Many notes apps ask for an account before you type a word, then keep your notes on their servers. That makes sync easy. It also means a company holds everything you write down, from codes you probably shouldn’t have written down to notes about the people you work with.
Notestaking has no account and no server. The app connects to the internet only for updates, and it has no analytics, crash reporting or ads.
Where your notes are
Every card is a plain Markdown file in your Library folder:
~/Library/Application Support/com.notestaking.app/notes
Inside are two folders, today and someday, one for each tab. To open the folder, choose Go › Go to Folder in Finder (⇧⌘G) and paste the path.
- today
- 2f8c1a6e.md
- 9b04d7e2.md
- c51e33fa.md
- someday
--- color: butter --- # On the way home - [x] Pick up the parcel - [ ] Bread, eggs, basil
Each file starts with the card’s title as a heading. A card’s color is saved at the top of the file, and task lists are ordinary Markdown checkboxes. Any text editor can open them, and if you ever stop using Notestaking, your notes are still there and still readable.
Backups
Because your notes are ordinary files in your home folder, Time Machine backs them up along with everything else. You can also copy the folder anywhere you like.
What about sync?
Notestaking doesn’t sync, and that’s on purpose. If you need a note on your phone, Apple Notes is the better tool for that note. There’s a side-by-side comparison of Apple Notes, Stickies and Notestaking if you’re choosing.
Check it yourself
A network monitor such as LuLu or Little Snitch shows every connection an app tries to make. The only connection you’ll see from Notestaking is its update check to notestaking.com, shortly after it starts and once a day. Links you click in a note open in your browser, so that traffic belongs to the browser, not to Notestaking.
If you want to try it, download it here.