Getting Started

Welcome to the Plain documentation.

Plain is a local-first notes app with zero backend services. Notes stay on the device unless the user explicitly points the app at a local folder. There are no accounts, sync servers, or cloud APIs in this codebase.

The official repository is VersionBear/plain (opens in a new tab), and the hosted app is available at plain.versionbear.com (opens in a new tab).

Prerequisites

To run this project locally, you need:

Node.js (v18 or higher recommended)
npm (or yarn, pnpm)

Installation

Clone the official repository and navigate into the project directory:
```
git clone https://github.com/VersionBear/plain.git
cd plain
```
Install dependencies:
```
npm install
```

Running Locally

Since this is a client-side-only React app powered by Vite, there is no separate backend server to start.

Start the development server:

npm run dev

The app will usually run at http://localhost:5173. Open your browser and start taking notes!

Environment Variables

Currently, there are no required environment variables. Plain relies purely on local browser APIs (IndexedDB, OPFS, File System Access API) to function. You don't need to configure any API keys or database connection strings.

Building for Production

To create a production build of the PWA:

npm run build

You can then preview the production build locally using:

npm run preview

Architecture & Stack