We built Cinder Notes because no one had done it right on Tauri yet.
There are plenty of note-taking apps out there, but most are either bloated Electron apps consuming 500MB+ of RAM, or web-based tools that feel sluggish. We wanted something different:
- Inspired by Zed — The lightning-fast code editor that proves native performance and beautiful design can coexist.
- Inspired by MiaoYan — A delightful Markdown note app that showed us the power of simplicity.
Tauri gave us the perfect foundation: native performance, lightweight bundles (a fraction of Electron's ~150MB), cross-platform support, and the security of Rust. We took that foundation and built the note-taking experience we always wanted — minimal, fast, and beautiful.
- Split View Editor — Write Markdown on the left, see a live preview on the right. Real-time sync.
- Tab Management — Open multiple files in tabs, close individual tabs, and switch between them seamlessly.
- Inline Renaming — Double-click any file or breadcrumb to rename it instantly.
- Auto-Save — Your changes are saved automatically as you type.
- Breadcrumb Navigation — Always know where you are in the file hierarchy.
- File Explorer — A clean tree view for navigating your notes and folders.
- Drag & Drop — Reorganize files and folders by dragging them to new locations.
- Search — Quickly filter files in the explorer with instant search.
- Instant File Creation — Create new notes with a single click from the explorer or welcome page.
- 3 Built-in Themes:
- Cinder Dark — The signature dark theme with warm orange accents.
- Cinder Light — A warm cream theme for daylight hours.
- Zen Black — Pure pitch black for OLED displays and ultimate focus.
- Floating Hub — A minimal floating button for quick access to themes and settings.
- Collapsible Sidebar — Toggle the explorer to maximize your writing space.
- Fullscreen Mode — Expand the editor to fill the entire window.
- Distraction-Free — The interface disappears when you don't need it.
- Keyboard-First — Designed for power users who prefer shortcuts.
- Space Grotesk Typography — Modern, geometric font for a premium feel.
- Smooth Animations — Subtle micro-interactions throughout the UI.
# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/7sg56/cinder-notes.git
cd cinder-notes
# Install dependencies
npm install
# Run in development mode
npm run tauri devnpm run tauri buildCompiled binaries will be generated in src-tauri/target/release/.
| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Framework | Tauri — Lightweight native apps |
| Frontend | React + TypeScript |
| Styling | Tailwind CSS + CSS Variables |
| State | Zustand — Minimal state management |
| Icons | Lucide + React Icons |
| Markdown | Custom renderer with KaTeX for math support |
Why Tauri over Electron?
Tauri apps are significantly smaller (~10-20MB vs ~150MB), use less memory, and leverage the OS's native webview. The Rust backend ensures security and performance.
We're currently in active development. Here's what's next:
- File system persistence via Tauri FS APIs
- Keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+N, Ctrl+S, etc.)
- Command palette
- Full-text search across all notes
- Note linking and backlinks
- Export to PDF/HTML
- End-to-end encryption
- Plugin system
- v0.1 Alpha — February 2026
- v1.0 Stable — Q2 2026
We welcome contributions! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.
- Fork the repository
- Create a feature branch (
git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature) - Commit your changes (
git commit -m 'Add amazing feature') - Push to the branch (
git push origin feature/amazing-feature) - Open a Pull Request
MIT License — see LICENSE for details.
- Tauri — The framework powering the minimal footprint
- Lucide Icons — Beautiful, consistent iconography
- Zustand — Dead simple state management
- Space Grotesk — The typeface that defines Cinder
Built with 🔥 by @7sg56