OneNote alternative
ForkLeaf vs OneNote
OneNote is a free-form canvas whose notebooks live in OneDrive in a format only OneNote reads. ForkLeaf is a Markdown notebook whose pages are plain files in your own GitHub repository.
Side by side
| Question | ForkLeaf | OneNote |
|---|---|---|
| Where a note ends up | A .md file in a GitHub repository you own | A .one notebook in OneDrive |
| Format | Markdown — readable in any editor, for ever | A proprietary binary format |
| History | Every save is a git commit — diffs, blame, revert | Recent versions, per page |
| Sync | git push, to a repository you already pay nothing for | OneDrive, included |
| Offline | Fully — edits queue locally and push when you reconnect | Yes |
| Diagrams | A Mermaid studio; the diagram renders on GitHub as well | Freehand drawing and shapes |
| Collaboration | Pull requests and review — proposed, discussed, then merged | Shared notebooks |
| If the company disappears | Nothing happens. The notes were never here | Files in OneDrive, in a format only OneNote reads |
| Price | Free, open source, and no account to close | Free with a Microsoft account |
Choose OneNote if…
- You write by hand with a pen or stylus — OneNote's ink and free-form canvas are its real strength.
- Your organisation already lives in Microsoft 365 and shares notebooks there.
Choose ForkLeaf if…
- You type, and want structure — headings, lists, tables, code — that survives outside the app.
- You want notes that link to each other with [[wikilinks]] and backlinks.
- You want diagrams as text, with a Mermaid studio, that render on GitHub too.
- You want every change in git history, and your notes beside your code.
Moving from OneNote
- Export OneNote pages to Word, then convert them to Markdown with a tool such as Pandoc.
- Open ForkLeaf, sign in with GitHub and choose the repository your notes will live in.
- Use Import → Markdown files and choose the converted folder.
Nothing is locked in on the way in, either: your notes stay plain Markdown in your own repository, so changing your mind later means opening the same folder in something else.
Questions
Is ForkLeaf a good OneNote alternative for developers?
It is built for that. Notes are Markdown files in a GitHub repository, diagrams are Mermaid, code blocks are first class, and every change is a git commit you can review in a pull request.
Does ForkLeaf support handwriting?
No. ForkLeaf is a typed Markdown editor. You can paste or drop pictures of handwritten notes into a note, and they are committed to the repository alongside it.