Calculist is an open source, plain-text note-taking system designed for problem solving rather than pure information management. It lets users write nested lists, link thoughts together into knowledge graphs via references and lookups, and compute values using expressions, functions, and variables. Documents are stored as human-readable, version-controllable plain text files. It is offered as both a free desktop app (local storage) and a paid web app (cloud-based, accessible via browser including mobile).
What it's for
Note-taking for problem solvingInline calculations within notesBuilding knowledge graphs through linked listsOrganizing thoughts with collapsible/zoomable listsCreating reusable structured templates (patterns)Semantic formatting via lexicons
Features 14
- Collapse and expand lists to reduce clutter
- Compute values using expressions, functions, and variables
- Create lexicons for semantically meaningful formatting
- Define reusable patterns for common structures and forms
- Desktop app with local file storage
- Link thoughts together through references to form knowledge graphs
- Open source under MIT license
- Plain text, human-readable markup language
- Search mode to find and filter content
- Specify source-of-truth lists and embed values through lookups
- Version-controllable plain text document storage
- Web app with cloud-based storage and mobile browser access
- Write thoughts as nested lists
- Zoom in/out to focus on specific lists
At a glance
free tieropen sourceself-hostable
TypeWeb app
DeploymentHybrid
PlatformsWeb
CompanyCalculist LLC
Pricing
FreeFree
Desktop only, Local file storage, Download
Desktop only, local file storage
$4/month plan$4/mo
Web and mobile access, Always backed up
$16/month plan$16/mo
Web and mobile access, Always backed up, Prioritized support
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