Desktop - Weave

You can embed almost anything: local videos, PDFs, websites (rendered live), code blocks, even spreadsheets. These embeds are interactive within the canvas—no need to open external windows for basic viewing.

Searching across all canvases is text-based only. You cannot search by color, node type, or recent edits. For large projects (1000+ nodes), finding a specific note can become frustrating.

It excels as a spatial sketchpad for complex ideas —planning a thesis, designing a game world, mapping a software architecture, or organizing a messy creative project. However, its lack of mobile access, weak search, and niche community keep it from mainstream adoption. weave desktop

Weave runs on your machine, not a cloud server. Files are saved in a simple, open format (JSON + assets). This makes it blazing fast and privacy-respecting. Syncing is your responsibility (via Dropbox, Syncthing, or git), which some will love, others hate.

You can color-code nodes, group them with freehand shapes, and add tags. The “focus mode” temporarily hides everything outside a selected group—great for large canvases. You can embed almost anything: local videos, PDFs,

Despite being visual, Weave has a robust command palette (Ctrl/Cmd+P) and quick-switch between nodes. It respects Vim-like motions if you enable the plugin. The Bad (Cons) 1. Steep Learning Curve Because it breaks the folder/tree model, new users often feel lost. “Where do I save something?” — anywhere. That freedom can paralyze. Weave needs better onboarding tutorials.

You can export a canvas as an image, PDF, or markdown outline. However, backlinks and node positions are lost. Moving data out of Weave is harder than moving it in. You cannot search by color, node type, or recent edits

There is no iOS/Android app, and no web clipper. You can view a canvas on a phone via a third-party renderer, but editing is impossible. This makes Weave a “desktop-only” tool, which kills the capture habit for many.