Trunk note: your local first markdown based second brain

Like many of you, I've hopped between dozens of note-taking tools. Some had great features but locked my data in proprietary databases. Others were local-first but felt clunky or lacked modern features.

I wanted something as polished as a modern web app, but with the data ownership of a simple text editor. So, I built TrunkNote.

What is TrunkNote? It's a WYSIWYG markdown editor that reads and writes directly to a local folder on your hard drive using the Web File System API. No databases. No proprietary formats. Just plain .md files.

Why I built it:

True Data Ownership: You own your files. If the app disappeared tomorrow, your notes remain untouched.

Modern UX: Fast local files combined with a beautiful UI (slash commands, theming, seamless bi-directional linking).

No Lock-in: Open your TrunkNote folder in Obsidian or VS Code at the exact same time.

Key Features:

- Direct Local Storage

- Daily Notes & Calendar

- Obsidian-style [[links]] and Backlinks

- Global Task Board for checkboxes

Try the Early BETA! I’m launching this as an early beta and would love your feedback. Because it's local-first, you don't even need an account to try the editor—just pick a folder and write.

Live demo: https://www.trunknote.com/