available in the browser, and you can now invite coworkers to collaborate on a document in real time. The app is somewhat inspired by LyX. It offers an intuitive, modern editor, but users don’t need to know any LaTeX. When it’s time to export, they can choose from a range of templates (IEEE paper, thesis, etc.). A…
In plain words
This writing platform is designed for creating complex documents like theses and research papers. It features a modern block-based editor that doesn't require LaTeX knowledge, yet supports export to templates such as IEEE papers and theses. Available as both a desktop and browser app, it includes real-time collaboration tools and document organization by category. The custom editor handles large documents efficiently, and users can write in Markdown if preferred. The platform targets academic and professional writers seeking an alternative to existing tools.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
In the maker’s words, at launch
Hi HN, Since 2019, I’ve been working on a writing platform designed for creating complex documents (e.g., theses). I personally use it for everything as it also allows to classify documents in categories so you can organize them efficiently. As of a few months ago, the app is also available in the browser, and you can now invite coworkers to collaborate on a document in real time. The app is somewhat inspired by LyX. It offers an intuitive, modern editor, but users don’t need to know any LaTeX. When it’s time to export, they can choose from a range of templates (IEEE paper, thesis, etc.). A few highlights: - It uses a custom-built block editor that performs well with large documents. Each block is its own contenteditable element (instead of having one massive contenteditable for the whole document) - If you prefer plain text - you can insert a Markdown block and write using Markdown instead - Built-in citation management - Support for cross-references and footnotes - Mermaid diagrams, inline LaTeX equations, and display math are all supported - "To-do" sections help you stay organized while writing You can try it out here: https://www.monsterwriter.com/
Does the same job
all alternatives →- IAI am building an open-source Confluence and Notion alternative2024 · github.com · ▲551
Hello HN, I am building Docmost, an open-source collaborative wiki and documentation software. It is an open-source alternative to Confluence and Notion. I have been working on it for the past 12 months. This is the first public release (beta). The rich-text editor has support for real-time collaboration, LaTex, inline comments, tables, and callouts to name a few. Features - Collaborative real-time editor - Spaces (Teamspace) - User permissions - Groups - Comments - Page history - Nested pages - Search - File attachments You can find screenshots of the product on the website. Website:…
- AOAn open-source, collaborative, WYSIWYG Markdown editor2023 · editor.vrite.io · ▲460
Inspired by the design and UI/UX of apps like Notion, and utility of open-source apps like StackEdit, I decided to create a minimalistic, local-only WYSIWYG Markdown editor. Some features worth highlighting: - Monaco editor and Prettier integration for code snippets - Tables (apparently the holy grail of WYSIWYG editing) - Embeds (for CodePen, CodeSandbox and YouTube, most useful for HTML or JSON exports) - Accepts Markdown paste-in, and "exports"/generates HTML, Markdown and JSON outputs - Collaboration (with real-time awareness and initial commenting system, available only when…
- LPLeaflet.pub – a web app for creating and sharing rich documents2025 · ▲170
Hi HN! For the last 8 months we've been working on leaflet.pub, a web app for making delightful documents. We're trying to strike a balance between Notion and Google Docs — very fast, ultralight and easy to share, but also supporting rich blocks and multiple pages. Weirdly, none of the many notetaking/document apps that we could find hit this combination, so we made Leaflet. With it you can: - Instantly create a doc, without an account - Share read and edit links - Sign-in with email to sync your docs to different devices - Add rich blocks, like canvases, subpages, rsvps, and polls It's…
More life & fun this month
the category →- TL
Life & fun · 10d ago · louisabraham.github.io
Photosynthesis fires two of your iPhone
Life & fun · 29d ago · photosynthesis.camera
- CCCreatium Coach▲320
Your multimedia mentor that takes you from mid to great
Life & fun · 11d ago · producthunt.creatium.info
SoloUno▲310Take control of hair pulling, nail biting & skin picking
Life & fun · 28d ago · solouno.io
Launched alongside, June 2025
the whole month →- IM
Hey HN! Pilots everywhere are required to keep a logbook of all their flying hours, aircraft, airports, and so on. Since I track everything digitally (some people still just use paper logbooks!), I put together some data visualizations and a few 3D globes to show my flying history. This globe is probably my favourite so far: https://jameshard.ing/pilot/globes/all If you’ve got ideas for other graphs or ways to show this kind of data, I’d love to hear them!
Life & fun · 2025 · jameshard.ing
Stunning presentations with AI. No design skills required.
AI · 2025 · chroniclehq.com
Build native mobile apps for iOS and Android without code.
Dev tools · 2025 · bble.io
All your connections, across all your socials.
AI · 2025 · pally.com
- WC
I was the main contributor to workout.lol, an open-source fitness app to easily build a workout routine. The project had traction (1.4k GitHub stars, 95 forks, ~20K visits/month), but was eventually sold due to video licensing hurdles. The new owner stopped maintaining it, and the repo went abandoned. Over the next 9 months, I sent 15 emails to try to save it : no replies. Feature requests & issues were ignored. The community was left with a "broken" tool let's say. I couldn't just let it die So I built the new version from scratch with the same open-source spirit, but a better…
Dev tools · 2025 · github.com