I really love this app and use it for notes all the time, but there are a few big problems. Problem A, Emojis/FancyKey. The app won't let me use and alternate keyboards or I have to go out of the note & back in. It's really annoying! Problem B (Which is the more tedious of the issues), self-deleting notes. Download this app from Microsoft Store for Windows 10, Windows 10 Team (Surface Hub), HoloLens. See screenshots, read the latest customer reviews, and compare ratings for Notepad For Windows 10.
Programming is an activity prone to frustration and difficulty—even when done as a hobby. Creating a web, mobile, or desktop app is a big undertaking, and good note-taking skills are key to staying organized and not succumbing to stress, despair, and burnout.
But most note-taking apps aren’t designed with programmers in mind, and they can be so difficult to use that they drive you to give up on notes entirely. Here are some of the best note-taking tools for programmers and coders.
1. Boostnote
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Pricing: Free
Boostnote is a prime example of a note-taking app for coders. It doesn’t have all the features of a modern note-taking app (e.g. it has Markdown formatting and folder-based organization but lacks web clipping or handwritten notes) but does have what all programmers love: snippets!
You can embed code blocks directly within normal notes, and you can create separate snippet-type notes that are specifically for collecting and grouping multiple code blocks in a single note. It also supports checkbox-based lists for task management.
The best part about Boostnote is that it’s free and open source, it’s cross-platform, and your notes will sync across all platforms you use Boostnote on.
If you’re going to use this tool on Linux, also check out our article on the best Linux distros for programmersThe 11 Best Linux Distros for ProgrammersThe 11 Best Linux Distros for ProgrammersLinux offers a thriving environment for coders and developers. Here are the best Linux operating systems for programmers.Read More.
2. MedleyText
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Pricing: $5/mo with 45-day free trial
MedleyText is very similar to Boostnote, with fewer features but a tighter focus on the features it does have: rich text formatting options, embedded code blocks within normal notes, and customizable themes and keyboard shortcuts. It’s excellent for highly-productive coders with big projects.
When you embed formatted code directly into notes, the app will automatically highlight the syntax. Or you can manually select which syntax highlighting language to apply to any given block of code. It supports over 40 programming languages as of writing this article.
While MedleyText was once free for local notes, that’s no longer an option. It’s now a premium app with a hefty free trial and worthwhile features like syncing via Dropbox and sharing notes via links.
3. Quiver
Platform: Mac
Pricing: $10 with free trial
Quiver is yet another app like the two above: you can mix and match text (in both Markdown and LaTeX formats) with embedded code inside notes. However, Quiver has a dedicated code editor right inside the app that’s cleaner and more responsive than its competitors.
As for syntax highlighting, this app supports over 120 programming languages. Cloud storage sync is available for Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, and more. And because notes are stored as JSON, you can safely use version control to track changes. Shared notebooks even allow for collaboration between teammates on large projects. It even has a web clipper!
If Quiver is so great, why is it listed third? Because it’s only available on Mac. While the Mac operating system can be a wonderful programming environment, Quiver is not an option for programmers who routinely hop between other operating systems.
4. OneNote
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Web
Pricing: Free
OneNote is the best note-taking app, period—but until recently, it lacked syntax highlighting abilities which programmers so desperately need. Fortunately, thanks to a free add-on released by a GitHub user, OneNote can now do syntax highlighting for code.
The add-on is admittedly a bit clunky, but it’s nice to know you can finally use OneNote for storing code notes. Since OneNote is one of the best ways to take notes as a student, this is particularly good news for students in programming and engineering curriculums.
OneNote is also great for collaborative projects due to note sharing. And best of all? It’s completely free and available on nearly every major platform, both desktop and mobile. (Except for Linux, sorry!)
And speaking of GitHub, if you haven’t yet tried Git for your version control, be sure to check out this free ebookThe Ultimate Guide to Git---Claim Your Free Ebook!The Ultimate Guide to Git---Claim Your Free Ebook!This guide covers everything you need to know in order to use Git properly, from explaining what is it and how it differs from other toolsRead More for help.
5. CherryTree
Platform: Windows
Pricing: Free
CherryTree is unlike most note-taking apps in that it’s more of a personal wiki. However, since pages can be nested under each other in a hierarchy, it’s more than good enough for taking notes. What makes it a wiki? You can insert links to any other page throughout the notebook.
There are other apps like CherryTree, including wikidPad and Zim, but CherryTree supports a special page type specifically for code. Use regular notes for ideas and tasks, use the code notes for snippets. As far as the page hierarchy, both types work the exact same way.
CherryTree is very fast, making it one of the best lightweight note-taking apps7 Lightweight OneNote and Evernote Alternatives7 Lightweight OneNote and Evernote AlternativesThough we love them, both Evernote and OneNote can be slow and bloated. If you've been looking for an alternative, here are a few lightweight note-taking apps you should consider.Read More.
6. Sublime Text
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Linux
Pricing: $80 with unlimited free evaluation version
As a programmer, you likely know about Sublime Text already. True, it’s a text editor and not a note-taking app, but it can certainly be used for taking notes: every note as a text file, and every code snippet in a separate language-appropriate file.
Sublime Text’s native features are excellent for increasing overall productivity11 Sublime Text Tips for Productivity and a Faster Workflow11 Sublime Text Tips for Productivity and a Faster WorkflowSublime Text is a versatile text editor and a gold standard for many programmers. Our tips focus on efficient coding, but general users will appreciate the keyboard shortcuts.Read More, and the ability to split into multiple editor panes is indispensable. But for note-taking and organization, it can get even better with a few free plugins.
SideBarEnhancements is a must-install for every Sublime Text user. It adds a number of improvements to the sidebar, mostly in the menu when you right-click files. PlainTasks incorporates a task-style to-do list right inside the editor. And MarkdownEditing is nifty if you want your notes to be taken down in Markdown.
Sublime Text is pretty costly, but the free evaluation period never ends. As long as you can deal with an occasional pop-up that reminds you to purchase the full version, you can use Sublime Text for free indefinitely.
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7. TickTick
Platforms: Windows, Mac, Android, iOS, Web
Pricing: Free, Premium version for $28/year
TickTick is a to-do list app that’s pretty similar to other apps of its kind, but it has one subtle feature that makes it good for taking notes: every list item has a “description” field that’s basically an entire notepad.
As a programmer, you can use TickTick to track all of your tasks as individual list items and store whatever notes you need for each task. There’s no syntax highlighting or rich text formatting though, so it’s better for managing ideas than storing code snippets.
Plus, you get all the benefits of a full-blown to-do list app: folder organization, subtasks, recurring tasks, reminders, priorities, etc. TickTick has a free plan with a limited number of lists, and a paid plan for $28 per year.
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If you’re checking out this note-taking tool list to help the programmer in your life, TickTick is actually one of many great gifts for programmers.
Tips for Becoming a Better Programmer
If all else fails, you can always stick notes right within your code as comments. It isn’t really the best approach because it can get messy (tips for writing cleaner and better code), but it’s an option for low-level notes pertinent to certain snippets. To learn to write better code, keep these professional sample code websitesTop 10 Professional Sample Code Websites for ProgrammersTop 10 Professional Sample Code Websites for ProgrammersLooking to learn and create applications with example code snippets? Here are the best free code sample websites to start with.Read More handy.
Either way, keep going and keep improving. And if you ever feel stuck, here are ways to overcome programmer’s block5 Ways to Beat Programmer's Block Right Now5 Ways to Beat Programmer's Block Right NowEvery programmer encounters an array of negative emotions over the course of their journey, and if left unchecked, these emotions can have a profound impact on progress -- even causing some to give up entirely.Read More.
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Explore more about: Microsoft OneNote, Note-Taking Apps, Programming.
What, no love for Evernote? I use it everyday. New CEO and no new funding may mean their days are numbered, but file format is XML so don’t let that stop you.
OneNote still cannot do syntax highlighting. That link goes to a buggy github repo with 6 contributors and a list of long-open issues. It can also crash your entire Office suite on win7.
For me, all it too was one missing parenthesis in my coding notes to crash the program - and OneNote. Repair and reinstall don't help. But getting rid of it makes OneNote usable again.
You should make clear that Microsoft OneNote doesn't offer any syntax highlighting functionality - and those using that open-source repo are doing to at their own risk.
Lol. If you combined all these tools, and gave them a decade to improve, together they wouldn't come close to org-mode.
I'm using Simplenote. It is something similar to Boostnote and available for Windows, Linux, and Android. However, the greatest feature here is a sync across all devices, so, after adding a new note I can immediately edit it using my smartphone. Lovely experience.
I've been using Typora.io instead. Not just for note-taking and using its Markdown (a must-have when I take down notes) but the fancy way of drawing graphs and charts with mermaid and flowchart command in Typora.
I've been a paying customer of TickTick for years now. It is the best app I own. I also use SimpleNote on my phone, tablets, and PCs because of firewalls that prevent me from using Evernote and OneNote.
Leo Editor
Nothing can beat Emacs org-mode...
Markdown, equations, source code, to do list...
It handles all in an elegant way.Cherrytree is available on Linux. Has been for a long time. Native not Wine.
Notion.so seems more an option that included all of the above. Notes, tasks, code snippets.
Zim (personal Wiki) and Emacs’ Org mode are also great.
Restructured Text (with and without Sphinx) is my go to tool for taking notes. Table of contents, logical separations via folders and files, and outputs to multiple formats (with Sphinx and/or pandoc). So if I need to generate a PDF, I got that. Epub? Done. Html? Got that too. Restructured text may be a bit to get used to, but the benefits outweigh the learning investment. Best of all, I don't have to rely on someone else's editor, which is always painfully lacking some feature of some sort. I can use my own editor, which means less context switching, which means more productivity.
I ended up just using Atom with a few packages. Boostnote was close to what I was looking for, but I ended up going another route due to the way the notes are saved (not .md files and not names I pick).
There's also MWeb which is similat to Quiver. More features but worse synching.
We just launched Cacher (www.cacher.io), which is a cloud-based code snippet organizer. It features labels, teams and desktop clients for Mac, Windows and Linux. If you're away from your machine, you can access the web app at: app.cacher.io.