A local-first notebook for Markdown. Verso is a desktop app that stores everything as plain .md files on your disk — a mesh of Obsidian (document editing, wikilinks, graph) and Logseq (block outliner, backlinks, daily journal). No accounts, no cloud, no lock-in. Your notes are just files you own.
- Files first. Plain Markdown on disk is the source of truth. No proprietary format, no lock-in.
- Local first. It works fully offline. Bring your own sync (iCloud, Dropbox, Git, Syncthing…).
- 📝 Block outliner editor — a fast, keyboard-first outliner: indent/outdent, fold, drag-reorder, multi-select, and Markdown shortcuts (
#headings,-/1.lists, todos,```code,|tables). A/command menu and[[-autocomplete keep your hands on the keyboard. - 🔗 Wikilinks & backlinks —
[[Note]]and[[Folder/Note]]with autocomplete and click-to-navigate. Every note shows its linked and unlinked references. - 🗃 Bases — Obsidian-style database tables and galleries over your notes' frontmatter. Filter, sort, and group; embed a saved view inline with
{{base …}}. - 🏷 Tags & Supertags — inline
#tagsplus Tana-style typed tags: declare a field schema and any note carrying that tag becomes a structured entity. - ✅ Todos — write todos in any note; add a due date with
@2026-06-20. A Todos view rolls them up into Overdue / Today / Upcoming. - 🗓 Daily journal — a calendar and per-day notes, with an On This Day panel that surfaces entries from the same date in previous years.
- 📄 PDF annotator — open a PDF in a side pane, highlight text, and have each highlight flow back into your note as a linkable reference.
- 🧩 Queries & templates —
{{query …}}blocks (#tag,[[Page]], todo/done) and reusable note templates. - 📚 Multiple vaults — open several folders and swap between them from the sidebar.
- 🕸 Graph — a force-directed graph of the whole vault, plus a compact local graph of the current note's neighbours.
- 📝 Canvas/Whiteboard - Like to have a different perspective, canvas has you covered.
Everything is local. Per-vault data (like saved Bases) lives inside the vault itself, so moving or syncing the folder takes your setup with it.
Point Verso at any folder of Markdown files, including an existing Obsidian vault. It reads and writes the same plain .md files with YAML frontmatter and [[wikilinks]], and keeps its own settings in a .verso/ folder inside the vault, so it won't disturb your .obsidian/ configuration. Nothing is imported or converted - quit Verso and your notes are exactly where they always were.
Grab the latest release from the Releases page:
-
macOS (Apple Silicon) — download the
.dmgand drag Verso into Applications. The app isn't notarized yet (no $99/yr Apple developer account), so macOS will say it "is damaged" on first open. It isn't — that's Gatekeeper flagging any non-notarized download. Clear it once with:xattr -cr /Applications/Verso.app
…or build from source below, which needs no workaround.
-
Linux (x64) — download the
.AppImage,chmod +xit, and run. -
Windows (x64) — download and run
Verso-Setup-*.exe. The installer is unsigned, so SmartScreen shows "Windows protected your PC" once: click More info → Run anyway.
Or build from source:
git clone https://github.com/ed-nico/verso_notes.git
cd verso_notes
npm install
npm run dev # run in development with hot reload
npm run build:mac # or: package a .dmg (Apple Silicon)
npm run build:linux # or: package a Linux AppImage
npm run build:win # or: package a Windows installerOn first launch, click Open a folder and point it at your own Markdown folder.
Bug reports and ideas are welcome — see CONTRIBUTING.md for the dev setup, checks (npm run typecheck + npm test), and architecture notes.
Verso has no telemetry, no analytics, no accounts, and no update pings, and it never opens a network port.
The app only touches the network to display things your notes embed (remote images, YouTube/Vimeo/Loom links), to open links you click, and, optionally, to fetch a pasted URL's page title ("smart link titles", one request to that URL; toggle it off in Settings). Spellcheck runs from a bundled dictionary, fully offline.
Don't just take my word for it, it's all in this repo.
Verso is in active development, so expect rough edges and the occasional breaking change. Issues and ideas welcome.
No mobile yet (although being worked on).
Full transparency: this app was largely written with AI assistance. I use Verso daily as my own notes app, and it works well for my needs — but treat it accordingly: keep backups of your vault (your notes are plain Markdown files, so any backup or sync tool works), and review the code at your free will — it's all here.
MIT. The code is free to use, modify, and redistribute; the Verso name and logo are not covered by the license — please ship forks under a different name.