Files.md
Shares rank 6 of 33 note-taking apps by recommenders
People recommend it as a simple, boringly minimal markdown notes app that is free to download, use and share, with no data collection and no server needed. The most common caveat is that it is closed source.
People recommend it as a simple, boringly minimal markdown notes app that is free to download, use and share, with no data collection and no server needed. The most common caveat is that it is closed source.
50 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 34
- criticize it
- 16
- approval share
- 68%
Recommended in 1 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 34 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 2.1 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 1 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Simple, minimal, lazy to use
“simplicity, lazy flow of adding things, readiness to use out of the box”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “Show HN: Files.md – open-source alternative to Obsidian” “This is such a simple idea, but really useful.”
Comment from 24 May 2026 in “Show HN: Files.md – open-source alternative to Obsidian” “This actually looks refreshingly simple.”
Comment from 19 May 2026 in “Show HN: Files.md – open-source alternative to Obsidian” - Comment from 19 May 2026 in “Show HN: Files.md – open-source alternative to Obsidian”
- Comment from 18 May 2026 in “Show HN: Files.md – open-source alternative to Obsidian”
Looks and feels stellar
“the product looks and feels stellar”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “Show HN: Files.md – open-source alternative to Obsidian” “I really like the look and feel!”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “Show HN: Files.md – open-source alternative to Obsidian” “I think your app looks like a brilliant notes app implementation”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “Show HN: Files.md – open-source alternative to Obsidian” Free, no data collection
“Free to download, free to use, free to share, no data collection of any kind, but closed source.”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “Show HN: Files.md – open-source alternative to Obsidian” “it absolutely requires no server”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “Show HN: Files.md – open-source alternative to Obsidian” Works without a server
“I need a non-server-side program for this.”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “Show HN: Files.md – open-source alternative to Obsidian” “it absolutely requires no server”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “Show HN: Files.md – open-source alternative to Obsidian”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Closed source
“Free to download, free to use, free to share, no data collection of any kind, but closed source.”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “Show HN: Files.md – open-source alternative to Obsidian” “Free to download, free to use, closed source - for that we already have Obsidian”
Comment from 19 May 2026 in “Show HN: Files.md – open-source alternative to Obsidian” Lacks features and plugins
“That line above is just an attempt to convince the user that the lack of features/extensibility is a positive thing.”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “Show HN: Files.md – open-source alternative to Obsidian” “The few mentions of plugins lead me to believe that Files.md won't have them”
Comment from 19 May 2026 in “Show HN: Files.md – open-source alternative to Obsidian” “This is not even close to what obsidian does.”
Comment from 21 May 2026 in “Show HN: Files.md – open-source alternative to Obsidian” Doesn't work in Safari
“Doesn't work in Safari though, which is a non-starter for me.”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “Show HN: Files.md – open-source alternative to Obsidian” “Doesn’t seem to work for me in mobile Safari.”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “Show HN: Files.md – open-source alternative to Obsidian”
Other note-taking apps people recommend
The four most recommended other note-taking apps, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
See all 33 note-taking apps, rankedWhat people said
40 of the 58 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“This is such a simple idea, but really useful.”
“Interesting and probably prescient approach, good luck”
“This is not even close to what obsidian does.”
“almost ready to replace my usage of sublime”
“First of all: this looks great, and might be exactly what I always wanted.”
“Free to download, free to use, closed source - for that we already have Obsidian”
“I like the simplicity of your approach”
“This actually looks refreshingly simple.”
“Very nice. Coincidentally I was doing the same.”
“The few mentions of plugins lead me to believe that Files.md won't have them”
“Incredible, I will check it out”
“It saves to sqlite though, not markdown files you can edit on disk.”
“Free to download, free to use, free to share, no data collection of any kind, but closed source.”
“Your markdown notes without the circus. The boringly simple knowledge base.”
“they've been very good stewards of the project thus far, I'm happy with the status quo”
“the product looks and feels stellar”
“It appeals to me as a minimalistic version of the Bear[1] notes app.”
“Doesn't work in Safari though, which is a non-starter for me.”
“All the friends that started years ago also use the app to this very day.”
“the author admitted that he got tired of what I'll call "curating metadata"”
“I think your app looks like a brilliant notes app implementation”
“That line above is just an attempt to convince the user that the lack of features/extensibility is a positive thing.”
“building a competitor that adds no value, just to save a few dollars a month on sync and publishing”
“Can't beat the convenience of a single-file executable!”
“it absolutely requires no server”
“Thank you for actually acquiring the .md domain corresponding to your software and avoiding some security holesof the future”
“I need a non-server-side program for this.”
“seems overkill to me to run a Go server to sync with a telegram bot to authenticate”
“going to point my hermes agent to this instead of obsidian”
“simplicity, lazy flow of adding things, readiness to use out of the box”
“entirely different and much more interesting”
“It seems like software in AI-era should be distributed open source.”
“Because I use the project on daily basis.”
“you should own the software that opens those files”
“we enjoyed it all quite a bit”
“Doesn’t seem to work for me in mobile Safari.”
“that sticks out from all the other projects that were built in a weekend in the past months”
“I've been perfecting things for 5 years.”
“I really like the look and feel!”
“Sending a message-shaped note and just tapping the folder to file it in is the exact kind of flow I want”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.