https://github.com/shardulvs/xnotes-android
A handwriting notes and sketching app for Android with stylus support
https://github.com/shardulvs/xnotes-android
android drawing fdroid handwriting jetpack-compose kotlin material3 note-taking notes pdf sketching stylus tablet
Last synced: 8 days ago
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A handwriting notes and sketching app for Android with stylus support
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/shardulvs/xnotes-android
- Owner: shardulvs
- License: mit
- Created: 2026-05-23T15:54:45.000Z (about 1 month ago)
- Default Branch: master
- Last Pushed: 2026-06-13T20:04:18.000Z (14 days ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-06-13T21:25:35.727Z (14 days ago)
- Topics: android, drawing, fdroid, handwriting, jetpack-compose, kotlin, material3, note-taking, notes, pdf, sketching, stylus, tablet
- Language: Kotlin
- Homepage: https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.xnotes
- Size: 2.69 MB
- Stars: 25
- Watchers: 3
- Forks: 2
- Open Issues: 4
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- Funding: .github/FUNDING.yml
- License: LICENSE
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
xnotes
A handwriting-first notebook for Android, built for pen and stylus
---
## At a glance
- **Pressure-sensitive ink**: a custom stroke engine turns raw stylus samples into a smooth, variable-width ribbon that swells and tapers with pen pressure, so handwriting and sketches feel natural instead of like a flat marker.
- **Live presentation streaming**: broadcast your canvas to any web browser on the same network in real time. Turn a tablet into a wireless whiteboard for the room, with nothing to install on the other end.
- **Vector PDF, in and out**: drop in a PDF as a page background to annotate, then export your notes back to PDF as true vector: ink and text stay crisp at any zoom instead of being flattened to pixels.
- **Razor-sharp deep zoom**: a background renderer redraws a high-resolution viewport off the main thread, so you can zoom far in and the ink stays sharp rather than turning blocky.
- **Real highlighter blending**: highlighters are composited live every frame with a true multiply blend, so overlapping strokes deepen like real ink instead of painting over one another.
- **Neon pen**: a glowing pen with a bright white core and saturated, luminous edges for accents that pop off the page.
- **Smart PDF dark mode**: invert a PDF page for comfortable night reading while leaving embedded photos and images untouched.
- **Nothing is ever flattened**: every stroke is stored as editable vector data in the open `.xnote` format, so you can re-select, move, restyle, or erase any mark at any time.
- **Stylus-aware by design**: pen and finger are handled separately, so you can pan with a finger while you draw with the pen; on devices without a stylus, finger drawing turns on automatically.
- **Private and open**: open source, no accounts, no telemetry. Files go through Android's Storage Access Framework, so the app needs no broad storage permission (network access exists only for the optional presentation server).
## Install
| Channel | |
|---|---|
| [GitHub Releases](https://github.com/shardulvs/xnotes-android/releases/latest) | Signed APK |
| [F-Droid](https://f-droid.org/en/packages/com.xnotes) | Built reproducibly from source |
Both channels ship the same signed APK. F-Droid rebuilds from source and verifies it against the GitHub release, so you can switch between them without reinstalling.
## Build from source
Requires **JDK 17** (the project pins Java 17):
```bash
git clone https://github.com/shardulvs/xnotes-android.git
cd xnotes-android
JAVA_HOME=/path/to/jdk-17 ./gradlew assembleDebug
```
Output: `app/build/outputs/apk/debug/app-debug.apk`