A notes app · built for one reader
Your thoughts.
Your browser.
Your business.
Scratchpad is a notes app that runs inside the tab you're reading this in. No accounts. No telemetry. Just markdown and a fast editor that respects the fact that most of what you write is nobody else's business — and, when some of it is, lets you share one note through an encrypted link that expires.
- Local-only
- Works offline
- Zero accounts
Three things happen. None of them involve a server.
Most apps describe themselves by listing features. Scratchpad is easier to describe by what it doesn't do.
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01
You open the page.
The browser downloads a static HTML file, a stylesheet, and about 60 KB of JavaScript. After that, the network is done doing work for the day.
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02
You write in markdown.
Headings, lists, code blocks, links, tables — the usual grammar. Every keystroke is saved to IndexedDB in this browser, on this device, under this origin.
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03
Your notes stay put.
There is nowhere for them to go. No fetch, no XHR, no beacon, no sync. Link a folder and they also become plain-text files in a directory you chose on this device, and that is as far as they travel. Close the tab and reopen it next week — everything is exactly where you left it.
Thoughtful where local apps usually cut corners.
Writing is the easy part. Scratchpad also protects the local copy, handles browser edge cases, and gives you a clean way out.
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Markdown editing
Headings, lists, tables, pull-quotes,
[!NOTE]callouts, and syntax-highlighted code. Paste from a web page or a document and it arrives as Markdown. Render preview with one click; edit on the next. -
Task lists that work
Tick checkboxes right in the rendered note. Toggles write back to your Markdown and respect revision history.
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Daily note & quick capture
One command opens today's note, created on first use from your "Daily template" note. Months stay collapsible, optional Monthly Reviews link back without copying content, and Quick capture appends a timestamped line from anywhere.
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Linked notes
Connect notes with [[Title]] links, autocompleted as you type. Every note shows what links to it and which notes mention it without a link, one click from becoming one. Renames offer to update references.
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Fast organization
Open one focused folder at a time, return Home for pinned and recent notes, drag to file a note, or use ranked search across titles, text, and tags in every folder, narrowed with
tag:,title:, andfolder:. A folder named Templates turns its notes into palette commands. -
Images, kept local
Paste, drop, or attach an image and it lives in this browser beside the note, referenced from plain Markdown. Images travel with backups and the Markdown ZIP, and never with a share link.
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A folder you own
In browsers with the File System Access API, link a directory and every note is written there as a Markdown file with frontmatter. Edit the files anywhere and Scratchpad reads them back. A plain-text copy on your device, not a service.
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Safer across tabs
If another tab changes your note, Scratchpad stops before overwriting it and lets you choose what to keep.
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Protected local storage
Ask supported browsers to reduce automatic cleanup risk, with honest status when protection is unavailable.
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History & draft recovery
Recover unsaved edits after a reload, or restore any of the last 10 saved versions of a note.
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Archive without losing context
Move finished notes out of the working list while keeping them editable, linked, organized, and available indefinitely.
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Trash & full erasure
Deleted notes wait in Trash for 30 days before they're removed for good. Type ERASE when you truly want every local note and preference gone.
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Encrypted backups
Protect a full backup with a passphrase. Encryption happens in this browser, and the passphrase is never stored.
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Portable import & export
Move full JSON backups or readable Markdown. Import one file or a whole set of Markdown notes.
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Offline updates on your terms
Keep writing from the cached app shell. Check, refresh, and choose when a ready update reloads Scratchpad.
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Keyboard-first
⌘N for a new note, ⌘S to save, ⌘K to search. The mouse is optional once you settle in.
The things Scratchpad doesn't do are the point.
The server that hosts this page has never seen a single word you've written. It can't have. There is no code path that would send it.
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No silent uploads
Notes are stored in IndexedDB in this browser. Nothing is sent anywhere unless you create a share link, and that copy is encrypted before it leaves.
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No accounts
Nothing to sign up for. No email, no password, no identity to leak.
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No trackers
No analytics, no session replay, no advertising IDs, no anonymous usage pings.
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No third-party anything
No CDN fonts, no remote scripts, no embedded widgets. Every byte is served from the same origin as the app.
Most notes don't deserve a server.
A grocery list. A draft of a difficult message. The half-formed outline of next quarter's strategy. The reading queue you keep meaning to actually start. None of these are interesting enough to warrant a database somebody else owns, but all of them are interesting enough that you'd rather they stayed yours.
Local-first design isn't a privacy gimmick. It's a recognition that the default for personal writing should be the same as the default for paper: it stays where you put it, until you decide to move it.
Four shortcuts cover most of the day.
- ⌘/Ctrl + N New note
- ⌘/Ctrl + S Save the current edit
- ⌘/Ctrl + K · / Jump to search; use arrows and Enter to open a result
- Esc Clear search, or leave edit mode
Start writing. Stop thinking about where it goes.
No sign-up, no onboarding, no welcome email. Click the button, start a note, close the tab when you're done.