How I Found My Perfect Note-Taking App (And It’s Not What You Think)

Let me accept one fact right at the start: my handwriting is bad. And not just bad—it’s the kind of bad that could single-handedly keep the eyewear industry in business. My teachers probably owe me royalties for the new glasses they had to buy after grading my papers.

Naturally, I had to find a way out. So, instead of working on my handwriting (because who has the patience for that), I doubled down on typing. I worked on my typing speed so I could take notes directly on my laptop. Problem solved, right?

Well, not really.

Because the moment I entered the world of digital note-taking, I ran into a bigger challenge: finding the right app.

The Problem with Most Note-Taking Apps

Here’s the thing:

I don’t want an app that eats more RAM than Chrome with 27 tabs open.
I don’t want an app that has a confusing UI that makes me feel like I need a map and compass just to find my notes.
And above all, I don’t want an app that keeps waving its subscription plan in my face every time I open it.

I tried the usual suspects—OneNote, Notion, Google Keep, Obsidian, and a few others. They’re good, don’t get me wrong. But they weren’t my kind of good.

I needed something simple, lightweight, and fast. Something that just lets me write without turning note-taking into a full-time job.

Enter Codex Notes

Then, I stumbled upon a hidden gem: Codex Notes.
(And no, I’m not talking about OpenAI’s Codex. Google “Codex” and you’ll probably end up reading about AI instead of this note-taking app when you search it on goole. That’s how underrated it is.)

And let me tell you, this app hooked me instantly.

Here’s why:

Simple and clean interface — No clutter, no distractions, just pure note-taking zen.
Customizable icons for each note — You can literally dress your notes up with icons. Your lecture notes on Data Structures can have a stack icon, and your grocery list can have… well, a shopping cart.
Organize with folders — Group related notes together so you don’t end up with “Final Notes v2 (Real Final This Time).”
Feature-rich (yes, even code blocks) — This one’s big. You can drop in code snippets directly inside your notes. Obsidian fans, take notes (pun intended).
Lightweight and fast — No lag, no nonsense.

In short, it’s like someone actually asked, “What would a college student or programmer actually want in a note-taking app?” and then just… built it.

The Only Catch

Of course, no love story is perfect. Codex Notes does have one missing piece: native cloud sync.

There’s no built-in way to sync across devices. But honestly, I can’t even be mad about it. It’s an open-source project without massive funding—so expecting free cloud storage on top is like expecting free pizza delivery with your Wi-Fi bill.

That said, there’s a workaround. Just set the save location of your notes to a synced drive using Dropbox, Google Drive, iCloud, or any cloud service you prefer. Boom—your notes are everywhere.

Final Verdict

So, is Codex Notes perfect? Not quite. But is it the best note-taking app for college students, especially programmers and researchers? In my opinion—absolutely.

It’s clean, fast, and feature-rich without being bloated. It gives you the freedom to write, code, and organize without nagging you to “upgrade to Pro” every five minutes.

And honestly? That’s all I wanted in the first place.

So here I am, writing this very blog post inside Codex Notes itself. If that’s not proof of loyalty, I don’t know what is.

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