Your scratchpad,
always one keystroke
away.

WhimNotes is a Mac scratchpad that appears instantly when you need it. Press a keyboard shortcut, type your thought, press again to hide. Your note is saved automatically and you're back exactly where you left off.

Requires Apple Silicon (M1 or later) · macOS 12 or later

WhimNotes app screenshot

Built for speed. Designed to disappear.

Instant Global Hotkey

From any app, any Space, any moment. WhimNotes surfaces immediately — and disappears just as fast with the same customizable keyboard shortcut.

One-Time Reminders

Set a reminder straight from your scratchpad. A native Mac notification fires when it's time with no third-party services involved.

Make It Yours

30+ built-in themes, 30 title bar gradients, custom colors and font, and adjustable window opacity. Your scratchpad can look exactly how you want it to.

Truly Native

Compiled directly to machine code. No runtime, no interpreter, no cold start. It's fast, only ~5 MB large and uses less RAM than a browser tab.

Auto Save

Your notes are saved automatically as you type. Close the app, reopen it and everything is right where you left it.

Private by Design

Your notes never leave your Mac. No cloud, no account, no AI training on your data. Everything is stored locally and only accessible to you.

Choose from 30+ built-in themes.

Or customize your own — pick colors, title bar gradient, font, line spacing, and window opacity until it's exactly right.

A few of the built-in themes

Tokyo Night theme
Tokyo Night
Nord theme
Nord
WhimOrange theme
WhimOrange
Dracula theme
Dracula
Rosé Pine theme
Midnight
Catppuccin Mocha theme
Solarized Dark
Gruvbox Dark theme
Gruvbox Light
Soft Era theme
Soft Era

Three keystrokes. That's it.

Step 1

Press the shortcut

WhimNotes appears instantly over whatever you're working on — focused and ready for input.

⌘ Command + ⌥ Option + N
Step 2

Type your thought

A task, a link, an idea, a code snippet. No categories, no folders, no structure required. Just type.

Step 3

Press again to hide

WhimNotes disappears and your original window is back in focus — exactly as you left it.

⌘ Command + ⌥ Option + N

Simple. Fair. Yours forever.

Try it free for 14 days. No credit card required.

One-time purchase
$9.99
Pay once. Use forever. No subscription, ever.
  • 14-day free trial, no credit card needed
  • Global customizable hotkey
  • Reminder notification
  • Native Mac performance, small app size
  • All future updates included
  • Apple Silicon native — M1 or later

Requires Apple Silicon (M1 or later) · macOS 12 or later