Fractal Note

What Fractal Note is

Fractal Note brings note-taking into VS Code, combining a WYSIWYG Markdown editor with outliner, database, mindmap, and file-manager views. It stores notes as plain Markdown and JSON files, organized through a virtual folder and file tree. Full-text search reaches outlines, Markdown pages, and supported PDF, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint attachments. A built-in viewer opens Office documents, PDFs, HTML, images, and text or code files; notes can also be exported as PDF or Markdown.

The navigation options include backlinks, collapse and expand, subtree scoping, and filtering. A Chrome extension can clip web pages into an outliner or Markdown and write them directly to disk using the File System Access API. Published AI skills allow agents to search, read, and write notes; the project names Claude Code, Cursor, Kiro, and Antigravity as supported AI IDEs for installing those skills. Bidirectional AWS S3 sync and Amazon Translate are available when AWS credentials are configured in VS Code. The MIT-licensed extension is free, with core features working without AWS. It is suited to people who want notes and documents organized together as their files outgrow folders.

Who it suits

Fractal Note suits people who want to organize notes and documents together, especially when files no longer fit comfortably in folders. Its multiple navigation views, Markdown files, and attachment search also fit users who want different ways to browse a growing body of notes.

Limits

The free extension’s core features work without AWS, but S3 sync and Amazon Translate require AWS credentials configured in VS Code. Connections to those services through an HTTP(S) proxy are unsupported.

Getting started

1. Open the project website on GitHub.
2. Install the extension in VS Code.
3. Use the core features without AWS credentials.
4. Configure AWS credentials in VS Code to use S3 sync or Amazon Translate.
5. Use the Chrome extension to clip web pages directly to disk.

Verdict

Pick Fractal Note if you want a VS Code-based environment that brings Markdown notes, documents, and several navigation views together. Its core features work without AWS, but S3 sync and Amazon Translate require configured AWS credentials; proxy users cannot connect those services through an HTTP(S) proxy.