Help

Getting started

Moonleaf opens to Notes, with three welcome notes that teach by example. There is no tutorial and no sign-in.

The bottom bar has four tabs:

Tap the + button to start a new text note with the keyboard up. Long-press it for a menu with New note and New checklist. A note left completely empty is discarded when you go back.

You can also share text or a link from any app to Moonleaf, and long-press the app icon for the shortcuts New note, New checklist and Search.

Writing and formatting

The editor shows rich text with no visible syntax, and saves automatically. The first line is the note's title. Text notes have the styles Title, Heading, Subheading and Body; bullet and numbered lists nested up to three levels; and bold, italic, strikethrough, links, quotes and dividers. Use the Aa button above the keyboard for the full set.

Markdown shortcuts

Type these and they convert as you go. Undo right after a conversion restores what you typed. You can turn shortcuts off in Settings.

Links and images

A pasted URL becomes a link. Tap it to open; long-press to edit, copy or remove it. Type[[ and a note title to link to another note; Moonleaf shows backlinks and updates links when you rename a note. Add an image to a text note with the image button on the keyboard bar.

Folders, tags and smart lists

Every note is in Notes. Folders are optional: a note sits in one folder or in none, and folders are one level deep. Create a folder with the + icon in the Library, and long-press a folder to rename or delete it. Deleting a folder moves its notes to Trash, after a confirmation that names how many.

To move a note, use Move to folder in the note's ⋯ menu, or select several notes with a long-press. Folders and tags can carry one colour dot if you want one.

Tags are text: type #tag in a note, and nest them with /, like#work/planning. The Library lists tags next to folders, and smart lists above them: No folder, Untagged, Today and Pinned.

Checklists and Todos

A checklist note is a title and items. Press Enter to add an item and Backspace on an empty item to remove it. Indent an item once for a sub-item, tap the circle to check it, and long-press an item to drag it. Checked items strike through and dim.

"Move checked items to bottom" is a switch in the note's ⋯ menu, with a default in Settings. The same menu has Uncheck all and Delete checked items. You can convert a text note to a checklist and back; checked states carry over.

Todos lists every checklist with open items, most recently edited first, with its progress (like 3/7) and its first two open items. Fully checked notes move to a collapsed Done group. Todos has no due dates, priorities or reminders.

Search

Search looks through titles and text across every note. Results update as you type, with matching folders first, then notes, and the matched words highlighted. Use the chips Checklists and Pinned to narrow them. An empty field shows your recent searches, and opening a result scrolls to the first match. Archived notes are searched from the Archive list.

Backup, sync and export

Notes stay on your phone until you choose to sign in with Google, which you do from Settings, never at first launch. A cloud icon in the Notes top bar shows the state. A sheet offers Google Drive backup once on its own, after about 20 notes or 7 days of use; after "Not now" it doesn't come back unprompted.

• In Settings › Backup and sync, choose Sign in with Google. Notes are saved as markdown files in a Moonleaf folder in your Google Drive, one file per note. Moonleaf can only see files it created.
• The same screen shows when you were last backed up, and has Back up now.
• Sign out keeps your notes on this phone.
• Signing in on a phone that already has notes merges them with the ones in Drive, and tells you so.
• If a note changed in two places, Moonleaf keeps both: the second is a copy titled "(Conflict copy)".

To get everything out, use Settings › Export all notes: a .zip of markdown files, with folders as directories. For one note, use Share › Copy as markdown or Share as text.

Archive, Trash and undo

Deleting a note is instant, followed by "Note deleted · Undo" for a few seconds. In list view, swipe right to pin a note and left to delete it.

Deleted notes go to Trash at the bottom of the Library, where each shows its former folder and deletion date, with Restore and Delete forever. Items are removed for good after 30 days. A restored note goes back to its folder; if that folder is gone, it returns with no folder.

Archive from a note's menu, a row menu or the selection bar. Archived notes leave Notes, folders, smart lists and global search, and show only in the Library's Archive list. An archived note shows an "Archived · Unarchive" banner.

App lock and privacy

Turn on App lock in Settings › Privacy. Moonleaf then asks for your fingerprint, or your phone's PIN, pattern or password, to open. You need a screen lock set in Android settings first. You can choose how long before it locks, and lock it right away from there.

Read how Moonleaf handles your data in the privacy policy.