Kinetic Notes

Kinetic Notes is a fast, keyboard-first, local-first notes app for macOS—a modernized fork of Notational Velocity with privacy and Universal Mac support.

Kinetic Notes is built around a simple idea: your notes should get out of your way. Create a note, start typing, and find anything you’ve written instantly. You don’t need to manage folders, accounts, or complicated organizational systems. Just write, search, and keep moving. No mouse/trackpad required.

If you remember Notational Velocity, Kinetic Notes will feel familiar. It carries forward the speed and simplicity that made NV special while bringing the application and its underlying technology forward for modern macOS.

Your notes stay under your control. Kinetic Notes stores your notes locally on your Mac rather than requiring an online account or proprietary cloud service. Your notes can be encrypted, and you can choose how to sync them between your devices.

Kinetic Notes is a Universal macOS app, running natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs. It is also open source and released under GPLv3, so the software can be inspected, improved, and shared by the community.

Why Kinetic Notes?

• Fast and keyboard-first — create, search, and navigate notes without constantly reaching for the mouse.
• Simple by design — focus on writing and finding information rather than managing a complex hierarchy.
• Universal search – search the full text of every note, not just titles, with instant results.
• Note tagging — organize and connect notes with tags, to easily group related ideas.
• Local-first — your notes are stored on your Mac, with no account required.
• Private — no mandatory cloud service, with support for encrypting your notes database.
• Your choice of sync — use the synchronization approach that works best for your devices and workflow.
• Modern macOS app — Universal support for both Apple Silicon and Intel Macs.
• Open source — developed openly and released under GPLv3.

Kinetic Notes is for people who want their notes to be fast, simple, private, and under their control. Whether you’re looking for a modern replacement for Notational Velocity or a focused alternative to heavier note-taking applications, Kinetic Notes gets out of the way and lets you write.