GitHub6 Open Neoma

Open source

Read it. Fork it. Change it.

The Neoma web edition is free software under the GNU Affero General Public License, version 3 or later. This page explains exactly what that covers, what it does not, and why.

infinitumio/neoma Contributing guide

What you can do

With the web edition, for any purpose, personal or commercial, at no cost:

  • Run it. Use the hosted app, or your own copy.
  • Study it. Every line that touches your notes is public.
  • Modify it. Change anything, keep it for yourself or share it.
  • Self-host it. It is a static app: one build, any web server.
  • Share it. Give copies to anyone, changed or not.
Licence
AGPL-3.0-or-later
Stars
6
Forks
2
Latest release
v0.3.0
Last commit
7 Oct 2026

In return, the AGPL asks you to

  • keep the same licence when you distribute it, changed or not, and make the source available;
  • offer the source to the users of a modified version you run as a network service;
  • keep the existing copyright and licence notices.

The legally binding text is the AGPL-3.0. This summary is not legal advice.

Two editions, one app

What is open, and what is not.

We would rather be precise than impressive. Neoma ships in two editions, built from the same application by the same author.

Open-source edition Store and desktop builds
What it is The web app at neomadev.app/app and in the repository Signed macOS, Windows and Linux installers; iPhone and iPad through TestFlight; App Store releases when available
Licence AGPL-3.0-or-later Proprietary End-user licence
Source Public, on GitHub Not public (the packaging repository is private)
Features The same application. The open edition is not a demo, and the store builds are not a different program.
Price Free Free for personal use
Your notes Plain Markdown files on your device in both. Neither edition can read, collect or send them.

Why the store builds are not AGPL

Copyleft licences cannot lawfully be distributed through the App Store. The AGPL forbids adding restrictions for the people who receive the software, and the store terms add several, such as limits on how many devices a copy may run on. VLC was removed from the App Store in 2011 for this reason.

Why both can exist

Neoma has a single author, who can offer the same work under the AGPL to everyone and under other terms to the app stores. This is ordinary dual licensing. The full reasoning is in the licence page.

Contributions

Send code to the open edition.

Pull requests go to infinitumio/neoma and stay AGPL. A contribution only reaches the store builds if its author agrees to that in writing, through a contributor licence agreement. If you do not sign one, your code stays in the open edition. That is always fine.

  1. Find something. Good first issues are labelled.
  2. Set up. npm ci && npm run dev, Node 20.
  3. Check. npm run typecheck && npm run lint && npm test
  4. Open a pull request. The template asks what changed and how you tested it.

Self-hosting

One static folder.

Neoma has no backend. Self-hosting means serving files: the notes still live in each visitor's browser or chosen folder, never on your server.

Self-hosting in the docs →

# Docker
git clone https://github.com/infinitumio/neoma.git
cd neoma
docker compose up -d       # http://localhost:8080
# Any static host
npm ci && npm run build    # then serve dist/

The open core

What stays open.

If Neoma ever offers paid services, they will sit around the open edition, not inside it. These remain part of the open-source foundation:

  • Plain Markdown
  • Local vaults
  • Offline use
  • Core editing
  • Links and backlinks
  • Search
  • Graph
  • Publish and export
  • Self-hosting
Not built

Possible future services

None of these exist today, and none is promised. If any arrives, it will be optional, it will say so clearly, and it will not take anything away from the open edition.

  • Managed sync and backups
  • Hosted publishing
  • Collaboration and team administration
  • Institutional support

Today, Neoma is funded by sponsors and commercial licences for organisations.

Name and logo

The Neoma name, logo and branding are not covered by any of these licences. Fork the code freely; give your fork its own name. The brand page shows how to refer to Neoma.