Trilium Notes is a free open-source note-taking app for people who want to build a personal reference library.1 It suits a growing collection of household information, study notes or project plans. Keeping that library on your own computer gives you a practical way to reduce reliance on an online notes service.
Last checked October 28, 2026.
At a glance
- What it is: A personal notebook organized as a branching tree.7
- Works on: Windows, macOS and Linux; browser access through a server installation.1
- Price: Free software, with no paid feature tiers; no official hosted service.2
- Licence: GNU AGPL version 3.8
- Best for: One person building a detailed, long-term notebook.
- Official site: triliumnotes.org
What Trilium Notes does and how it protects your privacy
Think of Trilium as a notebook whose pages can contain more pages. A single note can appear in several branches of the tree.1 For example, keep a boiler maintenance note under both “Home” and “Annual jobs.” Plan your structure around how you look for information, rather than trying to design the perfect filing system immediately.
The desktop app works offline and needs no server to get started.2 That makes it a useful first step for someone who wants private notes without learning server administration. A server is a computer running a service that your other devices can connect to.
Synchronization is available through a self-hosted server.7 If you choose that route, decide who will maintain it and where backups will go before moving your main notebook. Start locally if those decisions feel like too much work.
Key features of Trilium Notes
- Rich-text editing: Add tables, images and maths without writing formatting code.1
- Full-text search: Find words inside notes when you cannot remember their titles.1
- Note history: Previous note versions give you a way to revisit earlier work.7
- Connection maps: See visual relationships between notes.7
- Web clipper: Save web content into your notebook with the browser extension.7
- Portable exports: Export notes in Markdown, a plain-text format with simple formatting marks.7
Trilium Notes pros and cons
Pros
- A good fit for people who enjoy arranging information into a clear structure.
- A practical way to start taking notes on your own computer.
- The combination of search and organization should suit a notebook that grows over years.
- Export options offer a sensible exit plan before you commit your collection.
Cons
- The range of features can take time to learn; start with writing and searching.
- Notes live in a database rather than a folder of individual text files.2
- There is no official mobile app; phone browser access needs a server.2
- Trilium is a single-user app rather than a real-time shared editor.2
Is Trilium Notes safe and private?
The TriliumNext community maintains the project, following the original developer’s handover.1 Its latest stable release is 0.106.1, dated October 23, 2026, and the maintainers describe it as a security update for servers and Docker images.3 Use the stable release and keep server installations updated.
According to its privacy policy, Trilium collects no analytics or telemetry.4 Telemetry means information an app sends back about its use. Automatic network activity includes checking GitHub for new releases and downloading spelling dictionaries as needed.4 Offline capability does not mean an app never makes a network connection.
Encryption is a separate choice: ordinary notes are unprotected by default.5 Encryption scrambles information so it needs a key to become readable. Protected notes use AES-128-CBC encryption, with password-based key processing through scrypt.5 Their titles, contents, images and attachments are encrypted, but the note structure, dates and attributes remain visible.5 Avoid sensitive details in labels and other organizing information.
Optional AI needs a separate privacy decision. Cloud providers receive the conversation and, depending on your settings, note context or notes retrieved by tools.6 Unlocked protected notes can also be sent to the provider when accessed by the AI.6 For a local approach, the documentation supports Ollama or LM Studio running on your own machine.6 Leave AI out of your initial setup unless you have a clear reason to use it.
How to get started with Trilium Notes
- Download a stable desktop release. Use the repository’s official latest-release link, which is recommended for most users.1
- Install the package for your computer. Linux users can also use the Trilium Notes listing on Flathub.7
- Begin with a small practice notebook. Create a few notes for one real task, such as planning a trip. Try searching for a word you wrote before importing an old archive.
- Practice protecting a harmless note. The shield beside the note title enables protection.5 Lock it, reopen it and make sure the process makes sense before adding sensitive material.
- Practice recovery. Export a small selection, open the result and decide where a separate backup will live. Keep that copy somewhere you can still access if the computer fails.
- Add synchronization only when needed. Before connecting other devices, arrange updates and backups for the server. Keep the first notebook small until you are comfortable with the workflow.
Who should use Trilium Notes, and who might prefer something else?
Choose Trilium if your main goal is a personal library with an understandable hierarchy. It is especially appealing if you prefer to begin on one computer and decide about synchronization later. Give it a week with an ordinary project before moving irreplaceable notes.
For a smaller notebook, compare flatnotes. If shared writing is the priority, look at HedgeDoc; if your main concern is encrypted notes across devices, read about Notesnook. Compare the setup effort, phone experience and recovery process against your own needs.
Frequently asked questions
Is Trilium Notes free?
Yes. There are no feature paywalls in the software.2 Budget separately for any server or hosting you decide to use.
Does Trilium Notes work on iPhone?
The project’s mobile route is browser access to a server installation.1 Check that this workflow suits your phone before relying on it away from home.
Are all Trilium notes encrypted automatically?
No. Protection must be enabled for the notes you want encrypted.5 Treat the notebook’s storage location and backups as private, too.
Is Trilium Notes still maintained?
Yes: the latest stable release was published on October 23, 2026.3 Download from the current TriliumNext repository linked above.
