
About
This app allows you to write, organize, and connect ideas using plain markdown files stored locally or via iCloud. An optional cloud service offers syncing, backups, and web publishing.
What's New in ZenNotes
1.35.0
October 31, 2026
Swimlanes, subtasks and WIP limits on the Kanban board, quieter task lists, and templates kept as notes in a folder of your vault. • Split the Kanban board into lanes by priority, folder or tag: tap View, then pick a Lanes option. Tap a lane's name to fold it away. • A task's indented subtasks now sit inside its card, with a progress bar such as 2/3 · 66%. Tap the bar to see them and tick them off right on the card. • Touch and hold a board column's header and choose Set WIP limit… to cap it. With more cards than the limit, the column turns red. • Empty checkboxes, like the ones a daily note template leaves, stay out of Tasks, the Calendar and the Home Screen widgets. Tap the hidden count to see them, or turn off Hide empty tasks in the View menu. • Keep templates as ordinary notes in a folder: Settings, Templates, Template folder. They show up when you make a note from a template, and their checkboxes and text stay out of Tasks and search. • Touch and hold a folder in Browse and choose Open as Gallery to see its notes as cards. • If ZenNotes Cloud refuses one file, the rest of your vault keeps syncing, and Settings, Cloud says what to do with that file. Your notes stay ordinary Markdown files, and local and iCloud vaults work without an account.
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FAQ
What is ZenNotes?
ZenNotes is a local-first markdown notes app that allows you to write, organize, and connect ideas using plain .md files. It prioritizes user ownership of files and offers optional cloud features for syncing and backups.
How does ZenNotes handle file storage?
ZenNotes stores every note as a plain .md file in a vault you control. You can choose to store this vault on your iPhone or iPad, use iCloud Drive, or open a folder via the system document picker. Local and iCloud vaults function without requiring an account.
What are the benefits of ZenNotes Cloud?
The optional ZenNotes Cloud plan enables syncing vaults across desktop and mobile devices, syncing notes and attachments, creating manual and automatic daily backups, restoring from backups, and publishing notes to the web. Cloud features are entirely optional and do not replace the free local-first workflow.
What markdown features does ZenNotes support?
ZenNotes offers a focused editor supporting headings, lists, tasks, tables, code, links, wikilinks, tags, callouts, footnotes, and frontmatter. A mobile formatting bar provides quick access to common actions, and text size can be adjusted with a pinch gesture.
Can ZenNotes render complex content like math and diagrams?
Yes, ZenNotes provides a rich, offline preview that can render KaTeX math, Mermaid diagrams, JSXGraph, function plots, tables, callouts, and more directly on your device.
How can I organize my notes in ZenNotes?
You can organize your notes by pinning frequently used items, swiping rows for actions, creating and renaming nested folders, browsing tags, searching your entire vault, managing tasks, creating periodic notes, and working with table databases stored as CSV files.
Does ZenNotes have ads or tracking?
No, ZenNotes has no advertising or tracking. Your local and iCloud notes remain private within the storage you select. When ZenNotes Cloud is enabled, only necessary data for cloud features is sent to the ZenNotes service, with payment handled by Stripe.
Is ZenNotes available on multiple devices?
Yes, ZenNotes is available on iPhone and iPad. The app supports syncing across devices when ZenNotes Cloud is enabled.




