CherryTree

CherryTree is a hierarchical note-taking application built around a simple idea: your notes belong in a tree, not in a pile of flat documents. Each notebook is a tree of nested nodes that you organize by dragging and dropping, and each node is a full rich-text page. Everything is stored in a single file on your disk (XML or SQLite), so a whole knowledge base stays easy to back up, move, or sync with the tool of your choice. It is written by Giuseppe Penone with contributions from a long-standing community, translated into more than thirty languages.

Rich Text Built for Technical Notes

Nodes support full rich text: colors, bold, italic, headers, subscript and superscript, and multi-level bulleted, numbered, and to-do lists. Where CherryTree stands out is technical writing. Syntax highlighting covers dozens of programming languages, and dedicated codeboxes keep snippets neatly separated inside a page. Code nodes and codeboxes can even be executed straight from the app, with the terminal command configurable per language. LaTeX math equations render inline, which makes it a serious option for study notes and engineering documentation.

Tables, Images, and Embedded Files

Notes are not limited to text. You can insert images and resize or rotate them in place, build simple tables with CSV import and export, and embed files directly into a page to keep attachments next to the words that explain them. Hyperlinks can point to web pages, files, folders, or other nodes, so a notebook can work as a personal wiki. Typing a URL links it automatically, and writing a node name between double brackets links to that node.

Single-File Storage, Optionally Encrypted

A notebook lives in one file. That makes backups trivial and lets you carry a whole project on a USB stick, especially with the portable Windows build. When privacy matters, single-file documents can be password-protected using 7-Zip encryption. One honest caveat from the author: while a protected document is open, an unprotected copy sits in a temporary folder until you close the app.

Find, Organize, and Get It Back Out

Search runs across a node, a node and its subnodes, or the entire tree, with replace support everywhere. CherryTree imports from a long list of note apps, including Tomboy, Gnote, KeepNote, Zim, and plain HTML or text folders, and it exports selections, nodes, or whole trees to PDF, HTML, or plain text. A table of contents can be generated automatically from your headers.

Where It Fits, and Where It Doesn't

CherryTree suits developers, sysadmins, students, and anyone who keeps structured notes with code in them. It is desktop-only: there is no built-in cloud sync and no official mobile app, so syncing means placing the file in a cloud folder or a tool like Syncthing. The interface is practical rather than modern. In exchange you get speed, depth, spell check, and total ownership of your data, free and open source under the GPLv3+ license.