CatNote

中文说明

Introduction

CatNote, also named 喵喵便签, is a lightweight Windows x64 desktop sticky-note app built with Electron, HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. It stores notes locally in JSON, supports multiple themes, global search, free card dragging, desktop notes, always-on-top windows, quick note creation, and automatic saving.

The project can run directly from source, or be packaged as a standalone Windows desktop app. Release packages are published through GitHub Releases instead of being committed to the repository, because the Windows app packages are larger than GitHub's normal single-file repository limit.

Features

• Smart search: filter notes from the top search box by title, content, or update information.
• Free dragging: drag a note from any non-input and non-button area.
• Background panning: long-press the right mouse button outside the search area to move the background, with notes attached to the background.
• Auto arrange: use Edit -> Arrange to sort all notes horizontally by last modified time, with up to 6 notes per row.
• Multi-theme support: light red, light blue, light green, light pink, light gray, black and white, and the original theme.
• Per-card themes: each note can have its own theme without changing the global theme.
• Desktop notes: copy a note into an independent desktop sticky-note window.
• Desktop note editing: detached desktop notes can be modified and saved.
• Always on top: desktop notes can stay above other windows.
• Global shortcut: press Ctrl + Q while the app is running in the background to create a new desktop note.
• Auto save: note edits are saved automatically after typing.
• Local storage: note data is stored in notes.json for simple backup and migration.

System Requirements

• OS: Windows 10 or Windows 11, 64-bit
• Recommended resolution: 1366 x 768 or higher
• Source mode: Node.js 18+ and npm
• Portable release: no extra Node.js installation required

Download And Run

Recommended: GitHub Releases

1. Open the Releases page.
2. Download CatNote-win-x64-portable.zip or CatNote-win-x64-installer.zip.
3. For the portable version, unzip it and run CatNote/CatNote.exe.
4. For the installer package, unzip it and run install.bat.

The installer package copies the app to %LOCALAPPDATA%\CatNote and creates a desktop shortcut.

Run From Source

npm install
npm start

On Windows, you can also double-click start.bat.

Usage

Action	How to use it
Create a note	Click the + button, or press Ctrl + Q while the app is running
Search notes	Type keywords in the top search box
Drag a note	Hold any non-input and non-button area of the card
Pan the background	Long-press the right mouse button outside the search bar and move the mouse
Change global theme	Click the theme button beside the search box
Change card theme	Open the card menu and choose Change Theme
Add to desktop	Open the card menu and choose Add to Desktop
Edit desktop note	Click Edit on the detached desktop note
Keep desktop note on top	Click Always on Top on the desktop note
Arrange notes	Use Edit -> Arrange
Delete a note	Open the card menu, choose Delete, then confirm

Development And Build

• Framework: Electron
• UI: HTML / CSS / JavaScript
• Main process: mian.js
• Data storage: local JSON
• App icon source: assets/icon-source.jpg
• Generated app icons: assets/app-icon.png, assets/app-icon.ico
• Cover image: assets/cover.png
• Build scripts: scripts/build-icon.js, scripts/build-cover.js, scripts/apply-exe-icon.py, scripts/package-win.js

Common commands:

npm run build:icon
npm run build:cover
npm run package:win
npm run build:win

Main build outputs:

dist/win-x64/CatNote/CatNote.exe
dist/CatNote-win-x64-portable.zip
dist/CatNote-win-x64-installer.zip
dist/installer/install.bat

By default, the packaging script creates a stable portable zip and a script-based installer zip. To try generating an IExpress .exe installer on Windows, set CREATE_IEXPRESS=1 before running npm run package:win.

GitHub Release Packaging

This repository includes a GitHub Actions workflow at .github/workflows/release.yml.

• Pushing a tag such as v1.0.0 builds the Windows x64 app and attaches the package files to a GitHub Release.
• Running the workflow manually from the Actions tab builds the same package files and stores them as workflow artifacts.
• Large release packages are not committed into the Git repository, so they will appear on the Releases page instead of the normal file browser.

To publish a release from a local clone:

git tag v1.0.0
git push origin main
git push origin v1.0.0

Project Structure

CatNote/
|-- .github/workflows/    # GitHub Actions release packaging
|-- assets/               # icon source, generated app icons, and cover image
|-- scripts/              # icon, cover, EXE icon, and Windows package scripts
|-- index.html            # renderer UI
|-- mian.js               # Electron main process
|-- notes.json            # local note data
|-- package.json          # npm scripts and metadata
|-- package-lock.json     # dependency lockfile
|-- README.md             # English documentation
|-- README.zh-CN.md       # Chinese documentation
|-- LICENSE               # MIT license
`-- start.bat             # Windows source-mode launcher

Contributing

Issues and pull requests are welcome.

1. Fork this repository.
2. Create a feature branch: git checkout -b feature/your-feature.
3. Commit your changes.
4. Push your branch.
5. Open a pull request.

License

This project is released under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.

Changelog

v1.0 - 2026-07-21

• Integrated the Electron desktop app source.
• Added search, dragging, arranging, theme switching, desktop notes, always-on-top mode, deletion confirmation, auto save, and global shortcut support.
• Generated the cat note-taking app icon and project cover image.
• Added Windows x64 portable and installer packaging scripts.
• Added GitHub Actions release packaging.

CatNote keeps small ideas tidy, visible, and warm.