This manifesto is the project charter for MinkNote. The values define what stays stable, the principles guide day-to-day tradeoffs, and the implementation choices describe how MinkNote delivers on them today.
Enduring values
- Writing is a tool for thinking MinkNote gives people a quiet place to explore ideas, remember clearly, and make sense of their lives without getting in the way.
- Your notes belong to you People keep what they write, access it for the long term, and leave with it whenever they choose.
- Privacy is a default, not an upsell Trust comes from restraint, clear behavior, and local control, as documented in Privacy.
- Durable ownership matters more than short-term convenience Notes remain readable and useful years from now, even outside MinkNote.
- Security is part of trust MinkNote keeps security plain and reviewable through careful dependency choices, platform protections, and release checks documented in Security.
- Clear tools are better than ambitious systems MinkNote favours understandable behaviour over feature accumulation and vague promises of productivity.
Product principles
- Native UX over cross-platform compromise The app feels fast, coherent, and at home on macOS.
- Local-first is the baseline Core writing and organisation work on local files, without requiring a service or account.
- Plain files, no vendor lock-in Storage stays readable, portable, and easy to inspect with other tools.
- Unlimited creation The product never discourages people from writing more, keeping more, or building a long body of work.
- Findability is part of ownership Notes are only useful if they can be found again, so search and organisation remain dependable.
- Complexity needs proof New features earn their place by reducing friction or improving clarity, not by sounding powerful.
- Be precise about what the product does MinkNote avoids aspirational claims that are not reflected in the actual experience.
Current implementation choices
- MinkNote is a native macOS app.
- Notes are stored as plain Markdown files on the local filesystem.
- Core use does not depend on a proprietary cloud or locked database format.
- Analytics are anonymous, optional, opt-in, and disabled by default.
- After the free trial, users keep read-only access to their notes until they purchase Pro.
- Pro is available as a monthly, yearly, or lifetime purchase.