Marginalia
Book notes app · EPUB & PDF reader · iPhone & iPad
You read it.
Now keep it.
Marginalia is an e-book reader for people who underline. Highlight a passage — in an EPUB, a PDF, or even a book you're holding in your hands — then type, speak or draw a note in the margin, tag what kind of thought it was, then export the whole book's notes as Markdown for Obsidian, a Word document or a PDF. Keep a daily reading streak, turn a favourite quote into a story card, and talk a note over with AI when you want to dig deeper. The app itself speaks 8 languages.
Your books and notes stay on your device as plain files. No account, nothing to sign up for.
- — Reading goals and streaks: a daily minutes goal and a yearly book goal. Time counts by itself in the reader, and with the new timer for printed books.
- — Discuss your notes with AI (Pro): pick a note and talk it over. The AI answers knowing the book, the quote and your stance.
- — Quote cards: turn a quote and your margin note into a polished image for an Instagram story or post.
- — Better exports: Obsidian-ready Markdown, real Word (.docx) documents and a new PDF layout, with headings, quotes and your handwriting.
Marginalia in one paragraph
Marginalia is a book notes app and EPUB/PDF reader for iPhone and iPad. It opens EPUB and PDF files from your device, lets you highlight text in five colours, attach a typed, voice-dictated or handwritten note to any highlight, tag it with one of nine reading tags, and export every note for a book as Obsidian-ready Markdown, a Word (.docx) document or PDF. You can take the same kind of note on a printed or borrowed book too, without adding a file. It tracks your daily reading time, streak and yearly book goal, has a timer for printed books, and turns quotes into image cards for Instagram stories and posts. Notes are kept as plain Markdown files on the device — there is no account and no sync server. The interface and voice dictation are both available in 8 languages: English, Turkish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian. The reader, highlighting, typed notes, reading goals, quote cards and Markdown export are free; Marginalia Pro (a subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase) adds voice-dictated and handwritten notes, the full tag set, Word and PDF export, and AI discussions of your notes.
- Category
- Book notes app, reading journal and EPUB & PDF reader
- Platform
- iPhone & iPad, iOS 15.5+ (Android coming soon)
- Opens
- EPUB and PDF files from your device — or no file at all
- Notes
- Typed, voice-dictated or handwritten, tagged, searchable
- Exports
- Markdown for Obsidian (free), Word .docx, PDF
- Reading habit
- Daily minutes goal, streak, yearly book goal, timer for printed books
- Sharing
- Quote cards for Instagram stories and posts
- AI
- Optional: discuss one note at a time, with your consent (Pro)
- Storage
- On-device Markdown files, no account
- Languages
- English, Turkish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Russian
- Version
- 1.1.2 · October 2026
- Price
- Free to use; optional Marginalia Pro (subscription or lifetime)
- Contact
- marginalia.mobile@gmail.com
Built around the act of marking a page
A reader that gets out of the way
Full-screen pages, chrome hidden until you tap the middle. Set font size, line height, paragraph spacing, margins, text and background colour, and the page-turn animation. Read paginated like a book, or scroll.
Five colours, one gesture
Select a passage and the popup follows your thumb: copy, highlight, note, translate, share — and a colour to mark it with.
Type it, or write it by hand
Keyboard notes for the quick thought. Or switch to the drawing canvas — pen, eraser, undo, clear — and write in your own hand, the way you would in the margin. Handwriting is saved with the note. Marginalia Pro.
Or just say it
Tap the mic and talk. A live transcript fills in as you speak, and you can edit it by hand before saving. Speech-to-text runs in any of 8 languages, set independently of the interface, and your speech is converted to text and discarded — Marginalia never stores it as audio. Marginalia Pro.
Nine tags, three questions
What do I think of this? What kind of claim is it? What should I do about it? Tag a note and filter your whole book by it later.
Straight into Obsidian or Notion
Each book's notes export as one Obsidian-ready Markdown file: YAML frontmatter, a heading per note in page order, the quote, your comment, #tags and even your handwriting. Free of charge — or export a real Word (.docx) document or a PDF with Marginalia Pro. Nothing to reformat, nothing to copy out by hand.
Search, sort, and find it again
The notes screen holds every mark you made in a book. Search the text, sort by page or by date, filter by tag, and tap a note to land back on the page it came from.
Eight languages, free
The interface switches between English, Turkish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian in Settings, at no cost. Voice dictation carries the same eight, set separately from the interface — read in one language, dictate your notes in another.
PDFs, too
Open a PDF the same way you open an EPUB: highlight, note, tag, bookmark, jump to a chapter from the table of contents, and pinch to zoom. Same export, same nine tags, same five colours.
Notes for books you hold in your hands
No EPUB, no PDF, no problem. Start a free note, give it the book's title, and write down a quote and your thought the same way: typed, spoken or drawn, tagged, exported. For the paperback on your shelf, or the library copy you have to give back.
Colours that stay put
Highlight a passage green today, and it's still green next time you open the book — in EPUB and PDF alike. The colour lives with the quote, not just the moment you made it.
Every note, one tab
Notes from your library and free notes from books you don't have a file for sit in the same Notes tab, each showing its note count and when you last touched it. One place to see everything you've marked.
A reading habit that counts itself
Set a daily goal in minutes and a yearly goal in books. Time counts on its own while you turn pages, and a timer covers the paperback. Keep your streak going, see the last seven days, and watch this year's finished books fill their slots. Free.
A quote, ready for your story
Turn any note into an image card: the quote on a highlighted page, your stance tag and, if you want, your margin note. Story (1080×1920) or post (1080×1080), three palettes, straight to Instagram or TikTok. Free.
Talk a note over with AI
Pick one note and discuss it. The AI already knows the book, the quote and whether you agreed, so it pushes your thinking instead of summarising the book back at you. Nothing is sent until you say yes. Marginalia Pro.
Straight from the app
Highlight it, tag it, keep it
This is the actual note sheet: the passage you just highlighted sits at the top, your typed, voice or drawn note goes underneath, and the tag groups — Stance, Content, Action — are right there before you save.
One thought, tagged the moment you have it, still attached to the exact sentence that caused it.
Who it's built for
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Students and researchers
Tag evidence, agreement and questions as you read a PDF paper or an EPUB textbook, then export a source's worth of notes in one file before you write.
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Obsidian and Notion users
A book's notes land as one Markdown file with page links and tags — drop it straight into a vault or a database.
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Readers of printed and borrowed books
Free notes mean the paperback, the library copy or the friend's book you have to give back all get the same tagged, exportable notes as anything in your library.
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Multilingual readers
Read the interface in one of 8 languages and dictate notes in another — set independently, both free.
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Readers building a daily habit
A daily minutes goal, a streak and a yearly book goal — counted automatically in the reader, and with a timer for paper books.
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Bookstagram and BookTok sharers
Turn the line that stopped you, and what you thought about it, into a clean story or post image in two taps.
New in 1.1
Your library, at a glance
The home screen was rebuilt around two questions: what am I reading, and what have I written about it. A shelf for books in progress, a shelf for the ones you've finished, and every note you've taken — from a library book or a free-standing one — in a single Notes tab.
Covers and titles, filled in for you
Import an EPUB and Marginalia reads its real title and author, and pulls its cover — no typing required. No embedded cover, no problem: a placeholder in your book's own colour stands in.
Recently read, and how far you got
The shelf surfaces what you opened last, with a progress percentage on every cover. Pick up exactly where you left off.
A finished shelf, not a delete button
Mark a book finished when you're done — or let Marginalia notice you've reached the last page — and it moves to its own shelf, out of your way but not gone. One tap undoes it.
Book notes and free notes, one tab
Every book in your library with notes shows its note count and when you last wrote in it. Free notes — the ones with no file behind them — sit right alongside.
What you walk away with
One file per book. Obsidian-ready.
This is what a Markdown export actually looks like: frontmatter with the title, author and tags, then one heading per note in page order — the passage you marked, the note you wrote, the tags you gave it, and your handwriting embedded as an image. Nothing proprietary, nothing to unpack.
Drop it in an Obsidian vault, paste it into Notion, keep it in a folder for ten years. Need it for a class or a colleague? The same notes export as a styled Word (.docx) document or a PDF in A4 or Letter with Marginalia Pro.
--- title: "How to Read a Book" author: "Mortimer J. Adler" source: Marginalia exported: 2026-10-19 tags: - "Agree" - "Key_Idea" - "Question" --- # How to Read a Book *Mortimer J. Adler* 2 notes · Created on October 19, 2026 --- ## Page 42 > A book you have written in is a conversation you can return to. This is the whole argument for keeping notes inside the book. #Agree #Key_Idea --- ## Page 57 > Marking is reading twice: once with the eye, once with the hand.  #Question
How it compares
Most reading apps are built for finishing books. Most note apps are built for everything except books. Marginalia sits in between, and keeps the output in a file you own.
| Marginalia | Typical e-reader app | General note app | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Opens your own EPUB or PDF files | Yes, both | Varies by store | No |
| Notes for a book you don't have a file for | Yes, free | No | Yes, but disconnected from the book |
| Highlight and margin note in one gesture | Yes | Usually highlight-first | Not in the book |
| Handwritten note attached to a passage | Yes (Pro) | Rare | Separate document |
| Voice-dictated note, no audio kept | Yes (Pro) | Rare | Cloud-based, if present |
| Interface languages | 8, free | Usually 1–2 | Varies |
| Tags designed for reading | 9 fixed tags | Colours only | Free-form tags |
| Export all notes for a book as Markdown | One tap, free | Plain text at best | Yes, but you typed it |
| Export a book's notes to Word (.docx) or PDF | Yes, both (Pro) | Rare | Yes, but you typed it |
| Reading goal and streak, including paper books | Yes, free, with a timer | Only for books read in the app | No |
| Quote and note as a story or post image | Yes, free | Sometimes, quote only | No |
| AI that discusses your own note, not just the book | Yes, opt-in (Pro) | Rare | Generic, without the book's context |
| Notes stored as plain files on your device | Markdown files | App database | Varies |
| Account required | None | Usually | Usually |
Your library stays on your phone. AI sees only the note you choose to share.
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No account, no sign-up
You install the app and start reading. There is no profile, no email verification, no login.
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Books and notes are local files
Your EPUBs, PDFs, covers and notes live in the app's own folder on the device. Notes are readable Markdown, not a locked database.
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Deleting means deleting
Removing a book removes its file, its cover, its notes and its reading position in one step.
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Voice notes keep only the text
Dictation converts your speech to text using Apple's speech recognition, then discards the audio. Nothing you say is stored as a recording, on your device or anywhere else.
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Translate is one tap, not automatic
Selecting a passage and choosing Translate sends only that passage to Google Translate, and only when you tap it.
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AI is opt-in, one note at a time
AI discussions run only when you open one and agree to share. The app lists what will be sent: that note's quote and typed text, the book's title and author, its tags and your messages. It goes through Marginalia's server to Google's Gemini API. The server keeps no notes or conversations, handwriting is never sent, and the rest of your library stays put.
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No ads, no analytics, no tracking
There are no ad or analytics SDKs in the app, and nothing that follows you across other apps or websites. Your reading goals and reading time are stored on the device too.
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Purchases go through the App Store
Marginalia Pro is handled by Apple, so payment details never touch the app. Subscriptions are managed in your App Store account; restore purchases any time from Settings.
Questions people actually ask
What is Marginalia?
A book notes app and EPUB/PDF reader for iPhone and iPad, built for active reading. You open your own EPUB or PDF files — or keep notes for a printed book with no file at all — highlight in five colours, attach a typed, voice-dictated or handwritten note, tag it, and export every note for a book as Markdown, Word (.docx) or PDF. It also tracks daily reading time and streaks, turns quotes into shareable image cards, and can discuss a note with AI (Marginalia Pro).
Can I export my notes to Obsidian or Notion?
Yes. Each book's notes export as one Obsidian-ready Markdown file: YAML frontmatter with title, author and tags, a heading per note in page order, the passage as a blockquote, your comment, #tags, and handwritten notes embedded as images. It drops into Obsidian, Notion, Logseq or any Markdown editor without cleanup. Markdown export is free; Word and PDF export are part of Marginalia Pro.
Can I export my notes to Word?
Yes. Marginalia exports a real Word document (.docx) with a title, a heading per note, styled quotes, page numbers and your handwritten notes as images. It opens in Microsoft Word, Pages and Google Docs. Word export is part of Marginalia Pro.
Does it help me remember what I read?
That is the point of it. Every highlight, comment, drawing and tag from a book collects in one list you can search, sort by page or date, and filter by tag — then keep as a file long after you have finished the book. A daily reading goal and streak keep you coming back to the page.
Can I track my reading time and keep a streak?
Yes, for free. Set a daily goal in minutes and a yearly goal in books. Time counts by itself while you turn pages in the reader (a page left open for more than five minutes stops counting), and a timer covers printed books. The home screen shows today's minutes, your streak, the last seven days and the books you have finished this year.
Does Marginalia use AI, and what does it send?
Only if you choose to. With Marginalia Pro you can pick a note and discuss it with an AI that knows the book, the quote and your stance. Before the first message the app asks for your permission and lists exactly what is sent: the quote and typed text of that one note, the book's title and author, the note's tags and the messages you write. It goes through Marginalia's server to Google's Gemini API; the server does not store your notes or conversations, and handwritten notes are never sent. Nothing else in your library is shared.
Can I share a book quote on Instagram?
Yes, for free. Choose "Share as Image" on any note to turn the quote — and, if you like, your margin note and stance tag — into an image card in story (1080×1920) or post (1080×1080) format, in one of three colour palettes, ready for Instagram, TikTok or any other app.
Which formats does it open?
EPUB and PDF files stored on your device. You can also take notes on a printed or borrowed book without adding a file at all.
Where are my notes kept?
On your device, as plain Markdown files in the app's own folder. No account, no sync server. Deleting a book deletes its notes with it. A note leaves the device only when you export or share it yourself, or send that one note to the optional AI discussion.
Is it free?
Yes, to start. The reader, highlights, typed notes, notes for printed books, Stance tags, reading goals and streaks, the reading timer, quote cards, the 8-language interface and Markdown export are free. Marginalia Pro (shown as Premium in the app) adds voice-dictated and handwritten notes, the Content and Action tag groups, Word and PDF export, and AI note discussions. Pro is available as an auto-renewing subscription or a one-time lifetime purchase; prices are shown in the app and vary by country.
Can I write notes by hand?
Yes. Choose "By drawing" when you save a note and write with your finger or a stylus — pen, eraser, undo and clear. The drawing is stored with the note and included in Markdown, Word and PDF exports. Marginalia Pro feature.
Can I dictate a note instead of typing?
Yes. Choose "By Voice", tap the mic and talk — you get a live transcript as you go and can edit it before saving. It works in any of 8 languages, set independently of the interface language. Marginalia never saves the audio: your speech is converted to text and only the text is kept. Marginalia Pro feature.
Is there an Android version?
Not yet, but it is on the way. Marginalia is on the App Store for iPhone and iPad today, and an Android version for Google Play is in preparation. Write to us if you want to be told when it arrives.
Which languages does it speak?
Eight, switched in Settings at any time: English, Turkish, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Russian. Voice dictation supports the same eight and can be set to a different one than the interface.
Does it work offline?
Yes — your books, notes, goals and streaks are local. The reader downloads a small helper file the first time it opens a book (EPUB or PDF), so keep a connection for that first launch. Voice dictation needs a connection unless your device supports on-device speech recognition, and AI note discussions always need one.
Can I take notes on a printed book?
Yes. Choose "Create Note" instead of adding a book, give it the book's title, and write your quote and note the same way — typed, spoken or drawn, tagged and exported like any other book's notes. Start the reading timer while you read, mark the book finished, and it counts towards your yearly goal.
Can I highlight and annotate PDFs?
Yes. PDFs open with the same highlight colours, note-taking, tags, bookmarks, table of contents and export as EPUB books, plus pinch-to-zoom.
What's new in version 1.1.2?
Reading goals and streaks (daily minutes, yearly books, and a timer for printed books), AI note discussions (Marginalia Pro), quote cards for Instagram stories and posts, and redesigned exports: Obsidian-ready Markdown, real Word (.docx) files and a new PDF layout in A4 or Letter. Version 1.1 had already added PDF reading, notes for books without a file, a redesigned library and persistent highlight colours.
Your notes belong to you.
Read the book, mark it up, take the file with you. Marginalia is free to start, and your library lives on your phone, not on someone else's server.