Textree

Your own local Notion, living directly on the filesystem.

Textree mirrors the Notion experience, but as a local-only desktop app instead of a SaaS. There is no separate database — the local filesystem itself is the single source of truth. The tree view on the left maps to your folder structure, and the editor on the right syncs bidirectionally, 1:1 with the underlying markdown files.

Your notes are not trapped in some cloud table. They sit right on your disk, as ordinary .md files.

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Why Textree

Text — pure, unprocessed text. Not bound to any database; an .md file that opens in Notepad even after you delete the app. Tree — mirrors your filesystem's folder/directory tree. Scattered notes grow into a single tree of knowledge.

True to its name, Textree is plain text on top of a tree-structured filesystem.

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Core Philosophy

1. The filesystem is the database. No hidden DB, no index files, no proprietary format. Folders are folders, notes are .md files.
2. Full ownership. Delete the app and your data remains. Open it with VS Code, Obsidian, vim, or cat — it just reads.
3. Offline-first, privacy-first. Works without a network; your data never leaves your machine.
4. Bidirectional live sync. Edit a file in an external editor and the app reflects it instantly; edit in the app and it writes to disk instantly. On conflict, the filesystem always wins.
5. No lock-in. You can pick up your folder and leave at any time.

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Filesystem Mapping Model

Every Textree operation reduces to a single rule: a tree node is a filesystem entry.

Textree concept	Filesystem counterpart
Workspace (Vault)	A root folder you choose
Note without children	A note.md file
Note with children	A note/ folder + a note.md inside it
Sub-note	An .md file / subfolder inside the parent folder
Attachment (images…)	Stored in the same folder + linked via a relative markdown path
Tree sort order	.textree/order.json (optional metadata)

Example

my-vault/
├── project.md                  ← leaf note (no children)
├── journal/                     ← note with children
│   ├── journal.md               ← body of the "journal" note
│   ├── 2026-06-13.md
│   └── 2026-06-12.md
└── library/
    ├── library.md
    ├── meeting-notes.md
    └── assets/
        └── diagram.png          ← referenced from meeting-notes.md via ![](assets/diagram.png)

Design decision — the "folder note" pattern In Notion, every page can have both body content and sub-pages. A pure filesystem has no "node that has both content and children", so Textree expresses this with the folder-name/folder-name.md convention. Leaf notes stay as plain .md files, keeping 100% compatibility with ordinary markdown tools. (An index.md convention is also possible — selectable in settings, planned.)

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Features

Done — MVP + design foundation + local search

• Open / switch workspace (root folder)
• Real-time bidirectional sync between folders and the tree view (file watcher)
• Markdown editor (CodeMirror 6 live preview)
• Create / rename / move / delete / promote notes → instantly reflected on the filesystem
• Drag-and-drop tree reordering
• Paste an image → stored locally + linked via relative path
• Full-text search (local index, no DB) and a unified command palette / quick switcher
• Dark/light theme, keyboard navigation, accessibility (ARIA)

Done — pretty-by-default

• Frontmatter page header — title + emoji icon render as a tidy page header above the editor; the raw YAML folds into a compact "properties" pill while you edit (the source .md is never rewritten)
• Opinionated typography — a modular heading scale (h1–h6) with spacing-token vertical rhythm, so an unstyled note looks tidy by default
• Reading view — a one-toggle, clean read-only render (all markdown markers hidden, frontmatter folded)
• Favorites — star a note straight from the tree; favorites surface in the tree and at the top of the command palette

Cover banners and image (non-emoji) icons are planned — they need the Tauri asset protocol to display local files.

Next — frictionless publish, free local AI

• Frictionless publish — one action turns a local note into a read-only web page (the source stays local)
• Free local AI + bring-your-own API key — a local model by default (graceful degradation: editing/tree/search work without it), cloud elevation with your own key

Later

• Tree-topology AI (amplification layer) — search/write scoped by where you are in the tree
• Wikilinks [[note]], backlinks, graph view
• frontmatter database / table, board, calendar views
• Slash commands / rich block editing

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How Textree Differs from Notion

Aspect	Notion	Textree
Delivery	Cloud SaaS	Local desktop app
Storage	Proprietary DB (server)	Local filesystem (.md)
Offline	Limited	Fully supported
Data ownership	Vendor-locked	100% owned by you
Format	Proprietary / needs export	Standard markdown, portable as-is
Collaboration	Real-time multi-user	Single user (work around with Git, etc.)
External tools	Low compatibility	Compatible with every markdown tool

Textree trades collaboration for ownership, portability, and transparency — a clear positioning of "Notion, just for me."

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Architecture

• Shell: Tauri 2 — Rust backend + webview. Lightweight (~10MB-class install), fast file I/O.
• Frontend: Svelte 5 + TypeScript + Vite
• Editor core: CodeMirror 6 — live preview decorations
• File watching: Rust notify (+ debouncer)
• Search: Rust tantivy local index — no external DB required
• Sidecar metadata: .textree/ (order.json, favorites.json, etc.) — travels with the vault

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Getting Started

git clone https://github.com/iyulab/textree.git
cd textree
npm install
npm run tauri dev      # development run
npm run tauri build    # production build

Requirements: Node 24+, Rust (stable). Windows/macOS/Linux desktop.

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License

MIT

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Textree — your notes, on your disk, as plain files.