About us
aline is a place to think things through: notes, docs, diagrams and your calendar on one canvas, all linked together. It has the warmth of paper, ink and highlighter, and one simple idea: what you write and draw is yours.
What aline is
aline is a personal system of mind maps and connected notes. You can write notes, draft documents, draw diagrams on an endless canvas and plan your week in a calendar. Everything links to everything, so every idea knows where it came from and when it is due.
It runs in your computer’s browser (Chrome or Edge) and on the iPad (Safari, with Apple Pencil support). It can be installed like an app and keeps working offline.
What we care about
- Your data is yours. Everything is stored on your own device and you don’t need an account.
- No hidden fine print: no ads, no analytics, no tracking.
- Open formats. Your notes are Markdown files and your canvases are .excalidraw files: you can open them in other tools, always.
- Nothing gets lost without warning. Every save goes into a history, what you delete goes to a trash, and conflicts between devices are kept instead of overwritten.
How it works under the hood
aline is a web app that runs on your device: there is no server storing your notes. If you want to use it on several computers, you can sync with a folder on your computer or with your own Google Drive, with optional end-to-end encryption.
Built on free software
aline’s canvas is built on Excalidraw and other open-source libraries, each with its own license. aline is an independent project and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Excalidraw or Google.
aline’s code is licensed under the GNU AGPLv3. The name, the logo and the stickers are aline’s trademark and property.
Who is behind it
aline is an independent project created and maintained by Francisco Camareno. It is under active development: some features are still beta and we keep improving it.
- It installs from the browser, on computers and on the iPad.
- A Windows installer (.exe) is on its way: we’re applying for the digital signature it needs.
Contact
Questions, or want to ask for a permission? Message us on LinkedIn.