Butterfly is a note app where your ideas come first.
Publisher’s description
What is Butterfly?
Butterfly by LinwoodCloud is open-source Windows software in the drawing & design category. It ranks 41st by popularity among drawing & design in this catalogue. It is written in Dart.
Installation and requirements
The publisher provides EXE (Inno Setup) installers for 64-bit and ARM64 Windows. Installation asks for administrator rights. A silent install is possible with the installer’s documented switches.
Updates and version history
The current version is 2.5.5, released on August 10, 2026. The version history goes back to December 27, 2021: 34 releases, all linked to the official files. That is about 7.4 releases a year.
Popularity and file types
The source code on GitHub (LinwoodDev/Butterfly) has 2,066 stars. Similar programs include draw.io, Inkscape and LibreCAD.
Project description on GitHub: “🎨 Powerful, minimalistic, cross-platform, opensource note-taking app”
Pros / Cons
Pros
- Open source: the code can be inspected and built by anyone
- Native ARM64 build for Windows on Arm
- Documented silent install
- Frequent updates (about 7.4 a year)
Cons
- Installation needs administrator rights
In short: Butterfly is an open-source drawing & design tool for 64-bit and ARM64 PCs. It is actively maintained. Administrators can deploy it unattended.
Is Butterfly safe to download?
- The file is served by github.com, the publisher’s own domain
- The download link uses HTTPS
- A SHA256 hash is published, so you can verify the file:
3E919BCBE2DD8F9CE71E9F1B878C9790F2546302EE4E34A467CA40EEC6595A20· Open the VirusTotal report for this hash - The link has not been checked yet
- The source code is public
- ExeAtlas does not host, wrap or modify installers
Related guide: How to check a file’s SHA256 hash on Windows
Recent versions
All 34 versions ›34 versions over 5 years · about 7.4 a year
| Version | Date | Size | Files |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2.5.5Latest | August 10, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)ARM64 EXE (Inno Setup)ARM64 EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 2.5.4 | July 20, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 2.5.1 | April 26, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 2.5.0 | April 5, 2026 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 2.4.2 | December 24, 2025 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 2.4.1 | November 13, 2025 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 2.4.0 | September 22, 2025 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
| 2.3.4 | August 21, 2025 | — | 64-bit EXE (Inno Setup)64-bit EXE (Inno Setup) |
Install from the command line
Silent install ›winget install --id LinwoodCloud.Butterfly -elinwood-butterfly-windows-setup-x86_64.exe /VERYSILENT /SUPPRESSMSGBOXES /NORESTART /SP-Related guide: How to use winget: install and update apps
Information
- Publisher
- LinwoodCloud
- Category
- Drawing & design
- Licence
- AGPL-3.0
- Price
- Free
- Source code
- github.com/LinwoodDev/Butterfly
- Written in
- Dart
- Requires
- Windows 11 / 10
- Architecture
- 64-bit, ARM64
- Installer
- EXE (Inno Setup)
- Version
- 2.5.5
- Released
- August 10, 2026
- Added to the catalogue
- December 27, 2021
- Versions listed
- 34
- Updates / year
- 7.4
- GitHub stars
- 2,066
- GitHub forks
- 154
- Website
- docs.butterfly.linwood.dev
- winget ID
- LinwoodCloud.Butterfly
Ratings and reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to rate it.
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Frequently asked questions
Is Butterfly free?
Yes. Butterfly is open-source software under the AGPL-3.0 licence.
Is Butterfly safe to download?
The download comes from github.com, which belongs to the publisher; ExeAtlas does not host or change the file. Compare its SHA256 hash with the one shown here, or open the VirusTotal report for that hash.
How do I install Butterfly with winget?
Open PowerShell or Windows Terminal and run the winget command shown on this page. winget downloads the official installer and checks its SHA256 hash before running it.
Can Butterfly be installed silently?
Yes. The silent install page lists the exact command for each installer.
Does Butterfly run on ARM (Windows on Arm)?
Yes, there is a native ARM64 installer.
Where can I download an older version of Butterfly?
The versions page lists all 34 versions with links to their official installer files, back to December 27, 2021.
Can I use Butterfly without administrator rights?
Yes, there is a per-user installer that does not need administrator rights.
What are alternatives to Butterfly?
draw.io, Inkscape, LibreCAD, Graphviz and KritaShellExtension. The alternatives page compares them.
