How to install Boost Note on Ubuntu 20.04 – A Note Taking editor app for Programmers and Developers

Boost Note is an open source and advanced note-taking editor app for programmers and developers. With a little bit advanced knowledge, it can be a great alternative to Evernote app for Linux. It’s an cross-platform application available for Microsoft Windows, macOS, Linux, Web App, Android and iOS.

This Evernote alternative note-taking app saves the content when you write and this how you never lost any notes or documents. Boost Note’s editor makes it easy to write a tech spec with Charts.js, Mermaid, Latex, PlantUML and so on.

You can add different views such as Kanban, Table, Calendar and etc depending on the circumstances and build your workflow. Even customize your docs with progress status, assignees, reviewers, due date and everything you need.

There are many management tools out there, but it’s not always developer friendly. This application offers a customizable workspace based on developer’s needs. Boost Note has an IDE-like User Interface(UI). You can create folders as many as you want and nest them flexibly.

It will help you to organize your documents very easily.

Key Features of Boostnote

• Open-Source application
• Cross-Platform application
• Powerful Markdown Editor
• Public API
• Realtime Collaboration with your teammates
• Multiple Views such as anban, Table, Calendar etc..

This article explains two methods of installing Boost Note on Ubuntu 20.04.

Choose the installation method that is most appropriate for your environment.

Method 1: Installing Boost Note using deb package

Installing Boost Note on Ubuntu is honestly straightforward. We’ll download and install the Boost Note .deb package from the Github.

Step #1

Type the following command to download the latest .deb package using wget command.

$ wget https://github.com/BoostIO/boost-releases/releases/download/v0.16.1/boostnote_0.16.1_amd64.deb

You can also visit the Website to download the .deb package.

The downloaded file name would be something like: boostnote_0.16.1_amd64.deb.

Note: When you download or install this package in future, the application version or download URL may be different. Hence always download the latest available package by visiting the Website.

Step #2

Now type the following command to install the downloaded package.

$ sudo dpkg -i boostnote_0.16.1_amd64.deb

You can update the Boost Note package through your desktop standard Software Update tool or by running the following commands in your terminal.

$ sudo apt update && sudo apt upgrade

That’s it, Boost Note has been installed on your Ubuntu System, and you can start using it.

Method 2: Installing Boost Note via AppImage

Before installation let’s understand what is AppImage.

What is AppImage?

We have .deb packages for Debian/Ubuntu based Linux distributions and .rpm for Fedora/SUSE based Linux distributions.

While these packages provide a convenient way of installing software to their respective distribution users, it is not the most convenient for the application developer.

The developers have to create multiple packages for multiple distributions. This is where AppImage comes into picture. AppImage is a universal software package format.

By packaging the software in AppImage, the developer provides just one file to rule them all. End user can use it in most modern Linux distributions.

Step #1

Type the following command to download the latest stable version of Boost Note AppImage executable file for Linux using wget command.

$ wget https://apprepo.de/appimage/download/boostnote --output-document=BoostNote.AppImage

Step #2

The downloaded file name would be something like: BoostNote.AppImage.

By default, the downloaded AppImage file won’t have the execution permission. You will have to change the permission on the file to make it executable and You don’t need root privilege to do that.

Now type the following command to make the AppImage executable.

$ chmod +x ./BoostNote.AppImage

Step #3

Once you have made the AppImage file executable, just double click on it to run it Or run the following command to install through terminal.

$ ./BoostNote.AppImage

That’s It.

Starting Boost Note

Boost Note can be launched from the command line by typing boostnote or In the Activities search bar type “BoostNote” and click on the icon.

Boost Note User Interface:

How to Uninstall Boost Note from Ubuntu 20.04

For some reason, If you want to uninstall Boost Note, refer following methods.

Method #1

If you have installed the appication via .deb package then uninstall by running the below command:

$ sudo apt purge boostnote

Method #2

If you have installed the application via AppImage:

Since the software is never installed, there is no need of uninstalling it. Just delete the associated Boost Note file and your software is removed from the system.

Conclusion

I hope that now you have a good understanding of How to install Boost Note on Ubuntu 20.04 LTS Focal Fossa.

If anyone does have any questions about what we covered in this guide then feel free to ask in the comment section below and I will do my best to answer those.