A local-first desktop note app built around the way thinking actually works — non-linear, branching, and never lost. Your notes are plain markdown files in a folder. Every change is preserved. Every direction you explored stays in an archive, not the trash.
macOS · Linux (AppImage · .deb · .rpm) · Windows · ~15 MB binary
Most note tools treat a document as a single, authoritative version — and every time you change your mind, you either paper over the old thought or lose it. Yarrow doesn't. Every save is a checkpoint. Every time you want to try a different take on an idea, you open a new direction, and the original stays exactly where it was. You can always switch back.
Under the hood, Yarrow is git. At the surface, there is no git anywhere — no commits, no branches, no HEAD. Just your writing, paths you can fork and return to, connections you can draw between ideas, and a quiet sense that nothing you write can be lost.
Four features that lean further into non-linear thinking — plus the polish to make Yarrow feel finished.
A Today pill in the sidebar, a journal folder at
notes/daily/, and the shortcut
⌘T/Ctrl+T. Daily entries always live on
main so your journal doesn't split when you're off exploring
a path.
[[wikilink]], see the noteTransclusion preview in the editor — a themed popover with title and excerpt appears after a short pause. Clicking still navigates; hovering never gets in your way.
Drag images or paste screenshots into the editor. Files land in
attachments/, content-addressed by hash, previewed inline
as real images — not just markdown source.
Turn your workspace into a self-contained HTML folder with a table of contents and a D3 force-directed graph. Share a link, email a zip, or host it anywhere.
When you want to try a different angle on a note, open a direction. The original stays untouched. Switch back any time.
No save button, no panic. Every pause in your typing is a checkpoint you can scrub back to — even versions from weeks ago.
Link notes by meaning — supports, challenges,
came from, open question. Reverse links are
added automatically.
Every note you connect lights up in a force-directed graph. Drag to explore; related notes highlight on hover.
One markdown file per day at notes/daily/. Jump to today
with ⌘T/Ctrl+T. Always lives on main, never splits.
Drag files or paste screenshots. Content-addressed storage, inline image preview. No config, no asset plumbing.
⌘K/Ctrl+K to do anything. ⌘O/Ctrl+O to fuzzy-jump. The mouse is optional.
Write ?? followed by a question anywhere, and it shows
up in a dedicated panel. Unresolved tensions don't disappear.
Ship your workspace as a self-contained HTML bundle — notes, attachments, and a D3 graph. Open it in any browser.
Your notes live as .md files in a folder you choose. Open
them in any editor. No lock-in, no proprietary format.
Point Yarrow at any git remote — GitHub, Gitea, a bare server. One button in the toolbar. Your tokens never leave your machine.
Warm cream, warm dusk, and the new Blueberry + Yellow palette — deep navy with amber accents. Pick one up top to preview it here.
Just markdown files. One per idea. Open, edit, close. Yarrow saves silently while you write.
When you want to try a different take on a note — or on the whole workspace — open a new direction. The old version stays safe. You can switch, or bring two paths back together.
Link notes by meaning, not just by clicking. As the graph fills in, the shape of your thinking becomes visible — dangling questions included.
.md files.
Git is invisible infrastructure — not a UI you have to learn.
Free, open source, and built to stay out of your way. Pick your platform — or grab the source and build it yourself.