gn

What is "gn"?

gn (Global Notes) is a note-taking tool for people who prefer plain text over platforms. It uses Markdown files, your existing $EDITOR, and a private GitHub repository to create a simple, portable notes tool that works anywhere.

Open a note, write, save, and quit. gn handles the rest. It automatically pulls the latest version before you edit and securely commits and pushes your changes when you're done. No databases, no subscriptions, no vendor lock-in - just text files, Git, and your terminal.

Get the Script

Download the script directly using the button below, or use the source code inline. Clicking the button will save it locally as gn.sh.

#!/usr/bin/env bash

# --- 1. Configuration ---
NOTES_DIR="$HOME/gn"
REMOTE_BRANCH="main"

mkdir -p "$NOTES_DIR"
cd "$NOTES_DIR" || { echo "Error: Could not access $NOTES_DIR"; exit 1; }

# --- Help Text Function ---
show_help() {
    echo "Usage: gn [options] [note_name]"
    echo ""
    echo "Options:"
    echo "  -h        Show this help message"
    echo "  -l        List all notes in your notes directory"
    echo "  -g QUERY  Search for text across all notes (grep)"
    echo "  -t        Quickly open today's journal note (YYYY-MM-DD.md)"
    echo ""
    echo "Examples:"
    echo "  gn                  Opens index.md"
    echo "  gn daily-log        Opens daily-log.md"
    echo "  gn work/todo        Opens work/todo.md"
    echo "  gn -g 'api key'     Searches notes for the term 'api key'"
    echo "  gn -t               Opens a scratchpad for today's date"
    exit 0
}

# --- List Files Function ---
list_notes() {
    echo "📂 Current Notes in $NOTES_DIR:"
    if [ -d "$NOTES_DIR" ]; then
        find . -type f -not -path '*/.*' | sed 's|^\./||' | sort
    fi
    exit 0
}

# --- Search Inside Notes Function ---
search_notes() {
    echo "🔍 Searching for '$1' inside notes..."
    grep -Rin "$1" . --exclude-dir=".git"
    exit 0
}

# --- Parse Flags ---
while getopts "hlg:t" opt; do
    case ${opt} in
        h ) show_help ;;
        l ) list_notes ;;
        g ) search_notes "$OPTARG" ;;
        t ) NOTE_NAME=$(date '+%Y-%m-%d') ;;
        \? ) show_help ;;
    esac
done
shift $((OPTIND -1))

# If -t wasn't passed, get note name from command line arguments
if [ -z "$NOTE_NAME" ]; then
    NOTE_NAME="${1:-index}"
fi

if [[ "$NOTE_NAME" != *.md ]]; then
    NOTE_NAME="${NOTE_NAME}.md"
fi

NOTE_DIR_PATH=$(dirname "$NOTE_NAME")
if [ "$NOTE_DIR_PATH" != "." ]; then
    mkdir -p "$NOTE_DIR_PATH"
fi

# --- Sync From Cloud ---
if git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree > /dev/null 2>&1; then
    echo "🔄 Fetching latest cloud updates..."
    git pull origin "$REMOTE_BRANCH" --ff-only --quiet
fi

# --- 3. Open the Editor ---
${EDITOR:-nano} "$NOTE_NAME"

# --- 4. Sync Back to GitHub ---
if git rev-parse --is-inside-work-tree > /dev/null 2>&1; then
    if [[ -n $(git status --porcelain) ]]; then
        echo "🚀 Syncing changes to GitHub..."
        git add -A
        git commit -m "Note update: $NOTE_NAME on $(date '+%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S')" --quiet
        git push origin "$REMOTE_BRANCH" --quiet
        echo "✅ Sync complete!"
    else
        echo "💤 No changes detected. Notes are up to date."
    fi
else
    echo "⚠️ Warning: This directory is not a Git repository yet. Sync skipped."
fi

Installation

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "you@example.com"

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

mkdir -p ~/gn
cd ~/gn
git init -b main
git remote add origin git@github.com:YOUR-USERNAME/gn.git
echo "# Notes" > index.md
git add index.md
git commit -m "Initial commit"
git push -u origin main

chmod +x gn.sh
sudo cp gn.sh /usr/local/bin/gn

gn                  # Opens your main index.md
gn daily-log        # Creates/Opens daily-log.md
gn work/reminders   # Creates work/ directory and opens reminders.md
gn -h               # Displays help page
gn -l               # Lists all your notes
gn -g "todo"        # Finds text matching "todo" inside any note
gn -t               # Opens today's automated scratchpad entry

Setting Up a Second Computer

Your notes already live in GitHub, so getting them on another machine is straightforward. You just need a new SSH key for that machine, clone the repo, and install gn.

ssh-keygen -t ed25519 -C "you@example.com"

cat ~/.ssh/id_ed25519.pub

git clone git@github.com:YOUR-USERNAME/gn.git ~/gn

chmod +x gn.sh
sudo cp gn.sh /usr/local/bin/gn

Editing Notes in the Browser

If you're on a machine without a terminal - or just want a quick edit from any browser - you can use github.dev, a full VS Code instance that runs entirely in the browser and commits directly to your repo.

https://github.dev/YOUR-USERNAME/gn