Daily releases published on GitHub

Encrypted journal app

An encrypted journal app
that stays yours.

Mini Diarium is a private offline diary app for Windows, macOS, and Linux. AES-256-GCM encryption, local-first storage, no cloud, no telemetry. Just your words.

Download for Windows Download for macOS Download for Linux See how it works
Offline-only No sync service, no HTTP client, no telemetry.
Encrypted at rest AES-256-GCM protects each entry before it reaches disk.
Local-first storage Your journal lives in a local encrypted SQLite database.
Desktop support Windows, macOS, and Linux releases are available.

Looking specifically for an encrypted journal app? Start with the encrypted journal guide for the short version of how Mini Diarium handles privacy, storage, and ownership.

Download Mini-Diarium

Free & open source · MIT License · No account required

The backstory

A successor to
Mini Diary

Mini Diarium is a spiritual successor to Mini Diary by Samuel Meuli, a beautifully simple app that did exactly what a journal should do. Over the years its dependencies aged out and the project went unmaintained. A fork turned out to be impractical, so Mini Diarium was built from scratch, keeping the same philosophy while rebuilding the entire stack with Tauri 2, SolidJS, and Rust.

The result is lighter, faster, and more secure, with stronger encryption, key file authentication, richer import support, and a codebase built to last. It's the journal app I always wanted to use.

What makes it different

Encryption-first,
not encryption-bolted-on

Most apps encrypt at the app level while leaving the door open at the infrastructure level: iCloud, Google Drive, or a sync service owns your data and can read it. Mini Diarium encrypts every entry with a random master key using AES-256-GCM before it ever touches disk. There is no cloud, no sync service, and no server to compromise.

You can also unlock your journal with a private key file, the same concept as SSH keys, instead of (or alongside) a password. Keep the file on a USB drive, in a password manager, or on a separate machine. Each auth method holds its own wrapped copy of the master key; adding or removing one never requires re-encrypting your entries.

From the blog

Encrypted journals, offline writing, and product notes

Static articles that explain encrypted journaling, private diary apps, and how local-first writing protects ownership.

March 12, 2026

Offline Journal That You Own

Why offline journaling is about more than privacy alone: it also changes portability, continuity, and long-term ownership.

  • offline journal
  • local-first writing
  • data ownership
Read article
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What's inside

Built for privacy.
Designed for daily use.

A private diary app should not depend on a server. Every feature decision starts with the same question: does this need the network? The answer is always no.

Your entries are yours forever

Every entry is encrypted with AES-256-GCM before it touches disk. Plaintext never exists on your storage. The encryption key never leaves your machine.

Unlock like you SSH

Register an X25519 private key file as a second unlock method. Keep it on a USB drive, in your password manager, or anywhere you control. No app, no OTP, no phone required.

Truly offline

No network calls. No telemetry. No update pings. Mini Diarium has no HTTP client, so it literally cannot phone home. Your writing habit is yours alone.

Rich text, your way

Bold, italic, headings, lists. TipTap-powered rich text editor with full keyboard support, spellcheck, and auto-save. Write without thinking about saving.

Calendar navigation

Jump to any day with a click, or use keyboard shortcuts to step forward and back. The calendar highlights every day that has an entry at a glance.

Import from anywhere

Migrate from Mini Diary (JSON), Day One (JSON & TXT), and jrnl (JSON) without losing same-date entries. Bring your history, keep it encrypted.

Export your data

Export everything as JSON or Markdown any time. Your data is never locked in. Use it in other apps, back it up yourself, or just have peace of mind.

Automatic backups

Mini Diarium creates a backup of your encrypted database every time you unlock, keeping the last 5 automatically. Your entries are safe even if things go wrong.

Writing statistics

See your word count, writing streaks, most active days, and total entries, all calculated locally, all encrypted at rest. Track your habit without sharing it.

Under the hood

We don't trust us with your data.

A random 256-bit master key is generated when you create the journal and never changes. Every entry is encrypted with AES-256-GCM using that key before it is written to SQLite. The master key itself is never stored in plaintext: each authentication method (password or key file) holds its own wrapped copy: password slots use Argon2id key derivation + AES-GCM wrapping; key file slots use X25519 ECIES (ephemeral DH + HKDF-SHA256 + AES-GCM).

Adding a new auth method is O(1): only the wrapped key is re-created, not your entries. The same is true for changing your password. The app has no HTTP client, no analytics package, and no telemetry. It cannot send your data anywhere, even if it wanted to.

Read the full security model →

At a glance

Quick facts

Short answers for humans and machines: what Mini Diarium is, how it protects data, and what platforms it supports. For the category overview, read the encrypted journal guide.

Offline-only

Yes. No network calls, no telemetry.

Encryption

AES-256-GCM for entries at rest.

Storage

Local encrypted SQLite on your device.

Platforms

Windows, macOS, Linux.

License

MIT, source available on GitHub.

Import/Export

Import Mini Diary/Day One/jrnl. Export JSON/Markdown.

Common questions

FAQ

What is Mini Diarium?

Mini Diarium is a private offline journal app for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It stores entries locally and encrypts them before they are written to disk.

Does Mini Diarium work fully offline?

Yes. The app does not send entries to cloud services and does not include telemetry. See the privacy policy.

How are journal entries encrypted?

Each entry is encrypted with AES-256-GCM before it is written to disk. See the security model for details.

Which desktop platforms are supported?

Mini Diarium supports Windows, macOS, and Linux builds published from the GitHub releases page.

Can I import and export journal data?

Yes. Supported imports are Mini Diary JSON, Day One JSON/TXT, and jrnl JSON. Exports are available in JSON and Markdown so your data is never locked in.

Available on

Download Mini Diarium

All releases are built via GitHub Actions and published with SHA-256 checksums. View all releases →

Windows

Download the .msi or .exe NSIS installer, no admin rights required. Windows SmartScreen may show a warning on first launch. Click "More info" then "Run anyway." Mini Diarium is open source and builds are reproducible from source.

macOS

Download the .dmg and drag to Applications. Gatekeeper may block it on first launch. Run once in Terminal:
xattr -cr "/Applications/Mini Diarium.app"
then launch normally. One-time step, no risk.

Linux

Download the .AppImage or .deb package. Verify the SHA-256 checksum against checksums-linux.txt from the release before installing. No code signing; transparency is the guarantee.

Release freshness

Release status

Current stable release: v0.4.8.

For the newest installers and checksums, use the GitHub releases page.

Follow the project

Stay in the loop

Mini Diarium is open source. Watch the repo for releases, star it to show support, or follow along on social media.

Product Hunt profile coming soon.

The author

Made with love

Francisco J. Revoredo

Software Engineer based in Linz, Austria. Passionate about privacy, security, and building tools that empower users. When not coding, you can find me gaming, reading, or exploring new ideas.

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