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📝 NoteDiscovery

Your Self-Hosted Knowledge Base

What is NoteDiscovery?

NoteDiscovery is a lightweight, self-hosted note-taking application that puts you in complete control of your knowledge base. Write, organize, and discover your notes with a beautiful, modern interface—all running on your own server.

🎯 Who is it for?

Privacy-conscious users who want complete control over their data
Developers who prefer markdown and local file storage
Knowledge workers building a personal wiki or second brain
Teams looking for a self-hosted alternative to commercial apps
Anyone who values simplicity, speed, and ownership

✨ Why NoteDiscovery?

vs. Commercial Apps (Notion, Evernote, Obsidian Sync)

Feature	NoteDiscovery	Commercial Apps
Cost	100% Free	$xxx/month/year
Privacy	Your server, your data	Their servers, their terms
Speed	Lightning fast	Depends on internet
Offline	Always works	Limited or requires sync
Customization	Full control	Limited options
No Lock-in	Plain markdown files	Proprietary formats

Key Benefits

🔒 Total Privacy - Your notes never leave your server
💰 Zero Cost - No subscriptions, no hidden fees
🚀 Fast & Lightweight - Instant search and navigation
🎨 Beautiful Themes - Multiple themes, easy to customize
🔌 Extensible - Plugin system for custom features
📱 Responsive - Works on desktop, tablet, and mobile
📂 Simple Storage - Plain markdown files in folders

🚀 Quick Start

Running from GitHub Container Registry (Easiest & Recommended)

Use the pre-built image directly from GHCR - no building required!

Option 1: Docker Compose (Recommended)

# Download the docker-compose file
curl -O https://raw.githubusercontent.com/gamosoft/notediscovery/main/docker-compose.ghcr.yml

# Or if you cloned the repo, just use it directly
docker-compose -f docker-compose.ghcr.yml up -d

# Access at http://localhost:8000

# View logs
docker-compose -f docker-compose.ghcr.yml logs -f

# Stop the application
docker-compose -f docker-compose.ghcr.yml down

Option 2: Docker Run (Alternative)

# Linux/macOS
docker run -d \
  --name notediscovery \
  -p 8000:8000 \
  -v $(pwd)/data:/app/data \
  -v $(pwd)/plugins:/app/plugins \
  -v $(pwd)/themes:/app/themes \
  -v $(pwd)/config.yaml:/app/config.yaml \
  --restart unless-stopped \
  ghcr.io/gamosoft/notediscovery:latest

# Windows PowerShell
docker run -d `
  --name notediscovery `
  -p 8000:8000 `
  -v ${PWD}/data:/app/data `
  -v ${PWD}/plugins:/app/plugins `
  -v ${PWD}/themes:/app/themes `
  -v ${PWD}/config.yaml:/app/config.yaml `
  --restart unless-stopped `
  ghcr.io/gamosoft/notediscovery:latest

Access at http://localhost:8000

Why use the GHCR image?

✅ No build time - instant deployment
✅ Always up-to-date with the latest release
✅ Tested and verified builds
✅ Smaller download with optimized layers

Running with Docker Compose (Recommended for Development)

Docker ensures consistent environment and easy deployment:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/gamosoft/notediscovery.git
cd notediscovery

# Start with Docker Compose
docker-compose up -d

# Access at http://localhost:8000

# View logs
docker-compose logs -f

# Stop the application
docker-compose down

Requirements:

Docker
Docker Compose

Running Locally (Without Docker)

For development or if you prefer running directly:

# Clone the repository
git clone https://github.com/gamosoft/notediscovery.git
cd notediscovery

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Run the application
python run.py

# Access at http://localhost:8000

Requirements:

Python 3.8 or higher
pip (Python package manager)

Dependencies installed:

FastAPI - Web framework
Uvicorn - ASGI server
PyYAML - Configuration handling
aiofiles - Async file operations

📚 Documentation

Want to learn more? The full documentation lives inside the app as interactive notes!

Once you've started NoteDiscovery, you'll find comprehensive guides on:

🎨 THEMES.md - Theme customization and creating custom themes
✨ FEATURES.md - Complete feature list and keyboard shortcuts
🔌 PLUGINS.md - Plugin system and available plugins
🌐 API.md - REST API documentation and examples

Can't wait to start the app? Browse the documentation notes directly on GitHub in the data/notes/ folder!

💡 Tip: These documentation files are regular markdown notes—edit them, add your own notes, or use them as templates. It's your knowledge base!

🔒 Security Considerations

NoteDiscovery is designed for self-hosted, private use. Please keep these security considerations in mind:

Network Security

⚠️ Do NOT expose directly to the internet without additional security measures
Run behind a reverse proxy (nginx, Caddy) with HTTPS and authentication if needed
Keep it on your local network or use a VPN for remote access
By default, the app listens on 0.0.0.0:8000 (all network interfaces)

No Built-in Authentication

The app has no authentication by design (single-user, self-hosted)
Anyone with network access can read and modify your notes
Use network-level security (firewall, VPN) for access control
Consider adding authentication via reverse proxy if needed

Data Privacy

Your notes are stored as plain text markdown files in data/notes/
No data is sent to external services
Regular backups are recommended

Best Practices

Run on localhost or a private network only
Use Docker for isolation and easier security management
Keep your system and dependencies updated
Review and audit any plugins you install
Set appropriate file permissions on the data/ directory

TL;DR: Perfect for personal use on your local machine or home network. Add a reverse proxy with authentication if exposing to wider networks.

💖 Support Development

If NoteDiscovery makes your life easier, consider buying me a coffee! Your support helps keep this project alive and growing.

☕ Buy Me a Coffee

Every contribution, no matter how small, is deeply appreciated and helps fund:

🛠️ New features and improvements
🐛 Bug fixes and maintenance
📚 Documentation and tutorials
🎨 Design enhancements

📄 License

MIT License - Free to use, modify, and distribute.

Made with ❤️ for the self-hosting community

6.6 KiB Raw Blame History