Notesnook Desktop v3.3.23: What to Check Before Updating
Notesnook Desktop v3.3.23 is a focused update that makes list view preferences context-aware and clears out several bugs — including one that broke spell check for non-Latin languages entirely. It is not a headline release, but for daily Notesnook users the changes are more useful than the version number suggests.
What changed: Notebook, tag, and color preferences
Before this update, group and sort preferences applied globally across all of Notesnook’s list views — home, notebooks, tags, and colors all shared one setting. If you sorted your home view by last edit date, that preference followed you into every tag and notebook too. There was no way to configure each context separately.
Version 3.3.23 changes this. Sort order and grouping are now saved per notebook, per tag, and per color. The practical value is direct: a notebook full of ongoing project notes probably makes most sense sorted by last edited date. A tag you use to collect saved links might be more useful in alphabetical order. A color-coded archive view might benefit from date-descending. Now you can configure each one to match how you actually use it.
There is no migration step. After updating, the app will save your preference independently each time you change the sort or group setting in any list view. Worth checking your views once after the update — the shift from global to per-context preferences may reset some to defaults, and you may need to re-apply your preferred sort order in a few places before it sticks.
Bug fixes worth knowing about
Seven bugs were fixed in this release. Not all of them matter equally for day-to-day work.
Spell check for non-Latin languages is fixed. This is the most significant fix in the release. If you write in Russian, Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, Japanese, or any other non-Latin script, spell check was not functioning correctly before this version. A broken spell check in your primary writing language is not a minor inconvenience — it disables a core editor feature. This fix alone is a reason to update promptly if this affects your language setup.
The blank properties panel in focus mode is fixed. Focus mode is meant to strip away distractions. If you opened the properties panel while in focus mode, it was showing up empty, forcing you to exit focus mode just to access note metadata. That is resolved.
Tag and notebook filtered lists now refresh on rename. Previously, renaming a tag or notebook did not immediately update filtered list views. You would see the old name until you triggered a manual refresh. Small friction, but real — now it updates as expected.
Edited date is set correctly when manually changing a note’s creation date. When editing a note’s creation date, the system was not setting the edited timestamp correctly. This matters for any workflow where note timestamps carry real meaning — date-sorted archives, audit purposes, or export pipelines that rely on modification dates.
Note expiry is now capped at one year in the future. The app previously allowed setting an expiry date beyond one year out, which could produce unexpected behavior. The cap is now enforced at the input level.
Reminder date validation improvements. Two fixes here: the app now validates the maximum date when creating a reminder, and the day picker in the reminder dialog shows the full year range correctly. Both address edge cases that could cause the reminder dialog to behave inconsistently at date boundaries.
Who should care, who can ignore it
Update now if you write in a non-Latin language. The spell check fix is the main reason this release exists for that group of users.
Update if you use focus mode regularly and have noticed the properties panel issue. Update if you manage multiple notebooks with different organizational needs and have been frustrated that sort preferences were global.
If you write in English or another Latin-script language, use a flat note structure without many separate notebooks, and rarely open the properties panel in focus mode, this release changes very little day-to-day. There is no urgency, and nothing in the changelog suggests regressions that would make delaying the update risky.
There is nothing in this release related to sync, collaboration, or server-side behavior. This is purely a desktop client update for individual use.
Update recommendation
For non-Latin language users: update now. The spell check issue was a functional regression and this is the fix.
For everyone else: update at your regular cadence. The preference-per-context change is strictly additive, and the bug fixes address edge cases rather than core functionality. The main practical step after updating is to verify that your notebook and tag sort orders look correct, since the global-to-per-context shift may have reset some views to defaults. Spend two minutes confirming your views look right and you are done.
The full diff between v3.3.22 and v3.3.23 is publicly available on GitHub if you want to review the complete scope of changes before updating.
Source: Notesnook official blog release notes for Desktop v3.3.23 and the GitHub changelog comparing v3.3.22 to v3.3.23 at github.com/streetwriters/notesnook.