What is txtnode, and why did I build it?

You need to write something down. A command you will need again in ten minutes. A phone number someone is reading out. Notes from a call that started thirty seconds ago.

So you open a notes app. It wants you to pick a folder. Or a text editor, and now there is an untitled file you will have to name and save somewhere. By the time you are ready to type, the moment has passed.

txtnode is what I built instead.

Type an address, start writing

Go to txtnode.com/notes/anything and you are already writing. There is no New Note button, because there is nothing to create. The note exists because you gave it an address.

That one decision does most of the work:

There is no empty state. The first thing you see is a cursor.
Sharing is telling someone the address. No invite, no account on their side. Say the words, and they are looking at the same text. It updates live while you both type.
Coming back is typing the same thing. You do not have to remember where you filed it, only what you called it. People are much better at names than at paths.

txtnode.com/notes/standup-notes needs no explaining. Neither does txtnode.com/notes/things-to-buy.

Be honest about what that costs

Anyone who guesses your address can read it. That is not an oversight, it is how a note with no account works, and it is why the address you pick matters. txtnode.com/notes/ideas will be found by someone. txtnode.com/notes/k7f2-retro-q3 is far harder to guess, but that is obscurity rather than protection, and nothing sensitive belongs in a public note.

But guessing is not a security model, and some things genuinely need to be private. That is what signing in is for.

Sign in with Google and you get 10 MB of private storage. Folders, markdown notes, drag to move things around, saves as you type. They are reachable only by you and by anyone you deliberately share them with. There is no URL that would let anybody else in.

You can share any note or folder with a specific person, as a viewer or an editor. They get an email invitation that only works for the address it was sent to, so forwarding it to somebody else does nothing. Or you can hand out a link, pick what it grants, and revoke it whenever you like. Take access back and it is gone immediately, mid-sentence if it comes to that.

The rest of it

Tasks. Same idea as notes. A list at a URL, shareable by telling someone where it is.

Developer tools. A JSON formatter, a diff checker, a JWT decoder, a regex tester, a hash generator, base64, timestamps, UUIDs, and a dozen more. Every one of them runs entirely in your browser. Whatever you paste in never reaches the server, because there is no request to send it in.

That last part is not a promise about how carefully we handle your data. It is simpler than that: we never have it.

Coming from another notepad

If you already use one of these, the idea will be familiar. dontpad works the same way: an address, and a cursor. aNotepad and Shrib let you write without an account. notes.io gives you a short link to pass on.

What txtnode adds is what happens after the note:

Both halves in one place. A public note at an address, and a private side with folders and real ownership, behind the same sign in. You do not move to another tool when something stops being throwaway.
Sharing that is addressed to a person. Invite an email address and the invitation only works for someone signed in as that address. Forwarding it to somebody else does nothing.
Access you can take back. Revoke it and it is gone immediately, mid-sentence if it comes to that.
The tools alongside it. The thing you were about to paste into a JSON formatter in another tab is one click away.

Questions people ask

Do I need an account? Not for notes, tasks or any of the tools. Signing in adds private storage and sharing by invitation.

Is it free? Yes, all of it.

Can other people see my notes? A note at a public address can be read by anyone who knows or guesses that address. Private notes, behind sign in, are reachable only by you and by anyone you deliberately share with.

Does it work on a phone? Yes. It is a website, so there is nothing to install.

Do my notes save? As you type. There is no save button.

Can two people edit the same note? Yes, at the same time. Changes appear live for everyone holding the address.

Who builds this

One person, around a full time job. That is worth saying plainly, because it explains the shape of the thing.

Some features are thinner than they look. File uploads are not there yet, so private files means notes for now. Things take longer than they should. A few decisions will read as mistakes in six months, and when they do I would rather write them up than quietly patch them.

What it buys you is that nothing here exists to satisfy a roadmap. Every part was built because it was annoying not to have it.

Try it before reading any more

Genuinely, do not read about it. Open txtnode.com/notes/hello and type something. That is the whole product, and it takes about four seconds to find out whether you like it.

If you do, sign in and the private side is there too.