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I am looking for a code snippet manager (or, more generally, a text snippet manager) that stores all of its data locally (i.e. not cloud-based).

As "code snippet managers" seem to cover a variety of use cases, I would like to narrow down the scope: The primary purpose of the application I'm looking for is to organize and let me easily find hard to remember short or long pieces of text. Short can mean that it is just a single word, long can mean that there are 50 or more lines of text. I use most of these pieces of text infrequently and I am not concerned about saving a few keystrokes. In some cases, I would not even want to copy and paste the text anywhere, but just read it right in the snippet manager.

It should be possible to organize code snippets by language/framework/technology (i.e. at least one "hard" level of categorization); anything beyond should be well usable for larger collections of code snippets (maybe by further hierarchical grouping, maybe by user-defined tags, ...). Code snippets must not be limited in length. Syntax-highlighting is a plus, but not absolutely necessary.

The application must run on Windows (although Windows/Linux cross-platform capabilities are a bonus), be gratis and open source, and usable with a GUI (i.e. not a purely text-based interface).

I am not looking for a code editor that also includes a code snippet manager. I am looking for a central tool to store snippets for use in other editors and IDEs.

To emphasize the offline aspect, applications that require me to sign into some online account just to use them are not suitable.

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7 Answers 7

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You can try BoostNote, which has organizer of snippets. Maybe it dont have categories, but it has "tags" to mark notes with names of smth. It is free.

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  • Unfortunately, I've had to unaccept this answer now. After having used Boostnote for several years (and despite the awful bug that quick searching in the snippet list would somehow switch focus to the edit window, making you unintentionally add some letters at the beginning of notes), I was actually quite happy with the app. But it seems the developers want to go more into the direction of collaborative cloud-based snippet management. In the current version of the client, I can't even find a way to get started without creating an account anymore.
    – O. R. Mapper
    Commented Oct 21, 2021 at 7:52
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To me, this sounds like a classic case for a Clibpboard manager. I have been using Ditto for years, and would normally recommend it.

But, given that you want to sort snippets by language, I would recommend something more hierarchical. Take a look at the free PhaseExpress

PhaseExpress is a very full-featured clipboard managing utility. It has a tree-style folder structure for managing all sorts of folders. It came with some preset categories, but you can add and remove any to customize it to your own liking.

This isn’t just a basic clipboard manager, but a text manager and autocompleter. You can use it to store any used phrases that you’d ever want to reuse or that you commonly use.

And it has a lot more features thanj just that quote.

enter image description here

Generally, most Windows programs run well in Linux using Wine, but I wouldn't be too sure when it comes to the clipboard. Please let us know how it works out for you. It could help others to know.

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I recomend Snippman from Coderlamp

(I’m the author of Snippman) Snippman was created when i needed to store my code notes in an organized way for my new job.

It let’s you create code snippets, rich text notes (with images, links, embedded youtube videos etc) and you can also mix code blocks with text blocks.

Your snippets are organized in folders and you can find them easily by search.

It runs locally and no internet connection is needed.

enter image description here

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  • Unfortunately, the link has gone dormant (it says "We will be back soon"). Is this a very temporary thing, or has the website moved?
    – O. R. Mapper
    Commented Oct 21, 2021 at 7:54
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There is SnipAssist at SnipAssist.com that organizes and stores text snippets on a local disk independent of any editor or IDE. The clipboard is used to transfer text into or out of the snip library. Hot keys are not used and the library is portable. Each folder can have a description and the snippet can have a description. Descriptions and content can be searched.

The free version will handle several hundred snippets of any size. There is a premium version for sale with extra features for larger snippet libraries.

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  • Please disclose your affiliation with this product, or this answer will have to be deleted.
    – End Antisemitic Hate ♦
    Commented May 27, 2019 at 21:59
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I recommend Molimentum Quick (disclaimer: I'm the founder). It's available for Windows and Ubuntu. IT'S FREE! You can insert code snippets with ease with some shortcuts (check out the "smart insert" feature in docs).

You can then click a shortcut, search, and it's copied to the clipboard. It supports syntax highlighting and because of the versatile design, it works in every editor.

The software stores everything locally and encrypts it too. It can in addition to code, store text, launch scripts and URLs, and group items together.

It has a tag feature and a filter function to organize your snippets.

enter image description here

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    Is your code on github or some equivalent? As it stands, if I can't get to your website with an ad-blocker, I'm not going.
    – Diagon
    Commented Apr 23, 2021 at 20:21
  • Unfortunately, it seems that the link has died in the meantime.
    – O. R. Mapper
    Commented Oct 21, 2021 at 10:32
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Based on your requirements list, I would suggest CintaNotes (the free version). However, it does not have syntax highlighting (it's not designed as a developer tool) and it is not Open Source. Other than that, it seems to tick all your boxes.

I have been using it for years and in various use cases, including for code/text snippets, also as a pseudo Kanban board, component list management, etc.
What I like about it:

  • It is very, very fast (I believe it is C++ based)
  • It has the best note tagging and search/retrieval functionality I have ever come accross.
  • It allows notes to be organised on three levels:
    1. As a separate notes file
    2. Tabbed grouping of notes (Sections). Three Sections per file in the free version.
    3. Note tags (the paid version extends with tree/hierarchical tags)
  • Able to include links (URL, local files, etc.). I have a notes file just for documents (PDF, eBooks, white papers, etc.)
  • Notes and data are stored in an SQLite DB and accessible (once you figure out the schema). I use that to run complex imports/exports of notes
  • Simple, efficient UI. Not pretty, not ugly, just practical...
  • Hot-key to capture highlighted text from other application
  • Portable version ( I don't like installers messing with my system...)
  • Did I mention the fantastic tagging and retrieval function?

What I like less about it:

  • The Import/Export feature works but is not very flexible. I write my own tools to parse the default XML import format or to manipulate the SQLite tables but I wish it could just import/export delimited files or spreadsheets directly.
  • Not able to quickly go to the next/previous note when editing notes (I have asked the developer for this enhancement in the user forum). Instead, each note has to be opened and closed separately. A bit awkward with a long list of notes but that's what I use import/export for.

I build myself a workflow with the SQLite command line utility and EmEditor to extract, edit and re-import notes in bulk.

I upgraded and bought the PRO version a while back but I don't think that you would need the extra features in your case.

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For that purpose I use a text substitution tool called Beeftext

You can invoke it when you want and paste the desired snippet.

  • Portable
  • Open-source
  • Free
  • Keyboard shortcut

enter image description here

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  • I'm not sure this one is useful for my purpose; it looks like it is focused on auto-replacing keywords with the snippets. Is it even possible to store snippets without keywords? I have plenty of snippets that I use quite rarely, and thus wouldn't remember a keyword for, but that I usually find via their description/tags. Also, at least from the screenshots, it looks like multiline snippets could be cumbersome (?)
    – O. R. Mapper
    Commented Oct 21, 2021 at 8:01
  • Now I prefer to use espanso.org is much better... but still waiting for the next release!
    – Josem
    Commented Oct 21, 2021 at 10:30
  • Just like with Beeftext, I'm not sure whether Espanso handles managing snippets that are not linked to individual keyboard shortcuts, and how well it can manage/display snippets consisting of many lines. Can you tell me, or possibly add a separate answer about Espanso?
    – O. R. Mapper
    Commented Oct 21, 2021 at 10:41
  • The main idea is that it works like a text expander: some keys invoke a predefined text.
    – Josem
    Commented Oct 22, 2021 at 8:02
  • Ok, so the main purpose of this application seems to be reducing the typing effort for frequently used texts. What I'm looking for is rather about finding hard to remember infrequently used texts again. As both of these somewhat different things seem to be called "snippet manager", I have added a paragraph to my question to clarify the scope.
    – O. R. Mapper
    Commented Oct 22, 2021 at 13:12

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