Cherry Note logoCherry Note

Write Beautifully,
Organize Brilliantly.

From a two-line meeting note to something suspiciously close to a thesis, Cherry Note stays out of your way. It keeps your writing distraction-free and neatly formatted (or not, when you can't be bothered).

No telemetry No proprietary formats Works fully offline
See the Highlights
Markdown rendering into finished structure while typing
Thoughtfully designed

What you'll come to love

Light on your machine

Not built on Electron, so it stays light on RAM and fast even after days left open.

Inline conversions

Type "12 gallons in litres" and the result appears next to it.

Pinned notes

Keep the notes you use most docked to the side, like pinned tabs in a browser.

Global hotkey

A configurable global hotkey brings Cherry Note to the front from any app, ready to catch a fleeting thought.

Deeply customizable

Choose the typeface, color-code your notes, remap keyboard shortcuts, and more.

Hand-crafted

I sweat the details. In an era of vibe-coded apps, this one took eight months, not two weeks.

Unexpected places it fits

  • A D&D session log
  • A travel planner
  • A mini spreadsheet

The editor is only
half the story

Split view

Read one note while you write another, side by side. Handy for quick reference.

Two notes open side by side in split view
Your notes are yours

Everything runs on your device

Cherry Note is just an app on your computer, and your notes are just files on your disk.
That's the whole arrangement.

No telemetry

No tracking of where you are or what you click. Cherry Note reaches the internet only to check for updates*, verify a license, or send feedback you submit yourself.

No built-in AI

Not everything has to be AI-powered. Cherry Note stays calm and lets you write.

No lock-in

Every note is a plain-text Markdown file on your own disk. Export to PDF or DOCX anytime.

*Update checks are periodic and can be disabled in settings.
Simple pricing

Pay once. Own it forever.

Free trial

$0

No sign ups, no credit cards required.

Download

10-day trial. After it ends, exporting your notes stays available, so your work always remains accessible.

Lifetime license

$12

One-time payment. No recurring charges.

Use it on up to 2 of your personal devices.

  • Your notes are just plain text files.
  • Runs on Windows and macOS, with Linux coming soon.
  • No account, no cloud, no telemetry.
  • Export to Markdown, PDF, or DOCX.

Frequently Asked Questions

Editing pauses until you add a license key, but exporting your notes stays available even after the trial expires. And since every note is a plain Markdown file on your disk, you can always recover your work yourself.
Markdown adds structure to plain text while still keeping it readable. A Markdown file (ending in .md) is just a text file, so it remains universally accessible, and is never tied to a single app.
On your own machine, as ordinary Markdown (.md) files you can find, read, edit, or move even when Cherry Note isn't running. Your files never reach the cloud.
Yes. You can import your Markdown files into Cherry Note, including many at once with bulk import.
Not built-in, but since your notes live in your computer, you can use cloud service like OneDrive, Google Drive, etc. to keep them in sync. If this becomes a popular feature request, I may add native end-to-end encrypted sync down the line.
Not yet. But that might change in the future.
No telemetry within the app. The app only reaches the internet to check for updates, verify a license key, or send feedback you submit yourself. The update check can be turned off entirely.
Yes. Because notes are plain Markdown files, any AI assistant can draft content for you: ask it for Markdown, then paste the result into a note.

To teach your assistant Cherry Note's extra syntax (text colors, highlights, callouts, and more), point it to cherry-note.app/llms.txt, or install the ready-made skill from cherry-note.app/SKILL.md.
Sample prompt

Read https://cherry-note.app/llms.txt to learn Cherry Note's Markdown syntax, then rewrite my notes below as a well-structured Cherry Note note. Use highlights, callouts, and task lists where they help, and give me Markdown that I can paste into the app. [paste your notes here]

Your clipboard probably holds rich text rather than plain Markdown. Paste as plain text instead: Ctrl+Shift+V on Windows, Cmd+Shift+V on Mac.
Yes, a license covers two of your personal devices.
Cherry Note

Feel it for yourself, in your own notes

Launch Cherry Note and start typing. Find how it feels in the next five minutes.

Download for macOS (Apple Silicon)

Questions or feature requests?

Something you'd love to see in Cherry Note, or a question that isn't answered here? Drop me a line. Feedback from real users is what shapes where the app goes next.

hello@cherry-note.app

Want to support the project?

Spreading the word on social media or writing about Cherry Note online, makes a real difference. And if you'd like to support me directly, you can buy me a coffee.