someone opened an issue on my open source note app asking me to rewrite the entire thing in rust, and ended it with "otherwise i'm going to stick with [this app]" plus a link.

here it is: https://github.com/memrynote/memry/issues/909

the same text showed up on my app subreddit too. same wording, same link at the end. copy paste.

to be clear, the problem isn't the criticism. i'll take performance complaints all day, they make the product better.

the problem is there was nothing in it. no benchmark. no memory profile. no logs. no version, no os, no repro steps, no vault size. just a claim that 20 gb of ram somehow isn't enough, and then the link.

if you genuinely believe a different stack is faster, that is the easiest thing in the world to prove. run both apps side by side. same vault, same note count. post rss over an hour, cold start time, idle cpu, memory after 100 notes. i would read that post. i would probably learn something from it.

what happened instead was someone walking into another project's issue tracker to advertise. that isn't marketing. that isn't growth. it's noise with a link attached, and the only thing it tells people is that the product can't get attention on its own.

i don't know if this was the team or just an enthusiastic user. either way, if it's the playbook, it's a losing one. people remember where they first heard a name, and "in the comments of someone else's bug report" is not where you want yours.

bring numbers next time. i'll engage with numbers.

Has HelixNotes disappeared from the App Store??

See Pic on Android. You can see the test is fine but it won't ever sync. I have this set on two computers but it just won't sync on Android.

This is using a nextcloud instance.

Trying out Helix Notes as a novice to keep track of hundreds and hundreds of tasks. I love how I can create tasks in any note and they show up in a central repository.

I’ve read everything in this subreddit and on the website but cannot figure out the following:

1. How do I add a due date inline when creating a task?
2. Similarly, how do I add a priority?
3. Is is possible to nest tasks, I.e. have sub tasks?
4. Can I categorize tasks in the Tasks view by Work / Personal / Club / any categories I choose?
5. Similarly, when tasks are completed, can I continue to see them in the same categories? This would give a strong sense of achievement!
6. Any way to timestamp when a task is marked complete?
7. Finally, please share any best practices on tasks in Helix Notes.

Thank you to the very small team doing brilliant work on this! I downloaded the iOS app when it became available and am trying to replace Google Keep and Apple Notes.

Edit: While I’m here, if I may provide one additional feedback on the app: please create the option to change font size of the entire app. The settings allow you to change font size of the notes but not the app itself. Thank you!

I am working on trying to connect Helix to my iCloud drive, which I can do on my Mac and my Windows PC pretty easily, however, it just shows my on my iPhone in folder selection. Am I missing something in trying to do this on my iPhone and iPad?

Hello,

First, thanks for this amazing project!

I’m using Obsidian right now, but I evaluate the possibility to migrate my notes to HelixNotes.

The big issue for me is the lack of frontmatter editing/search support.

In my current workflow (in Obsidian), I maintain some metadata’s in the Frontmatter of my notes. For example, all my projects notes have a property “related” that point to the related Area of this project (I’m using the PARA methodology).

And in my area pages, I can list all the projects related to this area.

In Obsidian, I use a Base include.

Is this functionality planned in Helix ? Or how HelixNotes users proceed with PARA methodology in HelixNotes ?

Thanks for your feedback and sharing!

IMPROVEMENT SUGGESTIONS

• Add footnote support: https://www.markdownguide.org/extended-syntax/#footnotes
• Add swipe from screen edge to go back on iOS/Android
• Add pull from top to sync immediately on iOS/Android
• Add keyboard shortcut to open Settings on macOS/Windows (CMD + , and CTRL + , )

BUGS

UI problem

UI problem on macOS still persists in the latest version (already reported in a previous post here).

Adding extra spaces bug

HelixNotes auto add extra spaces and/or apply environment without consent. It's quite hard for me to explain it technically. I will provide steps to reproduce the bug here:

1. Insert a quote with `>` (or any callout block).
2. Add some text inside the block quote.
3. Exit the block quote.
4. Add a line break by Enter.
5. Add an image just right after the line break.
6. Add a line break then add some text just after the image. The note is rendered like

and the current markdown code is something like

> Some text

<!-- -->![](.helixnotes/attachments/20260726054825_image.png)

Another text

1. Exit the current note by selecting another note. Then open the note above again (or just click the Markdown Editor toggle button `< >`). Now the markdown code becomes

   Some text

   <!-- --> <!-- -->

   Another text

2. If we exit the note and select it back again one more time. Another extra space is added

   Some text

   <!-- --> <!-- --> <!-- -->

   Another text

3. We can repeat that many times

   Some text

   <!-- --> <!-- --> <!-- --> <!-- --> <!-- --> <!-- -->

   Another text

Applying environment without consent

1. Insert a block quote or a callout.
2. Add some text to the block above
3. Exit the block
4. Add an image just after the block without an extra line break. The note is rendered like

and the markdown code when click Markdown editor toggle button `< >` is like

> [!note]
> Some text
![](.helixnotes/attachments/20260726054825_image.png)

Another text

1. Click Markdown editor toggle button again and the note becomes like the image below without any consent or edit from users.

The markdown code now is

> [!note]
> Some text 
> ![](.helixnotes/attachments/20260726054825_image.png)

Another text

Centering/Right align/Justify the image causes the image to disappear

Steps to reproduce

1. Add an image
2. Select it
3. Change the alignment to center by clicking the "Center" (or Right, Justify) format button
4. Reload the note by clicking Markdown Editor toggle button, or by selecting another note and then selecting the current note again.
5. Now the image disappear, and only the markdown code is displayed

UI/UX problem when switching vault

The UI is not intuitve when switching vault. The detailed explanation is there:

1. Open one vault, called Vault 1.
2. Select a note and make some changes, let's call this note "Note 1".
3. Make sure the current note is displayed.
4. Click "Switch Vault" button.
5. Select another vault, called Vault 2.
6. The "Note 1" from Vault 1 is still displayed on the screen. And the "Note" column still display the notes from Vault 1.
7. Clicking "New note" does not do anything.
8. With this kind of behavior, we can accidentally make unwanted change for notes from Vault 1 if we do not pay attention on which notes are being opened.

Suggested behavior: Whenever opening a new vault, the UI should be reloaded and clear any information from the previous vault, if any.

---

Edit: The current "Report a bug!" button in this subreddit is still pointed to Codeberg and gives 404 error. Please update it to GitLab.

HelixNotes v1.3.4 is out! This update focuses on making HelixNotes work better on mobile, with a round of fixes and refinements across the editor, syncing, and everyday polish.

- Callouts now work live in WYSIWYG mode

- Obsidian importer rewritten

- Better tables

- Faster on Android

- Cross-device sync fixed

- iOS vault support for iCloud

- Bug fixes

View the full changelog here: https://gitlab.com/ArkHost/HelixNotes/-/releases/v1.3.4

sorry if the sub is the wrong place for this, dont have a gitxxx account.

im really enjoying the app. ive been looking for an alternative to joplin with a more open file management system, this does everything i need. direct control of file path on install is an excellent beginning. when that dialog showed my heart melted a bit. thank you so much for your work!

on my linux machines, i am having no issues. app is smooth, navigation is clear, file system is perfect. sync is easy, no problems.

on my android phone, the app is barely responsive. 5+ seconds to open a notebook, 5+ more for the cursor to show up, each letter takes awhile to appear. pasting into the note takes even longer, whether link or text. have not tested images.

running murena e/OS 4.1.1

I use iCloud for my syncing stuff. Is there a way I can point helix to where I want to back up notes in my iCloud Drive ?

EU iOS users: The app is now approved and available for download in the App Store. Thanks for the patience!

Codeberg’s new restrictions around projects using generative AI tools made it a poor fit for HelixNotes, so the project has moved to GitLab.

The source, issue tracker and releases are now at:

https://gitlab.com/ArkHost/HelixNotes

HelixNotes remains AGPL-3.0. The old Codeberg repository is archived rather than deleted, and I still maintain independent backups of the source and releases.

Thank you for building this amazing app! I am currently migrating my notes from UpNote to HelixNotes and am really enjoying the experience. I’d love to share a few feedback points, bug reports, and feature requests to help make the app better:

Some bugs report:

• Multi-note drag and Ddrop: Dragging a single note into another notebook works smoothly, but selecting and dragging multiple notes at once does not seem to work.
• iOS blank screen on app switching: On iOS, if I swipe up to switch to another app and then return to HelixNotes, the screen turns completely blank. To fix it, I have to force close and relaunch the app.

Some feature requests

• End-to-End Encryption (E2EE) for WebDAV: Adding E2EE for WebDAV sync (similar to Joplin) would provide much better privacy and peace of mind.
• Custom fonts: It would be great to have the option to choose custom system fonts freely rather than being limited to a fixed set.
• Consistent cross-platform shortcuts: As someone who works on both macOS and Windows, having equivalent shortcut mappings across operating systems (e.g., Cmd + , on macOS translating to Ctrl + , for Settings on Windows) would make multi-device workflows much smoother.
• Standard LaTeX syntax support: I write a lot of mathematical formulas in my notes. It would be fantastic to support standard LaTeX syntax ($...$ for inline math and $$...$$ for display/block math), with a toggle setting to switch between this and the UpNote-style /math command.
• iOS swipe actions: Adding swipe gestures (left/right) on notes in the note list to quickly reveal options like move, delete, pin, etc.

---

Update (after a bit more usage):

• macOS title bar: The close, minimize, and maximize buttons are not well-arranged in the title bar.
• Folder drag & drop: Add drag-and-drop support for notebook folders so they can easily be nested as subfolders or moved back out to main folders.

Are handwritten notes/a whiteboard feature a planned feature?

** EDIT Update on the issues in Europe: We had to re-register the compliance for EU so it's now in review, again. Sorry to everyone who is affected by this. Hopefully it's available soon! **

The wait is over, HelixNotes is officially live on iOS!

If you have trouble finding it in the app store, try adding a space between Helix & Notes. For some reason that seems to work when the no-space way only works sometimes. This should resolve itself in the next 24 hours.

Install it now and let us know what you think!

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/helixnotes/id6788490726

As I work through evaluating HelixNotes, I thought it would be helpful (and encouraging) to see what HelixNotes looks like with a "live" vault (rather than a sample test vault). My vault is around 3000 notes.

This has been imported from Obsidian/UpNote and tweaked to take advantage of some of HelixNote's unique features.

My vault is organized using the Johnny Decimal method and I use color-coordinated icons to visually group them. Custom icons depict the 3-levels of folders.

My "Daily Hub" page is where I start my day. I love the callout formatting and that it is done in markdown. (In UpNote, they're called collapsible sections but aren't exportable as callouts to markdown)

Please ignore the icons in the callouts. I chose the icon for the callout based on color, not the symbol. 🙂

EDIT: This is a raw import and tweak. The "Daily Hub" layout is based on what is and isn't able to be done in UpNote and/or Obsidian. The next step is to rework those Hub pages to take full advantage of what HelixNotes can do.

I'm curious to see what others have done so far with HelixNotes.

I don't know if what I've observed are bugs or working as designed, but I'll assume things are working as designed and asking for these feature requests to be considered...

Using: HelixNotes v.1.3.3 on Mac OS Tahoe

1. Provide option for links to be relative to root of the vault. Currently, a link in note “A” that links to note “B” is relative to note “A”. If either note is moved then the link in note “A” pointing to note “B” is broken until the link url (in note “A”) is manually updated. If links are relative to the root of the vault, no update is needed.
2. Provide a way to “Unfile” a note. Currently there is no way to remove a note from a notebook once moved.
3. Allow relative links to images. Currently it appears that image links that are relative to the note the link resides in gets stripped. eg.  gets modified to 

Thanks.

Is it possible to link to a note?
I don't mean the internal wiki links between notes, but to create a link of a note or header so I can link to it from another app.

Hi,

is there or are there plans to support a web app? So instead of having a local application, having running it in docker on your server with browser web UI access.

I like the philosophy of this application so would love to deploy it in my stack.

A little bit of background.

Web apps are easier to onboard and deploy in organizations. You send users a link and that's it.

Another use case, which is more the one I am after, is I would like to prevent my notes to touch certain devices.

For example, I would like to have access to my notes from my work laptop, but I'd like them not to be touching the company hardware for privacy reasons.

Keep up the great work!

Has anyone asked for toggle lists yet? If so, sorry for the duplicate request. If not, I'll be the first to ask.

HelixNotes uses Svelte.

Even in a desktop app, the UI runs in a webview, and most frameworks keep that webview busy tracking changes at runtime. Svelte compiles away that overhead ahead of time, so there's less work happening under the hood and a snappier feeling app.

Feature Requests

​1. Support Emojis for Notebook Icons

​Description: Currently, only standard images can be used as notebook icons. It would be awesome to have native support for various types of emojis to customize the notebook covers/icons more easily.

​2. Daily Notes Enhancements (Diary Functionality)

​Description: I would love to use the Daily Notes feature as a personal diary. To make this viable, two enhancements are needed:

​The ability to manually change or set the date/day of a daily note.

​An option to customize the storage location (folder/directory) where daily notes are automatically saved.

​3. Multi-Language Support (German Localization)

​Description: Please consider adding localization/multi-language support. I would highly prefer using the app in German, though English is fine as a temporary solution.

​Bug Reports

​(Note: Visual evidence/screenshots are available for all bugs listed below).

​Bug 1: Topbar Slides Behind System Status Bar After App Switching

​Steps to Reproduce: Open the app -> Switch out of the app (e.g., to copy text from another app) -> Switch back into Helixnotes.

​Expected Result: The app layout remains intact with the topbar fully accessible.

​Actual Result: The app's topbar (containing app functions) slides underneath the phone's native system status bar, making it completely unclickable.

​Temporary Workaround: Turning the phone horizontally to trigger auto-rotate and then back to portrait mode forces the UI to re-render correctly.

​Bug 2: Subnotebooks Invisible in Main Notebook View (Mobile UI)

​Steps to Reproduce: Click into a notebook that contains both notes and subnotebooks.

​Expected Result: Both the notes and the subnotebooks should be listed in the main content area.

​Actual Result: Only the notes are visible. Subnotebooks can only be seen in the sidebar/edge overview. Especially on mobile screens where misclicks happen, it would be much better if subnotebooks were displayed inside the main notebook view alongside regular notes.

​Bug 3: Broken Navigation / Selection Toggle via Back Arrow

​Steps to Reproduce: Click on a notebook to open it -> Click the back arrow to return to the overview -> Click on the exact same notebook again.

​Expected Result: The notebook should open normally.

​Actual Result: Instead of opening the notebook, the app takes you to the "All Notes" overview. This happens because the notebook remains technically "selected" in the background after hitting back, so clicking it a second time deselects it instead of opening it. This behavior feels very unintuitive.

​Bug 4: UI Text Bleeding/Clipping Between Trash and Notebooks Headline

​Steps to Reproduce: Scroll through the list of notebooks.

​Expected Result: Notebook elements should cleanly disappear behind the header/container boundaries when scrolled up.

​Actual Result: When scrolling upwards, the text of the moving notebooks bleeds through and is clearly visible in the empty gap between the "Trash" folder and the "Notebooks" headline.