QuKi-Notes

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Why QuKi Notes Works This Way ​

QuKi Notes makes some deliberate choices that may feel unfamiliar if you're used to other note apps. This page explains the reasoning behind them.

The editor is always home ​

When you open QuKi Notes, you land in a blank editor. There's no list, no dashboard, no recent-files screen. The editor doesn't have a back button.

This is intentional. The most common action is capture: you have a thought and you need to write it down now. Every extra screen between opening the app and a cursor is friction. The editor removes that friction by being the starting point, not a destination you navigate to.

If you want your previous QuKis, the list is one tap away. It just isn't the default, because capture is the default.

No folders, tags, or organization ​

QuKi Notes has no way to put QuKis into folders, tag them, link them to each other, or archive them. This isn't a missing feature; it's a deliberate constraint.

Organization takes time. Deciding where something goes, maintaining a taxonomy, keeping it consistent: these are distracting activities, slow down real note taking, and turn a note app into a productivity system. QuKi Notes isn't designed as a productivity system -- other tools exist for this and do an excellent job -- QuKi Notes can be part of that system, but it's the "capture" part, not the organization part.

Most QuKis don't need to go anywhere. Sometimes a thought just needs somewhere to live: off your mind, available if it ever turns out to be useful. If something does need to live somewhere specific, send it there.

Your data is yours ​

On Android, Windows and Linux, every QuKi is a plain-text .md file in a folder on your device. There's no proprietary format and no cloud account between you and your own notes. You can read, copy, edit or move the files without opening the app, and any .md file you drop into the folder shows up as a QuKi.

The web version is the exception for now: it keeps QuKis inside your browser, where other programs can't easily reach them (see Settings → Storage).

Deleting takes two steps ​

Deleting a QuKi moves it to Trash; it doesn't erase it. From Trash you can restore it, delete it for good, or leave it. Anything left in Trash for 30 days is permanently deleted the next time QuKi Notes starts.

QuKis in your list never expire. The ones most recently touched sit at the top and older ones drift down, but they stay until you decide they're done.

Sending ​

The Send button is there when a QuKi needs to go somewhere: the share sheet on Android, the clipboard on Windows and Linux. It's always something you do; QuKi Notes never sends your QuKis anywhere on its own.

A QuKi that never gets sent is fine. It stays available, searchable and editable for as long as you want it.

The QuKi Manifesto ​

What is a QuKi? ​

A QuKi is a short note, a picture, a thought, a temporary list, a rough draft — captured, quickly and in the moment.

QuKis live in the now. They are not filed, tagged, organized, foldered, or curated. They surface what's current while older QuKis age into irrelevance. They can be a starting point before being sent off to become more important things — temporary lists, things to remember, a whiteboard or pasteboard, a stopping point on their way to becoming emails, notes, skeets, or whatever you need them to be.

QuKis, and this app, embody four key principles:

  1. Velocity — open the app, type, done. No "+ New", no template picker, no title field, no folder choice. Copious notetakers don't want extra steps and requirements for each capture. The point is often to get something off your mind quickly, without navigating a filesystem or organizational structure to do it.
  2. Open data — QuKis are yours. Individual, plain-text .md files on disk; no proprietary serialization, no cloud lock-in.
  3. Information-first UI — the QuKi is the interface; minimalism is key. QuKis stress content over layout.
  4. Extensibility — what you do with a QuKi is personal. It might fade into the list as newer thoughts arrive, or you may want to send it somewhere else — a daily log, a chat, a GitHub issue, a wiki entry — that destination is yours to define.

What is QuKi-Notes? ​

QuKi-Notes is the capture surface and your collection of QuKis -- It's a scratchpad, a pasteboard. A blank canvas on launch. Just type and go. Your QuKis are always there when you want them, and gone when you say so.

What QuKi-Notes Is NOT ​

Quki Notes is NOT:

  • an organizer. No projects, no tasks system, no kanban, no calendar.
  • a vault. No folders. No tags. No backlinks. No graph view. No daily-notes-with-templates.
  • a knowledge base. No wiki linking, no second-brain rituals and processes.
  • a publishing tool. Markdown output is a minimalist implementation detail, not a feature.
  • a gatekeeper. Your QuKis are plain text files on your device. You can read, copy, or move them without opening the app.

Last Updated: 2026-10-03