If you’re not using Simplenote, you’re missing out. This… well, simple note app has been a standby and lifesaver for me for years, though occasionally I have worried about its future: Will it survive if Automattic, which bought it back in 2013, goes under or gets bought itself? What if the servers go down? Is there a god, and if so, does he or she use Simplenote, too?

At least a couple of those worries are alleviated with the news that Automattic is open-sourcing the Simplenote apps on iOS, Mac and Android. The Windows app was already open, so this doesn’t come as a total surprise, but it’s still good news.

The code is on GitHub, licensed under GPLv2. It’s hard to say what could really be improved about the app, at least the functions that I use regularly, but it’s more than possible that it could do those core functions more securely or efficiently. So, code monkeys, get grooming!

Notably, the server-side code is not being open-sourced, so that part remains in Automattic’s control — though it too may join its friends in FOSSworld in the future. But for now, you won’t be able to totally clone the service onto your own servers.

If you haven’t tried Simplenote, you really should. It’s just cloud-synced text documents, and it’s so much simpler and more lightweight than something like Evernote (which daily grows larger and more cumbersome) that I use it for just about everything, from shopping lists to the Great American Novel.