RedNotebook

Spec sheet

What it does

RedNotebook is a desktop diary for formatting, tagging and searching journal entries.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Purpose

RedNotebook is a desktop diary and journal for formatting, tagging, and searching entries.Read 9 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Free plan

YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · rednotebook.app

Support

The maker points users to bundled or online help, GitHub discussions, and the GitHub issue tracker for bug reports.Read 9 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Attachment limitation

Inserted images and files are linked to but not copied into the journal directory, so they need separate backups if stored elsewhere.Read 9 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Attachments

Entries can include images, files and links.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Autosave

The program saves entries automatically at regular intervals and on exit.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Backups

The Journal menu can create a ZIP backup of the journal directory.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Capterra pricing status

Capterra lists vendor-contact pricing, no free trial and no free version for RedNotebook.Read 14 Oct 2026 · capterra.com

Command line

The command-line interface accepts an optional journal directory plus --version and --date options.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Data ownership

The maker says journal data is stored in plain text files and that users own their data.Read 9 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Developer workflow

The repository documents running from source, pre-commit hooks and tox tests.Read 14 Oct 2026 · github.com

Encryption

The documentation recommends encrypting the journal folder or home partition with an external tool such as TrueCrypt.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Export

Journals export to plain text, HTML and LaTeX; PDF requires printing HTML or converting LaTeX.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Extensibility

The project exposes source code, GitHub issue tracking, Weblate translations and a calendar.exe conversion script, but no public web API or SDK is documented.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Hashtags

Entries can contain #hashtags for tagging.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Independent installation report

A Mac installation report praises RedNotebook's local raw-text, open-format storage and says Mac use requires manual source setup.Read 14 Oct 2026 · blog.jarrousse.org

Independent review

LinuxLinks describes RedNotebook as free open-source software with calendar navigation, live search, drag-and-drop, remote SSH/FTP/WebDAV storage and plain-text data.Read 14 Oct 2026 · linuxlinks.com

Languages

The project says it has translations in more than 30 languages.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Languages and license

RedNotebook is translated into more than 30 languages and is Free Software under the GPL.Read 9 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Licence

The repository identifies RedNotebook as GPLv2+ and explains that bundled LGPLv3+ code makes the resulting work GPLv3+.Read 14 Oct 2026 · github.com

Limit: crashes and file handling

A G2 reviewer reports crashes and requests drag-and-drop handling for images and files.Read 14 Oct 2026 · g2.com

Limit: Markdown

A SourceForge reviewer says Markdown support is missing.Read 14 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net

Limit: mobile access

G2 reviewers commonly identify the lack of a mobile version as a limitation.Read 14 Oct 2026 · g2.com

Limit: simplicity and maintenance

A G2 reviewer describes the application as overly simplified and says development appeared stalled.Read 14 Oct 2026 · g2.com

Limit: unencrypted files

A G2 reviewer notes that diary data is stored in unencrypted monthly text files.Read 14 Oct 2026 · g2.com

Limit: Windows preview bug

A SourceForge reviewer reports that editor and preview switching did not work correctly on Windows 7.Read 14 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net

Linux downloads

Linux download options include Flatpak, an Ubuntu PPA, and searching for RedNotebook in a package manager; package manager versions may be outdated.Read 9 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Linux installation

Linux users can install through Flatpak, an Ubuntu PPA or their distribution package manager.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

macOS support

The project says macOS has no official support but suggests trying Homebrew or building from source.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Offline access

YesRead 20 Sep 2026 · rednotebook.app

Plain-text storage

Journal data is stored in plain-text files so it remains readable outside the application.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Portable mode

Windows installations can run in portable mode from a USB drive by changing the portable configuration setting.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Praise: ease and speed

G2's review summary says users repeatedly praise RedNotebook's ease of use, lightweight design and fast searching.Read 14 Oct 2026 · g2.com

Privacy and encryption

The documentation describes encrypting the journal by placing it in an encrypted folder, or encrypting the home partition containing RedNotebook data.Read 9 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Rating on Capterra

0.0 out of 5 from 0 reviewsRead 14 Oct 2026 · capterra.com

Rating on G2

4.0 out of 5 from 14 reviewsRead 14 Oct 2026 · g2.com

Rating on SourceForge

4.7 out of 5 from 67 reviewsRead 14 Oct 2026 · sourceforge.net

Rating on Uptodown

5 out of 5 from 1 reviewRead 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.en.uptodown.com

Release news

Version 2.43 was released on 2026-10-01 with fixes for spellcheck suggestions, Wayland window-icon crashes, string day numbers and backup filenames.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Saving and backups

Entries are saved automatically at regular intervals and on exit, and the journal can be backed up to a zip file.Read 9 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Search

Search-as-you-type lets users find entries while entering a query.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Search and word clouds

RedNotebook offers search-as-you-type and word clouds showing common words and tags.Read 9 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Spellcheck

Spellchecking is available when the optional PyEnchant library is installed.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Sync options

The documentation describes syncing a journal through Dropbox or Syncthing, saving it to a remote server, or syncing its folder with a server using external tools.Read 9 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Synchronization

Documentation describes Dropbox, remote FTP or SSH folders, and external tools such as Syncthing, Conduit or Unison for synchronization.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

System requirements

Source installation requires GTK 3.24, GtkSourceView 3+, Python 3.8+, PyYAML 3.10+ and WebKitGTK 2.16+ on Linux or macOS.Read 14 Oct 2026 · github.com

Templates

Users can define weekday templates and unlimited named templates.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Text formatting

The editor supports bold, italic and underlined text.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Uptodown listing

Uptodown lists the Windows build as free GPL 2.0 software, 24.31 MB, with 14,108 downloads at the page's stated count.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.en.uptodown.com

Windows downloads

The downloads page offers a Windows installer and a portable version, and advises backing up the journal and closing RedNotebook before upgrading.Read 9 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Windows installation

The site provides a 2.43 Windows installer and a separate portable distribution.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Word clouds

Word clouds show frequently used words and tags and support blacklist settings.Read 14 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Writing features

Entries support hashtags, bold, italic and underlined text, images, files, links, spell checking, and customizable templates.Read 9 Oct 2026 · rednotebook.app

Plans and prices

Every RedNotebook plan and price →

Where Specifiction places it

• Note-taking apps#86 of 2168.3
• Journal Apps#17 of 358.1