Taskapp

A Linux notepad for writing that stays on your computer.

Notes, files, and alarms  ·  Local by default  ·  Open source

Taskapp is the notepad you keep open all day. Write a thought, open the file beside it, set an alarm for later. Notes are ordinary .txt files with names you choose. Markdown, source, JSON, PDFs, images, and audio open as themselves — not as something imported into a cloud library.

There is no account and nothing is uploaded. Install it once on Linux, then launch it from the application menu, the terminal, or Open with.

Developed by Ascendry Labs.

Install Taskapp →

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Why people use it

A real notepad. New notes are drafts until you name them. Each one is a .txt file in a folder on this machine, not a first-line title guessed by the app.

Files stay files. Open Markdown, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, TypeScript, Python, JSON, YAML, and other text as tabs. Save writes back to the original path. Syntax highlighting comes with the file; Markdown can toggle a preview when you want one.

Readers that get out of the way. PDFs scroll as a full document. Images sit on a checkerboard so transparency is honest. Audio plays in place. Drag a file onto the window, or pass paths on the command line.

Alarms that keep their promise. Set a time, a repeat, and a tone. On a typical Linux desktop the schedule is a user timer, so it can still ring after you close the window.

Yours, on this computer. The notes library lives in app data — usually ~/.config/Taskapp/notes/ on Linux. Settings → Open notes folder if you want the exact path. Find, replace, go to line, and the last session come back the next time you launch.

At home on Linux. One installer gives you a menu entry, an icon, and file associations. Right-click a supported file and choose Open with → Taskapp. If Taskapp is already running, the file lands in that window.

Five themes ship with the app: Light, Dark, Ocean Dream, Dark Forest, and Purple Rain. Switch from View, the command palette, or Ctrl+Shift+T.

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Install

You need Node.js 18+, npm, and a graphical Linux session (X11 or Wayland). On Debian or Ubuntu:

sudo apt install nodejs npm

nvm, fnm, and Volta work too. The launcher finds nvm’s Node even when GNOME starts the app without your shell profile.

Then, from a terminal:

git clone https://github.com/id-daniel-mccoy/taskapp.git
cd taskapp
chmod +x install.sh taskapp
./install.sh

That checks Node, installs dependencies, makes sure Electron is ready, and adds Taskapp to your application menu with icons and Open with support.

Only want the command in this folder?

./install.sh --no-desktop

If GitHub releases are blocked on your network:

export ELECTRON_MIRROR=https://npmmirror.com/mirrors/electron/
./install.sh

Re-run ./install.sh after pulling updates that change the desktop file or icons. GNOME may keep a cached icon until you close the application overview or log in again.

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Use it

./taskapp

Open files directly:

./taskapp notes.md data.json report.pdf photo.png

The first launch can take a few seconds. After that, Taskapp is in your application menu like any other desktop app.

You drop in…	Taskapp does…
A note (.txt)	Keeps it in your notes library, with the name you gave it.
Markdown, source, JSON, and similar text	Opens an editable tab, highlighted, saved back to disk.
A PDF	Full-document scroll, page controls, and zoom.
An image	Fit and zoom on a transparency checkerboard. PNG, JPEG, GIF, WebP, BMP, ICO, SVG, AVIF, and more.
Audio	Plays in the app.

File → Open, drag onto the window, or Open with all take the same path. Notes and files never get mixed: saving a file will not create a note, and a note will not overwrite a random path on disk.

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Keyboard

Shortcut	Action
Ctrl+K	Command palette
Ctrl+N	New note
Ctrl+O	Open a file
Ctrl+S / Ctrl+Shift+S	Save / Save as
F2	Rename note
Ctrl+W	Close the current file tab
Ctrl+F / Ctrl+H	Find / Replace
Ctrl+G	Go to line
Tab / Shift+Tab	Indent or outdent in a note
Ctrl+Shift+T	Next theme
Alt+Z	Word wrap
Ctrl+,	Settings
Ctrl+/	Keyboard shortcuts

Click the notes icon on the left rail to hide or show the list. Search the list as you type.

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Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome. Keep changes focused, and keep the product honest: notes are notes, files are files, and the app stays local.

install.sh              Linux installer
taskapp                 Launcher
linux/taskapp.desktop   Application menu and Open with
src/main/               Desktop shell, notes library, file I/O
src/renderer/           Interface
src/shared/             Shared types

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Credits

• Corinthia by the Corinthia Project Authors, SIL Open Font License 1.1, used in the app icon
• Electron, Vite, React, Monaco Editor, PDF.js

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Taskapp
Developed by Ascendry Labs

Released under the MIT License