StoneNote (Electron)

StoneNote is a local-first notebook built for teachers, students, historians, and archivists. It combines long-form writing with smart features like timeline, map pins, and one-click presentation mode.

Highlights

• Local-first SQLite library (fast, offline, private).
• Smart Timeline per book.
• MapWizard: drop pins and see them on the book map.
• Present mode: auto-slides from notes/books.
• Wiki links with ghost notes and backlinks.
• Custom themes (global CSS).
• Plugin system with permissions + sandboxed host.
• Seeded "StoneNote Guide" on first launch.

Tech Stack

• Electron + Vite + React
• TipTap editor (Markdown support)
• SQLite (better-sqlite3)
• Leaflet maps + Recharts charts

Project Structure

• electron/ main process, IPC, plugin host, DB access
• src/ renderer (React UI)
• src/components/Editor.tsx main editor + toolbar + Wiki/Map
• src/components/BookContents.tsx smart tabs (Timeline/Map/Slides)
• src/components/Presenter.tsx slide deck viewer
• seed/guide/ starter docs
• plugins/ example plugins (circle-draw)
• themes/ sample themes

Local Data

• Library DB: ~/StoneNoteLibrary/library.db
• User data (themes/plugins): $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/stonenote-electron (or ~/.config/stonenote-electron)

Development

Install deps:

npm install --legacy-peer-deps

Run dev:

npm run electron:dev

Build

Build renderer:

NODE_OPTIONS=--max-old-space-size=6144 npm run build

Package apps:

npm run electron:build

Linux targets (from package.json):

• deb
• pacman
• AppImage

Windows target:

• nsis (.exe)

Note: RPM packaging needs rpmbuild on the build machine if you add it.

Build & Release (Quick Guide)

Linux (local):

npm install --legacy-peer-deps
NODE_OPTIONS=--max-old-space-size=6144 npm run build
npm run electron:build

Windows (recommended via CI):

• Use the GitHub Action in .github/workflows/build-windows.yml.
• Trigger by pushing a v* tag or running the workflow manually.
• Download the .exe from Actions artifacts.

If the build gets killed, increase Node memory or add swap:

NODE_OPTIONS=--max-old-space-size=6144 npm run build

One-Click Install (Windows)

Paste this into PowerShell (downloads the latest release installer):

iwr -useb https://raw.githubusercontent.com/esterzollar/StoneNote/main/install.ps1 | iex

Release Upload (No Git)

Use upload.sh with a GitHub token set in your environment:

export GITHUB_TOKEN="YOUR_TOKEN_HERE"
./upload.sh

Targets

• Teachers building lesson notes into slides.
• Students organizing research into timelines and maps.
• Historians and archivists mapping sources and events.

Roadmap

• Smart Slides v2 (better slide parsing + layout themes).
• Smart Map v2 (named places + pin grouping).
• Mobile companion (read-only or quick capture).
• Collaboration exports (PDF/Slides/Share).
• Plugin marketplace and curated themes.

Plugin Development

See API.md for the plugin API and permission model. Plugins are zipped and installed via Settings → Plugins.

Custom Themes

See CSS_api.md for the global theme hooks.

Security Notes

• Plugins run in a sandboxed window and must declare permissions.
• Network access is blocked by default.

License

Free to use. Closed-source (no public source code distribution).