CherryTree

What CherryTree stores

CherryTree is a tree of nodes, and each node is a page. A node holds rich text with headings, colours, lists, tables and images; a code box with syntax highlighting for the language you pick; a LaTeX math block that renders inline; or an embedded file. Nodes link to each other, to web pages, to local files and to folders, so a project tree can double as a launcher for the documents it describes. The application describes itself as a hierarchical note taking application with rich text and syntax highlighting that stores data either in a single file or across multiple files and directories. That storage choice is the feature that separates it from web note services: everything lives in a file you can back up, copy to a USB stick or keep in your own sync folder.

Working in the tree

The rhythm is keyboard first. You add a child node, type, and move on; the tree keeps the structure visible while you write, and search runs across node names, the current node, the current branch or the whole document. Formatting is applied with shortcuts and a toolbar, and the same commands work on selections of mixed content, so a passage of text, a table and a code box can be copied together into a chat window or a document and keep their shape. Larger trees stay manageable with collapsible branches, node icons, tags and a table of contents generated from heading levels. Output is deliberate: print or export a node, a branch or the whole tree as PDF, HTML or plain text, and import from HTML, plain text and older outliner formats rather than starting over.

Storage, password protection and honest limits

A document can be a single file (XML or SQLite) or a folder of files. Single-file storage is the portable choice, and password protection is available for it, implemented on top of 7-Zip; folder-based documents cannot be encrypted that way. CherryTree does not sync anything itself, so multi-device use means putting the file in a sync client and accepting the usual conflict risk if two machines edit at once; there is no merge or history beyond the copy your backup tool keeps. The Windows build is 64-bit only, and the default installer bundles the LaTeX support the PDF export can use, while a smaller variant omits it. The rich text engine is closer to a structured outliner than to a word processor: page layout, footnotes, tracked changes and complex tables are out of scope. Very large trees with many embedded images get slower to open.

Who should choose something else

If your notes must sync across a phone, a tablet and three computers without you managing files, a service with a hosted backend is the practical choice. If you need Markdown files as plain text rather than a database, a Markdown editor will fit better. If you need a wiki with many authors and access control, run a wiki. CherryTree is for one person, or a small team sharing a file, who wants structured notes that never leave their control.