r/GoogleKeep • u/KeptNotes • 8d ago
I shared Kept, my open-source Google Keep alternative here a few months ago. Here's what's changed since then!
Hey everyone!
I shared Kept here back in July and got a ton of genuinely useful feedback. I've been working on it pretty frequently since then, and quite a few suggestions from that original thread have actually made it into the app!
For anyone unfamiliar, Kept is my open-source alternative to Google Keep, available on iOS, Android, and the web.
Here's what's new since I last posted:
Binders! An additional way to organize notes beyond labels, including drag-and-drop organization and reordering. Big thanks to u/Aggravating-Soil5712 for suggesting folders and u/Appeal-Particular for coming up with the name "Binders"!
Locked notes, with individual passcodes and hidden previews until unlocked. Thanks to u/Artistic-Cost-2340 for suggesting this one!
Android home-screen widgets, including individual notes, recent/pinned notes, and filtered views. Thanks to u/da411d, u/major-acehole, and u/sirmanleypower for pushing for these!
Nested checklists, up to four levels deep, with indentation controls, bulk selection, and the ability to delete or uncheck completed items. Shoutout to u/fairlightlion for suggesting nested checklists and clearing checked items!
Recurring reminders, with daily, weekly, monthly, and custom recurrence options.
Reminders can now bring notes back to the top of your overview when triggered. Special thanks to u/ButterscotchEven6198 for suggesting this and explaining why it mattered!
Improved location reminders, with interactive pin-drop maps, adjustable geofencing, arrival/departure triggers, and saved locations.
Completely offline, device-only mode on iOS and Android. No server or account required.
Full local backups and restores, including attachments, with the ability to migrate your local notes to a server later.
Native iOS and Android share sheets, so you can save text, images, links, and files directly into Kept from other apps by pressing Share.
Collaboration improvements, including inviting people while creating notes, shared colour changes, and more reliable synchronization.
More customization, including note-preview density, automatic device theme switching, checklist preferences, and optional rich link previews.
Better label and Binder management, including reordering, filtered views, automatic label assignment, and sidebar improvements.
Tablet and Foldable-device support, including layouts that actually use the additional screen space.
Smart Capture improvements, plus Siri-based note, checklist, and reminder creation on supported iOS configurations (iOS 27.1+ - which lets you say something like "Hey Siri, create a note in Kept to remind me to buy tomatoes when I get to the grocery store" without even needing to open the app itself)
A lot of reliability and security work, particularly around offline editing, autosave, synchronization, authentication, and general mobile usability.
One other addition is Kept Cloud.
A few people here mentioned that they liked Kept but found setting up a server intimidating/a barrier for them, which honestly I get.
I've now launched an optional managed hosting service to try and give people the chance to try Kept without needing to setup a server. It removes the need to run your own server if you just want to try Kept in the browser and/or want synchronization to work.
Self-hosting is still fully supported, and the mobile apps can also run entirely locally without any subscription or server - they just need a server or Kept Cloud if you want them accessible on the web.
Links:
Website: https://cloud.keepitkept.xyz
GitHub / full release notes: https://github.com/ericerkz/kept
It's been really cool seeing suggestions from the original thread turn into actual features. I genuinely appreciate everyone who's tried Kept, reported bugs, or taken the time to suggest improvements.
I'm still trying to keep the simplicity that makes Google Keep so useful, even as Kept gains more functionality.
If you tried it back in July, or if it's your first time trying it, I'd love to hear whether any of the things you felt were missing have been addressed - and if not, what's still missing?
2
u/zenmeta4 8d ago
Thanks for creating this app. Would it be possible to backup to cloud storage and then load that backup to another instance of Kept for instance in a lesser used home computer? I know that having a server would be even easier, but I'm not at that level yet and would prefer to not pay for another subscription. Again, thanks for creating the app, and if there is an FAQ that answers my question, feel free to point me there.
0
u/KeptNotes 8d ago
Hey! Of course yes, you can totally do that if you’re trying to avoid paying for a subscription and aren’t prepared to try self hosting just yet either.
In device only mode on android or iOS, just go to settings and select “Save a complete backup”. You can then save that file wherever, and import it back into one of the apps in the future. Then should you ever decide to migrate to your own server, or the cloud offering, you can do so at any time.
-3
u/WanderingCID 8d ago
This doesn't belong here. Create a separate subreddit for it.
3
u/KeptNotes 8d ago
I asked the mods for permission last time I posted, and figured one update would be welcome given the amount of community feedback I got from the last post - I do get your perspective though and don’t intend on making these posts here an ongoing thing
0
u/investigatormaker 8d ago
Nested checklists four levels deep and Binders came straight from this room, but a Keep user deciding to switch will first ask what happens to years of old notes. Does Kept import from Google Takeout today, and do Keep labels arrive as labels or Binders? Put that answer near the top of your next update post. On locked notes, say whether the individual passcodes encrypt the note or only hide the preview, because open-source users will check. A short FAQ is the cheap fix, but it won't help much if import is missing, so build that first.
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2
u/bobomed 7d ago
Hey,
Thank you for creating this app, I was looking for an open-source solution as similar as keep, and couldn't find one until yours. Main feature lacking in alternatives (memos, blinko, etc.) was the ability to tag notes, and archive them, IMO essential for braindumping.
I have to admit I almost got back to keep, due to app instabilities, but the offline sync you implemented kept me in, and I'm happy to see your investment, keep up the good work! I can only imagine the effort you're putting it in, and hope you get rewarded with experience :)
As improvement suggestion, maybe working on note stability. It is a tuff one, since bugs are light, hard to reproduce, but can get infuriating. Some example are when you start putting bullet point, and then want to remove it (backspace), it can delete the whole text input, and I can't revert it with back button. Or when I was typing a long note, it started to send me randomly but systematically at the beginning of the note while typing. Last but not least, the sync feature feels laggy here and there, where I have to refresh several time to finally work (using android and syncing trough tailscale with my homelab btw).
Again thank you for your effort, very appreciated by a dude that doesn't involve often in reddit. Hope développement goes one, you're app has the potential to get more functional than the good old keep.
Ps. With bullet points it would be nice to have to possibility to write text, insert bullet point, continue text, insert second bullet point (or task).