What is NoteGen?
NoteGen is a sophisticated, open-source note-taking application designed to transform how you capture, process, and create knowledge. It directly addresses the challenge of managing fragmented information by using AI to intelligently convert scattered inputs—like screenshots, web clippings, and fleeting ideas—into structured, actionable notes. Built for students, researchers, professionals, and creators, NoteGen streamlines your entire workflow from raw data to polished document.
Key Features
📸 Versatile Information Capture Capture ideas the moment they strike, in whatever form they appear. Use screenshots to instantly grab text from images with built-in OCR, monitor your clipboard to automatically save snippets and links, or simply type out your thoughts. This flexibility ensures no valuable information is ever lost.
🧠 AI-Powered Note Structuring This is where NoteGen truly shines. It leverages powerful AI models like ChatGPT to automatically process your collected fragments and organize them into coherent, structured notes. You can provide custom instructions—like "summarize these points into a paragraph" or "create a bulleted list of key takeaways"—to transform chaotic input into clear, usable knowledge.
✍️ Advanced Markdown Writing Environment Move seamlessly from organizing to writing in a feature-rich Markdown editor. Go beyond basic text with support for complex elements like mathematical formulas (LaTeX), flowcharts, mind maps, and code blocks. This integrated environment allows you to produce beautifully formatted, professional-grade documents without ever leaving the app.
🔐 Secure, Cross-Platform Sync & Data Ownership Your data remains yours, secure and accessible everywhere. NoteGen uses your private GitHub repository for reliable, version-controlled synchronization and image hosting, giving you full control. With an offline-first design and native
.mdfile storage, you're never locked into a proprietary format and can easily migrate your notes at any time.
How NoteGen Solves Your Problems:
NoteGen is designed to fit directly into your daily workflows, turning common frustrations into efficient processes.
For Researchers and Students: Imagine you're gathering sources for a research paper. You can screenshot text from a non-selectable PDF, copy quotes from websites, and jot down your own thoughts. Later, you can ask NoteGen's AI to consolidate all these fragments, identify key themes, and generate a structured outline for your paper, complete with citations.
For Professionals in Meetings: During a fast-paced presentation, you can quickly capture key slides with the screenshot tool. NoteGen's OCR will extract the text, and after the meeting, you can use the AI to instantly organize these points into concise, shareable meeting minutes or a list of action items.
For Content Creators: As you browse for inspiration, you can effortlessly collect images, text snippets, and links. Use tags to keep everything organized. When you're ready to write, you can ask the AI to brainstorm connections between your collected items or draft an initial blog post, turning your inspiration into a first draft in minutes.
Unique Advantages
Truly Lightweight and Open-Source: NoteGen is a remarkably small application (under 25MB) that is completely free, with no ads or bundled software. Its open-source nature ensures transparency and community-driven improvement.
Data Freedom with Native Markdown: By using the universal
.mdformat, NoteGen ensures you always own your data. This avoids vendor lock-in and makes your notes portable and future-proof.Flexible AI Model Integration: You're not tied to a single AI provider. NoteGen supports connecting to various models, including ChatGPT, Gemini, and even self-hosted local models via Ollama or LM Studio, giving you ultimate control over cost, privacy, and performance.
Conclusion:
NoteGen is more than just a note-taking app; it’s a complete system for transforming raw information into valuable knowledge. By intelligently bridging the gap between fragmented capture and structured writing, it empowers you to work more efficiently and think more clearly.





