---
title: Desktop Sticky Notes
url: https://nandomoreira.dev/en/lab/noctalia-desktop-sticky-notes
collection: lab
tech:
  - QML
  - JavaScript
  - Noctalia Shell
  - Markdown
  - Vitest
date: 2026-06-09
---

# Desktop Sticky Notes

Plugin for Noctalia Shell that pins sticky notes to the desktop as widgets: each note can be dragged and resized, has a post-it color and Markdown text, opens an editor on click and can stay linked to a .md file on disk, updating when the file changes.

## Problem

Quick reminders were scattered across files and apps, away from the screen
where I work, and Noctalia had no notes pinned to the desktop itself.

## Decisions

Each note is a desktop widget instance, with its own text, colors, size,
position and scale, saved in Noctalia settings so they survive a shell
restart. A click opens a panel with keyboard focus, because a desktop widget
does not receive typing. A note can point to a Markdown file, which becomes
the source of truth. The JavaScript logic is covered by Vitest tests; the
Markdown renderer and the editor layout come from sapjax's sticky-notes
plugin, also MIT.

## Outcome

Working MVP on my desktop, tested on Noctalia 4.7.7, in English and
Portuguese. Published under the MIT license and not yet submitted to the
Noctalia plugin registry.

## Shortcuts

- `Ctrl+S`: saves the note and closes the editor
- `Esc`: also saves and closes

## Links

- Repo: https://github.com/nandomoreirame/noctalia-desktop-sticky-notes