The Archive - Note-Taking App for macOS
The Context
The Archive is a note-taking and knowledge management app for macOS that I’ve been developing since 2017, made available in 2018. Born from the Zettelkasten Method community’s need for a fast, reliable, and extensible note-taking tool, it represents my most complex and ambitious project to date.
Starting from v0.1 in 2017 to v1.9 in 2025, this has been a journey of continuous improvement, user feedback integration, and technical evolution.
Technical Challenges
Building a note-taking app sounds simple until you realize the complexity involved:
Performance at Scale
- Users with 10,000+ notes expect instant search results
- Implemented MultiMarkdown C parsing engine for blazing-fast rendering at full correctness even in long documents with each keystroke
- Custom indexing system for full-text search at milliseconds speed
JavaScript Plugin System
- Designed a safe, sandboxed JavaScript environment for user extensions
- Created comprehensive APIs for note manipulation, UI customization, and workflow automation
- Balanced power with security via sandboxing to prevent malicious scripts
File System Integration
- Real-time file watching for external changes
- Conflict resolution for cloud-synced folders (iCloud, Dropbox, etc.)
- Graceful handling of file permissions and edge cases
Architecture Evolution
- Started with MVVM and layered architecture
- Integrated RxSwift for reactive bindings
- Added ReSwift for unidirectional data flow
- Maintained a functional core for business logic
Following my established modular development approach from Word Counter and TableFlip, The Archive represents the culmination of this philosophy. Complex features like the JavaScript plugin system, search engine, and UI components were all developed as isolated modules first, then integrated late. This approach was essential for managing the complexity of the most ambitious app I’ve built, yet.
Team Dynamics
While I’m the solo developer, The Archive is very much a community effort:
- Close collaboration with my business partner Sascha for product direction
- Active beta testing community providing invaluable feedback
- Plugin developers extending functionality in ways I never imagined
- Regular interaction with power users shaping feature priorities on our lovely forums
Personal Reflections
The Archive taught me that building a product people deeply care about is vastly different from building an app. It’s a lot about:
- Understanding user workflows deeply – and with a note-taking app that you use every day, your workflow will be unique
- Making opinionated design decisions while remaining flexible
- Building a sustainable business around open-source principles
- Creating documentation and educational content
The plugin system particularly challenged my assumptions about control. How much of what the app can do could we move into user-configurable scripts instead? What will the result be in terms of reliablility and performance?
Impact
The Archive has become the daily driver for thousands of knowledge workers, researchers, and writers:
- Enabled PhD students to manage their research
- Helped authors organize book manuscripts
- Supported programmers in maintaining technical notes
- Created a thriving community around the Zettelkasten Method
The app continues to grow, with regular updates and a roadmap shaped by user needs rather than investor demands.