Overview Docs
All notes
Notes / Getting Started

Getting Started

Quick start (Docker)

Prebuilt image:

docker run -d -p 5230:5230 -v ov-data:/data ghcr.io/overview-note/overview:latest
# open http://localhost:5230 and complete the first-run admin setup

Or build from source:

git clone https://github.com/Overview-Note/overview.git
cd overview
docker compose up -d --build

Single binary

Download the binary for your OS/arch from Releases and run it:

OVERVIEW_DATA_DIR=./data ./overview
# open http://localhost:5230

Demo (no setup)

git clone https://github.com/Overview-Note/overview.git
cd overview
make demo            # serves demo/ on :5230 (first visit creates an admin)

Command line

Every vault operation is also available without a server via the CLI:

overview -C ./data list                 # note tree
overview -C ./data write "Notes/First.md" --stdin < draft.md
overview -C ./data search "keyword" --json
overview -C ./data build ./public --all # deployable static site

Local development

# backend (serves the embedded frontend) on :5230
go run ./cmd/overview

# frontend with hot reload on :5173 (proxies /api to :5230)
cd web && npm install && npm run dev

Requirements: Go 1.26+, Node 22+, Docker (optional). See Development.

First steps

  1. Open the app and create your first note with ＋ Note.
  2. Organize with folders — the sidebar mirrors your directory tree (drag to move).
  3. Type / in the editor for slash commands (tables, tasks, math, diagrams, code).
  4. Paste or drop an image to upload it; use the Attachment button for any other file type.
  5. Toggle a note's visibility to Public to share a read-only page, or click Public page to view it in the docs-style layout.
  6. Admins: open Settings to configure appearance (including the accent color), AI, mail and object storage, invite users by email, enable self-registration, and manage API tokens.
  7. On a phone the sidebar becomes a drawer (hamburger) and the outline/backlinks/history/AI panels open as a bottom sheet.

Next