Your life in a single file
SEO Note

Developer notes tree + AI

The PR description is fine. The Slack thread that led to it is gone. Six months later someone asks why the queue is FIFO “for now,” and the honest answer lives in three places — none of them complete. Developers do not need another AI IDE feature for this; they need a durable decision and bug tree next to the repo, offline if policy says so.

Three builds ship from this site. SEO Note 2.1 is the current one: an Electron app (about 121 MB installer) for Windows 10/11 64-bit and Linux x64, with Markdown, the tree editor, AI talking to a model you connect — a local one or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, a web clipper and git sync of the file. For Android 6.0 and newer there is a release-signed APK (~10 MB) of the same interface; on the phone notes live as a folder of Markdown files on the device, and passwords, sync, the clipper and AI answer there with an explicit refusal. The classic build 1.3.34 (~2.5 MB, Win32) stays on the download page for Windows 7, 8 and 32-bit PCs, where 2.1 does not install; its notes file is .seo. All three work offline with no account: pick your build, or read how 2.1 and 1.3.34 differ.

SEO Note is a free Windows tree outliner (one local file, no account; the classic 1.3.34 build is ~2.5 MB, SEO Note 2.1 is a ~121 MB Electron installer). No embeddings search and no semantic index — “Ask over my notes” works on the local full-text search. You hand a node to a model when you want an explanation draft or a test-plan sketch: paste it out, or let 2.1 call the endpoint you connected. Truth stays in the file — same spine as source of truth for AI.

Code knowledge vs chat

In SEO Note
  • Specs / acceptance notes
  • ADRs (context, decision, consequences)
  • Bug write-ups + repro
  • Runbooks pointers (not secrets)
In the AI chat
  • “Explain this ADR to a junior”
  • Draft test cases from acceptance
  • Refactor brainstorms
  • Disposable rubber-ducking
DevNotes.sn
  Product / service name
    Specs
      Checkout v2 — acceptance
    ADRs
      0017 — FIFO queue for now
        Context / Decision / Consequences
        Status: accepted 2026-03-02
    Bugs
      INV-4421 — double charge race
        Repro / Expected / Actual / Fix notes
    Prompts
      Explain ADR
      Tests from acceptance
  Scratch
  Archive

Paste + prompt

Prompt — Explain ADR
Context: [paste one ADR node]
Audience: new teammate, 5 minutes.
Task: plain summary + why alternatives lost; list open risks only if present in text.
Rules: do not invent ticket IDs or owners; no code unless I paste it.
Never paste: API keys, tokens, connection strings, customer PII from logs, production passwords, full .env files. Redact hosts if policy requires. Sysadmin-style runbooks with secrets: sysadmin runbook tree.

Weekly hygiene

1 After a decision meeting, write ADR stub same day
2 Link ticket ID in the node (text is enough)
3 On nasty bugs, capture Repro before the fix fades
4 Optional: AI explain pass for onboarding
5 Archive superseded ADRs; do not delete history

Pitfalls

  • Using the chat as the only ADR store
  • Pasting half the codebase “for context” (noise + leak risk)
  • ADRs without Status / date
  • Mixing personal Scratch with product Specs in one unlabeled pile

When not enough

Team wikis, RFC tools, and code review still matter for shared work. SEO Note shines for personal or air-gapped decision logs, client-project notebooks on a locked-down Windows box, and prompt libraries beside specs — prompt templates.

Next steps

  1. Create Specs / ADRs / Bugs under one service parent
  2. Write one real ADR from last month’s decision
  3. File one bug with Repro
  4. Run Explain ADR once; put useful wording back in Consequences
  5. Back up the file with the rest of your important docs

Download SEO Note free and keep “why we did this” out of disposable threads.

Keep going

  • Tree templates and PDF guide — role and method skeletons you can copy straight into your own tree.
  • If this guide helped, you can say hello or grab ready-made trees on the templates page.

Adjacent tools (VPS for local models, courses, VPN) are not stuffed into every paragraph. If an affiliate link appears, it will be labeled and is never required to use SEO Note.

Mini FAQ

Do I need an account to keep developer decision notes? No account is needed - the app is a free Windows tree outliner, and the notes stay in one local file.

What should never be pasted into a model from a dev note? API keys, tokens, connection strings, customer PII from logs, production passwords and full .env files; redact hosts if policy requires.

Does it search my notes with embeddings or sync them? There is no embeddings search and no semantic index of the vault: “Ask over my notes” leans on the local full-text search and sends up to six of your own notes as context. 2.1 calls the model you connect when you want an explanation draft or a test-plan sketch.

Where do superseded ADRs go instead of being deleted? Archive them; the weekly hygiene routine says not to delete history, and an ADR node should carry its Status and date.

Is a team wiki still needed for shared work? For shared work, team wikis, RFC tools and code review still matter; the outliner suits personal or air-gapped decision logs and client-project notebooks.

Related: PM notes tree · Freelancer tree · What not to paste · Sysadmin runbooks · Templates