Minimal is a full-feature writing + notes app for iOS and Mac. Its distraction-free design enhances focus and open-mindedness. Features include the Note Lifetime, Publish as Website, collaboration, markdown formatting, and more.
Hey Product Hunt!
I started building Minimal while listening to jazz and drinking a negroni. I was feeling inspired, and also feeling just so tired of all these notes apps that get overwhelmed with features, making them feel like entire desks, filing cabinets, or hefty binders. While there's a place for these big apps, I wanted to experience the digital equivalent of a paper notebook: something personal, focused, and beautiful to write in. So I crafted Minimal.
Minimal is a beautiful space to think, write, organize projects, publish websites, and collaborate. It’s designed to foster focus and open-mindedness. For example, the Note Lifetime keeps your notes fresh, organized, and reflective of the present moment. Markdown-style formatting eliminates complex formatting menus. Importantly, only one element is ever in focus. The result is a notes app that is simple yet powerful, just like a real notebook.
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Minimal is full-featured. But instead of cluttering the app, Minimal’s thoughtful design keeps these features and tools out of the way until the moment they’re needed, allowing for enhanced focus and streamlined thought. Here are some of my favorites…
*Note Lifetime*
Let your notes die. Notes automatically move to the Deleted Notes folder when they go unedited for X-days (it's up to you). To keep a note alive, pin-to-top or make an edit. The effect is a spacious, organized notebook that reflects the present moment. We also become more likely to act on the notes + ideas that matter most in our lives.
*Publish as Website*
Transform notes into beautiful, highly-readable websites. As you make edits to the note, the website automatically updates. Here's an example -> minimal.app/603010
*Collaboration and Cloud Sync*
Collaborate with friends, family, and teammates in a focused writing space. Multiple people can compose at once and Minimal seamlessly syncs for everyone.
*Cloud Sync*
Notes sync everywhere: iPhone, iPad, Mac. With system features like Handoff you can trivially pick up where you left off on any device.
*Markdown-style formatting*
Effortlessly format notes and bring them beautifully to life. Minimal supports headers, todos, lists, bold/italics, pull quotes, block quotes, tags, and more.
*Search and Find in Note*
Search for notes anywhere: on the home screen using Spotlight, in the notes list using the Search bar, and within notes using Find in Note.
*Folders and Tags*
Organize notes by topic and then filter in the Search bar.
*Pin Notes and Drag-to-Reorder*
Pin notes to the top of the notes list for quick access. Notes can be ordered anyway you'd like: last edited, alphabetical, drag-to-reorder.
*Add Todos to Calendar*
Sync todo items to the Calendar app by highlighting the todos and tapping "Add to Calendar" from the menu options. Alternatively, tap the action button in the top right corner -> "Add Todos to Calendar."
*Themes and Rich Customization*
Customize Minimal's colors and typography, rearrange key note actions, integrate with Siri Shortcuts, and more.
*Send as Email*
Transform notes into beautifully formatted emails.
*Share in iMessage*
Effortlessly share notes through Minimal's iMessage app. Shared notes retain their formatting and can be easily imported.
*Export as HTML, PDF, TXT, and Markdown*
Export notes into any format you need. If there's a format Minimal doesn't yet support, please write me.
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Cost
Minimal costs $4.99 / mo or $49.99 / yr after a 2-week free trial with big discounts for students, educators, and non-profit workers. (Pro tip: I'm a lifelong learner myself and Minimal doesn't ask for school credentials – maybe you are a lifelong learner too.)
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Links
Minimal's website -> https://minimal.app
Blog: Building Collaboration -> https://blog.minimal.app/buildin...
Blog: Building Minimal -> https://blog.minimal.app/buildin...
Minimal on the App Store -> https://apps.apple.com/app/apple...
Contact: https://minimal.app/#help
Press: https://minimal.app/#press-kit
Seems like a great all-in-one note taking & sharing solution that somehow manages to keep things tidy. (Although I haven’t used it yet.)
“Note Lifetime” is an interesting idea! A lot of the notes we take are supposed to me ephemeral, not to clutter our digital notebooks forever.
Any plans for an Android version?
Thanks @anna_0x – Note Lifetime is one of my favorite features – it is very freeing to let things go and shift focus to the most important things. There are no plans for Android yet – Minimal is intensive with iOS/macOS system features so it would be an enormous challenge for me. Beyond the Mac version, the next most accessible thing I'd like to accomplish is a web version, but that's a way out
I haven't tried it yet. This seems like a great idea. Reminded me of the BuJo app. I love the BuJo method, and think that this has the potential for collab with producers of the traditional and smart notebooks.
Hi @lantran - Yes, there are strong parallels with the Bullet Journaling method! What stands out most to me is the candid acknowledgement that what we're really working with when we write/journal is our own mind and perspective. Our writing process should be designed for us as humans – not for the tech that powers it.
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