AnkyLock

Notes only you can read.

AnkyLock is a local-first, end-to-end encrypted scratchpad and notes app for developers. Your notes are encrypted on your device, with a key only your passphrase can produce.

Go to AnkyLock Download View on GitHub

Free and open source. No account with us, no tracking.

What it does

The AnkyLock workspace in the dark theme: folders on the left, a note open in the editor.

How it works

The encryption happens on your device, before anything is saved or sent.

  1. Your passphrase

    You choose it when you create a vault. It is never stored and never sent anywhere.

  2. Your key

    At every unlock, your device derives the vault key from the passphrase (PBKDF2-SHA-256, 600,000 iterations). The key lives only in memory.

  3. Encrypted on your device

    Notes, titles and folder names are encrypted with AES-256-GCM before they are saved or leave the device.

  4. Google Drive holds only ciphertext

    Your Drive stores encrypted files it cannot read. A new device opens them only with your passphrase.

What AnkyLock promises

  • Nobody but you can read your notes: not Google, not a relay, not us.
  • Your key never leaves your device and is never derived from your Google account.
  • No account with us, no analytics, no ads, no trackers.
  • Everything that touches your data is open source, under the AGPL-3.0.

What it does not do

  • It cannot recover a forgotten passphrase. There is no reset link, by design: without the passphrase, the notes stay locked.
  • It cannot protect an unlocked device from malware, or your notes from someone who knows your passphrase.
  • It hides what your notes say, not that they exist: Google sees the size and timing of your encrypted backups.

Read the threat model and the security review

Open source

AnkyLock is free software under the GNU AGPL-3.0. Read the code, build it yourself, or report a security issue privately.

Source code Threat model Security review Report a vulnerability