Type anything
One field searches every title and body as quickly as you can think.
mushroom risotto
introducing an implementation of notational velocity
nvnv
stores and
retrieves
notes.
It is an attempt to loosen the mental blockages to recording information and to scrape away the tartar of convention that handicaps its retrieval. The solution is by nature nonconformist.
Search / Title
Filtered Note List
Content of Selected Note
プログラムの使用
01
Your notes should
feel like reflex.
nvnv keeps search, creation, and writing in one continuous motion. No folders to tend. No save button to remember. No tiny database holding your thoughts hostage.
⌘L → type → found
↳
Find or make
Jump to a match. No match? Press Return and the query becomes a new note.
↵
Create note“mushroom risotto”
✎
Keep moving
Write in plain text. nvnv saves automatically, quietly, and safely.
butter, thyme, shallots
keyboard first✽plain text✽local forever✽open source✽
The actual
application.
One window. Search at the top, notes just below it, and the selected thought underneath.
02
Unique
characteristics.
Four principles.
Keyboard input
above all else.
nvnv's window was designed for keyboard input above all else, and thus has no buttons.
No save
button.
There is no manual “saving” in nvnv; all modifications take effect immediately.
Instant with
every key.
Search is the
interface.
Searching for notes is not a separate action; rather, it is the primary interface.
Four ideas,
one interface.
- 01 modeless operation
- 02 incremental search
- 03 mouseless interaction
- 04 data instead of documents
KEYBOARD REFERENCE
Every shortcut.
Close at hand.
Search, navigate, rename, move, and edit without leaving the keyboard.
- ⌘L
- Focus the search/create field.
- Type
- Filter notes by title and contents.
- ↑ ↓
- Move through results while the search field is focused.
- ⌘J ⌘K
- Select the next or previous note from anywhere.
- Return
- Open the selected or best title match; if none matches, create a note.
- Escape
- Clear the search or cancel a rename.
- ⌘D
- Deselect the note and restore the previous search.
- ⌘R
- Rename the selected note. Press Return to commit or Escape to cancel.
- ⌥⌘←
- Return to the previous note/search context.
- ⌘Delete
- Move the selected notes to Trash.
- ⇧⌘R
- Show the selected note in Finder.
- ⌘[ ⌘]
- Outdent or indent.
- Tab ⇧Tab
- Indent or outdent in the editor when “Tab indents text” is enabled.
- ⌘O
- Choose another notes folder.
- ⌘Z ⇧⌘Z ⌘F ⌘X ⌘C ⌘V ⌘A
- Standard macOS editing shortcuts work in the editor.
03
Fast, with
receipts.
Release-mode engine benchmarks on 10,000 notes with varied, 2,048-byte bodies.
| Benchmark / workload | Result |
|---|---|
| Search | |
| Broad cached search 10,000 notes · all match | 13 ms |
| Selective FTS search 10,000 notes · one match | 1.8 ms |
| Missing-term search 10,000 notes · no matches | 12 ms |
| Missing-term load test 50,000 notes · no matches | 63 ms |
| Filesystem | |
| Initial library scan 10,000 note files | 2.23 s |
| Warm metadata scan 10,000 unchanged files | 438 ms |
| Incremental external scan One changed file of 10,000 | 16 ms |
| Indexing | |
| Prepare search documents 10,000 notes × 2 KB | 345 ms |
| Update SQLite + FTS One changed note | 12.5 ms |
Steady-state results are seven-run medians. Core measurements only; UI and launch timings are not included.
04
Your thoughts.
Your machine.
Your business.
05
Open by
nature.
MIT License. Permission is hereby granted. This software is provided as is. Use your agent.
06
It's an
homage.
nvnv exists because Notational Velocity nailed the UX. Thanks Zachary!