ZettelkastenNote
ZettelkastenNote
Free · In‑App Purchases
Links between notes now sync via iCloud — follow a connection you made on iPhone from your iPad. Plus: turn "Ideas, revisited" on Home on or off as you like.
Turn your knowledge into a growing asset.
ZettelkastenNote is a card-based knowledge management app
inspired by the Zettelkasten method — a system where you
capture ideas as small cards and connect them to build
a growing web of knowledge.
# Organize Your Thinking
- Capture ideas as atomic cards (Zettels) with notes
- Group related ideas together
- Turn scattered thoughts into structured insights
# Discover Connections
- See your knowledge as a link graph
- Get automatic similar-Zettel suggestions (on-device AI)
- Search by meaning, not just keywords
- Skim recent notes in a timeline
# Intuitive & Simple
- Drag & drop to reorder freely
- Swipe for quick access
- Clean, distraction-free interface
- Scan text from photos straight into your notes
- Sketch diagrams and notes by hand, and add to them later
- Web links appear as rich cards with titles
- Light and dark appearance
# Privacy First
- Local-first design
- Your data stays on your device and (optionally) in your private iCloud
- No tracking, no ads, no third-party data sharing
# Sync Across Devices (Optional)
- iCloud sync across all your Apple devices
- Toggle sync on/off anytime in Settings
- Works fully offline when sync is off
# Perfect For
- Capturing fleeting ideas before they disappear
- Organizing what you learn from books and articles
- Building a personal knowledge base over time
- Collecting problem-solving insights
Download free and start building your knowledge system today.
more - Links between notes now sync via iCloud. A link you make on iPhone shows up on iPad and your other devices (links made since v2.11.0 are uploaded automatically after updating)
- "Ideas, revisited" on Home can now be turned on or off in Settings. Morning notifications and the widget keep working as before
- Announcement titles now appear in your device's language
- Open the official website from Settings
- Fixed an issue where iCloud sync could no longer save its internal data with a large library, and made large syncs lighter
2.15.0 5d ago
- New: handwriting. Sketch diagrams and quick notes right in a Note, then add to them later (iPhone and iPad, with Apple Pencil support; shows on Mac via iCloud sync)
- Jot a memo into your Inbox straight from the button at the bottom right of Home
- The Share button for a Note now sits with the other buttons on the right of each card
- Minor improvements and bug fixes
2.14.0 Oct 18
- Now available in Simplified Chinese
- The app icon now shows how many announcements you haven't read (when notifications are allowed; you can turn this off in Settings)
- Minor improvements
2.13.0 Oct 14
- New Activity screen: look back on the days you wrote in a calendar-style grid, and see your current streak and this week's notes at a glance
- Tap a day in the grid to see the notes you wrote that day, then jump straight to a note or to that day in your Timeline
- The Timeline is now ordered by when notes were written, and switching months is more precise
- Link previews no longer make the screen jump while they load
- Minor improvements
2.12.0 Oct 11
- Notes now show when they were created, so you can see at a glance when you wrote them — handy for journaling
- "Move" is now in the left swipe, next to Delete. The right swipe is just "Share", so you won't mix them up
- Minor improvements
2.11.1 Oct 7
- Link notes to notes. Tap the link button on a note and pick another note — the link shows on both sides, and one tap takes you there
- New tag manager. From Settings or by long-pressing a tag, you can add tags, rename or recolor them, and delete them
- Refreshed Quick Capture widget: see your Inbox count at a glance and tap to jump straight into sorting
2.11.0 Sep 30
- Quick Capture widget: one tap from your Home Screen or Lock Screen straight into Inbox — with Text, Voice, and Photo entries
- Card reminders: set a date and repeat (daily, weekly, monthly...) from the card menu, and jump right back from the notification
- Cards with a reminder now show a bell icon in the list
2.10.0 Sep 26
- Tap a checkbox to complete it — tasks written as "- [ ]" can now be checked right from the preview
- Press Return on a list or checkbox line and the marker continues on the next line (press Return on an empty item to end the list)
- Open cards straight from iPhone search (Spotlight). The index stays on your device, and hidden cards are never included
2.9.0 Sep 8
- Private Zettels: hide cards you'd rather keep to yourself. Unlock with Face ID to see them dimmed in the list; they're concealed again when you close the app
- A hands-on tutorial for first-time users that walks through the real screens. Replay it anytime from Settings > How to Use
- New "Photo Memo" on the app icon: snap a photo, add a line, and send it straight to your Inbox
- Swipe a note to share it — text and images go straight to X and other apps
- Platform badges (iOS / Mac) on announcements, and a fix for stray tracking parameters on URLs shared from Google Maps
2.8.0 Aug 27
- Capture from your Home Screen: long-press the app icon for "Voice Memo" or "Text Memo" and send ideas straight to your Inbox
- Shortcuts & Siri support: add "Create New Zettel" to your automations
- Better editor: new indent buttons, and photos & text scanning are now one tap away on the new clip button
- Create a new card on the spot when moving a note
- New users start with sample cards to explore (delete them anytime)
2.7.0 Aug 6
- Voice capture: tap the mic and just talk — your words are transcribed on-device and saved to your Inbox (iOS 26+)
- Better timeline: swipe between months to jump back in time, and scroll seamlessly across month boundaries
- Archive: tidy up finished cards out of your list and search (restore anytime from Settings > Library)
- Edit button on notes: link-only notes are now easy to edit
- Feedback form in Settings: we'd love to hear from you
2.6.0 Jul 31
- Morning notification: get reunited with one card you haven't touched in a while, every morning (opt-in; adjust the time in Settings)
- Share sheet support: send URLs and text straight to your Inbox from Safari and other apps
- URL-only notes now show a clean link card without the raw URL
- Added anonymous usage statistics to improve the app (your note contents are never included)
2.5.0 Jul 23
- A brand-new iPad layout: browse your cards and details side by side in two columns, with landscape support
- Smarter search: type to filter by title, press Enter to also see cards that are similar in meaning — no more switching search modes
- Tag filters now sit right above the search bar, so searching and filtering works with one hand
- Ready for Voice Capture on Mac: memos you capture by voice on macOS land in an Inbox you can sort into cards right from your iPhone or iPad
2.4.0 Jul 18
- New: "Ideas, revisited" — notes you haven't touched in a while resurface on your home screen daily, inviting you to reread and build on them
- New widget for "Ideas, revisited" — jump straight to the day's note from your home screen
- Move notes between cards (swipe right on a note)
- View notes within a card newest-first or oldest-first — drag to reorder works in both directions
- Newly created cards now open right away so you can start writing immediately
- Fixed an issue where the last card's menu was hidden behind the + button
2.3.0 Jul 16
- Scan text from photos and insert it right into your notes
- Web links in notes now appear as rich cards with titles and thumbnails
- Plain URLs become tappable links automatically
- A refreshed monotone design: Ink Monotone
2.2.0 Jul 12
The "discover connections" update.
• Link Graph — See your knowledge as a graph. Zettels with similar content pull together, revealing connections you haven't made yet
• Similar Zettels — Each Zettel now suggests related ones automatically, reconnecting you with your past ideas
• Search by Meaning — A new search mode that finds Zettels by meaning, not just keywords
• Timeline — Skim your notes across all Zettels, newest first, and revisit your recent thinking
All analysis happens entirely on your device. Your notes never leave it.
2.1.0 Jul 8
A major update — we rebuilt the entire app.
• launching and every interaction feel faster
• A refreshed "paper and ink" design
• Dark mode support (light / dark / system)
• Pinned Zettels now sync via iCloud
• iCloud sync applies changes more quickly
• Editor improvements: copy notes, insert headings (H1–H3), and more
All your data carries over automatically. Thanks for growing your knowledge with us.
2.0.0 Jul 7
We refreshed the home screen to make organizing your knowledge easier.
• A new masonry layout — cards size to their content
• Sort your Zettels by created date, updated date, or title (ascending or descending)
• Pin frequently used Zettels to the top
• Share, duplicate, or delete right from the card or detail menu
Keep your notes tidy and easy to scan.
1.7.0 Jul 2
iCloud sync across multiple devices
• Auto-sync Zettels, Notes, tags, and links across your iPhone and iPad with your Apple ID
• Images embedded in Notes are also synced
• Toggle sync on/off and trigger manual sync from Settings
• Reset iCloud data and re-sync from scratch when needed
• Existing data is uploaded automatically the first time you turn sync on
1.6.0 May 3
Internal improvements and performance updates.
• Database preparation for upcoming features
• Minor improvements
1.5.1 Apr 28
Markdown support is here.
• Notes now support Markdown formatting (headings, lists, code blocks, and more)
• Added edit/preview toggle in the note editor
• Added a Markdown toolbar above the keyboard
• You can now embed photos from your camera roll into notes
1.5.0 Apr 18
Improved usability.
• Improved swipe back gesture responsiveness
• Fixed unresponsive tap area on note cards
1.4.1 Apr 12
Improved Japanese input and note operations.
• Fixed an issue where the underline was not displayed during Japanese IME composition
• Added a copy button to notes
• Enabled swipe-back to home when navigating from widgets
• Improved note creation and editing screen display
• Improved accessibility of the New Note button
1.4.0 Apr 8
Bug fixes.
- Fixed a crash when opening the app from a widget
1.3.1 Mar 31
Added home screen widgets and review prompts.
- Home Screen Widget: Pin your favorite Zettel to the Home Screen. Displays title, description, and tags. Tap to open in the app
- Multiple Widgets: Place different Zettels on multiple widgets and use your Home Screen as a knowledge board
- In-App Review: The app now asks for a review at the right moment
1.3.0 Mar 29
- Links between notes now sync via iCloud. A link you make on iPhone shows up on iPad and your other devices (links made since v2.11.0 are uploaded automatically after updating)
- "Ideas, revisited" on Home can now be turned on or off in Settings. Morning notifications and the widget keep working as before
- Announcement titles now appear in your device's language
- Open the official website from Settings
- Fixed an issue where iCloud sync could no longer save its internal data with a large library, and made large syncs lighter
more Version 2.15.0 5d ago
Data Not Linked to You The following data may be collected but it is not linked to your identity:
Location Identifiers Usage Data