Rnote is a vector-based drawing application for sketching, taking handwritten notes, and annotating documents and pictures.
The tool addresses the need for a lightweight, open-source note-taking and sketching solution tailored to stylus input. It provides pressure-sensitive drawing with configurable stroke styles, shape creation tools, and a selection tool for modifying existing content. The application supports multiple document expansion layouts including fixed pages, continuous vertical, and infinite canvas modes. Users can import and export across multiple formats: PDFs, bitmaps, and SVG images can be imported, while documents export to SVG, PDF, and Xopp formats, with individual pages and selections exportable as SVG, PNG, or JPEG. The native .rnote file format stores documents with autosave capability.
Rnote suits students, teachers, and drawing tablet users who need a cross-platform sketching tool. The adaptive UI scales for both large and small screens, and the application runs on Linux via Flatpak, macOS as an app bundle, and Windows with an installer. The integrated workspace browser provides quick access to related files, and support for tabs enables working on multiple documents simultaneously. The README notes that the file format remains unstable and may change between versions, which could affect long-term compatibility of saved documents.
Development activity shows consistent maintenance with automated testing through CI workflows. The project accepts community contributions and maintains an active donation channel. The codebase is organized into multiple crates, indicating a modular architecture. A command-line interface is available for automation tasks alongside the graphical application.
