BraiNOTES is an open-source, browser-based handwriting and whiteboard app designed for lectures: write with a pen or stylus while keeping the PDF slides next to your notes or writing directly on the slide pages. It operates entirely client-side with no account or server, saves automatically in IndexedDB, and works offline after the first load. The interface provides multiple pen types with pressure sensitivity, highlighter, pencil, eraser, lasso selection, shapes, text, image insertion, a laser pointer, and the ability to snip parts of a PDF into notes. Notebooks support blank, lined, grid, or dotted paper and export options include PDF (original pages with vector ink) and PNG, plus a portable .brainotes zip format for backups or sharing. Keyboard shortcuts and a study/presentation mode speed common workflows.
The implementation emphasizes performance and local-first design: ink is drawn into cached canvas tiles and strokes are generated using perfect-freehand with a one-euro filter and a light refit on pen lift; pdf.js runs in a worker and renders only visible pages at the current zoom. The stack uses Svelte 5 and SvelteKit, pdf-lib for writing, idb for storage, fflate and browser-fs-access for file handling, and TypeScript throughout. Licensed MIT and available at notes.swimmingbrain.dev, the project shows active development with many commits and community-oriented docs and contributing guidance.
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