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MarkNote – Local-First Wysiwyg Markdown Editor (Tauri/Rust)

MarkNote – Local-First Wysiwyg Markdown Editor (Tauri/Rust)

by cacao-cacao·Mar 5, 2026·1 point·5 comments
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AI Analysis

●●SolidShip ItSlickSolve My Problem

Typora alternative with Excalidraw, no subscription, but CodeMirror 6 WYSIWYG editors exist.

Strengths
  • •Local-first with zero cloud dependency appeals to privacy-conscious users seeking real value.
  • •Tauri+Rust choice delivers measurably smaller binary footprint and faster performance than Electron.
  • •Generous free tier plus one-time $39 purchase avoids SaaS enshittification entirely.
Weaknesses
  • •WYSIWYG Markdown editors (Typora, Obsidian, Apple Notes) already dominate this category well.
  • •No evidence that performance or feature set materially exceeds established competitors.
Category
Productivity
Target Audience

Writers, developers, and knowledge workers seeking local-first note-taking

Similar To

Typora · Obsidian · Apple Notes

Post Description

I've been a long-time user of Typora, which I still think is a fantastic piece of software. However, as I used it daily, I felt there were areas that could be pushed further—specifically regarding modern extensible editor engines, more flexible diagram support, and overall performance footprint. This led me to build MarkNote.

Why Tauri & Rust? I chose Tauri over Electron because I wanted MarkNote to be as lightweight and fast as possible. By leveraging Rust, we get a much smaller binary size and better memory management while maintaining full cross-platform support (macOS, Windows, and Linux).

Key Philosophy:

WYSIWYG: Built on CodeMirror 6, providing a seamless "what you see is what you get" experience without a split-pane.

Local-first & Privacy: Your data never leaves your machine. No accounts, no cloud required.

No Subscriptions: I personally dislike the "everything as a service" trend. MarkNote is a one-time purchase ($39), with a generous free tier.

Developer Friendly: Built-in support for Mermaid, PlantUML, and even Excalidraw.

I'm currently in the early stages and would love to hear your feedback—especially from those who use Markdown for documentation, note-taking, or technical writing.

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