Instant thought capture for macOS.
Press a shortcut. Type your thought. Get back to work.
Under 3 seconds. Every time.
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Every note app wants to be your second brain. Stik just wants to catch your thought before it disappears.
No onboarding. No account. No sync setup. Hit Cmd+Shift+S, type, close. Your note is saved as a plain markdown file. That's it.
Grab the latest .dmg from stik.ink/download — the recommended path, with release notes and a quick walkthrough.
Prefer GitHub? The same .dmg is on the Releases page.
brew install --cask 0xMassi/stik/stikOr add the tap first:
brew tap 0xMassi/stik
brew install --cask stikRequires macOS 10.15+. On first launch, grant Accessibility permissions when prompted (needed for global shortcuts).
If you installed via Homebrew:
brew upgrade --cask stikFrom v0.3.3 onwards, Stik includes a built-in auto-updater that silently downloads new versions in the background. Updates apply on next app restart.
Every push to develop produces a signed build, published under Releases as a prerelease. It installs as Stik Beta beside your stable copy, and Settings shows a BETA pill next to the title so you always know which one you're in.
A beta reads the same notes and settings as the stable app. Before you test anything destructive, send it somewhere harmless: Settings, Folders, Notes directory.
Stable users never see these builds. Beta releases ship no updater artifacts and leave the update feed alone.
Capture. A global shortcut summons a floating post-it over whatever you're doing. Type, close, done. Every note lands in ~/Documents/Stik/ as markdown.
Voice. Cmd+Shift+D transcribes speech straight into the note you're editing. Cmd+Shift+V opens a fresh post-it already listening. WhisperKit runs the model on the Neural Engine, so the audio never leaves your Mac.
Clip. Cmd+Shift+C takes whatever text you've selected in Safari, Terminal, VS Code, or any standard text field and appends it to a Clips note. No copy, no paste, no window switching.
Organize. Folders you name. Move a note with one keystroke. Search everything from the command palette.
Pin. Park a note on your desktop as a floating sticky.
Rich editor. Source-mode markdown with syntax highlighting, ==highlights==, [[wiki-links]], collapsible headings, image paste and drop, task lists, and editable tables. Type / for slash commands. Write your own templates in Settings. Vim mode if you want it.
Lock. Encrypt a note with AES-256 and open it with Touch ID or your device password. Set an idle timeout, or relock everything when the Mac sleeps.
On-device AI. Semantic search, folder suggestions, and note embeddings through Apple's NaturalLanguage framework. No cloud, no API keys, nothing sent anywhere.
Language. English and Simplified Chinese (简体中文). Press Cmd+Shift+, and pick one from the first card in the Appearance tab. Every open window switches without a restart. Leave it on "Follow system language" and Stik reads your macOS setting.
Sync. Turn on iCloud Drive in Settings and your notes reach your other Macs. Dropbox and Syncthing work too: point Stik at any folder they already watch.
Share. Copy a note as rich text, markdown, or an image. Push a folder to a git remote and Stik keeps it synced in the background.
Import. Pull notes out of Apple Notes from inside Stik. Nothing to export first.
Themes. System, Light, Dark, or your own colors. Follows macOS appearance as it changes.
Remember. A capture streak counts your daily habit. "On This Day" brings back notes from past years.
All shortcuts are customizable in Settings.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Cmd+Shift+S |
Capture a new note |
Cmd+Shift+D |
Start or stop dictation in the current note |
Cmd+Shift+V |
New post-it, dictating from the start |
Cmd+Shift+C |
Append the selected text from any app to Clips |
Cmd+Shift+P |
Command palette (search + folders) |
Cmd+Shift+M |
Command palette (alt shortcut) |
Cmd+Shift+L |
Reopen last note |
Cmd+. |
Zen mode |
Cmd+Shift+, |
Open settings |
- Notes are plain markdown files in
~/Documents/Stik/-- open them in any editor - All AI runs on-device via Apple frameworks -- nothing is sent anywhere
- No account, no cloud, no tracking, no telemetry
- Settings stored locally in
~/.stik/ - Want sync? Just enable iCloud Drive for your Documents folder. Stik works automatically with iCloud, Dropbox, Syncthing, or anything that syncs
~/Documents
- macOS 10.15+
- Xcode Command Line Tools (
xcode-select --install) - Rust 1.70+
- Node.js 18+
git clone https://github.com/0xMassi/stik_app.git
cd stik_app
npm install
npm run tauri dev # Development with hot reload
npm run tauri build # Production .app bundle| Layer | Technology |
|---|---|
| Frontend | React 19, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, CodeMirror 6 |
| Backend | Rust, Tauri 2.0 |
| AI | DarwinKit (Swift CLI wrapping Apple NaturalLanguage framework) |
| Storage | Local filesystem (.md files), optional git sync |
Contributions are welcome. Please open an issue first to discuss what you'd like to change.
# Check Rust code
cd src-tauri && cargo check
# Format Rust code
cd src-tauri && cargo fmt
# Type check frontend
npm run build
# Run tests
npm test
cd src-tauri && cargo testTranslations. Every string lives in src/i18n/locales/. Copy en.ts, translate the values, and add your locale to LOCALES in src/i18n/index.ts. The catalogue is typed against English, so a missing key breaks the build instead of shipping a blank label, and npm test checks both catalogues for drift. Corrections to zh-CN.ts are welcome: read it top to bottom without opening a single component.
Got a feature idea or want to vote on what gets built next? Visit the Stik Ideas Board -- sign in with GitHub, submit ideas, upvote your favorites, and discuss with the community. The roadmap is shaped by you.
Have a question, found a bug, or want to request a feature? Reach out at help@stik.ink, join Discord, follow us on X, or open an issue.
Built by Massi
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