What's New
Release notes for Notely.
v0.3.2
July 21, 2026
Notely 0.3.2 turns the Note surface into a more capable knowledge workspace with desktop-style block selection, resizable columns, richer local content, multilingual discovery, and complete macOS, Linux, and Windows builds.
This cumulative alpha includes the unreleased 0.3.1 work and the latest editor refinements. Writing, arranging, linking, searching, recognizing local documents, and moving between ideas now work together while Markdown remains underneath and semantic processing stays on-device.
What's in this release
A more powerful Note surface
Desktop-style block selection
Select a range of blocks, extend the selection with the keyboard, and apply multi-block actions without dropping back into raw Markdown.
Drag, reorder, and arrange
Move blocks directly, drag content between positions, and organize notes into resizable two-to-six-column layouts with left and right drop zones.
Tables, links, and rich content
Create the table you need
Slash and slashless commands can create explicitly sized tables, such as three rows by four columns, ready for in-place editing.
Choose how pasted URLs appear
Keep a URL as a plain link, attach it to selected text, or turn it into a safe rich website card with a local preview cache.
Export and preview more formats
Export individual notes as themed PDFs, keep animated GIFs intact, and work with richer note properties, menus, and keyboard shortcuts.
Local document intelligence
Search text inside PDFs and images
Notely can recognize text in local PDF and image attachments in English, Portuguese, and Spanish, then include that content in indexing and search.
Derived content stays recoverable
Recognition and embedding pipelines are hardened around local files, cache invalidation, retries, and safe rebuilds instead of treating generated context as irreplaceable data.
Smarter connected discovery
Multilingual hybrid search
Exact and semantic matches work together across languages, with exact-passage navigation that opens the relevant part of a note.
Graph communities reveal structure
Local semantic graph communities group related notes and concepts so clusters are easier to discover beyond explicit wiki links.
Connections remains on-device
Backlinks, nearby notes, suggested links, unlinked concepts, duplicate warnings, and embeddings remain local; note text and vectors are not sent to a hosted service.
Desktop and cross-platform polish
Calmer native desktop behavior
Title bars, dialogs, selection states, lazy previews, memory behavior, and workspace controls received another cross-platform hardening pass.
Complete platform downloads
The same prerelease is available as macOS Apple Silicon DMG/ZIP, Linux x64 and arm64 AppImage/.deb packages, and Windows x64 installer/portable executables.
System requirements
- macOS Apple Silicon for the DMG or ZIP build.
- Linux x64 for the AppImage or Ubuntu/Debian package.
- Linux arm64 for the AppImage or Ubuntu/Debian package.
- Windows x64 for the installer or portable executable.
- A local .notely library file for the desktop-first storage model.
Known limitations
- The macOS build is ad-hoc signed and verified, but it is not Apple-notarized.
- The Windows builds are currently available for x64 machines only.
- Live cloud sync and collaborative editing are not part of this release.
v0.2.3
July 9, 2026
Notely 0.2.3 makes the whole workspace feel more coherent: readable blocks behave like one editor, Graph gains motion and direct manipulation, Canvas gets practical drawing tools, and views, tables, tags, and feedback become easier to control.
This cumulative release brings together the work completed since 0.2.0. Writing, navigating, organizing, managing files, and visually mapping a library now share more consistent controls, spacing, keyboard behavior, undo history, and visual feedback.
What's in this release
A more complete writing surface
Readable blocks now act like one editor
Headings, paragraphs, quotes, lists, tasks, callouts, code blocks, and tables share more consistent cursor placement, selection behavior, spacing, and inline controls while keeping markdown underneath.
Undo and redo reach further
Read-note history now covers committed block edits, deleted blocks, marker changes, table operations, and task checkbox toggles, making direct editing easier to trust.
Tables are editable in place
Markdown tables gain controls for adding or removing rows and columns without forcing you to rewrite the table syntax by hand.
Slashless writing macros
Type words such as heading, todo, warning, quote, divider, sql, or python at the start of a line and press Tab to create the matching markdown block. The transforms are local, deterministic, and do not use AI.
Graph and Canvas
A Graph that feels alive
Graph navigation now has smoother layout motion, draggable nodes with connected-neighbor movement, clearer loading transitions, and stronger fit-to-view and reset behavior.
More useful Canvas tools
The native Canvas adds line and arrow tools, zoom controls, fit-to-view navigation, a clearer grid, and more reliable selection and pointer behavior.
Graph actions in the command palette
Fit and reset actions are available from the keyboard, so visual navigation remains part of Notely's command-driven workflow.
Workspace control
Views and tabs stay in your order
Workspace views can be reordered and persisted, while open tabs can be rearranged and expose note actions close to the work they affect.
Custom tag colors
Tags receive stable colors automatically and can be given custom colors, with the same identity carried through notes and the Tags board.
Clearer feedback across the app
Toasts, inline menus, code-block controls, sidebar actions, view selectors, and task interactions were refined into a more consistent desktop experience.
Files and library awareness
A more capable Files library
Files can be filtered by type or unused status, sorted by name, date, type, or size, and inspected in a detail panel that shows storage and source-note references.
Stronger media and Canvas previews
Attachment previews, media controls, empty Canvas states, renaming, and detach flows were refined while keeping assets stored inside the active library.
Library health stays visible
The sidebar footer surfaces library status and brings manager, backup, and recovery actions closer to the workspace.
Known limitations
- Windows downloads are not public yet because the native SQLite dependency still needs a Windows build host.
- Live cloud sync and collaborative editing are not part of this release.
What's next
- Continue unifying the remaining editing paths behind the readable block surface.
- Publish refreshed macOS and Linux builds after release validation.
- Complete the native Windows packaging path.
v0.2.0
July 3, 2026
Notely 0.2 turns the app into a more complete local-first desktop workspace: a unified Note surface, library-backed files, Mermaid diagrams, native canvas assets, stronger workspace views, and a real macOS/Linux beta release channel.
The headline change is that Notely no longer feels like a split editor plus preview. The note itself is now the main surface: read formatted Markdown, click into blocks to edit, attach files, embed diagrams, manage tasks, and keep everything inside the same portable .notely library file.
What's in this release
Unified writing
One Note surface for reading and writing
Rendered markdown blocks can become editable in place, then commit back into the polished reading surface. The normal flow is now one page instead of a separate raw editor and preview.
Better markdown creation
Slash commands, smart lists, wiki link completion, tag completion, URL paste over selected text, and selection formatting make daily note-taking feel faster without hiding the markdown underneath.
Read view that carries real work
Callouts, task checkboxes, code blocks, tables, Mermaid diagrams, image lightbox, section links, backlinks, hover previews, and inline embeds all render inside the Note experience.
Library-backed files and diagrams
Files live inside the library
Pasted or dropped files are copied into the active .notely library and referenced with library-local links, so the note no longer depends on the original file path.
Previews for real assets
Images, video, audio, PDF, text, code-like files, and Notely canvas assets preview from the library. Unsupported files still get a clear download fallback.
Mermaid and native canvas
Mermaid code fences render as diagrams, and native .notely-canvas assets can be created from Note, opened in a full-screen editor, autosaved into the library, and exported with Markdown archives.
Workspace polish
Files view is useful now
The Files view supports filtering, previews, open-source-note actions, download, rename, detach/delete, missing-file states, and references to every note that uses a deduped file blob.
Graph and Tasks are stronger workflows
Graph gets fit-to-view, selected-note behavior, backlink filtering, and no-link states. Tasks gets lane movement, preview toggles, right-click actions, undo, and clearer empty states.
Library manager and recovery guidance
Settings can show the current library path, encryption status, health checks, reveal-file actions, export flows, safety copies, and recovery guidance in one place.
Beta release channel
macOS and Linux builds are live
Notely 0.2 is published for macOS Apple Silicon and Linux. The public release channel exposes macOS DMG/zip, Linux x64 AppImage, and Linux arm64 AppImage/.deb packages.
Updater feeds are generated
macOS, Linux x64, and Linux arm64 updater metadata now point at the 0.2 artifacts, so packaged builds have a real update path as the beta continues.
Windows stays manual for now
Windows remains paused until the native SQLite dependency is built on a real Windows machine or workflow. The website keeps Windows marked as coming soon instead of linking to a missing artifact.
System requirements
- macOS Apple Silicon for the DMG build.
- Linux x64 for the AppImage build.
- Linux arm64 for the AppImage or .deb build.
- A local .notely library file for the desktop-first storage model.
Known limitations
- Windows downloads are not public yet because native SQLite must be compiled on Windows.
- Signing and notarization are still beta-stage, so install prompts may be less polished than a fully signed public release.
- Live cloud sync and collaborative editing are not part of this release.
- Office documents, archives, and some richer media metadata still use download fallback rather than full inline previews.
What's next
- More block-level editing polish in the unified Note surface.
- Optional end-to-end encrypted sync and cloud backup paths.
- A native Windows build once the Windows packaging path is completed.
- Broader file preview support and stronger large-file UX.
Built with care by Friendly.