Notion UX,
Obsidian philosophy.
Binderus is a local-first Markdown app for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Notion-quality WYSIWYG editing on plain .md files. No cloud, no account, no subscription. About 9 MB, built with Tauri + Rust.
Try Binderus
Install, pick a vault, write your first note in 5 minutes.
Quickstart →Switch from another app
Move from Notion, Obsidian, Bear, or Apple Notes without losing your notes.
Migration guides →Compare to alternatives
How Binderus stacks against 9 PKM tools across 11 dimensions.
Comparison →Why Binderus
| Binderus | Notion | Obsidian | Bear | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Storage | Plain Markdown or encrypted DB | Cloud only | Plain Markdown | Proprietary |
| Sync | Any provider, free | Notion's cloud only | $10/mo for first-party | iCloud, paid |
| Open-source editor | Yes (MIT) | No | No | No |
| Plugin permissions | Sandboxed, scoped | — | Full FS / network | — |
| App size | ~9 MB | ~200 MB | ~300 MB | ~70 MB |
| Built-in encryption | Yes (password-protected) | No | No | iCloud-only |
Popular pages
Sync your vault
iCloud, Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, git, Syncthing. No paid sync tier.
Encrypted storage
Password-protected local database. Notes never touch disk in plaintext.
Keyboard shortcuts
App + Editor cheat sheet, mirroring Settings → Shortcuts in the app.
Themes
10 built-ins (Nord, Dracula, Catppuccin, Tokyo Night…) + drop-in CSS.
Plugins
Install from .zip, manage permissions, register shortcuts. JS plugin API.
Markdown reference
GFM, callouts, math, tables, wiki links, frontmatter — what Binderus supports.
Where to get help
- Check the FAQ for the most-asked questions.
- Hit an install error? Installation has per-platform workarounds.
- Talk to the team: Discord or open an issue on GitHub.