Sticky notes that live in your menu bar.
Notas is a dark-mode-first notes app for macOS and Windows. Every note is its own borderless draggable window; notes live in SQLite, never in the cloud, with rich text (markdown, code, task lists, images), voice dictation, and optional Codex-powered note AI.
The problem
Notes are everywhere: in your text editor, your Notes app, your email drafts, your Slack DMs. Half of your actual thinking lives outside version control and off your radar. You need a lightweight, always-visible, never-syncing notes app that stays out of the way and doesn't phone home.
What Notas does
Notas lives in your macOS menu bar or Windows system tray. Press Cmd+N (or your hotkey) to pop a new note — a borderless floating window that you can drag anywhere on screen. Type in Markdown with code highlighting, task lists, and embedded images. All notes are stored in SQLite locally; there's no cloud sync, no phone-home, no proprietary storage. One keystroke brings any note to the foreground; Command+Q puts Notas away (it stays running in the menu bar).
Optional: link Notas to Codex and let it power note AI — summarize, refactor, or answer questions about your notes using an isolated credential that never leaves Notas. Voice dictation via macOS/Windows system APIs fills notes by voice.
What makes it different
- Private by design. All notes are stored in a local SQLite database. There is no server, no sync, no advertising, no analytics. Notas never phones home.
- Menu bar first. Notes live in your menu bar (or Windows tray), not in a separate window or dock. They're always one keystroke away and never take up desktop space.
- Rich text without the bloat. TipTap editor with Markdown mode, syntax-highlighted code blocks, task lists, and image embedding. No WYSIWYG, no RTF — just clean, queryable text.
- Borderless and draggable. Every note is its own floating window with no chrome. Drag it anywhere; resize it; keep multiple notes visible at once.
- Optional Codex AI. If you have a Codex credential, Notas can use it to summarize, refactor, or answer questions about your notes. The credential is stored locally and never sent to Anthropic — Notas talks to your local Codex socket.
- Voice dictation. Speak to fill notes using your OS's native voice API. Available on macOS and Windows 11.
- Auto-updates. Notas checks for updates and installs them automatically. Stay current without thinking about it.
Install
Download the appropriate installer for your OS: DMG for macOS (drag to Applications) or Setup.exe for Windows. Notas will automatically check for updates and install them in the background.
# Or grab it from the releases feed:
open https://github.com/ruizrica/notas/releases/latest