GitHub Notes in 30 Seconds

Why GitHub for Notes?

GitHub is not just for code. Storing your notes in a Git repository gives you full version history, easy backup, and the ability to use your notes across multiple apps — or none at all if the app disappears.

Private repositories on GitHub are free. Your notes are yours alone unless you choose to share them.

Learn more about the case for Git-backed notes →

The Setup

You need two things: a GitHub account and the GitNotēs app. Here's the complete step-by-step, starting from zero.

Step 1 — Create a GitHub account

If you do not have one already, go to github.com and click Sign up. It takes about 90 seconds. Choose a username you are comfortable sharing — it will appear in commit history.

Step 2 — Create a private repository

1. After signing in, click the + icon in the top-right corner and select New repository.
2. Give it a name — my-notes, second-brain, or anything you like. Keep it simple.
3. Under Visibility, select Private. Your notes are yours by default.
4. Do not select any template, add a README, or initialize with a licence yet — an empty repo is fine.
5. Click Create repository.

That is it. Your repository exists at github.com/your-username/my-notes.

Step 3 — Connect GitNotēs

1. Download GitNotēs from the App Store or Google Play.
2. Open GitNotēs and tap Add Repository.
3. Choose GitHub as your provider.
4. GitNotēs will redirect you to GitHub to authorize the connection. Tap Authorize. (If you prefer not to use OAuth, you can use a personal access token instead.)
5. Select your new repository from the list. GitNotēs will initialize it with a sample note.
6. Tap Done. Your notes are now syncing to GitHub.

Step 4 — Write your first note

Tap the + button in GitNotēs to create a new note. Write something, then save. Your note is written to the local Git working tree. When sync runs, GitNotēs stages the change, commits it, and pushes it to GitHub. Open GitHub in your browser and navigate to your repository — you will see your note as a Markdown file.

How GitNotēs Uses Git

When you save a note in GitNotēs, it is written to a local Git working tree on your device as a Markdown file. When sync runs, GitNotēs stages, commits, and pushes the change to your GitHub remote. Your notes go through the same staging-commit-push workflow as any Git operation — they are not uploaded as opaque blobs.

This means your notes are real files in a real repository. You can clone the repo on any device, open notes in any Markdown editor, and if GitNotēs ever stops working, your notes are still there.

See how GitNotēs compares to other Git-backed note apps →

What About AI Notes?

GitNotēs includes an AI assistant that can create and edit notes for you. When AI generates content, that content still goes through the same Git staging and sync process as any manually written note. AI-created notes are saved as Markdown, committed, and pushed — they never bypass the Git workflow or appear as opaque data.

See how GitNotēs works across GitHub, GitLab, Gitea, and Forgejo →

Keeping It Private

Your repository is private by default. Only you — and people you explicitly grant access to — can see it. If you want to share specific notes, you can make individual files public, or keep your notes private and share the repo with specific collaborators when needed.

Even if you use GitNotēs on multiple devices, each device connects to the same private repository. Git handles merging changes from multiple sources automatically — and when it cannot, GitNotēs surfaces the conflict for you.

Learn how GitNotēs handles conflicts →