Ideas rarely arrive at a convenient time. You may need to check an address before a meeting, return to a shopping list, or catch the next line of a thought before it is gone. In moments like these, even a few extra steps matter: open a menu, find the right section, dismiss a prompt, then work your way back to the note.
When we designed Loknot, we wanted to cut down everything that gets between the user and the note itself. The main screens sit next to one another, frequent actions become gestures, and less common tools appear only when you ask for them.
Minimalism here does not mean fewer capabilities. It means a shorter, clearer path to the ones you need.
Three core screens instead of a menu tree
Loknot does not put a home menu between you and the part of the app you need. Its layout revolves around three core screens: Editor, Saved notes, and Settings.
Loknot opens directly in the Editor. You can continue the current note or start another one without first choosing where to go.
Swipe left to open Saved notes, where the main list, folders, tags, search, Archive, and Trash live. Tap any card to bring that note back into the Editor.
Swipe right to open Settings, with controls for the editor, productivity, note rules, security, and the system.
The layout soon feels spatial rather than hierarchical: notes in one direction, settings in the other, and the text at the centre. There is no menu label to remember and no tiny navigation icon to hunt for.
If yesterday's note comes up in the middle of a conversation, one left swipe and one tap bring it back. The same simple movements take you to the list again or across to Settings.
Frequent actions become gestures
An everyday action should not need its own screen full of buttons and confirmations. That is why several of Loknot's common controls are built around familiar gestures.
The target gives the gesture its context. Swipe left across the Editor to open Saved notes; swipe left on an individual card in the list to send that note to Trash.
A recent-notes strip sits at the top of the list. Swipe through it and open something you touched recently: a travel plan, questions for a meeting, a current draft, or the shopping list you keep checking throughout the day.
When several notes need the same treatment, there is no need to open them one at a time. Long-press a card to enter multi-select, check the notes you want or choose Select all, then move, archive, delete, or share the whole batch.
At the end of a project, select all the temporary notes and clear them out of the main list. After a trip, move the route, expenses, and places worth remembering into one folder in a single pass.
Share hands the text to another app. From that point on, the storage and security rules of the chosen messenger, email client, or other service apply.
Tools appear when they are needed
A permanent toolbar packed with icons takes space away from the note and makes you filter out irrelevant controls every time you look at it. Loknot's bottom bar has two states instead.
Its default state is a compact status bar. It keeps relevant actions and indicators close at hand: New note, tag input, and a timer or counter when those are enabled. The internal-links icon appears only when the current note actually has links.
Less common commands live in the second state. Tap the three dots
⋮ on the left to open it. The tools remain nearby without staying in view all
the time.
Close the panel by tapping the dots again, swiping left across it, or tapping the text. There is no separate close button to find and aim for.
The interface stays quiet without burying its capabilities. Common actions remain visible, occasional tools are one step further in, and controls that do not apply to the current note stay out of the way.
A new note does not require a trip back to the list
A separate thought often appears while you are already working in a note. It does not belong in the current text, but backing out to a home screen just to capture it breaks your train of thought.
The New note button + sits on the right side of the Editor bar.
Start a separate note without detouring through the main list.
It is a small detail that protects the flow of the session. While preparing interview questions, for example, you can put a new article idea in its own note without losing your place in the original material.
Organize notes without opening them one by one
Saved notes is designed so that most organizational actions can happen right in the list.
Pin a frequently used note from its menu and it stays at the top of the notes outside folders. Keep this week's plan, tomorrow's address, or a live to-do list within immediate reach.
Create a folder from the icon in the top bar, then use a note's menu to move it To folder or Out of folder. Rename, pin, or delete a folder from the folder's own menu. Active projects can stay at the top without forcing you to rebuild the whole structure.
Add a tag from the # control on the note bar. Loknot suggests
existing tags as you type, reducing near-duplicates. Rename, pin, or delete a tag from the
tag's own menu.
Each action stays with the thing it affects: note actions in the note menu, folder actions in the folder menu, and tag actions in the tag menu. The main screen does not have to carry every possible button at once.
Folders, tags, and pins each have a clear role
A minimal interface is easier to trust when similar-looking tools have clear, separate jobs.
A folder suits a broad area such as Work, Study, Personal, or the name of a project. A note belongs to one folder.
Tags cover overlapping subjects. One note can carry several at once, such as
travel, expenses, and article ideas.
A pin does not move anything or change the structure. It simply keeps a note, folder, or tag that matters right now at the top of its list.
Deleting a tag does not delete the notes behind it; it only removes that label. Deleting a folder is different: Loknot warns that the notes inside will go to Trash. Move them out first if you want to keep them in the main list.
Quick deletion does not mean instant loss
A fast delete gesture is only useful when one accidental movement cannot erase something forever.
Swipe left on a card and the note goes to Trash. It has not disappeared for good; you can still open and restore it.
Archive and Trash serve different purposes. Archive keeps notes you no longer want in the main list but may need later. Trash is for notes you have chosen to delete.
Both sections let you restore a note. They also offer Delete permanently, an irreversible action that Loknot asks you to confirm.
- Deleting a tag does not delete the notes carrying it.
- Deleting a folder sends the notes inside to Trash.
- A regular note deletion goes to Trash first.
- Delete permanently cannot be undone.
Everyday cleanup stays fast while irreversible deletion remains clearly separate from the ordinary swipe.
Automation starts only when you choose it
Sometimes the most minimal control is not another quick gesture. It is the option to stop repeating the same action altogether.
Settings → Note rules contains Auto-archive, automatic cleanup, and keyword auto-sorting. All of them are off by default. Loknot does not move or delete notes on its own until you explicitly enable a rule.
Auto-archive can clear notes you have not touched in a while from the main list. It leaves pinned notes, notes in folders, and tagged notes alone. Once you have marked something as important or given it a place, the app does not second-guess you.
Auto-sorting helps with predictable routines. A rule can say that a new note containing “receipt,” “purchase,” or “payment” belongs in Money. It applies only to notes created after the rule; Loknot will not rearrange your existing archive.
Automatic cleanup deserves more care. Archive cleanup permanently deletes a note after the chosen period and bypasses Trash. Trash cleanup permanently removes deleted notes after its chosen period. Both settings default to Never.
If you do not want automatic, irreversible deletion, leave those settings disabled.
Quick access to modes you change often
Settings are not always about a long configuration session. Sometimes you only want to check security status or change a working mode.
A three-icon Quick-access bar sits at the top of Settings. It shows encryption status and provides faster access to the Extra security and Productivity groups.
It helps when you often switch Typewriter mode, the word counter, or extra protection settings. If you rarely change them, simply leave the bar alone and the core experience stays just as clean.
The same principle applies as in the Editor: a few useful landmarks remain visible, while detailed controls stay inside the section they belong to.
The one-minute map of Loknot
The core navigation fits into a short list:
- Open the app and you are immediately in the Editor.
- Swipe left to move to Saved notes.
- Swipe through recent notes or tap the card you need.
- Swipe left on a card to send that note to Trash.
- Long-press to select several notes and apply one action to the batch.
- Swipe right from the Editor to open Settings.
- Tap
⋮in the bottom bar to reveal occasional tools. - Tap the text or swipe left across the panel to collapse it again.
Everything else can be learned as the need appears. You do not have to build a folder system, create rules, or configure special modes before the app becomes useful.
Simplicity without giving up control
A minimal interface is not an empty screen for its own sake. It should shorten the distance between intention and action, so you spend less time thinking about how the app is built.
Loknot keeps its core screens one swipe away, lets frequent actions happen in the list, applies batch operations without opening every note, and reveals occasional tools on demand. Deletion remains predictable, automation starts disabled, and irreversible actions stay separate from everyday gestures.
Over time, navigation stops feeling like a task of its own. The app remains close at hand without placing itself between you and your notes.
For step-by-step instructions, see Quick start and Notes and the editor in the guide.