hibi | a place for your words

built around writing.

hibi gives you one fast place to write, edit, preview, and organize documents, with the flexibility of a code editor.

for authors. for academics and students. for developers. for note-takers.

a story, the small blue, open in hibi's rich view, with its stories folder in the explorer.

a typst paper beside its compiled one-page preview.

AGENTS.md for a coding agent, next to a setup note, a review prompt, and the script it describes.

a note on butterflies with its properties and links, beside the workspace graph of eighteen notes.

for authors.

write stories, essays, and notes. keep your drafts and research together in one workspace.

writing guide

for academics and students.

write papers in typst or latex with a preview beside your draft, and put equations right in your markdown notes.

typst guide

for developers.

write documentation and export it as a site you can host. write and organize prompts, agent instructions, and context files for the ai tools you use.

export documentation

for note-takers.

open an obsidian vault where it is. link notes with [[wiki links]], tag them, and see how they connect on a graph. catch a thought with a quick note from any app.

workspace guide

your files, your folders.
keep your notes on your computer.
beyond markdown.
write in typst, latex, mdx, and more.
field-notes.typ
```
= Field notes
The lavender opened on *Monday*.

$ a^2 + b^2 = c^2 $
```
Field notes
The lavender opened on Monday.
a² + b² = c²
make it yours.
add tools, choose a theme, and set up your shortcuts. settings
batteries included.
git, latex, vim, and export come built in.
quick notes.
catch a thought from any app.
free and open source.
gpl-3.0. view source

for writers who want an app of their own.

start with a simple writing app, then add the tools and formats you need. your files stay in your own folders.

recently releasedrecently updated

browse all addons settings → addons · turn on what you need

day by day.

hibi (日々) · days; day after day.

16.ix.2026
the first lines: workspaces, addons, and exports.
18.ix.2026
vim and neovim keymaps.
21.ix.2026
the first nightly build.
23.ix.2026
quick notes, from any app.
12.x.2026
a dictionary and thesaurus.
25.x.2026
hibi 0.2, the first beta.
28.x.2026
a new icon: a small blue butterfly.

changelog

frequently asked questions

about hibi

why hibi instead of obsidian?

obsidian is built around a knowledge base. hibi is a general writing app that can be a knowledge base too. the priority is writing itself: keeping the app fast and letting it fit each person’s workflow, whether you write in markdown, typst, latex, or something else. it’s also open source. think of it as vs code, but for writing.

what is hibi working toward?

one place to write, edit, preview, and organize your writing, that adapts to how you work. being fast is the goal.

who is hibi for?

people who want a simple, powerful writing app without handing over control of their files (ahem, notion).

how does hibi compare to other apps?

notion and obsidian: hibi is free and open source, so you’re never locked into one company’s app, and addons let you extend it however you like.
typora: hibi is more flexible, with addons and formats beyond markdown.
vs code and obsidian: hibi is focused on writing in general, not code or a knowledge base.

the comparison table has the details.

is hibi free?

yes.

what stage is hibi in?

hibi is in beta.

is hibi stable?

bugs, slowdowns, and crashes can happen. addons are especially experimental and still being improved. if something breaks, please file an issue so i can keep track and work on a fix.

if you need a stable app, please check back later. this is a hobby project, so i can’t promise immediate fixes or new features. contributions and pull requests are always welcome.

does hibi have cloud sync?

not yet. hibi sync is coming soon.

using hibi

where are my notes stored?

your notes are saved as files on your computer.

how do i turn on addons?

open settings → addon manager and turn on the ones you want.

where do i download hibi?

the download page has the latest beta for macOS, windows, and linux. nightly builds are on github releases.

something isn’t working.

file an issue on github.

can i request a feature?

open an issue describing what you want. i pick requests up as time and mood allow. if you want yours prioritized, sponsor me on github or open a pull request yourself.

community and contributing

where is the discord?

join it here.

can i use ai to contribute?

yes, ai-assisted contributions are allowed. you still need to understand, review, and test what you submit. see contributing.md.

what else can i contribute to?

the website and the docs are open source too.

how do i make an addon or theme?

start from the addon starter or the theme starter and follow the guide at docs.hibi.garden. you don’t need your own repository to share it: open a pull request to the addons repository, and once it’s reviewed and merged it shows up in hibi’s addon manager and on hibi.garden/addons.

how hibi compares.

	hibi	notion	obsidian	typora	vs code	word	overleaf
price	free	free plan; plus $10/mo¹	free²	$14.99 once³	free	free on web; $9.99/mo⁴	free plan; $199/yr⁵
open source	gpl-3.0	no⁶	no	no⁶	mit⁷	no⁶	agpl-3.0⁸
files are plain text on your disk	yes	no⁹	yes	yes	yes	no¹⁰	no¹¹
works offline	yes	pages you download	yes	yes	yes¹²	yes¹²	2–10 min¹³
account required	no	yes	no¹⁴	no³	no¹⁴	yes	yes
markdown	yes	import/export	yes	yes	yes	via add-in¹⁵	import/export
typst	yes¹⁶	no	via plugin¹⁵	no	via extension¹⁵	no	no
latex	yes^16,17	math only	math only	math only	via extension^15,17	math only	yes
addons	yes¹⁸	connections¹⁹	yes	themes only	yes	office add-ins	no²⁰
platforms	macOS, windows, linux	macOS, windows, web, iOS, android	macOS, windows, linux, iOS, android	macOS, windows, linux	macOS, windows, linux, web	macOS, windows, web, iOS, android	web⁸
real-time collaboration	no	yes	no²¹	no	via extension²²	yes	yes
sync between devices	coming soon	yes	$4/mo add-on^2,23	your own cloud folder²³	settings only	onedrive	yes¹¹

per member, billed yearly
sync $4/mo, publish $8/mo (billed yearly) are optional
15-day trial; up to 3 devices; license code by email
microsoft 365 personal, or $99.99/yr; office home 2024 $179.99 once
standard plan; $25/mo billed monthly
no public source found
source (code - oss); the microsoft build has its own license
community edition, which you can host yourself
stored in notion's cloud; export to markdown/html
.docx files
projects live online; download as zip
desktop apps
then editing pauses until you reconnect
only for optional paid or online features (obsidian sync/publish; vs code settings sync, live share)
community or third-party plugin/extension, not built in
built-in addons, off by default; typst's compiler is included
pdf output needs a separate tex install (hibi: tectonic)
built-in + community directory
integrations via notion's api
paid plans link git, github, dropbox, zotero, mendeley
shared vaults via sync merge edits when syncing
live share, by microsoft
or any folder sync service: icloud drive, dropbox, onedrive…

as of oct 2026. prices in usd as each vendor's page lists them.

led by a team who loves to make writing yours.

schmayterling
project lead, core, macOS, windows
ryanaque.com
LizAinslie
linux, nix maintainer
lizainslie.dev
aeron-cap
windows maintainer
aeron.is-a.dev
uncomfyhalomacro
linux maintainer
uncomfyhalomacro.pl

possible with everyone who does too.

♥

one app for
everything you write.