Pinleaf

Supported platform

Primary target: Ubuntu 24.04 LTS with GNOME or GNOME-style desktop sessions.
Supported install path: Launchpad PPA with apt.
Runtime stack: Python 3, GTK 4, libadwaita, PyGObject and Ayatana AppIndicator.
Best-effort: other Debian/Ubuntu-compatible systems with the same dependencies.
Not validated: Fedora, Arch, openSUSE, KDE, Xfce, LXQt, Flatpak, Snap, AppImage, macOS or Windows.

Available in 0.8.0

Independent post-it-style note windows.
Autosave and local SQLite persistence.
Four note colors with curated bundled and system font choices.
Default text settings for new notes, plus per-note text appearance controls.
Main panel with previews, local-time timestamps and struck-through hidden notes.
Focused note action dialog from Escape for hiding or deleting notes.
AppIndicator menu for quick create, show and quit actions.
Ubuntu PPA and local Debian package installation with apt.

New in 0.8.0

Organize your desktop in 0.8.0

Profiles, groups and text search keep the notes for each project together. Get 0.8.0 from GitHub Releases or install it from the Ubuntu PPA. You can also run from source.

Separate work, freelance and personal notes with profiles chosen in the panel header.
Expand groups to browse notes. Activate one group to show its open notes on the desktop.
Keep hidden notes hidden when switching groups, and restore each profile's last active group.
Search full note text in the active group, current profile or all profiles, ignoring case and accents.
Move notes between groups or profiles. When deleting a group or profile, transfer its notes or delete them.
Existing notes start in Personal / General, with a permanent General group in every profile.

Profiles and expandable groups

Search across profiles and groups

Read the profiles and groups guide for activation, hidden notes, movement and deletion behavior.

Notes and desktop integration

Pinleaf main panel listing notes with color indicators, previews and timestamps. — Main panel with note previews

Four overlapping Pinleaf note windows in yellow, green, blue and pink. — Colored notes

Pinleaf AppIndicator menu with New Note, Show Pinleaf and Quit actions. — AppIndicator

Pinleaf appearing in Ubuntu application search. — Local launcher

In development

Optional backups, with your notes still local

An upcoming version will add local backup and restore, with optional Google Drive integration. You will be able to save a backup to your own Drive and restore it on another computer, with optional password protection. These features are not included in 0.8.0.

Google Drive will be used only after you connect your account and choose to save or restore a backup. Everyday note editing will remain local and available offline. Read the Google Drive privacy details.

Install

Add the Pinleaf PPA on Ubuntu 24.04 and install 0.8.0 with apt:

sudo add-apt-repository ppa:robmoraes/pinleaf
sudo apt update
sudo apt install pinleaf

Or download the Debian package from GitHub Releases:

sudo apt install ./pinleaf_*.deb

Build a local Debian package from the repository root:

sudo apt install build-essential debhelper dpkg-dev
dpkg-buildpackage -us -uc
sudo apt install ../pinleaf_*.deb

Run from source with Ubuntu 24.04 system dependencies:

sudo apt install \
  python3-gi \
  gir1.2-gtk-4.0 \
  gir1.2-adw-1 \
  gir1.2-ayatanaappindicator3-0.1 \
  libayatana-appindicator3-1

git clone https://github.com/robmoraes/pinleaf.git
cd pinleaf
/usr/bin/python3 -m pinleaf

Pinleaf stores notes locally under ~/.local/share/pinleaf. Package removal does not remove note data.

Development

Install the Ubuntu 24.04 system dependencies:

sudo apt install \
  python3-gi \
  gir1.2-gtk-4.0 \
  gir1.2-adw-1 \
  gir1.2-ayatanaappindicator3-0.1 \
  libayatana-appindicator3-1

Clone and run:

git clone https://github.com/robmoraes/pinleaf.git
cd pinleaf
/usr/bin/python3 -m pinleaf

Install a user-local desktop launcher:

scripts/install-local

Current status

The latest version on GitHub and the Ubuntu PPA is v0.8.0, with profiles, groups and scoped text search. Known limitations include best-effort window positioning and desktop-environment-specific AppIndicator behavior.

See known limitations for details.