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Linwood Butterfly

Open-source handwriting and sketching app with an infinite canvas

FreeNote-TakingChecked Oct 9, 2026
Visit butterfly.linwood.dev

What is Linwood Butterfly?

Linwood Butterfly is a free, open-source app for handwritten notes, sketches and PDF markup on an infinite canvas. It accepts stylus, touch or mouse input, keeps documents on the device by default and can sync them through a WebDAV service such as Nextcloud. It runs on Android, Windows, macOS, Linux and in a browser, and an iOS preview build is offered for sideloading.

Linwood Butterfly is free to use. See every plan

Good for

  • Handwritten lecture notes and PDF markup with a stylus
  • People who want a free, AGPL-licensed note app on Android and desktop
  • Nextcloud users who want their notes synced over WebDAV

Worth knowing

  • iOS is a preview only: an unsigned IPA that has to be sideloaded with AltStore or Sideloadly, and it is not on the App Store.
  • There is no hosted sync service. Remote storage supports only WebDAV, and it is not available in the web version.
  • Collaboration is experimental and has to be switched on with an experiment flag.
  • The web app performs better in Chromium-based browsers; the docs say Firefox and Safari lack the WebAssembly features it uses.

Key features

Infinite canvas with editable elements
Handwriting, shapes and imported media sit on an unbounded canvas, and each element can be moved, resized, recolored and reorganized after it is placed.
Pen and drawing tools
Stroke width, color, smoothing and texture are adjustable, and the toolbox adds labels, shapes, polygons, tables, rulers, grids, stamps, a laser pointer and a presentation tool.
Import and export
Imports PDFs, images, SVG, Markdown, Xournal++ files and OneNote sections. Exports to PDF, SVG, image and Xournal++, plus its own documented .bfly and .tbfly formats.
Templates and packs
Templates bundle backgrounds, tools, layers, areas and pages for new documents, and packs hold reusable stamps, palettes and styles that are available across documents.
Local storage with WebDAV sync
Notes are saved to a folder on the device. The native apps can add a WebDAV connection such as Nextcloud and mark remote files for offline editing.
Experimental collaboration
Behind an experiment flag, several people can edit one document at once through an end-to-end encrypted Swamp relay or a WebSocket server run on one participant's computer.

Linwood Butterfly pricing

Starts at
Free
Free plan
The whole app is free and open source under the GNU AGPL-3.0 license on every platform; the project's own comparison table lists its cost as Free.
Free trial
None listed
Butterfly$0The full app for Android, Windows, macOS and Linux, a web app that installs for offline use, and a Docker image for hosting the web app yourself.

Read from butterfly.linwood.dev on Oct 9, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Linwood Butterfly before you buy.

Pricing in detail

Works with

Linwood Butterfly alternatives

All Linwood Butterfly alternatives comparedAll note-taking apps

Common questions

Is Linwood Butterfly free?

Yes. Linwood Butterfly is free to use. The whole app is free and open source under the GNU AGPL-3.0 license on every platform; the project's own comparison table lists its cost as Free.

How much does Linwood Butterfly cost?

Linwood Butterfly lists one plan. Butterfly: $0. Prices were read from butterfly.linwood.dev on Oct 9, 2026.

What platforms does Linwood Butterfly work on?

Linwood Butterfly is available on Web, Windows, macOS, Linux and Android.

Does Linwood Butterfly have an iPhone app?

No iPhone app was listed when its pages were read on Oct 9, 2026. Linwood Butterfly is listed for Web, Windows, macOS, Linux and Android.

Is Linwood Butterfly open source?

Yes. Linwood Butterfly is open source, according to its own site. It can also be run on a server of your own.

Does Linwood Butterfly work offline?

Yes, according to its own site. What works without a connection differs by plan and platform, so check the vendor's page for the detail.

What does Linwood Butterfly integrate with?

Linwood Butterfly's listing names Nextcloud. A listing names up to eight integrations, so it may connect to more.

Who makes Linwood Butterfly?

Linwood Butterfly is made by Linwood.

What are the alternatives to Linwood Butterfly?

The closest alternatives to Linwood Butterfly in our directory are Xournal++, Rnote, Saber, Stylus Labs Write and Microsoft OneNote. Each one has a side-by-side comparison with Linwood Butterfly.

Sources for this page

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Oct 9, 2026.