Minimalist editor that lives in browser, stores everything in the URL
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I wanted to see how far I could go building a notes app using only what modern browsers already provide – no frameworks, no storage APIs, no build step.What it does:Single HTML file, no deps, 111 locNotes live in the URL hash (shareable links!)Auto-compressed with CompressionStreamPlain-text editor (contenteditable)History supportPage title from first # headingRespects light/dark modeNo storage, cookies, or trackingThe entire app is the page source.https://textarea.my/
HN · launched Dec 24, 2025 · 468 upvotes (top 1%) · 0 views
Niche: note-taking and writing apps · 264 launches, 27 in the last 7 days ▼ -23% · Explore this niche →
Category and tags
- Horizontal
- Dev tools
- Prosumer
- Not AI
- Hobby / open-source project
Visit website ↗ Source listing ↗
More like this: all 264 launches in note-taking and writing apps →
Could you build this?
Yes A 111-line single-page plain JavaScript app using native CompressionStreams and URL hash manipulation is an ideal candidate for prompt-based coding in minutes.
Discussion
20 comments analyzed.
Competitors mentioned: itty.bitty.site, routespinner.com, urlfile.app
Concerns raised: URL hash components get sent to server and logged, Unreliable when apps strip query/hash components, Mobile Safari cuts off content on copy/share, Long URLs corrupt when shared to Notes app, Browser compatibility issues (Vivaldi location tracking, Firefox URL updates)
Feature requests: Plugin to make data live in URL, Better mobile support/documentation for URL length limits, Fix z-index issues on mobile Firefox
Competitors
Other products that read as similar to this one : 300 launches clear the similarity bar, closest 8 shown.
Attention rank: #3 of 301 (itself plus its competitors, highest first, normalized so YC and Product Hunt are compared fairly).
Launched 22 days after the earliest competitor.
- NotepadWeb - Private Encrypted Notes · ph · 2026-10-06 · 1 upvotes · similarity 0.52
- Web Memo · ph · 2026-11-07 · 2 upvotes · similarity 0.46
- re:note · ph · 2026-09-24 · 2 upvotes · similarity 0.45
- Paragraph Notes · ph · 2026-09-26 · 154 upvotes · similarity 0.44
- put·here · ph · 2026-10-10 · 77 upvotes · similarity 0.43
- Mininote: Instant, plain-text note taking without tracking or lock-in · hn · 2026-08-14 · 23 upvotes · similarity 0.43
- PopNote · ph · 2026-10-09 · 1 upvotes · similarity 0.43
- ClippingMini for Chrome · ph · 2026-09-17 · 1 upvotes · similarity 0.42
The niche, labels, vibe code rating and competitor comparison on this page are analysis by Nicheloom. If you use them, please credit nicheloom.com. How you may use our data.