Index Copy Section

Heynote Documentation

Changelog

Heynote is a dedicated scratchpad. It functions as a large persistent text buffer where you can write down anything you like. Works great for that Slack message you don't want to accidentally send, a JSON response from an API you're working with, notes from a meeting, your daily to-do list, etc.

The Heynote buffer is divided into blocks, and each block can have its own mode set (e.g. JavaScript, JSON, Markdown, etc.). This gives you syntax highlighting and lets you auto-format that JSON response.

Available for Mac, Windows, and Linux.

Features Copy Chapter

• Persistent text buffer(s)

• Block-based

• Inline images

• Multiple buffers in tabs

• Math/Calculator mode

• Currency conversion

• Syntax highlighting:

  C++, C#, Clojure, CSS, Elixir, Erlang, Dart, Go, Groovy, HTML, Java, JavaScript, JSX, Kotlin, TypeScript, TOML, TSX, JSON, Lezer, Markdown, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, Scala, Shell, SQL, Swift, Vue, XML, YAML

• Language auto-detection

• Auto-formatting

• Multi-cursor editing

• Dark & Light themes

• Option to set a global hotkey to show/hide the app

• Default, Emacs-like or custom key bindings

• Spellchecking

Default Key Bindings Copy Chapter

On Mac

⌘ + Enter           Add new block below the current block
⌥ + Enter           Add new block before the current block
⌘ + Shift + Enter   Add new block at the end of the buffer
⌥ + Shift + Enter   Add new block at the start of the buffer
⌘ + ⌥ + Enter       Split the current block at cursor position
⌘ + L               Change block language
⌘ + N               Create a new note buffer
⌘ + S               Move the current block to another (or new) buffer
⌘ + P               Open note selector
⌘ + Shift + P       Open command palette
⌘ + Down            Goto next block
⌘ + Up              Goto previous block
⌘ + A               Select all text in a note block. Press again to select the whole buffer
⌘ + ⌥ + Up/Down     Add additional cursor above/below
⌥ + Shift + F       Format block content (works for JSON, JavaScript, HTML, CSS and Markdown)
⌘ + ⌥ + [           Fold block(s)
⌘ + ⌥ + ]           Unfold block(s)
⌘ + ⌥ + .           Toggle block fold

On Windows and Linux

Ctrl + Enter           Add new block below the current block
Alt + Enter            Add new block before the current block
Ctrl + Shift + Enter   Add new block at the end of the buffer
Alt + Shift + Enter    Add new block at the start of the buffer
Ctrl + Alt + Enter     Split the current block at cursor position
Ctrl + L               Change block language
Ctrl + N               Create a new note buffer
Ctrl + S               Move the current block to another (or new) buffer
Ctrl + P               Open note selector
Ctrl + Shift + P       Open command palette
Ctrl + Down            Goto next block
Ctrl + Up              Goto previous block
Ctrl + A               Select all text in a note block. Press again to select the whole buffer
Ctrl + Alt + Up/Down   Add additional cursor above/below
Alt + Shift + F        Format block content (works for JSON, JavaScript, HTML, CSS and Markdown)
Ctrl + Alt + [         Fold block(s)
Ctrl + Alt + ]         Unfold block(s)
Ctrl + Alt + .         Toggle block fold

You can see all the key bindings in the command palette and in Settings under Key Bindings.

Custom Key Bindings Copy Chapter

Heynote supports custom key bindings which you can configure in the settings. The key bindings are evaluated from top to bottom, so a binding that comes before another one will take precedence. Most commands will stop the event from propagating, but some commands only applies in certain contexts and might not stop the event from propagating to a later key binding.

To disable one of the built in key bindings, you can add a new key binding with the same key combination for the command "Do nothing". This will stop the event from propagating to the built in key binding.

You can see all available commands that can be bound to keys in the command palette which can be opened by pressing ⌘ + ⇧ + P on Mac and Ctrl + ⇧ + P on Windows/Linux.

Download/Installation Copy Chapter

Download the appropriate (Mac, Windows or Linux) version from heynote.com. The Windows build is not signed, so you might see some scary warning (I can not justify paying a yearly fee for a certificate just to get rid of that).

If installing Heynote on Linux in ChromeOS, see the notes below about some packages that are needed.

On macOS, Homebrew users can utilize an unofficial Homebrew Cask: brew install --cask heynote

Math Blocks Copy Chapter

Heynote's Math blocks are powered by Math.js expressions. Checkout their documentation to see what syntax, functions, and constants are available.

Accessing the previous result Copy Section

The variable prev can be used to access the previous result. For example:

128
prev * 2 # 256

Changing how the results of Math blocks are formatted Copy Section

You can define a custom format function within the Math block like this:

_format = format # store reference to the built in format
format(x) = _format(x, {notation:"exponential"})

You can also do something like this to show the number with your default locale or provide a custom one:

format(x) = x.toLocaleString();
format(x) = x.toLocaleString('en-GB');

See the Math.js format() function for more info on what's supported.

Images Copy Chapter

Pasting image data from the clipboard will insert an inline image into the buffer. Internally, the image data is saved to a file
within the notes library's .images directory. Drag and dropping an image file will also insert the image
into the editor (a copy of the image will be placed in the .images directory).

Images can be resized for display, but the underlying image data keeps its original dimensions. Issuing a copy command (Ctrl/Cmd-C with the
default key bindings) with the cursor next to an image will populate the system clipboard with the image data.

The notes library Copy Chapter

The notes library is a directory (with sub dirs) on the disk with a .txt file for each buffer. It's created the first time you start Heynote, with the default buffer file scratch.txt in it. The default location for the library is:

• Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/Heynote/notes/
• Windows: %APPDATA%\Heynote\notes\
• Linux: ~/.config/Heynote/notes/

You can change the path of the notes library in the settings. Heynote expects reasonably fast disk access to the notes library, so it's not recommended to use a network drive, though file syncing services like Dropbox, OneDrive, etc. should work (see below).

Image storage Copy Section

Images are stored alongside your notes in a hidden .images folder inside the notes library directory. Each image is referenced from the buffer file, and the app uses those references to clean up older, unreferenced images over time. Cleanup runs on startup and only removes unreferenced images older than 24 hours (and only if there are any referenced images, as a safety check).

Synchronizing the notes library Copy Section

Heynote is built to support synchronizing the notes library (or buffer file in the case of Heynote 1.x) through file-syncing services like Dropbox, OneDrive, etc. However, note that the synchronization logic is quite simple, so editing the same buffer on two different machines at the same time might lead to conflicts and unexpected results.

When using a file synching service that support "offloading" of files in the cloud (removing them from the disk), it's recommended to mark the notes library as "always available offline".

As always, backup things that are important.

Spellchecking Copy Chapter

Spellchecking can be toggled on or off by clicking the spellchecking icon in the status bar. Right-clicking the icon on Windows and Linux allows you to select the active dictionaries (on Mac, the default OS dictionary is used).

Linux Copy Chapter

Linux on ChromeOS Copy Section

It's been reported (#48) that ChromeOS's Debian VM need the following packages installed to run the Heynote AppImage:

libfuse2
libnss3
libnspr4

Wayland Copy Section

Due to an issue in Electron, the global hotkey will not work in all applications running under Wayland. In KDE it is possible to work around this limitation by adding this Kwin script:

function toggleHeynote() {
  var client = workspace.clientList().find((c) => c.resourceClass.toLowerCase() === 'heynote');
  if (client) {
    if (client.minimized) {
      client.minimized = false;
      workspace.activeClient = client;
    } else {
      if (workspace.activeClient == client) {
        client.minimized = true;
      } else {
        workspace.activeClient = client;
      }
    }
  }
}
registerShortcut('toggleHeynote', 'Toggle Heynote', 'Ctrl+Shift+H', toggleHeynote);

See the KWin scripting tutorial for instructions on how to install the script.

Remember to enable the script in the KDE System Settings. It may also be necessary to go into the KDE System Settings and bind the "Toggle Heynote" key manually.

Changelog Copy Section

Changelog

Here are the most notable changes in each release. For a more detailed list of changes, see the Github Releases page.

2.9.1 Copy Chapter

• Fix issue with the Heynote window ending up on a screen that has been disconnected
• Fix so that library search works better for Chinese, Japanese and Korean languages.
  Previously searching required three characters to trigger but this is no longer the case
  for these languages.

2.9.0 Copy Chapter

Sidebar with tree view of the note buffers Copy Section

You can now turn on a sidebar with a tree view of all your buffers and directories.

Search across all buffers Copy Section

A new global search function has been added. Use it to find text across all buffers in the library. The default
key binding to open up the global search is Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + F.

Archive Scratch functionality Copy Section

A new archive action has been added for the default Scratch buffer. It can be accessed from the Scratch buffer's
context (right click) menu. It moves the content of Scratch into a new buffer buffer and starts a fresh Scratch buffer.

For performance reasons it's recommended to use this feature when the Scratch buffer grows really large (e.g. MBs).

Other changes Copy Section

• Persist the search query between different buffers, and between restarts
• Add a setting for automatically installing new updates (on by default)
• Add version and client id headers when fetching currency exchange rates
• Add inline color preview for hex / hsl / rgb values for supported languages (CSS, HTML, JS/TS, Vue, TSX)
• Improve window show/focus behavior when restoring from tray
• Add setting for automatically starting Heynote on login
• Add setting for starting Heynote hidden
• Add copyLineDown and copyLineUp commands by default bound to Alt + Shift + ArrowDown/Up

2.8.2 Copy Chapter

• Fix issue with broken images after changing the buffer files path

2.8.1 Copy Chapter

• Fix crash when fold gutter is turned off

2.8.0 Copy Chapter

Images Copy Section

Heynote now supports inline images. You can paste images from the clipboard or drag and drop image files.
Images can be selected and resized directly in the editor, and it's quick and easy to put an image back
on the system clipboard.

Drawing on images Copy Section

Heynote now includes a lightweight drawing tool for adding quick, freehand annotations on top of images.

Other changes Copy Section

• Add syntax highlighting for Math blocks
• New lines in a Plaintext, Math and SQL blocks now inherits the indentation from the previous line
  (other languages should already have this behaviour for new lines)
• Add support for Mermaid blocks
• Fix issue not being able to record the Enter key when creating custom key bindings

v2.7.2 Copy Chapter

• Fix issue causing broken status bar on some system locales (#434)

2.7.1 Copy Chapter

• Fix issue where a folded block would get unfolded when editing an empty block directly below it.

2.7.0 Copy Chapter

Non backwards-compatible change Copy Section

Buffers created/saved with this new version of Heynote is not compatible with older versions of Heynote,
so if you're using Heynote on multiple machines, make sure to update to >=2.7 on all machines.

Creation time for blocks Copy Section

The time of creation is now recorded for blocks, and it's displayed in the status bar. For folded blocks,
it's also displayed in the summary line.

Add new block and scroll down Copy Section

A new command for adding a new block at the end of the buffer and then scrolling down so that only the new
block is visible has been added. This can be used to create a new block and avoid any distraction from seeing
the other blocks above while writing.

The default key binding for Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Enter has been changed to this new command, but anyone who would
prefer the old behaviour, can add a key binding for the Add new block after last block command.

Other fixes and improvements Copy Section

• The default key binding for the TAB key is now a new insertIndentation command. This command will insert
  indentation character(s) (spaces or tabs depending on the setting) so that the cursor aligns with the indentation
  columns. Unless there is an active selection, in which case the indentMore command will be executed instead.
  If you want the old behaviour, you can bind the TAB key to indentMore.
• Chinese characters in buffer file names are now converted to ascii using pinyin. This fixes an issue where it
  wasn't possible to create a buffer with only chinese characters it the name.
• Fix issue where the wrong locale was used for formatting dates on MacOS on systems using a locale such as "en-SE"
• Fix issue with folded Math blocks where the results from the first and last line would still be visible
• Always use 2-digit notation for hours when displaying time
• Add setting for configuring the cursor blink rate (or turning off the blinking)
• Add support for Lua blocks
• Add toggleCheckbox command for Markdown todo items (default key binding: Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Space)
• Fix issue when selecting all content of a math block and typing a character
• Fix so that checkboxes in todo lists takes up 4 spaces so that the margin align for multi line list items

2.6.2 Copy Chapter

• Update to latest version of Electron to fix issue making Heynote unusable on latest version of Mac OS (Tahoe)
• Fix issue that would break Math blocks with a large number of lines (the parser would not start processing
  rows from the beginning of the block)
• Fix issue with not being able to hide window after toggling alwaysOnTop (on Mac)

2.6.1 Copy Chapter

• Fix crash when no custom key binding had been set

2.6.0 Copy Chapter

• Add setting for rendering white-space (spaces as dots and tabs as arrows)
• Show key bindings in Command Palette
• When displaying key bindings show shorter version with ⇧, ⌘, ⌥, etc instead of Shift, Cmd, Alt, etc
• Fixed so that tooltips displays new key binding if the default have been overridden

2.5.0 Copy Chapter

Tabs Copy Section

You now get a visual representation of open buffers in the form of tabs. The tabs are integrated in the menu bar to take up as little screen real estate as possible, and they can also be turned off - completely or just in fullscreen mode - in the settings.

Spellchecking Copy Section

It's now possible to turn on/off spellchecking. This can be done by clicking the spellchecking icon in the status bar. There are also heynote commands that can be bound to custom keys to enable/disable/toggle spellchecking.

Other fixes and improvements Copy Section

• Added a pin icon to the status bar that can be used to toggle the "Always on top" setting (to make the windows float on top of other programs).
• Added toggleAlwaysOnTop command that can be used to bind a key that toggles the "Always on top setting".
• Remember the open buffer(s) between program restarts.
• Fixed so that Alt-clicking on an cursor removes it (if more than one cursor exists).
• Changed the key binding for rectangular selection from Alt+Click to Alt+Shift+Click.
• Fixed issue where the window position wouldn't be properly restored in some cases.
• Updated to latest version of Electron.

2.4.0 Copy Chapter

Improved search functionality Copy Section

The new search (and replace) dialog has an improved UI and is now "block aware", meaning that one can choose to search within the current block or across all blocks. The search settings (within the current block, case sensitivity, whole words) also affects the Cmd/Ctrl-D command for selecting the next occurrence of the current selection.

Other fixes and improvements Copy Section

• Fix issues with todo lists checkboxes in Markdown blocks
• Fix issue with markdown blocks sometimes not being fully folded

2.3.3 Copy Chapter

• Prevent blocks from unfolding when changing the block language
• Fix issue toggling the fold gutter setting

2.3.2 Copy Chapter

• Improve folding to be less aggressive with the unfolding (e.g. when creating a new block after a folded block, and then immediately pressing backspace to remove the new block)

2.3.1 Copy Chapter

• Fix issue with the cursor being a few pixels too short
• Fix issue where one could remove characters within a folded block without it getting unfolded

2.3.0 Copy Chapter

Improved support for folding blocks Copy Section

• Fixed an issue where some types of blocks could not be folded.
• The fold state is now stored in the buffer file so that it's persisted between sessions.
• Added three new commands for folding and unfolding blocks:
  • foldBlock - Folds the current/selected block(s). Default key binding is Ctrl-Alt-[ on Windows/Linux and Cmd-Option-[ on Mac.
  • unfoldBlock - Unfolds the current/selected block(s). Default key binding is Ctrl-Alt-] on Windows/Linux and Cmd-Option-] on Mac.
  • toggleFoldBlock - Toggles the fold state of the current/selected block. Default key binding is Ctrl-Alt-. on Windows/Linux and Cmd-Option-. on Mac.
• Folded blocks now display the first 50 characters of the block content, as well as the number of lines in the block.
• Default key bindings for folding code on Mac changed from Cmd-Option-[ and Cmd-Option-] to Cmd-Shift-[ and Cmd-Shift-] (to avoid conflicts with the new block folding commands)

Other features and fixes Copy Section

• Add document navigation commands (Ctrl+Home/End)
• Fix wrong positioning if IME interface (for Chinese input)
• Prevent editor from loosing focus when line number/fold gutter is clicked

2.2.2 Copy Chapter

• Fix issue when changing settings after having upgraded to Heynote 2.2 from an earlier version

2.2.1 Copy Chapter

Bug Fixes Copy Section

• Fix issue where the second command in the command palette, instead of the first command, was selected when the palette is opened.
• Change name/label of some commands in the command palette, and make commands searchable using their key names as well.
• Fix key bindings for toggleComment and toggleBlockComment commands that were previously working.
• Fix issue with lists in markdown blocks not automatically being continued when pressing enter.

2.2.0 Copy Chapter

New Features Copy Section

• Added support for custom key bindings. See the documentation for more info.
• Added a "command palette" that can be accessed by pressing Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+P, or just typing > in the buffer selector. The command palette allows you to discover all available commands in the app, and to quickly execute them.
• Added support for configuring the tab size, as well as the option to use tabs instead of spaces for indentation.
• Added functionality for moving blocks up and down. Default key bindings are Ctrl/Cmd+Alt+Shift+Up and Ctrl/Cmd+Alt+Shift+Down.
• Added functionality for inserting the current date and time. Default key binding is Alt+Shift+D.

Other changes Copy Section

• Upgraded to latest version of Electron, CodeMirror, Vue, electron-builder and other dependencies.

2.1.4 Copy Chapter

• Fix issue with positioning and size of todo list checkboxes in Markdown blocks when using a non-default font size, or a non-monospaced font.
• Fix issue when pressing Ctrl/Cmd+A in a text input inside a modal dialog (e.g. the buffer selector). Previously the select all command would be sent to the editor.

2.1.3 Copy Chapter

• Fix escaping issue in buffer selector (properly this time, hopefully)

2.1.2 (yanked) Copy Chapter

• Fix issue where buffer name wasn't properly escaped in buffer selector

2.1.1 Copy Chapter

• Fix bug on Windows causing sub directories in the note library to not work correctly

2.1.0 Copy Chapter

New Features Copy Section

• Added support for moving the current block to another (or new) buffer. Pressing Ctrl/Cmd+S will now pop up a dialog where you can search for and select another buffer to which the block will be moved. It's also possible to select to create a new buffer to which the block will be moved.
• Add right click context menu with undo/redo/cut/copy/paste/select all as well as Delete Block and Move block to another buffer.
• Add File menu item for switching buffer
• When deleting a block, the cursor will now end up at the beginning of the next block, instead of at the end of the previous block.
• Added support for the following languages:
  • Elixir
  • Scala
• PHP blocks no longer requires <?php for syntax highlighting to work

Bug Fixes Copy Section

• MacOS: Clicking the Heynote icon in the dock when using menu bar mode didn't bring up the window
• Redo from the application menu didn't work

2.0.0 Copy Chapter

IMPORTANT (breaking change) Copy Section

The default path of the scratch file has changed. The first time you start the new version of Heynote, your existing buffer file will be migrated to the new note library. If you're using the default buffer location, that means that the existing Scratch buffer file will be moved from %APP_DIR%/buffer.txt to %APP_DIR%/notes/scratch.txt. If you are using a custom buffer location the existing scratch file will be moved from %CUSTOM_DIR%/buffer.txt to %CUSTOM_DIR%/scratch.txt. Before the migration, the existing buffer file will be backed up to %APP_DIR%/buffer.txt.bak or %CUSTOM_DIR%/buffer.txt.bak.

If you are running a previous version of Heynote with the buffer file synchronized across multiple machines using a file synching service such as Dropbox or OneDrive, you should make sure to upgrade all machines to Heynote 2.0 at the same time (closing Heynote before) in order for the file to stay in sync, since the file path for the buffer file has changed.

Support for multiple note buffers. Copy Section

Apart from the default Scratch buffer, you can now create and switch between multiple note buffers. Ctrl/Cmd+N opens up a dialog for creating a new buffer. By pressing Ctrl/Cmd+S you can create a new note from the current block (the current block will be moved into the new note). New note buffers are saved to the note library which is basically a directory (with sub dirs) on the disk with a .txt file for each buffer. You switch between buffers by pressing Ctrl/Cmd+P.

Other changes Copy Section

• The file format for the buffer files has been updated to include some JSON metadata at the top of the file.
• The cursor(s) location is saved between sessions.
• Improvements when using a file syncing service (e.g. Dropbox, OneDrive) to sync the note library between machines.
• The setting for changing the color theme is now located in the program settings, instead of in the status bar.
• Improvements to the language selector's search feature (it's now possible to search for languages by their file extension).

1.8.0 Copy Chapter

• Performance optimizations
• Add default redo cmd that works on all Platforms. Mod+Shift+Z
• Fix bug causing editing to break for empty blocks in some cases
• Add setting for configuring the default block language
• Vue language support
• Dart Syntax
• Fix error on startup for large buffers

1.7.1 Copy Chapter

• Update to latest version of Electron. Fixes crash on MacOS 15 Developer Preview

1.7.0 Copy Chapter

• Fix "white flash" effect when resizing window in dark mode
• Add prev variable to Math blocks that holds the previous value
• Add settings button to status bar
• Add version number to settings dialog
• Persist window location when opening the app
• Copy whole current line(s) when selection(s) are empty
• Fix block corruption when deleting block content using deleteLine command
• Add PowerShell and Diff language modes
• "Always on top" setting which makes Heynote stay on top of other programs

1.6.0 Copy Chapter

• Added support for having Heynote in the Mac Menu Bar / Tray icon
• Ability to specify file system location of Heynote's buffer file. The buffer will automatically be reloaded if changed on disk, so this should make it possible to have the buffer automatically synced between machines using a file-syncing service such as Dropbox.
• Custom font and font size support.
• More key-binding for creating new blocks
• Syntax hightlighting support for new languages:
  • Swift
  • Kotlin
  • Groovy
• Auto-close brackets functionality that can be turned on in settings
• Ability to change how calculations are formatted in Math blocks. See the Docs for info on how to do this.
• There's now a Heynote webapp at app.heynote.com. It's still work-in-progress, but should be usable. The buffer is stored in localStorage.
• Multiple bug fixes and minor improvement.

1.5.0 Copy Chapter

• Add support for the following languages
  • TypeScript
  • JSX
  • TSX
  • TOML
  • C#
  • Clojure
  • Erlang
  • Golang
  • Lezer
  • Ruby
  • Shell
  • YAML
• Various bug fixes and improvements

1.4.1 Copy Chapter

• Fixed issue that would sometimes cause auto formatting to freeze the app for long periods.

1.4.0 Copy Chapter

• Added ability to set a global hotkey for showing/hiding Heynote.

README Copy Section

Heynote

General Information Copy Chapter

• Website
• Documentation
• Changelog

Heynote is a scratchpad and note-taking app for developers and power users. It functions as a large persistent text buffer where you can write down anything you like. Works great for that Slack message you don't want to accidentally send, a JSON response from an API you're working with, notes from a meeting, your daily to-do list, etc.

Heynote buffers are divided into blocks, and each block can have its own Language set (e.g. JavaScript, JSON, Markdown, etc.). This gives you syntax highlighting and lets you auto-format that JSON response. Just hit Ctrl/Cmd + Enter to create a new block.

Available for Mac, Windows, and Linux.

Features Copy Chapter

• Persistent text buffers

• Block-based

• Inline images

• Multiple buffers in tabs

• Search (single and multi buffer)

• Math/Calculator mode

• Currency conversion

• Syntax highlighting:

  C++, C#, Clojure, CSS, Elixir, Erlang, Dart, Go, Groovy, HTML, Java, JavaScript, JSX, Kotlin, TypeScript, TOML, TSX, JSON, Lezer, Markdown, Mermaid, PHP, Python, Ruby, Rust, Scala, Shell, SQL, Swift, Vue, XML, YAML

• Language auto-detection

• Auto-formatting

• Multi-cursor editing

• Dark & Light themes

• Option to set a global hotkey to show/hide the app

• Default, Emacs-like or custom key bindings

• Spellchecking

Documentation Copy Chapter

Documentation is available on the Heynote website.

Development Copy Chapter

To develop Heynote you need Node.js and you should (hopefully) just need to check out the code and then run:

> npm install
> npm run dev

Run Tests Copy Section

To run the tests:

> npm run test

To run the tests in the Playwright UI:

> npm run test:ui

Contributions Copy Section

I'm happy to merge contributions that fit my vision for the app. Bug fixes are always welcome.

FAQ Copy Chapter

Where is the buffer data stored? Copy Section

See the documentation.

Can you make a mobile app? Copy Section

No, at the moment this is out of scope, sorry.

What are the default keyboard shortcuts? Copy Section

See the documentation.

Thanks! Copy Chapter

Heynote is built upon CodeMirror, Vue, Electron, Math.js, Prettier and other great open-source projects.