Mahfouz

Open. No lock-in. Ever.

Notes that stay yours.

Mahfouz keeps your notes as plain Markdown files in a folder on your computer — nothing proprietary, nothing to export. Open and edit them with any editor, script, or AI agent, and let Git look after their history.

Download Mahfouz Read the user guide

Available for macOS, with Windows and Linux coming soon — and your files work the same without it.

A note in your vault Markdown 
# Things worth keeping

Small notes can stay small.
Links make room for the bigger picture.

See also: [[Ideas]]
#garden
Plain text on your computer History in Git

A little more room to think

Your notes, without the lock-in.

Write in Markdown, follow ideas across your vault, and keep every note in a format that will still make sense years from now — one that any editor, tool, or agent can open without asking Mahfouz first.

A home for every thought.

Keep notes as ordinary Markdown files in folders you choose. Open several vaults, shape notes into a tree, and pin the ones you return to.

  • Nested notes and folders
  • Multiple vaults and tabs
  • Bookmarks and tags
  • Every file readable and editable outside Mahfouz — no export step
Illustrative workspace preview showing a note tree, Markdown editor, backlinks, and tags.

Move through ideas, not folders.

Link notes by title, see what points back, and search every open vault. A live outline and page preview help you find your place in longer notes.

  • Wikilinks and backlinks
  • Fast vault-wide search
  • Outline and page preview
Illustrative search preview with matching notes and highlighted text from across the vault.

Every change has a way back.

Git records edits as you work. Browse a note’s history, restore an earlier version, recover deleted notes from Trash, or sync your vault with a remote.

  • Automatic commits
  • Per-note history
  • Remote sync and restore
Illustrative note history preview showing automatic Git saves and earlier versions.

When a note wants to become more

Write it once. Present it when you’re ready.

Use the formatting toolbar, tables, checklists, and media as you write. Turn a note into a slide deck with the presentations plugin, then export a PDF when you need a copy to share.

A familiar tool, built in

Real history. Real collaboration.

Mahfouz uses Git to record edits, show past versions, and restore a note without erasing what came before. Because Git is distributed, your vault isn’t tied to one server — push it to GitHub, self-host it, or hand a copy to a collaborator, and everyone keeps working from their own full copy of the history.

Everyday edits
Saved as Git commits automatically.
Past versions
Browse a note’s history and restore a version.
Remote sync
Use your existing Git setup and credentials.
Collaboration
Share a vault the way you’d share any Git repo — no server Mahfouz controls.

Your computer, your vault

Get Mahfouz for your desktop.

Choose your platform to see the latest release and installation options.

Windows

MSI installer

Coming soon

Linux

Debian package or AppImage

Coming soon

Prefer Homebrew? Run brew install --cask mahfouz-app/tap/mahfouz. See what's new in the changelog.

Start with the user guide.

Learn about vaults, editing, Git sync, shortcuts, and more.

Read the user guide