clin

A TUI reimagination of Obsidian — feature-packed note management in your terminal.

About

clin is a free, open-source terminal note manager inspired by Obsidian. It packs Obsidian's core features — markdown editing and rendering, .canvas files, and a force-directed graph view — into a roughly 2-5 MB Rust binary with minimal resource use, while keeping the UI approachable.

Drop an existing Obsidian vault into clin and it works out of the box. Image rendering, databases, and Obsidian plugins are not supported.

Screenshots21

test ui::list_view::tests::test_get_preview_info ... ok test ui::list_view::tests::preview_width_ratio_controls_preview_width ... ok test markdown::builtin::tests::code_block_lang_icon ... ok test markdown::builtin::tests::renders_code_block_highlighted_when_lang ... ok

failures:

---- backup::git_ops::tests::test_push_to_file_remote_roundtrip stdout ---- Error: config value 'user.name' was not found; class=Config (7); code=NotFound (-3)

failures: backup::git_ops::tests::test_push_to_file_remote_roundtrip

test result: FAILED. 189 passed; 1 failed; 0 ignored; 0 measured; 0 filtered out; finished in 0.38s

error: test failed, to rerun pass --lib Error: Process completed with exit code 101.

_{Notes — grid layout with preview pane}	_{Graph — force-directed node visualization}
_{Canvas — node/edge 2D canvas}	_{Editor — text editor with markdown preview}

More screenshots

Highlights

Notes view — folder tree, tags, markdown preview pane (built-in renderer), search, filter, sort, pin, multi-select, trash management, file management (copy, paste, delete, rename, move), customizable bottom strip with activity heatmap, goals, and widget previews.
Editor view — built-in text editor with mouse support, line numbers, undo/redo, and external editor integration (VISUAL/EDITOR env or config). Markdown preview pane alongside editor.
Graph view — fully integrated force-directed graph visualization of your note corpus. Edges from [[wikilinks]]. Physics simulation, minimap, legend, search, configurable colors and layout. See GRAPH_VIEW.md.
Canvas view — Obsidian-compatible .canvas file format. Place text/file/link/group nodes on an infinite 2D canvas, connect them with edges. Right-click context menu, drag, resize, zoom. See CANVAS.md.
Draw view — freehand drawing canvas with shapes (rect, ellipse, diamond, line, arrow), text, and eraser tool. .draw file format. See DRAW.md.
Content tree view — view to see the content of a .md file as a tree with headers being the parents and content being the children.
Git backup — backup system using git as backend, initialize a repository and backup your notes automatically.
Command palette (Ctrl+P) — extensible action system with encrypt/decrypt, theme switcher, OCR paste, canvas/draw creation, graph view. See COMMAND_PALETTE.md.
Theme system — 19 built-in themes (default, TokyoNight, CatppuccinMocha, OneDark, Gruvbox, Dracula, Nord, RosePine, Everforest, Kanagawa, Solarized, Catppuccin Frappé, Catppuccin Macchiato, Rose Pine Moon, Gruvbox Material, GitHub Dark, Ayu Mirage, Synthwave '84, Material), transparent/solid backgrounds, per-color overrides. See THEME_SYSTEM.md.
Custom themes — drop-in TOML themes in ~/.config/clin/themes/, no recompile needed. See THEME_SYSTEM.md.
Encryption — on-demand ChaCha20-Poly1305 AEAD per-note encryption. .clin files with plaintext frontmatter for fast summary loading. See ENCRYPTION.md.
Obsidian .canvas import — existing Obsidian canvas files are read and rendered, except for images.
Templates — TOML-based note templates with variable substitution ({date}, {time}, {weekday}, etc.). See TEMPLATES.md.
Goals system — daily word-count and note-count goals with in-app progress bars. Configurable via [goals] config section and command palette.
Import & conversion — import File/CSV/JSON/URL/Clipboard content as a new note or append to the current note. PDF, DOCX, HTML converted via external tools.

Dependencies

These are highly recommended for the best experience:

A nerd font — required for rendering glyphs which are highly used around the UI.
A modern terminal — such as kitty, ghostty etc.

Optional Tools

These tools are optional — clin works without them:

Tool	Purpose	Package
`tesseract`	OCR paste (clipboard image → text)	`tesseract-ocr`
`wl-clipboard`	Clipboard access (Wayland)	`wl-clipboard`
`xclip` or `xsel`	Clipboard access (X11)	`xclip`

Installation

Platform	Method	Command
Any (from source)	Cargo build	`cargo build --release`
Any	Cargo install	`cargo install clin-rs`
Debian/Ubuntu (amd64)	`.deb`	`sudo dpkg -i clin-rs_*_amd64.deb`
Debian/Ubuntu (arm64)	`.deb`	`sudo dpkg -i clin-rs_*_arm64.deb`
Fedora/RHEL (x86_64)	`.rpm`	`sudo rpm -i clin-rs-*.x86_64.rpm`
Fedora/RHEL (aarch64)	`.rpm`	`sudo rpm -i clin-rs-*.aarch64.rpm`
Arch (local)	PKGBUILD	`makepkg -si`
Arch	AUR	`yay -S clin-rs-bin`
Nix	Flakes	`nix run github:reekta92/clin-rs`
Linux (portable x86_64)	AppImage	`./clin-*-x86_64.AppImage`
Linux (tar.gz x86_64)	binary	see details
Linux (tar.gz aarch64)	binary	see details
Windows	`.zip`	`Expand-Archive …`
macOS (Apple Silicon)	`.dmg`/`.tar.gz`	see details

Source & Cargo (cargo build + cargo install)

From Source

git clone https://github.com/reekta92/clin-rs.git
cd clin-rs
cargo build --release

With Cargo

cargo install clin-rs

Debian / Ubuntu (.deb, amd64 + arm64)

Debian/Ubuntu (.deb)

Download the latest .deb from the Releases page.

sudo dpkg -i clin-rs_*_amd64.deb

Debian/Ubuntu (aarch64)

Download the latest .deb from the Releases page.

sudo dpkg -i clin-rs_*_arm64.deb

Fedora / RHEL (.rpm, x86_64 + aarch64)

Fedora/RHEL (.rpm)

Download the latest .rpm from the Releases page.

sudo rpm -i clin-rs-*.x86_64.rpm

Fedora/RHEL (aarch64)

Download the latest .rpm from the Releases page.

sudo rpm -i clin-rs-*.aarch64.rpm

Arch Linux (PKGBUILD + AUR)

Arch Linux (PKGBUILD)

A PKGBUILD is included in the root of the repository.

git clone https://github.com/reekta92/clin-rs.git
cd clin-rs
makepkg -si

Arch Linux (AUR)

yay -S clin-rs-bin

Nix (Flakes)

Nix (Flakes)

Note: Requires nix-command and flakes experimental features enabled.

Run directly:

nix run github:reekta92/clin-rs --extra-experimental-features "nix-command flakes"

Install to profile:

nix profile install github:reekta92/clin-rs

Add to your flake inputs:

{
  inputs.clin.url = "github:reekta92/clin-rs";
}

Then include inputs.clin.packages.${system}.default in your environment.systemPackages or home.packages.

AppImage (portable x86_64)

AppImage

Download the latest .AppImage from the Releases page.

chmod +x clin-*-x86_64.AppImage
./clin-*-x86_64.AppImage

Linux (tar.gz, x86_64 + aarch64)

Other

Download the latest .tar.gz from the Releases page.

tar -xzf clin-rs-x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz
chmod +x clin
mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
mv clin ~/.local/bin/

Other (aarch64)

Download the latest .tar.gz from the Releases page.

tar -xzf clin-rs-aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz
chmod +x clin
mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
mv clin ~/.local/bin/

Windows (.zip)

Windows

Download the latest .zip from the Releases page.

Expand-Archive -Path clin-rs-x86_64-pc-windows-msvc.zip -DestinationPath clin
cd clin
.\clin.exe

Windows builds are provided but TUI glyph rendering depends on your terminal. Windows Terminal is recommended for the best experience.

macOS (Apple Silicon)

macOS (Apple Silicon)

Download the latest .dmg (or .tar.gz) from the Releases page.

# Using .dmg
hdiutil attach clin-rs-aarch64-apple-darwin.dmg
cp -r /Volumes/clin/clin.app /Applications/
hdiutil detach /Volumes/clin

# Or using .tar.gz
tar -xzf clin-rs-aarch64-unknown-linux-gnu.tar.gz
chmod +x clin
mkdir -p ~/.local/bin
mv clin ~/.local/bin/

Apple Silicon only (no Intel build ships).

Rust not installed? Run curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh to install Rust.

Quick Start

# Launch the interactive TUI
clin

# Create a quick note
clin notes quick "Meeting notes from today" "standup-2026-06-13"

# Create a note from a template
clin notes new --template diary

# Open a specific note
clin notes open "my-note"

Once inside the TUI: navigate with j/k, open notes with Enter, open the command palette with Ctrl+P, and view the graph with Ctrl+G. Press ? for the full keybind reference.

Features

View	Purpose	Key Actions
List / Notes	Browse, search, filter, manage notes	Grid/Tree layout, format chooser, folders, tags, sort, pin, markdown preview, search, trash, copy/move/delete
Editor	Write and edit notes	Title + body, undo/redo, mouse support, line numbers, markdown preview pane, external editor
Graph	Visualize note connections	Force-directed layout, [[wikilinks]] edges, physics, preview pane, minimap, legend, search, grid, configurable colors
Backup	Git-based vault versioning	Status (staged/unstaged), commit history, diff preview, auto-push, remote sync
Canvas	Obsidian-compatible node/edge canvas	Text/file/link/group nodes, edges, drag/resize, context menu, raw JSON editor
Draw	Freehand drawing and shapes	Stroke, rect/ellipse/diamond/line/arrow, text, eraser, pan/zoom
Content Tree	Note outline and navigation	Header-based tree parsing, collapsible sections, jump-to-section
Setup Wizard	First-run onboarding / reopenable via palette	Theme/background/hint-bar/icon-mode/keybind-preset cycling with live markdown preview

Feature	Description
Command Palette (Ctrl+P)	Extensible action system: encrypt, decrypt, theme switch, OCR paste, create canvas/draw, open graph
Encryption	Per-note ChaCha20-Poly1305, `.clin` files, on-demand encrypt/decrypt, zero-knowledge
Templates	TOML-based with `{date}`, `{time}`, `{weekday}` variables
Themes	19 built-in themes, transparent/solid backgrounds, per-color overrides, Nerd Font/Unicode/None icon modes, powerline/classic hint bar styles
Goals	Daily word-count and note-count goals with in-app progress bars, configurable via `[goals]`
Import	File/CSV/JSON/URL/Clipboard → new note or append to current; PDF/DOCX/HTML via external converters
Keybinds	Fully customizable via keybinds.toml, with Helix/Vim/Emacs presets
OCR	Clipboard image to text via `tesseract` (optional dependency)

Configuration

~/.config/clin/config.toml -> main configuration file (includes theme, graph settings, etc.) ~/.config/clin/keybinds.toml -> keybind configuration file

See the full configuration reference for all available options and keybind presets for editor-style presets.

config.toml example

# General settings
storage_path = "/path/to/your/vault"
mouse_enabled = true
confirm_on_delete = true
confirm_on_quit = false

[list]
preview_enabled = true
preview_position = "right"
preview_encryption = false
show_date_in_list = true
show_file_size = false
date_format = "%Y-%m-%d"
density = "comfortable"
default_view = "grid"
default_sort_field = "title"
default_sort_order = "ascending"
pinned_on_top = true
calendar_enabled = true

[editor]
external_command = "nvim"
external_enabled = false
preview_enabled = false
show_line_numbers = true

[ui]
theme = "tokyo_night"
background = "transparent"
show_status_bar = true
icon_mode = "nerd"
hint_bar_style = "classic"
# accent = "#ff6600"

See THEME_SYSTEM.md for theme options and CONFIG_REFERENCE.md for all options and sections.

keybinds.toml example

See the full keybinds reference for all available actions and defaults.

[list]
move_up = ["Up", "k"]
move_down = ["Down", "j"]
open = ["Enter"]
delete = ["d", "Delete"]
quit = ["q"]
help = ["?", "F1"]
open_command_palette = ["Ctrl+p", "Shift+Enter"]
# ... see CONFIG_REFERENCE.md for full list

[edit]
back = ["Esc"]
cycle_focus = ["Tab"]
copy = ["Ctrl+c", "Ctrl+Insert"]
# ... see CONFIG_REFERENCE.md

[graph]
quit = ["Esc"]
pan_up = ["Up", "k"]
# ... see CONFIG_REFERENCE.md

CLI Commands

clin                              Launch interactive TUI (default)
clin notes list                   List note titles
clin notes new [OPTIONS] [TITLE]  Create a note (supports --body, --no-tui)
clin notes open <TITLE>           Open a note by title
clin notes cat <TITLE>            Print a note's body to stdout
clin notes quick <CONTENT> [TITLE] Quick note, then exit
clin notes search <QUERY>         Search notes by title and content

clin storage show                 Show storage path
clin storage set <PATH>           Set a custom (absolute) storage path
clin storage reset                Reset to default storage path
clin storage migrate              Migrate data from a previous location

clin keybinds show                Show keybindings
clin keybinds export              Export keybinds as TOML
clin keybinds reset               Reset keybinds to defaults

clin templates list               List templates
clin templates init               Create example templates

clin config show                  Print the config file path
clin config edit                  Open config in $VISUAL or $EDITOR
clin config reset                 Reset config to default values

clin --version                    Print version
clin --config <PATH>              Override config file (global)
clin --vault <VAULT>              Override the storage/vault path (global)
clin --help                       Show help

Documentation

Full technical documentation lives in docs/:

Architecture — system overview, event loop, threading model
List View — notes list view: Grid/Tree layout, format chooser, preview pane
Configuration Reference — all config.toml and keybinds.toml options
Keybind Presets — Helix, Vim, and Emacs presets and sequence syntax
Graph View — force-directed graph visualization
Canvas — Obsidian-compatible canvas view
Backup — Git-based backup dashboard: vault state, history, diff preview, automation
Draw — freehand drawing canvas
Content Tree — nested outline navigation
Encryption — ChaCha20-Poly1305 per-note encryption
Theme System — built-in themes and customization
Setup — first-run setup wizard
Command Palette — extensible action system
Templates — TOML-based note templates

Stats

Roadmap

See ROADMAP.md for planned features and progress.

Architecture

Full detail in docs/ARCHITECTURE.md.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! See CONTRIBUTING.md for guidelines.

Support

clin is free and open-source. If it's useful to you, consider supporting its development on Patreon:

License

Licensed under the GNU General Public License v3.0.

Credits

Built with Ratatui, Crossterm, and fdg-sim. Markdown preview via built-in comrak/syntect renderer.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 645 Commits
.github		.github
assets		assets
docs		docs
examples		examples
src		src
.editorconfig		.editorconfig
.gitignore		.gitignore
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md		CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
Cargo.lock		Cargo.lock
Cargo.toml		Cargo.toml
LICENSE		LICENSE
PKGBUILD		PKGBUILD
README.md		README.md
ROADMAP.md		ROADMAP.md
SECURITY.md		SECURITY.md
cliff.toml		cliff.toml
clin.ico		clin.ico
clippy.toml		clippy.toml
deny.toml		deny.toml
flake.nix		flake.nix
rustfmt.toml		rustfmt.toml

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clin

About

Screenshots21

Highlights

Dependencies

Optional Tools

Installation

From Source

With Cargo

Debian/Ubuntu (.deb)

Debian/Ubuntu (aarch64)

Fedora/RHEL (.rpm)

Fedora/RHEL (aarch64)

Arch Linux (PKGBUILD)

Arch Linux (AUR)

Nix (Flakes)

AppImage

Other

Other (aarch64)

Windows

macOS (Apple Silicon)

Quick Start

Features

Configuration

config.toml example

keybinds.toml example

CLI Commands

Documentation

Stats

Roadmap

Architecture

Contributing

Support

License

Credits

About

Topics

Resources

License

Code of conduct

Contributing

Security policy

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Forks

Releases 35

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