📝 NoteForge

📣 What this app will do for you

This app will give you a notes app whose notes are plain .md files — each note is one markdown file with a short frontmatter header (title and tags) in one fixed folder on your computer, written in a plain-text editor with a minimal live preview (headings, bold, italic, inline code, dash lists), a search box over titles and body text, and a filter by one exact tag. Heads up: v1 has NO notebooks or folders (one flat list), no folder picker or import, no attachments or images, no export button (the plain files are the portability), no autosave, and no sync, collaboration, or AI. Backed by a 7-day money-back guarantee.

Notes as plain markdown files — one flat list, tags, and search, all on your own computer. No account for your notes, no proprietary format, nothing locked away.

$19 one-time price. No subscription. Yours forever.

Buy Now — $19

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What's included: the full NoteForge app for Windows · one license covers 3 computers (free a slot anytime from inside the app with its "Deactivate on this computer" button, or from your CertSight account page by regenerating your key) · your license key is emailed at checkout and can also be shown on screen right after payment.

What it does

  • Plain .md files you own. Every note is a single markdown file with a short frontmatter header carrying its title and tags, kept in the app's own notes folder on your computer. There is no database and no proprietary format — open the files in any editor, copy them, or back the folder up with any tool you already use.
  • Write in plain text, preview as you type. The editor is a plain writing box, and the live preview renders headings, bold, italic, inline code, and dash lists — enough markdown for everyday notes, rendered as you write.
  • Tags and a tag filter. Give a note comma-separated tags in its tags field, then type a tag into the filter field to see just the notes carrying that exact tag.
  • Search titles and text. One search box matches against note titles and body text as you type, narrowing the list instantly.
  • Save and delete are explicit. Pressing Save writes the .md file; the Delete button removes the selected note's file. Nothing happens silently in the background.
  • Deactivate from inside the app. A "Deactivate on this computer" button frees that computer's activation slot when you replace a machine — no support ticket, no waiting.
  • Everything stays on your computer. The only network connections the app ever makes are the activation / deactivation checks to CertSight. Your notes are never uploaded anywhere, and there is no telemetry.

⚠️ Scope notes — read before you buy

  • There are no notebooks or folders in v1. An early description of this app mentioned "notebooks" — that was wrong: there is one single notes folder and one flat list, and notes cannot be grouped beyond their tags. We'd rather correct it here than let it stand.
  • The notes folder is fixed. V1 keeps notes in the app's own folder on your computer and offers no folder picker — you can't point it at an existing folder of markdown files, and there is no import. Files without NoteForge's frontmatter header are skipped, not converted.
  • The editor is plain text only. There is no rich-text toolbar, no fonts, no colors. The preview covers headings (# to ###), bold, italic, inline code, and dash lists only — links, images, code blocks, tables, and quotes show as plain text.
  • Search does not look inside tags (that's what the tag filter is for), and there are no attachments or embedded images anywhere in v1.
  • There is no export or share feature — and the reason is the point of the app: your notes are already plain .md files on your disk, which is the whole portability story.
  • There is no autosave. If you close the window without pressing Save, the edit isn't written. Delete removes the file outright — there is no undo and no trash inside the app.
  • No sync, no collaboration, no AI in v1. Notes live only on the computer where you write them; back the folder up yourself.
  • Windows only for now. The download below is a Windows portable build. There is no macOS or Linux build yet — we'd rather say that plainly than promise one. Your license will work on those builds if and when they're published.
  • Human GUI click-through is still pending. Checkout, licensing, and activation are covered end to end by automated tests, but the app's hands-on flows have not yet had a full human play-through on a real Windows machine — the in-app experience is v1 and we will say so plainly until that pass is done.

If any of the above is a deal-breaker for you, v1 isn't for you yet — and we'd rather tell you now than after checkout.

Download

Windows 10/11 (64-bit), portable build — no installer, just download and run.

⬇ Windows (portable .exe)

macOS and Linux are not available yet. There is no build for them today; if one is published later, this same license key will activate it.

The app is unsigned, so Windows SmartScreen may show a warning on first launch — this is normal for a new publisher. Choose "More info → Run anyway" to start it.

How activation works: at checkout your license key is emailed to you (and can be shown on screen right after payment). Enter it on the app's activation screen — one license activates on up to 3 computers, with 30-day offline trust after activation. Replacing a computer? Use "Deactivate on this computer" inside the app to free its slot, or generate a fresh key from your account page (the old key stops working).