// the find
Laverna/laverna
Laverna is a JavaScript note taking application with Markdown editor and encryption support. Consider it like open source alternative to Evernote.
Laverna is a browser-based Markdown note-taking app that stores everything in IndexedDB/localStorage and optionally syncs to Dropbox or RemoteStorage. It targets privacy-conscious users who want client-side AES encryption without handing their notes to a cloud service. The last commit was in 2021 and the project appears abandoned.
Client-side encryption using SJCL (AES) is a genuine architectural choice, not a checkbox — the encryption module is a first-class part of the app rather than an afterthought. Offline-first by default since everything lives in browser storage, which is actually the correct model for a privacy-focused notes tool. Modular plugin system (CodeMirror, MathJax, RemoteStorage, Dropbox) loaded on demand, which kept the core small. Solid i18n coverage across 25+ languages, which takes real ongoing effort to maintain.
The project is functionally dead — last push May 2021, still using Bower and Gulp, built on Backbone/Marionette which has been in maintenance mode for years. You would be adopting a large piece of legacy frontend infrastructure the moment you fork it. Sync is limited to Dropbox and RemoteStorage; no WebDAV, no self-hosted option that isn't RemoteStorage, which rules out the most common self-hosting setups. SJCL hasn't had a meaningful release since 2017 and the crypto implementation predates subtle crypto browser APIs, so the encryption story is technically correct but built on a stale library. Data lives in localStorage as a fallback, which caps note storage at roughly 5MB in most browsers — a real limit if you paste images or write long-form content.