Jotter
A Markdown note-taking desktop application compatible with Obsidian vaults, built with Tauri 2, Rust, TypeScript, Svelte 5 (Vite), and CodeMirror 6.
Jotter's defining feature is clipboard line break preservation: copying text out of Jotter preserves single and multiple consecutive line breaks and indentation as written in the editor when pasted into Google Chat, Slack, Gmail, Microsoft Word, and a plain-text editor.
The Three Copy Modes
Most Markdown editors and webview-based apps either collapse single \n line breaks into spaces (CommonMark soft-break rule), wrap paragraphs in <p> tags (which adds unwanted 8pt–12pt spacing in Word and Gmail), collapse leading indentation spaces in HTML targets, or copy dark-mode background colors onto the clipboard.
Jotter solves this by routing every copy (Ctrl+C) and cut (Ctrl+X) operation through Rust (arboard) with three selectable modes (accessible from the top command bar or Settings → Copy):
| Copy Mode | Clipboard Formats Written | Best For | How It Works |
|---|
| 1. Markdown source (Default) | text/plain + text/html | Pasting raw Markdown notes, code snippets, or lists into Google Chat, Slack, Gmail, Word, or Notepad with exact line breaks and indentation | Writes raw Markdown to text/plain with normalized \n line breaks, and writes an HTML-escaped text/html representation where every \n becomes <br>, leading and repeated spaces become , and every tab (\t) becomes four . |
| 2. Plain (Opt-in "Clean Text") | text/plain only (no HTML) | Pasting stripped, human-readable prose into plain-text fields, forms, or terminals without **, #, or [[wiki]] syntax | Uses arboard::Clipboard::set_text exclusively. Strips Markdown markers (#, **, *, ~~, `, [label](url) -> label, [[Note|Alias]] -> Alias outside inline code spans) and drops code fence lines (``` / ~~~) so the line count matches the code block content. |
| 3. Rich | text/html + text/plain | Pasting formatted text (bold, italic, inline code, links) into Gmail, Word, Google Docs, or Outlook without extra paragraph spacing | Renders inline Markdown per line via comrak, drops code fence delimiter lines (``` / ~~~), converts leading/repeated spaces and tabs to , and joins lines strictly with <br> instead of <p> blocks. Also provides clean plain text as the fallback stream. |
Paste as Plain Text (Ctrl+Shift+V)
Pressing Ctrl+Shift+V (or clicking Paste Plain in the toolbar) reads text/plain directly from the system clipboard via Rust (arboard::Clipboard::get_text), normalizes \r\n / \r to \n, and inserts clean unstyled text at the cursor.
Clipboard Image Paste (Ctrl+V)
When a vault is open, pasting an image from the system clipboard (such as a screenshot) automatically encodes and saves the PNG to <vault>/attachments/Pasted image YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.png and inserts ![[Pasted image YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.png]] (or standard Markdown , configurable in Settings → Editor). Pasted images render inline in Live mode.
Writing and Organizing
Moving Notes
In the sidebar's Folders view, drag a note onto a folder to move it there. Drop it on the vault name above the tree to move it back to the root. Jotter saves pending edits first, keeps open tabs on the moved note, and refuses to replace another file with the same name.
AI Menu
The AI menu opens in the center of the app window. Drag its AI header to reposition it. You can also focus the header and use the arrow keys; hold Shift for larger steps, or press Home to center it again.
The Rewrite, Translate, and Summarize tabs each keep their settings and preview while the menu is open. Switching tabs lets pending requests finish in the background. Cancel stops the current tab's request; closing the menu cancels all pending requests and clears its previews.
Math
Write inline math as $e^{i\pi} + 1 = 0$ and display math between $$ lines. Live mode renders it with KaTeX; move the cursor into a block to edit the TeX, with a rendered preview below it. A $ followed by a space, or a closing $ followed by a digit, stays plain text, so $5 and $10 is not treated as math.
Diagrams
Fenced code blocks tagged mermaid render as diagrams through Pele, a Mermaid renderer that follows Jotter's theme colors. A syntax error shows the message and line number in place of the diagram.
Math and diagrams also appear in HTML export and in Print to PDF. Exported HTML files use MathML, so they need no extra fonts or stylesheets.
Calculations
End a line with an arithmetic expression and =, such as Rent split: 1850 / 3 =, and Jotter shows the result after the =. Press Tab or click the result to insert it. Expressions support + - * / ^, parentheses, percentages (200 - 25%, 15% of 80), pi, e, and the functions sqrt, abs, round, floor, ceil, min, max, sin, cos, tan, log, ln, and exp. A line needs an operator or function, so x = 5 stays text.
Jotter calculates only when the line ends with =, so dates and phone numbers elsewhere in your text stay as typed. Spaces around operators are optional: 4-7= and 4 - 7 = both give -3.
A fenced code block tagged calc shows a result after each line:
```calc
price = 12.5
qty = 4
price * qty # 50
shipping = 7
sum # 73.5, every result since the last blank line
```
name = expression assigns a variable for later lines. sum and total add up the results since the last blank line, and prev holds the previous result. # and // start comments. Results are not saved in the file, except in HTML export and Print to PDF, which write each result after its line.
Properties
The note header shows the note's YAML frontmatter as a form. Each property has a type: text, list, number, checkbox, date, or date and time. Click a property's icon to change its type. Add property appears when you hover over the line under the title. Edits change only that property's lines in the file, so comments and formatting elsewhere in the frontmatter stay as they are, and Ctrl+Z undoes them. Values the form cannot edit, such as nested maps, show as read-only text; edit them in Source mode. Live mode hides the raw YAML; Source mode shows it.
Outlining
Markdown lists work as an outline:
Alt+↑ and Alt+↓ move the item at the cursor, with its children, past its neighbor. Outside a list, they move the line.Tab nests an item under the item above it, and Shift+Tab moves it back out.- Numbered lists renumber after a move, indent, or outdent. A list keeps its first number, and an item that starts a new sublist becomes
1..
- These commands skip
- lines in code blocks and in YAML frontmatter.
- Click the arrow in the left margin to fold an item's children, or focus the arrow and press Enter or Space.
Ctrl+Shift+[ folds and Ctrl+Shift+] unfolds at the cursor, including heading sections.
Ctrl+. shows only the item at the cursor and its children. Press Ctrl+. again on that item, or click Show whole note, to zoom out.
Task Due Dates
Due dates inside backtick code spans stay literal and do not create calendar events or due-date chips.
Give a checklist item a due date in any of three common formats, each with an optional time:
- [ ] Pay rent 📅 2026-11-01
- [ ] Call Sam due:2026-10-21 09:30
- [ ] Renew passport [due:: 2026-12-01]
Live mode shows the date as a chip, such as Tomorrow or Nov 1, which turns red once the date has passed. Move the cursor onto the line to edit the date. Add Due Date to Task in the command palette adds today's date to the task at the cursor.
To see due dates in a calendar app, choose a file in Settings → Vault → Task calendar. Jotter writes each open task as an event in that .ics file and rewrites it a few seconds after you edit, so a calendar subscribed to the file stays current. Tasks without a time are all-day events. Completed tasks are left out. Pick a file outside the vault, or inside a synced folder if your calendar app needs to reach it from another device. The file picker uses the native desktop dialog.
Tags and Links
The Notes sidebar can list notes by tag instead of by folder. Click Tags & links above the list. Nested tags such as #project/alpha appear under their parent tag, and notes without tags appear under No tags. Expand a note to see the notes it links to. Files stay in their folders; switch back with Folders.
Home Page
With a vault open and no note open, Jotter shows a Home page of note cards: recently opened, recently edited, new, most linked notes, and a daily Rediscover pick from notes untouched for three months. A note appears only in the first section that matches it. Click the gear to customize: rename, reorder, hide, or remove sections, set each one's card count and sort order, limit it to a folder or tag, or add a section for a tag. Each vault keeps its own layout. Turn the Home page off in Settings → Vault.
Syncing Through a Cloud Folder
To use a vault on several computers, keep the vault folder inside a folder your sync client manages: Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, or Box. Jotter reads and writes plain files, and it reloads notes that change on disk.
- Move or create the vault inside the synced folder, such as
C:\Users\you\Dropbox\Notes.
- Keep the vault available offline. In OneDrive, right-click the vault folder and choose Always keep on this device. In Google Drive for desktop, choose Available offline. In Dropbox, choose Make available offline. Online-only files make search and backlinks wait for downloads.
- Open the vault in Jotter on each computer. Indexes and edit history stay in the local OS application data folder on each computer, so the sync client never copies them.
- Let the sync client finish before you edit the same note on another computer.
When two computers change a note before syncing, the sync client keeps both versions and names one as a conflict copy, such as Plan (Alex's conflicted copy 2026-10-19).md (Dropbox), Plan-DESKTOP-4F2K9.md (OneDrive), Plan (1).md (Google Drive and Box), or Plan.sync-conflict-20261019-101500-ABCDEFG.md (Syncthing). Jotter lists these copies in the Sync conflicts sidebar view and in the status bar. Open the copy and the original, move the changes you want into the original, and move the copy to the Recycle Bin. Settings → Vault → Cloud sync shows which client Jotter detected. Jotter guesses the client from the vault path, and it matches the OneDrive, Google Drive, Box, and iCloud names only in vaults inside those folders, so a note named Plan (1).md in a local vault is not flagged. Those names are ambiguous even inside a sync folder, since Lecture 2.md can be a real note. Select Mark as not a conflict (the check mark) to stop listing it.
Split View
Ctrl+Shift+\ puts a second note beside the one you are reading. The split button in the title bar does the same, and Open on the right in a note's context menu opens that note there. Each pane has its own cursor, scroll position and undo history, and the pane you typed in last takes the next note you open; its tab is marked in the tab strip. Drag the bar between the panes to resize them, or double-click it to even them out. To see the open note as it will export instead of a second note, run Show Rendered Preview Beside the Note from the command palette. A window too narrow for two text columns hides the second pane until you widen it again.
Version History
Jotter periodically keeps the previous saved text of a note so you can recover from unwanted edits. Select Version history in the note's header, or run Version History of This Note from the command palette, to see the stored versions newest first. Each one shows what restoring it would change, line by line, or the full text it held. Restore this version writes it back to the note and keeps the text it replaced as another version, so a restore can itself be undone.
Versions live in Jotter's application data folder, never in the vault, so a sync client never copies them between computers. A save stores a version only when the newest one is at least five minutes old, and older versions are thinned as they age: everything from the last day, one a day for a month, then one a week for a year. A missing note keeps its history for at least a month after Jotter first detects its absence, so restoring it from the Recycle Bin brings the history back. Turn the whole feature off in Settings → Vault → Keep version history.
Backing Up and Restoring a Vault
Settings → Vault → Vault backups writes a ZIP of the whole vault to a folder you pick, on a schedule (every 6 hours, daily, or weekly) or when you press Back up now. Jotter keeps the number of copies you choose and deletes the oldest. Choose a folder outside the vault, such as a synced folder or an external drive. A backup folder inside the vault is skipped, and so are symbolic links.
A backup is an ordinary ZIP of the vault folder, so you restore it without Jotter's help:
- Unzip the backup into a new, empty folder.
- In Jotter, choose Open vault and select that folder. This works on a new installation or a different computer.
Version history, pins, and settings live in Jotter's application data folder, not in the vault, so a backup does not include them. A restored vault starts with no version history. To keep your settings, use Export settings in Settings → System.
Updates
Jotter checks GitHub for a newer release about fifteen seconds after it starts and once a day after that. When one exists, an Update button appears in the status bar. Select it to read what changed and to choose Install and restart. Jotter saves your open notes, downloads the update, checks its signature against the key built into the app, installs it, and restarts. An update never installs without your confirmation.
Settings → About turns the automatic check off and has a Check for updates button, and the command palette has Check for Updates. The check sends nothing but the request itself, which GitHub sees as it does any download. A Linux .deb install cannot replace itself, so the dialog tells you to download the new package instead. The AppImage and the Windows installers update in place.
Daily Notes
Ctrl+Shift+D opens today's note, Daily/YYYY-MM-DD.md. If the note does not exist, Jotter creates it from the template note Templates/Daily.md, replacing {{date}}, {{title}} and {{time}}. Without a template note, Jotter uses a built-in one. Set the folder and template in Settings → Vault.
Recently Deleted
Notes and folders you delete go to the Recycle Bin. The Recently deleted sidebar view lists the ones from the open vault, newest first, and restores them to their original location. Jotter does not overwrite a file that now exists at that path.
Typo-Tolerant Search
Full-text search (Ctrl+Shift+F) also finds words one or two letters off, so recieve finds receive. Exact matches rank first. Words of three letters or fewer, quoted phrases, and queries with operators such as AND or title: match exactly.
Spell Check
The editor underlines misspelled words. Right-click a word for suggestions, or add it to your personal dictionary. Turn spell check off in Settings → Editor.
Jotter ships Hunspell dictionaries for English (United States and United Kingdom), Spanish, French, German, Portuguese (Brazil), and Italian. Settings → Editor → Spelling dictionaries picks the languages for the open vault; a word counts as correct when any of them accepts it. A note can use other languages through its lang property:
---
lang: [en, es]
---
Tags such as es-MX match the closest dictionary, here es. A note in a language with no installed dictionary gets no underlines. Set spellcheck: false to skip one note.
To add a language, put a Hunspell .aff and .dic pair with the same name, such as nl.aff and nl.dic, in the app data dictionaries folder (Settings → Editor → Open folder), then select Reload. Words you add from the editor go to personal.txt in the same folder. Choose System instead of Jotter to use the WebView's checker and the native checker for every note (language coverage depends on the OS and WebView).
Interface Language
Jotter's interface is available in English and Spanish. Settings → Appearance → Language switches it immediately. System follows the OS language and uses English when the OS language has no translation. The language setting is separate from the spelling dictionaries.
To add a language, add its code to locales in project.inlang/settings.json and copy messages/en.json to messages/<code>.json, then translate the values. Keep every {placeholder}, in the same order as English. npm test fails when a translation is missing a key or reorders placeholders.
Summon Hotkey, Tray, and Closing
Turn on Settings → System → Summon hotkey to show or hide Jotter from any app with Ctrl+Alt+J, or a hotkey you choose.
Keep Jotter in the tray puts an icon in the system tray while Jotter runs, and Closing the window chooses what the window's X button does: quit Jotter, or hide it to the tray. Hiding to the tray turns the tray icon on, so the window always has a way back. Quit from the tray icon's menu; Jotter saves open notes before it exits.
Launching Jotter while it already runs brings the open window to the front, whether it sits in the tray, is minimized, or is behind another app.
CSS Snippets
Put .css files in the app data snippets folder, then turn each one on in Settings → System → CSS snippets. Snippets load after the theme, so they can override its colors, fonts and spacing. Open folder opens the snippets folder, and Reload picks up edits.
Command line and MCP server
jotter is a command-line tool that lets scripts and AI agents work on a vault without the app. Build it with cargo build --release -p jotter-cli from src-tauri/. It reads and writes the Markdown files directly, so the app does not need to be running. Every answer is JSON.
The desktop executable is jotter-desktop; the CLI executable is jotter. Both can be built in the same workspace without overwriting each other.
jotter --vault ~/Notes search "quarterly plan"
jotter --vault ~/Notes read "Projects/Plan"
echo "- call the bank" | jotter --vault ~/Notes append Inbox --create
jotter --vault ~/Notes rename "Projects/Plan" "Projects/Roadmap"
Set JOTTER_VAULT instead of repeating --vault. The commands are search, list, read, create, append, rename, delete, backlinks, tags, tasks, health, versions, version, context, and set-context. Run jotter --help for the options.
- Safe writes. Writes use the app's atomic write path. Before
append or a link rewrite replaces a note's text, the CLI saves that text to the note's version history, so the app's timeline shows it and can restore it. delete moves to the Recycle Bin. rename moves version history and rewrites links to the note or folder unless you pass --no-update-links.
- Limits. Pass
--read-only to refuse every write. A command works on the one vault you name, and paths cannot leave it. The CLI has no access to the AI keys in your keychain.
- MCP.
jotter --vault ~/Notes mcp serves the same operations as tools over standard input and output, for any MCP client. Add --read-only to list and run only the tools that do not change the vault. For Claude Code, run claude mcp add jotter -- jotter --vault ~/Notes --read-only mcp.
- Shared context.
_context/Context.md holds what you are working on. The MCP tools get_context and update_context (and the context and set-context commands) read and replace it, and the server tells each client to call get_context first. Every assistant connected to the same vault, such as Claude and ChatGPT, sees the same note. update_context is a write, so it is absent under --read-only; the previous text stays in version history.
- Index. Each read builds a fresh index from the files, so a very large vault takes a moment per call and the answer is always current.
Accessibility
Jotter targets WCAG 2.2 AA. Automated checks cover labels, contrast, and keyboard behavior; screen-reader and operating-system checks remain pending. The shortcuts below reach every view, a dialog keeps Tab inside it until you close it with Escape, and the two draggable edges — the sidebar's and split view's — also move with the arrow keys, reset with Home, and have a double-click shortcut, so neither needs a drag. The editor reports itself to a screen reader as a text box with a name, panels and regions are labelled, and the status bar announces saves and errors as they happen.
npm run test:review-ui runs the interface checks, which include an axe audit of the main screens in the light, dark and high-contrast themes. Screen-reader passes with NVDA and VoiceOver are manual and still to do.
Keyboard Shortcuts
Shortcut labels use Ctrl on Windows/Linux and Cmd on macOS. Folding uses Cmd+Option+[ and Cmd+Option+] on macOS.
File, Vault & Navigation
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
Ctrl+N | Create new Markdown note in vault |
Ctrl+O | Open Quick Switcher (fuzzy search by note title & path) |
Ctrl+P | Open Command Palette (available in all modes, including Zen mode) |
Ctrl+Shift+F | Open full-text Vault Search (tantivy with highlighted snippets, tolerates typos) |
Ctrl+Shift+D | Open today's daily note, creating it from the template if needed |
Ctrl+S | Flush autosave for the active note immediately |
Ctrl+W | Close the focused pane's note tab; on a focused tab, close that tab |
Delete | Close the focused tab in the tab strip |
Ctrl+\ | Toggle left sidebar (or exit Focus Mode) |
Ctrl+Shift+\ | Open or close the second editor pane (split view) |
Arrow keys | On a focused window divider, move it; Home resets it |
Ctrl+, | Open Settings (Editor, Copy, Appearance, Vault, AI, System) |
Ctrl+Alt+J | Summon hotkey: show or hide Jotter from any app (off by default; set in Settings > System) |
Ctrl+Shift+P | Print / Export active note to PDF (Microsoft Print to PDF) |
Esc | Close active modal/dialog or exit Focus Mode (Minimal / Zen) |
Editing Modes & Focus
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
Ctrl+/ | Toggle between Live Preview mode and Source mode |
Ctrl+Shift+M | Toggle Minimal Focus Mode (hides sidebar, tabs, toolbars, and status bar) |
F11 | Toggle Zen Fullscreen Mode (fullscreen window with only the centered editor canvas) |
Markdown Formatting & Clipboard
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|
Ctrl+C / Ctrl+X | Copy / Cut selection (or current line if nothing is selected) using active Copy Mode |
Ctrl+Shift+V | Paste as plain text (text/plain normalized to \n) |
Ctrl+V | Paste text or save clipboard image to attachments/Pasted image YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.png |
Ctrl+B | Toggle Bold (**text**) |
Ctrl+I | Toggle Italic (*text*) |
Ctrl+Shift+S | Toggle Strikethrough (~~text~~) |
Ctrl+E | Toggle Inline Code (`code`) |
Ctrl+K | Insert Markdown link ([text](url)) |
Ctrl+1 … Ctrl+6 | Set Heading level 1–6 (# … ######) |
Ctrl+Shift+8 | Toggle bullet list (- ) |
Ctrl+Shift+9 | Toggle task list checkbox (- [ ] ) |
Ctrl+Shift+. | Toggle blockquote (> ) |
Tab | Insert a pending calculation result; in a list, nest the item under the one above |
Shift+Tab | Move a list item out one level |
Alt+↑ / Alt+↓ | Move the list item, with its children, or the line |
|
To fold or unfold everything, use Fold All and Unfold All in the command palette. They have no shortcut, because Windows reports AltGr as Ctrl+Alt, and many keyboard layouts type [ and ] with AltGr.
File Tree & Calendar Keyboard Navigation
| Shortcut | Context | Action |
|---|
Enter | File Tree item | Open note or expand/collapse folder |
F2 | File Tree item | Rename selected note or folder inline |
Delete | File Tree item | Move selected note or folder to the system trash (with confirmation) |
Arrow Keys | Calendar Month Grid | Move day selection (Left/Right ±1 day, Up/Down ±7 days across month boundaries) |
T | Calendar Month Grid | Jump to Today and select today's notes |
Desktop prerequisites
-
Rust (stable toolchain, version 1.88 or later, via rustup)
-
Node.js (v20+ and npm)
-
Windows: Microsoft C++ build tools and the Edge WebView2 Runtime.
-
macOS preparation: Xcode command-line tools and the system WKWebView. A native Mac build and release smoke test are still required.
-
Linux: WebKitGTK and the bundling tools. On Debian and Ubuntu:
sudo apt install libwebkit2gtk-4.1-dev libayatana-appindicator3-dev librsvg2-dev \
libxdo-dev libssl-dev patchelf build-essential curl file
Fedora uses webkit2gtk4.1-devel, libappindicator-gtk3-devel, librsvg2-devel, libxdo-devel, openssl-devel and patchelf; Arch uses webkit2gtk-4.1, libappindicator-gtk3, librsvg, xdotool, openssl and patchelf.
Build & Run Instructions
Install frontend dependencies:
npm install
Run in development mode:
npm run tauri dev
Build native desktop bundles under src-tauri/target/release/bundle/ (Windows installers on Windows; app and DMG on macOS; AppImage and .deb on Linux):
npm run tauri build
Linux
Linux support is groundwork awaiting a native build, package installation, and desktop smoke tests. The Linux configuration uses native window decorations. Desktop behavior depends on the session:
- Clipboard. Native Wayland support requires a compositor with a supported data-control protocol. Enable XWayland when those protocols are unavailable. GNOME, KDE, and X11 copy/paste checks remain pending.
- Global shortcuts. The summon hotkey and quick capture need X11. Wayland lets no application claim a system-wide shortcut, so Jotter refuses to register one and says so in Settings → System. Logging in with X11 (Xorg), or starting Jotter with
GDK_BACKEND=x11, makes them work.
- The tray icon. It needs a StatusNotifier host. KDE Plasma has one; GNOME needs the AppIndicator extension. Without it the icon never appears, so leave the close button on Quits Jotter, which is the default.
The AppImage needs no installation: make it executable and run it. The .deb installs with sudo apt install ./jotter_<version>_amd64.deb. Application data lives in ~/.local/share/Jotter, outside your vault. Deleted notes go to the freedesktop trash, and the Recently deleted view restores them.
Releases and Code Signing
Pushing a tag such as v0.5.0 runs .github/workflows/release.yml. It builds the x64 and ARM64 Windows installers (an .exe per-user setup and an .msi for each) and the Linux x86_64 AppImage and .deb, and attaches them to a draft GitHub release, which you review and publish. The tag must match the version in src-tauri/tauri.conf.json. A pull request that edits the workflow builds the same packages as workflow artifacts, with no release.
The installers are unsigned until signing is set up, so Windows SmartScreen warns on first launch. The workflow signs every executable and installer with Azure Trusted Signing once these exist in the repository settings:
- Secrets
AZURE_CLIENT_ID, AZURE_CLIENT_SECRET, and AZURE_TENANT_ID for an app registration with the Trusted Signing Certificate Profile Signer role.
- Variables
TRUSTED_SIGNING_ENDPOINT (such as https://eus.codesigning.azure.net), TRUSTED_SIGNING_ACCOUNT, and TRUSTED_SIGNING_PROFILE.
Update signing
Installed copies of Jotter update themselves from the latest published release, and refuse any download not signed with the private key that matches the pubkey in src-tauri/tauri.conf.json. That key is separate from the Windows code signing above. To turn it on:
- Keep the private key and its password outside the repository.
npx tauri signer generate -w <path> creates a pair. The public half goes in plugins.updater.pubkey.
- Add the repository secrets
TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY (the key file's contents) and TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY_PASSWORD.
- Push a tag. With the secret present, the workflow adds
src-tauri/tauri.updater.conf.json to the build, which turns on createUpdaterArtifacts. The Windows installers and Linux AppImage gain .sig files, and the release gains a latest.json feed. Release uploads run sequentially so each build preserves the platforms already in the feed. The .deb is installed through the package manager and has no updater signature.
- Publish the draft release. The app reads
https://github.com/GChavez0210/Jotter/releases/latest/download/latest.json, which points at the newest published, non-draft, non-prerelease release.
Without the secret, the workflow still builds unsigned packages, and local builds need no key. If you lose the private key or its password, installed copies cannot verify any later release. Ship a new build with a new public key by hand, and every user must install it manually. The release body is the version's section of CHANGELOG.md, extracted by scripts/release-notes.mjs, and the app shows it before the update installs. A tag build fails if that section is missing.
Application data lives outside vaults: %LOCALAPPDATA%\Jotter on Windows, ~/Library/Application Support/Jotter on macOS, and ~/.local/share/Jotter on Linux. The macOS config keeps native traffic lights and uses an opaque window. Shared-vault filename checks retain conservative rules so files can move between systems. On macOS, restore deleted notes through Finder Trash.
Verification & Quality Checks
Run Rust unit tests and Clippy lints:
cargo test --manifest-path src-tauri/Cargo.toml
cargo clippy --manifest-path src-tauri/Cargo.toml --all-targets -- -D warnings
Run frontend Svelte + TypeScript checks (svelte-check and tsc --noEmit) and production bundle build:
npm run check
npm test
npm run build
After building on Windows, run the isolated desktop checks with node scripts/verify-desktop.mjs. The script uses the release executable, a disposable vault, separate app data, and a separate WebView2 profile under src-tauri/target/desktop-verification/. It exercises real rendering, Recycle Bin restore, save failures, tray residency, and delayed saves. Screenshots and results stay in that directory. It does not install the app. Close any running Jotter first: the app allows one instance, so a second launch hands over to the first and exits.
Run node scripts/verify-cli-desktop.mjs after building both release binaries to check the CLI against the native app. It verifies clean-note reloads, shared version history, conflict choices for dirty notes, and a read-only MCP session. It delays autosave briefly to make the dirty-note check reproducible. Results use a separate disposable directory under src-tauri/target/cli-desktop-verification/.
The main run leaves the window set to hide on close, so the close button's default quit path needs its own run: JOTTER_CLOSE_ONLY=1 node scripts/verify-desktop.mjs starts a fresh profile and confirms a native close saves a last-moment edit and then exits.
See CHANGELOG.md for release notes.
Support Jotter
Your support helps fund ongoing development, testing, documentation, and new features.
License
Jotter is licensed under the MIT License.
Contributions submitted for inclusion in Jotter are licensed under the MIT License.
The bundled spelling dictionaries are separate works under their own licenses, installed with each dictionary as dictionaries/<language>/LICENSE. They come from wooorm/dictionaries: English from SCOWL (MIT and BSD), Spanish (GPL-3.0, LGPL-3.0, or MPL-1.1), French (MPL-2.0), German (GPL-2.0 or GPL-3.0), Portuguese (LGPL-3.0 or MPL-2.0), and Italian (GPL-3.0).
