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v2.3.1 · Released

Tala

Pagtatala, made simple.

A local-first notebook inspired by the Filipino concept of pagtatala — recording thoughts, ideas and things worth remembering. Typed text, handwriting and PDF markup live side by side, with no account and no server. Install it as a web app on your tablet or phone, or on Windows.

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Spec sheet
Version
v2.3.1
Status
Released
Runs on
Windows
Built with
  • Tauri
  • React
  • TypeScript
  • Vite
  • Tiptap
  • Zustand
  • Dexie
  • pdf.js
Licence
MIT
Updated
Oct 2026
Tala as a 3D model

Tap for night

Latest release
v2.0.0
Accounts or servers
0
Open source licence
MIT
Works without a network
Offline
01

60 seconds of Tala

Tala’s launch film: open it, write a line the way you say it, open Today. Every screen is the real app; the soundtrack is synthesised, not sampled. Sound on.

02

The story

Why it exists

Most note apps feel clinical. Tala should feel like writing in a notebook that actually gets you.

Tala began as Notely, a plain note-taking app, and grew an identity rooted in Filipino language. Version 2.0 rebuilds it for students who write by hand: a note is a stack of pages, each page owns its typed text and its ink, and PDFs keep their original bytes so pages render sharply and export with the ink drawn as vectors. Everything is stored in IndexedDB on your device, and one library module is the only code allowed to write it, so a failed write rolls back instead of leaving a half-saved note. Lecture audio is saved in five-second chunks so a crash costs seconds, not the lecture. Bituin, the star mascot, is a rule-based study coach that stays out of the way while you write. Built with React, Vite, Tiptap and Dexie, installable as a web app and wrapped with Tauri v2 for Windows.

03

Features

15 / 16 shipped
  1. 01
    Notes made of pages, each with its own text and handwriting
  2. 02
    Rich text editing with Tiptap
  3. 03
    Handwriting with pinch zoom and a lag-free pen
  4. 04
    Lasso selection to recolour and duplicate ink
  5. 05
    Snap to shape: rest the pen to turn a stroke into a line, circle, rectangle or triangle
  6. 06
    Import PDFs, annotate them and export with the ink baked in
  7. 07
    Lecture audio recorded while you write, with tap-a-stroke playback
  8. 08
    Bituin, a rule-based study coach with a weekly goal that never resets progress
  9. 09
    Tasks view across the whole library
  10. 10
    .tala backups with restore, and old backups still import
  11. 11
    Folders, coloured tags, favourites and search
  12. 12
    Week constellation: one star per study day, missing a day costs nothing
  13. 13
    Catalogue numbers on every note and lists grouped by day
  14. 14
    Installable on iPad, Android and desktop; works offline
  15. 15
    Handwriting search (experimental, off by default)
  16. 16
    Word and PowerPoint import (was in 1.1.0)
04

Inside the app

Write mode: ink over typed text, with the pen tools docked on the page's edge
Home: open tasks across notes, Bituin resurfacing an old note, and the week constellation
05

Changelog

All releases

v2.0.0

Oct 2026

Current

Added

  • Notes made of pages, each with its own text and handwriting
  • PDF import that keeps the original, with annotated PDF export
  • Pinch zoom, a lag-free pen, free-form lasso and a page strip
  • Snap to shape: line, circle, rectangle and triangle
  • Lecture audio with crash-safe chunks and tap-a-stroke playback
  • Bituin, a rule-based study coach with a weekly goal
  • Tasks view across the whole library
  • Phone layout with a tab bar and 44 px touch targets
  • .tala backups; older backups still import
  • First-run onboarding, a start list for an empty library, and "Pick up where you left off"
  • Week constellation in the sidebar: one star per study day
  • Catalogue numbers on every note; lists grouped by day
  • Home shows the tasks still open across notes
  • New app icon and search-engine metadata for tala.lorenzmalabanan.com

Changed

  • New look in the app icon's colours: forest-green sidebar, star-yellow New note, white pages on a dotted green ground, one typeface (Hanken Grotesk)
  • Calmer editor: a Type | Write switch and a Record button in the header, pen tools in a dock on the page's edge
  • Database schema v5; one library module is the only writer of note data
  • Release notes now come from the changelog
  • Not carried over from 1.1.0: Word and PowerPoint import, the .zip package format, editable shape handles and the Draw popover

Fixed

  • Opening a note no longer autosaves it
  • Ink on later pages no longer creates ghost notes
  • Notes with ink only on a later page are now saved
  • Menus near the right edge of the screen no longer jump left

v1.1.0

Sep 2026

Added

  • Document import: PDF, DOCX, PPTX, DOC and PPT
  • PDF page stack with zoom, thumbnails, reorder, rotate, ink and export
  • Handwriting gestures: hold-to-straighten, hold-to-shape, scribble erase
  • Editable vector shapes with resize and rotate handles
  • Tala .zip packages with manifest and SHA-256 validation
  • Floating pen tray for touch and iPad
  • Lasso selection and ink actions: duplicate, copy, cut, paste, rotate, recolour
  • Apple Pencil and stylus: tilt, hover ring, palm rejection
  • Text font family, size and alignment

Changed

  • One adaptive editor toolbar that follows what you're doing
  • Draw popover replaces the radial pen wheel
  • Database schema v3 adds documents, assets and page ink

Fixed

  • Bullet and numbered lists render real markers
  • Duplicate underline extension registration removed

v1.0.1

Aug 2026

Added

  • Six named pen presets
  • Multi-select mode with batch actions
  • Long-press note preview
  • Share action in the context menu
  • Grid card context menu
  • Inline width dots in the pen toolbar

Fixed

  • Pen toolbar width dots skipping index 3
  • Tool switching clobbering the active preset
  • Long-press timer leak on unmount
  • Escape not exiting multi-select
  • Stale selections after search or filter
  • Preview card hidden behind the mobile nav
  • Dropdown menus clipping near the viewport edge

v1.0.0

Aug 2026

Added

  • Rich text editing with Tiptap
  • Handwriting layer with pen, pencil, highlighter and eraser
  • Folders and tags
  • Favourites, pinning, archive and trash
  • Search across all notes
  • List, grid, comfort and compact views
  • Light, dark and system themes
  • JSON backup and restore
  • Onboarding, focus mode, shortcuts and a command palette
06

Download

Windows

Windows 10 / 11 · x64

v2.3.1 · 4.3 MB

Download

macOS

Apple Silicon · ARM64

Not yet available

Coming soon

Linux

x86_64 · AppImage / DEB / RPM

Not yet available

Coming soon
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