Dynalist From $7.99/mo · Free plan 9.3 Visit Fractal Note
github.com
What it is
Fractal Note is a free, MIT-licensed note environment inside VS Code. It combines a WYSIWYG Markdown editor with outliner, database, mindmap, and file-manager views. Notes remain plain Markdown and JSON files organized through a virtual folder and file tree. Full-text search covers outlines, Markdown pages, and PDF, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint attachments. A built-in viewer handles Office documents, PDFs, HTML, images, and text or code files. The Chrome extension clips web pages into an outliner or Markdown and writes them to disk through the File System Access API. Backlinks, collapse and expand controls, subtree scoping, filtering, and PDF or Markdown export support navigation and sharing. Bidirectional S3 sync and Amazon Translate require AWS credentials; HTTP(S) proxy connections for those services are not supported. Published AI skills support note searching, reading, and writing in named AI IDEs.
Spec sheet
- Product
- Fractal Note is a note-taking environment inside VS Code combining a WYSIWYG Markdown editor, outliner, database view, mindmap, and file manager.Read 9 Oct 2026 · github.com
- Platforms
- The README marks macOS verified and says Windows and Linux implementations exist but are not guaranteed.Read 9 Oct 2026 · github.com
- Integrations
- It offers bidirectional AWS S3 note sync and Amazon Translate, which require AWS credentials configured in VS Code.Read 9 Oct 2026 · github.com
- Support
- The maker invites bug reports and feature suggestions through GitHub Issues and contributions through pull requests.Read 9 Oct 2026 · github.com
- License
- The repository states that Fractal Note is MIT licensed and free to use in personal projects.Read 9 Oct 2026 · github.com
- AI workflow
- Published AI skills let agents search, read, and write notes, and the README names Claude Code, Cursor, Kiro, and Antigravity as supported AI IDEs for skill installation.Read 9 Oct 2026 · github.com
- Attachments
- The product supports file attachments and a built-in viewer for Office documents, PDFs, HTML, images, and text or code files.Read 9 Oct 2026 · github.com
- Best fit
- The maker describes it as suited to people whose files have outgrown folders and who want notes and documents organized together.Read 9 Oct 2026 · github.com
- Proxy limit
- S3 sync and Amazon Translate connections through an HTTP(S) proxy are not currently supported.Read 9 Oct 2026 · github.com
- Search
- Full-text search covers outlines, Markdown pages, and supported attachments including PDF, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files.Read 9 Oct 2026 · github.com
- Security behavior
- The built-in HTML viewer is static by default, and scripts run only after explicit opt-in.Read 9 Oct 2026 · github.com
- Storage
- Notes are stored as plain Markdown and JSON files, with a virtual folder and file tree for organizing them.Read 9 Oct 2026 · github.com
- Web clipping
- A Chrome extension clips web pages into an outliner or Markdown and writes directly to disk through the File System Access API.Read 9 Oct 2026 · github.com
Plans and prices
MIT-licensed extension Free VS Code extension · core features work without AWS · S3 sync and Amazon Translate require AWS credentials Read 9 Oct 2026 · github.com
Strong points and limits
Strong points
- Markdown and JSON file storage
- Outliner, database, and mindmap views
- Searches supported document attachments
- Chrome web clipping extension
- Free MIT-licensed core
Limits
- AWS credentials required for S3 and Translate
- S3 and Translate lack HTTP(S) proxy support
- Works inside VS Code
- HTML scripts require explicit opt-in
Who it suits
It suits people whose notes and documents have outgrown ordinary folders and who want multiple structured views. It is available through VS Code on macOS, Windows, and Linux, plus a Chrome extension.
Verdict
Fractal Note offers a file-based workspace with several navigation modes, attachment search, and browser clipping. Its free core is broad, but cloud integrations depend on AWS credentials and have a stated proxy limitation.
Where Specifiction places it
- Outliner Software#17 of 317.9
