Zen

Zen is a minimalist, self-hosted note-taking application that prioritizes simplicity, speed, and privacy. Built with Go as a single lightweight binary, Zen uses only about 20MB of memory while providing a clean, distraction-free interface for capturing and organizing your thoughts. Unlike cloud-based note-taking services that lock your data into proprietary formats, Zen stores everything as standard markdown files within a local SQLite database, giving you complete control and portability. The application supports offline use through progressive web app functionality, ensuring you can access and edit your notes anytime, anywhere, without depending on internet connectivity or external services.

Common Use Cases

Zen is perfect for developers and technical professionals who need a fast, keyboard-driven note-taking solution for code snippets, API documentation, and technical references with syntax highlighting for multiple programming languages. Writers and content creators use Zen for journaling, drafting articles, and organizing research with markdown formatting and tag-based categorization that adapts to their evolving content structure. Students and researchers leverage Zen's full-text search and archiving capabilities to build personal knowledge bases, study notes, and literature reviews without folder hierarchies that become rigid over time. Privacy-conscious individuals choose Zen for personal information management, daily logs, and idea capture, knowing their notes remain on their own infrastructure with no third-party access or data mining.

Key Features

• Lightweight single binary deployment with minimal resource usage (20MB memory)
• Markdown support with tables, checklists, code blocks, and syntax highlighting
• Full-text search powered by BM25 ranking algorithm for relevant results
• Tag-based organization for flexible content categorization without rigid folders
• Image upload and preview with drag-and-drop functionality
• Note pinning, archiving, and soft-delete for workspace management
• Keyboard shortcuts for fast navigation and editing without mouse dependency
• Progressive web app support for offline access and mobile compatibility
• Data import/export in standard formats for complete portability
• Search highlights and table of contents for easier navigation
• Canvas support for visual note organization with drag-and-drop
• Semantic search and templates for advanced knowledge management

Why deploy Zen on Hostinger VPS

Deploying Zen on a Hostinger VPS provides the perfect environment for a lightweight, always-available personal knowledge base without the overhead of complex note-taking platforms. With its minimal 20MB memory footprint and single-binary architecture, Zen runs efficiently on even the smallest VPS plans while remaining responsive for instant note searches and real-time markdown editing. Hostinger VPS ensures your notes remain accessible 24/7 from any device through the progressive web app interface, with the reliability needed for a tool you depend on daily for capturing ideas and managing information. The self-hosted deployment means zero subscription fees, unlimited notes and storage within your VPS capacity, and complete data sovereignty without vendor lock-in or proprietary formats. For users who value simplicity, privacy, and performance, running Zen on Hostinger VPS delivers a distraction-free note-taking experience with the speed and control that cloud services can't match.