[HN Gopher] Show HN: Ephe - A minimalist open-source Markdown pa...
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Show HN: Ephe - A minimalist open-source Markdown paper for today
Hi HN, I built Ephe, open-source markdown paper for daily todos
and thoughts. No sign-up, no ads, no subscriptions, no AI. ## Why
I made this We have plenty of Markdown editors. And too many
overwhelming to-do apps. But few tools combine both in a way that's
lightweight and focused. I thought that all I need is a single page
to organize today. So I built Ephe. It uses CodeMirror v6,
React(v19, React Compiler) and Vite with rolldown. ## What makes
it different "Ephe" comes from ephemeral. The main goal is to
organize what you need to do today. It isn't for teams. It's a
quiet space for your own priorities. Give it a spin if that sounds
useful to you.
Author : unvalley
Score : 135 points
Date : 2025-06-03 22:41 UTC (1 days ago)
(HTM) web link (github.com)
(TXT) w3m dump (github.com)
| Lyngbakr wrote:
| I'm excited to give this a try, as I think I'm the target
| audience. I tried using Helix[0] (my editor of choice) with
| mpls[1], but it didn't quite scratch the itch. These days, I use
| a sturdy notebook and cheap (but awesome!) fountain pen, because
| I just need something simple. No bells. No whistles. This seems
| ideal!
|
| [0]https://helix-editor.com/ [1]https://github.com/mhersson/mpls
| notnmeyer wrote:
| shameless plug, but if you're looking for a daily note taking
| thing, take a look at https://github.com/notnmeyer/daylog-cli.
| it's a cli tool for daily task tracking. edits in $EDITOR (i
| use helix) and renders markdown in the terminal.
|
| i use it to take notes during the day at work and then use the
| notes for our standup.
| Lyngbakr wrote:
| You had me at > DayLog ah ahh ahhhhhh,
| fighter of the night log ah ahh ahhhhh.
| unvalley wrote:
| Thank you! Editors like Helix are a good choice. I just prefer
| GUIs, so I built one in the browser. Hope you'll give it a try!
| u5wbxrc3 wrote:
| Helix was great until I discovered something that was a
| dealbreaker for me. They treat newline character as a normal
| character which is just very very non intuitive. I just wish
| there was option for behavior same as vim does.
| https://github.com/helix-editor/helix/issues/2956
| jakkos wrote:
| I actually use the fact newline is a pseudo-character pretty
| often (e.g t-return-d to "delete till newline"). I have the
| opposite issue where I use Helix most of the time, but
| sometimes have to compromise with rebinding a "vim mode" and
| little things like esc-i causing the cursor to move 1
| character left drive me up the wall.
| spankibalt wrote:
| Annoying feature bitch 'n' beg:
|
| "Frictionless" text hoisting (incl. hoist-to-view document window
| capability) a la Symantec's GrandView (DOS) [1] is a must for me
| in a modern tool of this type. Table manipulation a la org-mode
| would be nice to have, text template import and export (e. g.
| screenwriting formats) a bonus. But lean and mean general-purpose
| text editors focusing on non-coding creators are just not a thing
| anymore.
|
| Anyway, congratulations and good luck!
|
| 1.
| [https://welcometosherwood.wordpress.com/2009/10/10/grandview...]
| unvalley wrote:
| Thank you, I'm definitely aiming to keep making it better.
| Gotta admit never heard of GrandView or org-mode-style tools
| before. I will look them up. And yeah, it's surprisingly hard
| to find tools that just let you write raw Markdown.
| spankibalt wrote:
| Friendly words of advice: don't get too carried away with
| this, especially org-mode, a _massive_ black hole of
| features, nearly all of them completely irrelevant for a
| small, non-coder focused datatool. For me, org-mode 's
| standout feature is just its ability to let you edit tables
| in a very neat fashion. And GrandView's outlining elegance,
| especially its text-hoisting behavior, is still completely
| and utterly unmatched. After 35 years! That's why I still use
| it. The OSF [1] is another good place to pick some brains, if
| you don't already know.
|
| 1. [https://www.outlinersoftware.com]
| unvalley wrote:
| Yeah, one of Ephe's selling points is actually how few
| features it has. Finding that balance is fun, so I'll keep
| exploring. Markdown really isn't great for editing tables
| though, totally agree. Once I wrap up some work, I'll take
| a closer look at outlining tools too. Thanks again!
| ctkhn wrote:
| It looks nice and I like the general idea, but what's the
| difference between this and a todos folder in joplin or any
| existing notes app? That's what I use personally and at work I do
| the same thing with onenote (because of mega enterprise install
| restrictiveness) and a new note page every day seems to do
| essentially what this app offers.
| unvalley wrote:
| Thank you, I've written a bit about the thinking behind this
| app in the form of a short guide:
| https://github.com/unvalley/ephe/blob/main/.github/guide.md
|
| I think the difference in philosophy shows up in the feature
| set too. For example, Ephe currently only gives you a single
| page because the focus is on today. If there are any features
| you find essential in apps like Joplin but missing in Ephe, I'd
| love to hear. I want to keep improving it.
| bryanhogan wrote:
| I have been using Logseq [1] for this. It displays all days in a
| list view that you can scroll down, which I prefer.
|
| [1]: https://logseq.com/
| unvalley wrote:
| I think the all days, you mean a list of past documents In
| Ephe, there's only one page, so the only way to look back is
| through snapshots. That's maybe part of the philosophy behind
| the app. Anyway, I'll take another look at Logseq. Thank you
| jonahx wrote:
| It looks similar to Obsidian. Are there significant advantages?
| chthonicdaemon wrote:
| Logseq is block-based while Obsidian is more focused on
| pages. If you want to build something like Wikipedia,
| Obsidian fits that well. If you're more used to notion and
| you think more in bullets, Logseq could be a better fit.
| spankibalt wrote:
| Yes. Obsidian resembles the classic desktop wiki while
| Logseq is more suitable for outlining. If the block-based
| approach to the problem is to your taste, that is.
| unvalley wrote:
| Great question. At a glance, it might look like Obsidian and
| logseq (PKM) -- but Ephe is less features and simpler. No
| login. No install. No plugin system. No even multiple
| documents. We just open the page and write. It's
| intentionally minimal -- one page, focused on just today.
| That focus is what sets it apart.
| marcuskaz wrote:
| Here's a dead simple note "app" - it's a single html file using
| CSS and JavaScript, a whopping 62 lines. Uses content editable
| and localStorage.
|
| Demo: https://mkaz.github.io/browser-pad/
|
| Source: https://github.com/mkaz/browser-pad/ - though I suppose
| you can just view source on demo too
| keb_ wrote:
| Nice one! Although it doesn't seem to save newlines on refresh.
| marcuskaz wrote:
| You're right, fixed. Switched it to use innerHTML.
| unvalley wrote:
| That works too, for sure. I've paid special attention to
| certain features like how task creation works in Markdown with
| Ephe. Would love for you to give it a try.
| marcuskaz wrote:
| For sure, yours is far more elegant and nice to use.
|
| Mine takes minimalism to an extreme :-)
| unvalley wrote:
| Thank you, I was surprised at your quick ship:)
| marcuskaz wrote:
| You can also create a writing space in your browser using a
| data URL, paste the following into your address bar and boom!
| instant editor. You can bookmark it and will always be
| available.
|
| ``` data:text/html, <html contenteditable> ```
|
| Plus bonus ephemeral, close the tab and your notes are gone
| with them. Here's an old post with examples using data URL
| adding style: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6005295
| submeta wrote:
| Reminds me of TaskPaper. But markdown is ubiquitously available.
| So yeah, makes sense.
| unvalley wrote:
| Thank you! To be honest, I didn't know much about taskpaper but
| I have seen it. The concept is similar. If there are any good
| features, I'd like to refer to them.
| shlomo_z wrote:
| Can someone recommend something like this, but where my notes are
| published online (on my domain)?
| SilverServer wrote:
| I self host this
|
| https://github.com/chroxify/haptic Pretty neat, mind the fact
| that is local based, so if you log from another device you will
| not have persistence
| FinnKuhn wrote:
| Considering that the comment was mentioning online
| publication I don't see how a local only tool would be of any
| relevance here.
| dhruv3006 wrote:
| Good one!
| unvalley wrote:
| Thank you:)
| u5wbxrc3 wrote:
| Looks neat and simple! Gonna try it for few days atleast, thanks.
| unvalley wrote:
| Thank you! Any feedback is welcome, have fun.
| chrisvalleybay wrote:
| Like that you're using CodeMirror! With CodeMirror you can very
| easily add VIm-support as well [0], which many might enjoy.
|
| [0] https://github.com/replit/codemirror-vim
| unvalley wrote:
| Interesting! Actually I use VSCode to be honest, but wanna try
| that out.
| chenzhekl wrote:
| Nice product. Just one minor issue. The font looks ugly on
| Windows.
| unvalley wrote:
| Thanks! really, I'll check on Windows.
| scaradim wrote:
| Sorry, TL;DR What does this bring more than organizing own
| thoughts and tasks in a Obsidian md note?
| unvalley wrote:
| Thank you for your question. If Obsidian can do the same, that
| works. But I don't think I need past tasks saved as documents.
| Personally, I don't want to manage TODOs in my PKM. I prefer to
| keep app responsibilities separate. (For example, I don't like
| todo apps that integrate calendars)
| oneeyedpigeon wrote:
| This is at least one order of magnitude less complex than an
| Obsidian note.
| rpastuszak wrote:
| It looks really nice! (tested on Safari/Mac).
|
| Have you considered adding a small popup encouraging people to
| set it as their home page? I use Enso (https://enso.sonnet.io) in
| that manner occasionally.
|
| Also, the "system" button disappears during writing (good), but
| it's hard to get it back unless I click outside of the editor. In
| Enso, I re-enable it on any pointer move - I would suggesting
| doing something similar.
|
| PS I work on somewhat similar tools (like the one mentioned
| above), esp. for loose, stream-of-consciousness style of writing
| https://untested.sonnet.io/notes/stream-of-consciousness-mor...
| then copy paste the text into obsidian.
|
| If you ever fancy chatting about privacy-friendly,
| idiosyncratic/home-cooked software hit me up on
| sonnet.io/posts/hi !
| unvalley wrote:
| Thank you! I checked you app Enso, it's awesome. I really like
| this kind of app. Yeah I need to polish the "system" button.
| Currently, it should appear after writing texts within 1 sec.
| I'd love to chat and will reach out!
| bronxpockfabz wrote:
| I'll kindly remind people that actual [physical] paper does, in
| fact, still exist. You may have various feelings about how
| sustainable and eco friendly it is - sure, but for simple daily
| notes it is a good alternative, in my opinion.
|
| For more enjoyment, you may even want to invest in a good
| fountain pen or two, and some fun inks to write with.
|
| In my humble and subjective opinion, it is more tactile,
| enjoyable, better in terms of focus and forces you to write less
| / summarise, as my handwriting speed is like 1/10 of my typing
| speed.
|
| My personal favourite pairing is Pilot Capless + Sailor Jentle
| Epinard + Clairefontaine Pupitre.
|
| Your experience may vary.
| unvalley wrote:
| I enjoy writing on paper too. I use the word "paper" when
| describing this app though honestly, I did hesitate. That said,
| for people like me, typing can actually be a way to clear
| noise. If we can combine the freedom of physical paper with the
| flexibility of software that's the ideal I'm chasing.
| Superbowl5889 wrote:
| That looks very neat.I was searching for a local notepad, went to
| length of installing a extension.
|
| But this. Just wow. Thank you.
| unvalley wrote:
| Thank you! I'll keep improving it.
| asjo wrote:
| What is a "Markdown Paper"?
| unvalley wrote:
| I wanted to create a catchy, attention-grabbing phrase:) This
| app is meant to feel like a single sheet of paper on our desk
| where we can write in Markdown.
| entropie wrote:
| Pretty cool! I made something similar for myself. My primary
| motivation back then was to make a tomboy-like system to link the
| individual todo lists together. I use #hashtags to group "zettel"
| and individual zettel also know other zettel that refer to them.
| What I also find very useful are [ ] and [x] which I use as lists
| to check off (seems you do that allready).
|
| Screenshot (it is not publicly available):
| https://i.imgur.com/js9S4wa.png
|
| But the source is:
| https://github.com/entropie/ha2itat/tree/main/plugins/zettel
|
| Ill dig a bit in your source.
| unvalley wrote:
| Thank you! I like how it makes Zettelkasten-style organization
| easy. For this ephe.app though, I intentionally limited it to a
| single page as you know. A deliberate choice not to expand. I'm
| looking forward to yours!
| nashashmi wrote:
| Day of silly submissions. First byte wordle. Now this.
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(page generated 2025-06-04 23:01 UTC)