Bring your notes
Drop in any Markdown.
Drag a .md file onto your desk and it’s a note — headings, checklists and all.
Try it in the demo
Papyra 1.0 · Free and open source
Your thoughts deserve a beautiful home.
A calm, self-hosted notes app — as easy as sticky notes, as deep as a wiki. Every note stays a plain Markdown file on your own server.
No sign-up. The demo runs entirely in your browser.
- Plain Markdown files
- No telemetry, ever
- 6,100+ Docker pulls
- Free and open source
Made for writing
Calm on the surface.
Powerful underneath.
Write
It saves itself.
No save button, ever. Type / for headings, checklists, tables, maps and more — or [[ to link another note. Every version is kept, so you can always go back.
Find
Anything, in a keystroke.
Press Ctrl K. Every word of every note, to-do and collection — matches highlighted.
Protect
Lock what’s private.
Locked notes are encrypted on disk and open only with your PIN — or your fingerprint.
Day and night
Easy on the eyes.
Warm paper by day. Calm graphite by night.
And the rest
Everything you’d expect.
Nothing you won’t use.
Live collaboration
Edit shared notes together, cursors and all.
Version history
Every change kept. Restore any of them.
Slash commands, links
Type / for any block, [[ to link a note.
Works offline
Keep writing on a plane. It syncs when you land.
Pictures, maps, any link
Drop files in, or paste a map, video or page link.
Share and comment
Share a note, @mention, reply in threads.
Passkeys and 2FA
Fingerprint sign-in, authenticator codes, SSO.
Encrypted backups
Push your notes to a private Git repo, sealed.
Smart collections
Tags and filters that sort themselves.
To-dos
Checklists that live beside your notes.
On every device
Install it on your phone, tablet and laptop.
For the whole family
Separate, private accounts on one server.
Move in tonight
Bring everything with you.
Google Keep
Import your Takeout archive. Checklists, labels, colours and pins come with it.
Obsidian
Upload your vault. Links, frontmatter and attachments arrive intact.
Any Markdown
Drag files onto the desk. That’s the whole import.
Re-import any time — Papyra never duplicates a note. How importing works
Private by default
Nothing phones home.
Your notes never leave your server — unless you share one, back it up to Git, or email yourself a sign-in alert.
- Telemetry
- Analytics
- Crash reports
- Usage pings
- An account with us
I’m a home-labber. Keeping my own data alive is hard enough — I have zero interest in storing yours.
Locked notes, sealed on disk
Encrypted at rest. Opened with your PIN — or your fingerprint.
Sign-in, done properly
Passkeys, authenticator codes, SSO, and devices you can sign out.
Alerts from your own mail server
Add your SMTP: new sign-ins, password changes, failed backups.
Zero third-party requests
No CDNs, no trackers. Even the fonts come from your server.
Backups
Your notes are just files.
A folder of Markdown on your server. Four easy ways to keep a copy somewhere else.
Git sync
Papyra commits and pushes your notes to a private repo on a schedule — encrypted if you like, so even GitHub can’t read them. Full history, never force-pushed.
One-click export
Your whole vault as a zip, whenever you want it.
Encrypted archives
A sealed backup only your password opens.
Or just copy the folder
rsync, snapshots, your NAS backup — it all just works.
Roadmap
Where Papyra has been, and where it’s going.
- Coming soon
Private AI
Ask your notes questions. Runs on your own hardware.
- Coming soon
Desktop app
Windows, macOS and Linux, pointed at your server.
- Coming soon
Mobile app
iOS and Android, offline-first.
- Coming soon
Discord and Telegram alerts
Admin notifications where you already are.
- Coming soon
Journal
Journal your life with everything Papyra does — photos, links, locked entries. One home for your notes, docs and days.
Next up Pictures, PDFs and video
Drop files into a note; preview PDFs in place, iPhone photos included.
v0.2.6Passkeys and two-step sign-in
Sign in with a fingerprint; authenticator codes for every account.
v0.1.19Sharing, mentions, notifications
@mention someone to share a note; a tray tells you what changed.
v0.1.17Import from Google Keep and Obsidian
Bring everything across; re-importing never duplicates a note.
v0.1.9Backlinks, focus mode and SSO
See every note that links here; write with nothing else on screen.
v0.1.0
Get started
Up in a minute.
Save one file, run one command, open your browser. The first account you create is the admin.
- Runs on amd64 and arm64 — a NAS, a Pi, a VPS
- One container, one volume
- No accounts with us, no licence keys, no phoning home
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/lyfie-org/papyra/main/docker-compose.hub.yml
docker compose -f docker-compose.hub.yml up -d
# then open http://localhost:8080Open source
Help shape what comes next.
Papyra is free, GPL-licensed and built in the open. Every bug report, idea and pull request counts.
Like it? Star it. A star on GitHub is the easiest way to show support — and it helps other people find Papyra.
Questions
Good to know.
What is Papyra?
A free, open-source, self-hosted note-taking app. It is as simple as Google Keep, links notes like a wiki, and keeps every note as a plain Markdown file on your own server.
Is Papyra really private?
Yes. Papyra collects no telemetry, analytics or crash reports, and makes no third-party requests of its own — even its fonts come from your server. Your notes only leave it if you share one, set up a Git backup, or configure email alerts. Locked notes are encrypted on disk.
Is Papyra free?
Yes. It is open source under the GNU GPL v3.0, with no paid tier, no licence key and no account with us.
Can I move my notes from Google Keep or Obsidian?
Yes. Import a Google Keep Takeout archive — checklists, labels, colours and pins come with it — or upload an Obsidian vault with its links and attachments. Any Markdown file can also be dragged onto the desk.
What do I need to run it?
Docker. Papyra is one container with one volume, and runs on amd64 and arm64 — a NAS, a Raspberry Pi or a small VPS. Install takes one command.
Does it work offline and on my phone?
Yes. Papyra installs as an app on phones, tablets and computers, opens without a connection, and syncs offline edits when you are back. Native desktop and mobile apps are planned.
What happens to my notes if I stop using Papyra?
Nothing. They are ordinary Markdown files in a folder you own. Keep the folder and they stay readable in any text editor.