Stik is a free, open-source quick-capture note app for macOS. Press ⌘⇧S from anywhere on your Mac, and a floating post-it appears instantly. Type your thought, press Escape, and you're back to work in under 3 seconds. Notes are saved as plain markdown files in ~/Documents/Stik/. Built with Tauri and Rust for native performance.

Yes, Stik is completely free. It is also open source under the MIT license. There are no premium tiers, no subscriptions, and no in-app purchases. You can view and contribute to the source code on GitHub.

Does Stik require an account or cloud service?

No. Stik requires no account, no cloud service, and no sync setup. It works entirely offline and stores everything locally on your Mac. Your notes never leave your machine unless you choose to share a folder via git.

Where are Stik notes stored?

Notes are stored as plain markdown (.md) files in ~/Documents/Stik/ on your Mac. Each folder in Stik corresponds to a real folder on disk. You can open, edit, move, or back up your notes with any tool — they're just files.

What format are Stik notes saved in?

Stik saves all notes as plain Markdown (.md) files. This means your notes are future-proof, portable, and compatible with any text editor. There is no proprietary format or database lock-in.

Does Stik have AI features?

Yes. Stik features on-device AI for semantic search (find notes by meaning, not just keywords) and smart folder suggestions (automatically suggests the right folder as you type). All AI processing runs locally on your Mac using Apple's NaturalLanguage framework — zero data is sent to any server.

How fast is Stik for capturing notes?

Stik is designed for sub-3-second capture. Press ⌘⇧S, type your thought, press Escape to close. The app launches instantly thanks to its native Rust/Tauri architecture — no Electron overhead, no web app loading times. It's one of the fastest note capture experiences on macOS.

Yes, Stik is fully open source under the MIT license. The source code is available on GitHub at github.com/0xMassi/stik_app. Contributions, issues, and feature requests are welcome.

What is the keyboard shortcut to capture a note in Stik?

The global keyboard shortcut is ⌘⇧S (Command + Shift + S). This works from any application — a floating post-it window appears instantly. Other shortcuts include ⌘⇧M for folder selection, ⌘⇧P for search, and ⌘⇧1-9 for jumping directly to assigned folders.

How does Stik compare to SideNotes, Apple Quick Note, and Drafts?

Unlike SideNotes ($9.99) and Drafts ($4.99/mo), Stik is completely free and open source. Unlike Apple Quick Note and Drafts, Stik saves notes as plain markdown files you fully own. Unlike all three, Stik includes on-device AI semantic search and stores everything locally with no cloud dependency. Stik is the only open-source option with git-based sharing for team collaboration.

The Stik Blog

Name: Stik
Availability: InStock
Author: Massi

Thoughts on quick capture, local-first software, on-device AI, and building tools that respect your privacy.

LatestFebruary 18, 20267 min read

The Problem with Cloud-Based Note Apps in 2026

We moved our notes to the cloud because it felt like progress. But somewhere between the outages, the price hikes, and the privacy policies nobody reads, we forgot to ask: do my notes actually need to be on someone else's server?

local-firstprivacycloudnote taking

Massi

Read article

February 11, 20264 min read

Why We Built Stik: The Case for Instant, Local-First Note Capture on Mac

Most note apps want to be your second brain. Stik just wants to catch the thought before it escapes. Here's why we built a free, open-source, capture-first note app for macOS with on-device AI.

local-firstopen sourcemacOSnote taking

Massi

Read article