nb
Focus: notes and bookmarks. Shares command line and open source with zk. Adds Windows. Same 4.5 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.5Visit
Desktop App
zk
A plain-text note-taking assistant for building a Zettelkasten in the terminal.
Rating
4.5 / 5
Pricing
Free
Difficulty
Advanced
Works on
macOS, Linux, Offline
Built with love by Shushant Lakhyani. Building bestproductivityresources.com
What is zk?
zk is a free, open-source command-line tool for writing and linking plain Markdown notes. It creates notes from templates, finds them with fast full-text search and tags, shows backlinks and works with editors such as Neovim and VS Code, so your second brain stays in simple text files.
Third-party open-source projects. We are not affiliated with their authors; repositories are provided as-is by their maintainers. Review each project's license, code and security before installing. See our Disclaimer.
Pros: what zk does well
- Notes stay as plain Markdown files
- Fast search and linking
- Free and open source
Cons: where it falls short
- Command line only, no visual app
- Takes time to learn
Who zk is for
Developers and writers who like the terminal and want a simple Zettelkasten.
Who can skip it
Anyone who prefers a visual notes app.
zk alternatives
Not sold on zk? These do a similar job, and each card says what it has in common.
Flatnotes
Focus: self-hosted and search. Shares markdown notes and open source with zk. A web app, not a desktop app. Adds Web. Same 4.5 rating.
Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.5Visit
TiddlyWiki
Focus: wiki, notebook and single file. Shares zettelkasten and open source with zk. A web app, not a desktop app. Adds Web. Same 4.5 rating.
Web AppFreeWeb, Offline
4.5Visit
SiYuan
Focus: second brain, block editor and backlinks. Shares open source and github with zk. Adds Windows, iOS and Android. Rated 4.7 (zk: 4.5).
Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.7Visit
Foam
Focus: notes, wikilinks and backlinks. Shares open source and github with zk. Adds Windows. Rated 4.4 (zk: 4.5).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.4Visit
QOwnNotes
Focus: plain text and nextcloud. Shares markdown notes and open source with zk. Adds Windows. Rated 4.6 (zk: 4.5).
Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.6Visit
Free alternatives to zk
Want to spend nothing? These free picks cover similar ground.
SilverBullet
Focus: markdown, wiki and notes. Shares open source and github with zk. A web app, not a desktop app. Adds Web. Rated 4.6 (zk: 4.5).
Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.6Visit
Alexandrie
Focus: markdown, knowledge base and latex. Shares open source and github with zk. A web app, not a desktop app. Adds Web. Same 4.5 rating.
Web AppFreeWeb, Cross-Platform
4.5Visit
jrnl
Focus: journal, daily log and plain text. Shares command line and open source with zk. Adds Windows. Same 4.5 rating.
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Linux
4.5Visit
Logseq
Focus: PKM, Note-Taking and Graph Database. Shares Open Source with zk. Adds Windows, iOS and Android. Rated 4.6 (zk: 4.5).
Desktop AppFreemacOS, Windows
4.6Visit
Trilium Notes
Focus: notes, knowledge base and self-hosted. Shares open source with zk. Adds Windows and Web. Rated 4.6 (zk: 4.5).
Desktop AppFreeWindows, macOS
4.6Visit
claude-obsidian
Focus: obsidian, claude code and second brain. Shares open source with zk. An AI tool, not a desktop app. Adds Windows. Rated 4.8 (zk: 4.5).
AI ToolFreemacOS, Windows
4.8Visit
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