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flxzt/rnote

Open-source vector drawing app for sketching and handwritten notes, with PDF and image annotation, built with Rust and GTK4.

Open-source alternative to:GoodNotesNotability

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What is it?

Rnote is a vector-based drawing app for sketching, handwritten notes, and annotating documents and pictures. It is aimed at students, teachers, and anyone with a drawing tablet, and its interface is built around stylus input with an adaptive layout for both large and small screens.

Documents can use fixed pages, continuous vertical scrolling, or an infinite canvas in every direction. Pressure-sensitive strokes have configurable styles, and the app supports a shape tool, a selection tool for moving, rotating and resizing content, and reconfigurable stylus button shortcuts. PDF, bitmap and SVG files can be imported, and documents can be exported to SVG, PDF and Xopp, with pages and selections also exportable as PNG or JPEG.

Rnote is written in Rust with GTK4. Linux builds are distributed as a Flatpak, with macOS and Windows builds also available, and a CLI is included for basic automation of .rnote files. The native file format is still unstable and may break compatibility between versions.

Key features

  • 01Pressure-sensitive stylus input with configurable stroke styles
  • 02Infinite canvas and fixed or continuous page layouts
  • 03Shape and selection tools for editing existing content
  • 04Import of PDF, bitmap and SVG; export to SVG, PDF, Xopp, PNG and JPEG
  • 05Tabs for multiple documents, autosave and printing
  • 06Command-line tool for automating .rnote files

Use cases

  • Handwritten note-taking on a drawing tablet or stylus-enabled device
  • Annotating PDFs and pictures with freehand marks and shapes
  • Sketching diagrams and rough drawings on an unlimited canvas
  • Batch processing .rnote files from scripts via the CLI

Quick start

  1. 1

    Install the official Flatpak from Flathub

  2. 2

    Install on Windows via Winget

    winget install flxzt.rnote
  3. 3

    Run the Flatpak

    flatpak run com.github.flxzt.rnote

Things to know

  • X11 is unsupported, and stylus and touch input is unreliable there.
  • The .rnote file format is still unstable and may break compatibility between versions.
  • Licensed under GPL-3.0, a copyleft license.

Topics

#drawing#handwriting#note-taking#stylus#pdf-annotation#rust#gtk4#vector-graphics#gtk#gtk-rs

FAQ

What is rnote?
Open-source vector drawing app for sketching and handwritten notes, with PDF and image annotation, built with Rust and GTK4. Rnote is a vector-based drawing app for sketching, handwritten notes, and annotating documents and pictures. It is aimed at students, teachers, and anyone with a drawing tablet, and its interface is built around stylus input with an adaptive layout for both large and small screens.
Is rnote free to use? What license does it have?
rnote is open source under the GPL-3.0 license. Check the license terms before using it in commercial products.
Is rnote still maintained?
Actively maintained. The last commit to rnote was on Nov 6, 2026.
What can I use rnote for?
Handwritten note-taking on a drawing tablet or stylus-enabled device Annotating PDFs and pictures with freehand marks and shapes Sketching diagrams and rough drawings on an unlimited canvas Batch processing .rnote files from scripts via the CLI
How do I install rnote?
Install the official Flatpak from Flathub Install on Windows via Winget: winget install flxzt.rnote Run the Flatpak: flatpak run com.github.flxzt.rnote
Where can I get rnote?
The source code and installation instructions are on GitHub: https://github.com/flxzt/rnote

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