---
title: "Tp-Note - Minimalistic note taking: save and edit your clipboard content as a note file"
author: Jens Getreu
filename_sync: false
---
[](
https://crates.io/crates/tp-note)
[](
https://docs.rs/tp-note)
[](
https://gitlab.com/getreu/tp-note)
_Tp-Note_ is a note-taking-tool and a template system - freely available for
Windows, MacOS and Linux - that consistently synchronizes the note’s meta-data
with its filename. If you like to keep your notes next to your files and you
care about expressive filenames, then _Tp-Note_ might be the tool of your choice.
_Tp-Note_ collects various information about its environment
and the clipboard and stores them in variables. New notes are created by
filling these variables in predefined and customizable _Tera_-templates.
_TP-Note's_ default templates are written in Markdown and can be easily adapted
to any other markup language if needed. After creating a new note, _TP-Note_
launches the system file editor (or any other of your choice, e.g. _MarkText_
or _Typora_) and connects the default web browser to _Tp-Note_'s
internal Markdown/RestructuredText renderer and web server.
* Read more in [Tp-Note’s user manual]
* [Download Tp-Note]
* Project page: [Tp-Note - fast note-taking with templates and filename synchronization]
---
## Documentation
User documentation:
* Introductory video
[Tp-Note - Most common use cases - YouTube]
* Project page:
[Tp-Note's project page], which
you are reading right now, lists where you can download _Tp-Note_ and gives
an overview of _Tp-Note_'s resources and documentation.
* User manual:
The user manual showcases how to best use use _Tp-Note_ and how to integrate it
with you file manager.
[Tp-Note user manual - html]
[Tp-Note user manual - pdf]
* Unix man-page:
The Unix man-page is _Tp-Note_'s technical reference. Here you learn how to customize
_Tp-Note_'s templates and how to change its default settings.
[Tp-Note manual page - html]
[Tp-Note manual page - pdf]
* [Blogposts about Tp-Note]
Developer documentation:
* API documentation
_Tp-Note_'s program code documentation targets mainly software developers.
The code is split into a library [tpnote-lib] and the command line
application [tpnote].
The advanced user may consult the [Tp-Note's config module documentation]
which explains the default templates and setting. Many of them can be
customized through _Tp-Note_'s configuration file.
[Constants in API documentation]
## Source code
Repository:
* [Tp-Note on Gitlab]
* [Tp-Note on Github (mirror)]
## Distribution
### Tp-Note Microsoft Windows installer package
* Installer package for Windows:
[tpnote-latest-x86_64.msi]
As this early version of the Windows installer is not signed yet, Windows
will show the error message “Windows protected your PC”. As a work-around,
when you click on the link “More info”, a ”Run anyway” button will appear
allowing you to continue the installation process. In general, regardless
of where a program comes from, I recommend checking every installable
file with [VirusTotal]
### Tp-Note Debian/Ubuntu installer package
* Package compiled for Debian:
[x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/debian/tpnote_latest_amd64.deb]
### Various binaries for Windows, MacOS and Linux
* Binaries for Ubuntu-Linux 18.04, Windows, MacOS:
1. Open: [Releases - getreu/tp-note]
2. Open the latest release.
3. Open *assets*.
4. Download the packed executable for your operating system.
5. Installation: see below.
* Executable for Windows:
* [x86_64-pc-windows-gnu/release/tpnote.exe]
* Universal Linux binary (compiled with Debian):
* [x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/release/tpnote]
* The following "musl" version is well suited for headless systems, as it
does not require _GTK_ libraries to be installed.
[x86_64-unknown-linux-musl/release/tpnote]
### Tp-Note NetBSD
* An official package is available on NetBSD and other "pkgsrc" supported platforms.
To install Tp-Note on NetBSD, simply use the native package manager:
```sh
pkgin install tp-note
```
### Other ressources
* Installable Unix man-page:
- [tpnote.1.gz]
* Zipfile with all binaries and documentation:
- [Tp-Note all]
## Installation
Depending on the availability of installer packages for your operating system,
the installation process is more or less automated. For Windows users the fully
automated installation package
[tpnote-latest-x86_64.msi]
is available. For more information, please consult the [Distribution section](#distribution)
above and the [Installation section]
in _Tp-Note_'s manual.
## Upgrading
While upgrading _Tp-Note_, new features may cause a change in _Tp-Notes_'s
configuration file structure. In order not to loose the changes you made in
this file, the installer does not replace it automatically with a new version.
Instead, _Tp-Note_ renames the old configuration file and prompts:
NOTE: unable to load, parse or write the configuration file
---
Reason:
Bad TOML data: missing field `extension_default` at line 1 column 1!
Note: this error may occur after upgrading Tp-Note due
to some incompatible configuration file changes.
Tp-Note backs up the existing configuration
file and creates a new one with default values.
The configuration file backup is stored in the same directory as the newly
created configuration file (cf. [Customization section] of _Tp-Note_'s
man-page).
## Building
If the above precompiled binaries do not suite you, you can
compile _Tp-Note_ yourself.
1. [Install Rust], e.g.
curl https://sh.rustup.rs -sSf | sh
2. Download, compile and install _Tp-Note_:
**Building for Linux**
sudo apt-get install -y xorg-dev libxcb-xfixes0-dev libxcb-shape0-dev libgtk-3-dev musl-tools
cargo install tp-note
sudo cp ~/.cargo/bin/tpnote /usr/local/bin
In case you experience compilation errors in dependent crates, replace
`cargo install tp-note` with the following:
cargo install --locked tp-note
If - under Linux - you need to reduce the binary size and you can do without
error message popup boxes (for example on a headless system), no GTK is
required. In this case all error messages are dumped on the console from
where you started _Tp-Note_ into `stderr`.
cargo install --no-default-features --features read-clipboard,viewer,renderer tp-note
sudo cp ~/.cargo/bin/tpnote /usr/local/bin
**Recommended Linux console and server version**
The full-featured version of _Tp-Note_ depends on GUI libraries like GTK
that might not be installable on a headless system. Either download the Musl
version [x86_64-unknown-linux-musl/release/tpnote] or compile _Tp-Note_
without default features:
cargo install --no-default-features --features renderer tp-note
sudo cp ~/.cargo/bin/tpnote /usr/local/bin
**Building for Windows**
Build the full featured version with:
cargo install tp-note
When building for Windows, it does not make sense to exclude the
`message-box` feature, because - under Windows - it does not rely on the
GTK library. Instead, it uses direct Windows-API calls for popping up alert
boxes. As these calls have no footprint in binary size or speed, always
keep the `message-box` feature compiled in.
See also the user manual for a more detailed installation description.
This project follows [Semantic Versioning].
## About
Author:
* Jens Getreu
Copyright:
* Apache 2 license or MIT license. There is one dependency, the crate
`cmark-syntax`, that requires _GPL-3.0-or-later_. I am looking for a
replacement for this crate. In the meanwhile, you can opt out of _GPL-3.0_ by
changing the line:
```toml
default = ["renderer", "viewer", "renderer-extras"]
```
in `tpnote-lib/Cargo.toml` to:
```toml
default = ["renderer", "viewer"]
```
[Tp-Note’s user manual]: https://blog.getreu.net/projects/tp-note/tpnote--manual.html
[Download Tp-Note]: https://blog.getreu.net/projects/tp-note/index.html#distribution
[Tp-Note - fast note-taking with templates and filename synchronization]: https://blog.getreu.net/projects/tp-note/
[Tp-Note - Most common use cases - YouTube]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODhPytPFtYY
[Tp-Note's project page]: https://blog.getreu.net/projects/tp-note/
[Tp-Note user manual - html]: https://blog.getreu.net/projects/tp-note/tpnote--manual.html
[Tp-Note user manual - pdf]: https://blog.getreu.net/_downloads/tpnote--manual.pdf
[Tp-Note manual page - html]: https://blog.getreu.net/projects/tp-note/tpnote--manpage.html
[Tp-Note manual page - pdf]: https://blog.getreu.net/_downloads/tpnote--manpage.pdf
[Blogposts about Tp-Note]: https://blog.getreu.net/tags/tp-note/
[Tp-Note's config module documentation]: https://docs.rs/tpnote-lib/latest/tpnote_lib/config/
[tpnote]: https://crates.io/crates/tp-note
[tpnote-lib]: https://crates.io/crates/tpnote-lib
[Constants in API documentation]: https://docs.rs/tpnote-lib/latest/tpnote_lib/config/index.html#constants
[Tp-Note on Gitlab]: https://gitlab.com/getreu/tp-note
[Tp-Note on Github (mirror)]: https://github.com/getreu/tp-note
[tpnote-latest-x86_64.msi]: https://blog.getreu.net/projects/tp-note/_downloads/wix/tpnote-latest-x86_64.msi
[VirusTotal]: https://www.virustotal.com/gui/home/upload
[x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/debian/tpnote_latest_amd64.deb]: https://blog.getreu.net/projects/tp-note/_downloads/x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/debian/tpnote_latest_amd64.deb
[Releases - getreu/tp-note]: https://github.com/getreu/tp-note/releases
[x86_64-pc-windows-gnu/release/tpnote.exe]: https://blog.getreu.net/projects/tp-note/_downloads/x86_64-pc-windows-gnu/release/tpnote.exe
[x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/release/tpnote]: https://blog.getreu.net/projects/tp-note/_downloads/x86_64-unknown-linux-gnu/release/tpnote
[x86_64-unknown-linux-musl/release/tpnote]: https://blog.getreu.net/projects/tp-note/_downloads/x86_64-unknown-linux-musl/release/tpnote
[tpnote.1.gz]: https://blog.getreu.net/projects/tp-note/_downloads/tpnote.1.gz
[Tp-Note all]: https://blog.getreu.net/_downloads/tpnote.zip
[tpnote-latest-x86_64.msi]: https://blog.getreu.net/projects/tp-note/_downloads/wix/tpnote-latest-x86_64.msi
[Installation section]: https://blog.getreu.net/projects/tp-note/tpnote--manual.html#installation
[Customization section]: https://blog.getreu.net/projects/tp-note/tpnote--manpage.html#customization
[Install Rust]: https://www.rust-lang.org/tools/install
[Semantic Versioning]: https://semver.org/