RustNote

A modern terminal-based note-taking app written in Rust.

RustNote is a Rust rewrite of note — a Go-based terminal note-taking app built with Bubble Tea. It is a TUI (Terminal User Interface) application for managing markdown notes with folder organization, live preview rendering, and multiple independent note collections.

Features

• Markdown notes with live preview rendering
• Folder-based organization with expandable tree view
• Multiple NoteSets — switch between independent note collections
• Configurable editor (respects $NOTE_EDITOR, $VISUAL, $EDITOR, falls back to vi/ed)
• XDG Base Directory compliant (config at ~/.config/rustnote/, data at ~/.local/share/rustnote/)
• Archive system per noteSet
• Permanent delete with confirmation
• Vim-style keybindings (j/k/h/l)
• Responsive layout with toggleable sidebar
• YAML configuration with full customization

Installation

From source:

cd RustNote
cargo build --release

The compiled binary will be available at target/release/rustnote.

Quick Start

Run rustnote to launch the application. On first run, it automatically creates the config directory and notes directory.

• Press n to create a new note
• Press Enter on a note file to open it in your configured editor
• Press q to quit

Keybindings

Key	Action
j / k or Up / Down	Navigate notes in the sidebar
l or Right	Expand folder
h or Left	Collapse folder or navigate to parent folder
Enter	Edit note (on file) or rename folder (on folder)
n	Create new note
N	Create new folder
Tab	Toggle sidebar visibility
Backspace	Archive current note or folder
d	Delete current note or folder (with confirmation)
[ / ]	Switch between NoteSets (only shown when multiple configured)
PageUp / PageDown	Scroll content preview
Mouse scroll wheel	Scroll content preview
q or Ctrl+c	Quit

Configuration

Configuration is stored in ~/.config/rustnote/config.yaml. The file is auto-generated on first run.

Print your current config:

rustnote --config

Environment Variables

RustNote respects these environment variables for editor configuration:

• NOTE_EDITOR: Primary editor preference (checked first)
• VISUAL: Secondary editor preference (checked if NOTE_EDITOR is not set)
• EDITOR: Tertiary editor preference (checked if VISUAL is not set)

XDG Directories

RustNote follows the XDG Base Directory specification:

• Config: ~/.config/rustnote/ (respects XDG_CONFIG_HOME)
• Data: ~/.local/share/rustnote/ (respects XDG_DATA_HOME)

Configuration File

The config file includes options for layout, theme, editor, and note sets. See the Handbook for detailed configuration reference.

Acknowledgements

RustNote is a Rust rewrite of note by armandsauzay.

License

MIT