Graph view
A force-directed map of your second brain. Hover a node — its neighborhood lights up.
§01Voltex Notes — Open source
An atom for your
second brain.
Voltex Notes is a fast, local-first knowledge base — Markdown, wikilinks, a real graph view, and real-time cloud sync — wrapped in an editor that gets out of the way. Open source. No telemetry. Yours forever.
licenseMIT
telemetry0
stars★ 1.2k
platformsWin · Mac · Linux · Web
vault open
graph.v1 · offline-first
voltex/
notes · 6
local ⇄ cloudREADY
fig. 01 — knowledge atomhover to sync
markdown · GFM✦wikilinks✦backlinks panel✦graph view✦force-directed✦Mermaid✦Excalidraw canvas✦kanban✦math · KaTeX✦real-time sync✦version history✦plugin marketplace✦themes✦command palette · ⌘P✦offline-first✦encrypted at rest✦open source · MIT✦markdown · GFM✦wikilinks✦backlinks panel✦graph view✦force-directed✦Mermaid✦Excalidraw canvas✦kanban✦math · KaTeX✦real-time sync✦version history✦plugin marketplace✦themes✦command palette · ⌘P✦offline-first✦encrypted at rest✦open source · MIT✦
§01.5The thesis
Three rules.
No exceptions.
We built Voltex against a quiet rebellion: the best note app should respect your files, your time, and your data. So we wrote down what we wouldn't compromise.
- i.
Local-first, always
Your vault lives on your machine as plain Markdown. Sync is opt-in. The app works flat on a subway, on a flight, on an island.
- ii.
Linked thought, not folders
Wikilinks, backlinks, and a real graph view make your notes a network. Folders are still there — but they're no longer the point.
- iii.
Open source, no telemetry
MIT licensed. Zero analytics. Zero tracking. Read the source, fork the source, ship plugins to the marketplace.
§01.5A friend in your vault
Meet your companion.
A small, intelligent creature that lives in your editor. It chases your cursor, jumps when you click, walks over to inspect headings and links, and lets itself be dragged anywhere. Six characters. Six personalities. One toggle to turn off.
- Aware of your headings, links and images.
- Reacts to clicks, drags, and idle time.
- Off by default — a single switch in Settings → Companion.
- Desktop & web only. Out of your way on mobile.
untitled.md
Reading notes — late autumn
Wikilinks form the spine of a vault. Each [[backlink]] is a tiny invitation. Click anywhere on this card to make your companion leap.
- § Drag the creature anywhere.
- § Move the cursor near it — watch it chase.
- § Wait. It will explore on its own.
live · cat
Yes — it's the real component. Same one that ships in the app.
§02Capabilities
A toolkit that thinks in links.
Five primitives, composed obsessively. None of them get in the way of writing.
Real-time sync
Encrypted, debounced, conflict-aware. Edit on desktop, keep typing on web.
macbook · local
+0.00scloud · firestore
+0.18siphone · web
+0.42sMarkdown, sharpened
GFM + math + Mermaid + Excalidraw + Kanban. One canvas, many shapes.
# Daily — 04/18 met w/ [[ana]] re: [[graph-spec]] - [ ] write tests for `linker()`
Bidirectional links
[[wikilinks]] resolve in milliseconds. Backlinks panel always knows.
3 backlinks · graph-spec
Daily — 04/18
...met w/ [[ana]] re: graph spec...
Spec / Linker
depends on [[graph-spec]] performance.
MOC / Engineering
see [[graph-spec]] for v1 plan.
Version history
Every save snapshotted locally. Time-travel any note back to last Tuesday.
- 12:04now
- 11:50+14m
- 11:22+42m
- 10:48+1h 16m
- Yesterdayyday
§03Three steps
From empty folder to networked thought in under a minute.
- 01
Open a vault
Pick a folder on disk, or start fresh. Voltex indexes your Markdown in seconds.
- 02
Write & link
Type [[ to link. Drop ![[ to embed. The graph rebuilds as you go.
- 03
Sync, share, ship
Sign in to sync across devices. Publish a note as a public page. Export to PDF.
§04Spec sheet
Voltex, vs the rest.
Compared with the apps people usually leave to come build a real second brain.
| Capability | Voltex | Obsidian | Notion | Evernote |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open source | ||||
| Local-first storage | ||||
| Real-time cloud sync | Free | Paid | ||
| Bidirectional links | ||||
| Graph view | ||||
| Plugin ecosystem | ||||
| Web, desktop, mobile | ||||
| Zero telemetry | ||||
| Price | Free | $$ for sync | $$$ | $$$ |
* Comparisons reflect publicly advertised features as of 2026. We may have missed something — open a PR.
§05Get started
Ready when
you are.
Free forever. No account required for local vaults. Sign in only when you want sync across devices.
desktop builds — v2.0.0
- Windows.exe · v2.0.0
- Web appvoltex.devlune.in/notes
- macOSsooncoming soon
- Androidsooncoming soon