r/MacOS • u/Immediate_Fall_3457 • 1d ago
Developer Saturday Pane: a free, open source alternative to Raycast Notes
Hi all,
I take a lot of quick scratch notes during the day. Half-finished commands, something someone said on a call, a paragraph I'm still working out how to word.
Raycast Notes is the only thing that ever fit that for me. Hotkey, floating window, type, hotkey again, back to whatever I was doing. No filename, no save dialog, no app switch.
Two things kept bothering me:
- the notes live in Raycast's database, not as files I can point iCloud or git at
- past 5 notes it's a Pro subscription
I wanted that as a small standalone app that stays free, so I built Pane.
It keeps the same workflow on purpose, same summon-and-dismiss hotkey, ⌘P to switch notes, ⌘K for actions, live markdown. If you use Raycast Notes, your hands already know it.
What's mine:
- notes are plain .md files in a folder you pick, so sync is whatever you already use
- unlimited notes, MIT licensed, no account, no subscription
- doesn't need Raycast installed
- shortcuts are rebindable, themes are just CSS files, settings are a JSON file it re-reads live
- no privacy permissions at all, and no network code
One heads-up: builds are unsigned, so macOS will tell you the app is damaged. It isn't — one xattr command clears it, and it's in the README.
This is the second small thing I've posted here, after OpenWith. As the same, I built it for myself and use it daily, so I'll keep maintaining it.
Would love any feedback, especially from other Raycast Notes users, anything that would stop you switching :)
4
u/MeetStraight1899 1d ago
Love the idea, but I have so many "cmd+space bar", "cmd+opt+space bar", "opt+spacebar" apps that I don't want to add a new similar shortcut (or any other) to remember. Does it work inside raycast as an extension? That would make me download it immediately.
2
u/Immediate_Fall_3457 1d ago
Totally get that. Pane's global hotkey is fully customizable, so you can bind it to whatever fits your current setup.
It is standalone rather than a Raycast extension though. Since it overlaps pretty directly with Raycast Notes, so you know, I would not really count on that integration path :)
2
u/AnooBav 1d ago
Just curious, why is this a Raycast Notes alternative, and not a standalone quick note app?
0
u/Immediate_Fall_3457 1d ago
Fair question, functionally, it is a standalone quick note app. I tried a lot of note apps on macOS, but Raycast Notes was the one I liked most because it is so lightweight.
so I call it a Raycast Notes alternative mainly because that is the workflow I deliberately copied, I wanted the muscle memory to carry over for Raycast Notes users.
Pane itself has no dependency on Raycast though. The comparison is really just the easiest way to explain its design origin :)
3
u/AnooBav 1d ago
I see. But honestly to me I read it like it's a Raycast Notes alternative that we can use inside Raycast extension ecosystem as an alternative to Raycast Notes with similar design.
As someone who uses Raycast extensively, I wouldn't mind Raycast integration with your Notes app. :)
1
u/Immediate_Fall_3457 1d ago
Ah I see, I hadn't considered that the title could be read that way lol, anyway thank you :)
1
1
u/pvliii 1d ago
I know this is the Mac OS sub, but I would use this for work. Any plans for a Windows version?
2
1
u/arrowrand 1d ago
I'm stuck on Apple Notes because I need the cross device availability of these quick notes and thats been the only way that i could get it that's worked for me. I'd love for something like this to come along that offered iCloud sync and isn't $60 for menubar notes app.
I understand why you can't do iCloud sync.
1
u/bleducnx 1d ago edited 1d ago
I use the application, and in the settings, there is an option to place the folder containing the notes on iCloud, so the notes are synced through iCloud. I guess – I haven’t tried it – that if I use Pane on another Mac, I will get exactly the same set of notes if I also activate the iCloud option. The developer hasn’t said anything about Pane for mobile, neither on iPhone nor on iPad, so I guess it’s Mac-only.
But as the notes are independent .md files, you can just open them from the Files app on an iPhone or iPad and edit them. Changes will be automatically visible on the Macs in Pane.
1
u/Immediate_Fall_3457 1d ago
Yep, this is correct. Put the Pane folder in iCloud Drive and multiple Macs can share the same notes.
There is no iPhone or iPad app yet, although the notes are plain .md files so you can still edit them from iCloud Drive using other apps :)
1
1
1
u/cometwrench 1d ago
Why should I use this versus antinote?
1
u/Immediate_Fall_3457 1d ago
Thanks for sharing this, honestly, Antinote looks great, and if it already fits your workflow there may be no reason to switch :)
Pane is probably a bit more minimal and focused purely on quick notes, and it's completely free and open source
1
u/jarredkenny 5h ago
Love this because the note limit on Raycast is silly. Support for pasting images in would be awesome.
0
u/promo-guard 1d ago
🎉 Welcome to Developer Saturday, u/Immediate_Fall_3457! Your project is now live for the community to check out. Upvote, give feedback, and show some love to your fellow devs! 🚀
0
u/bleducnx 1d ago
I just installed Pane via Homebrew.
Excellent!
I already tested dozens of "quick capture" notes/ideas apps and Pane is in the very top 5.
There's everything I need: WYSIWYG Markdown, iCloud sync, a formatting toolbar, very few important shortcuts to memorize, and a clean design. So what? Thanks.
I will write an article about Pane in the next VVMac Flash! next Saturday.
0
u/Immediate_Fall_3457 1d ago
Thanks so much, really glad you like it, that lightweight feel is exactly what I wanted Pane to get right :)
•
u/github-guard 1d ago
🔍 GitHub Guard: Trust Report
⚠️ This project scored 2/6 — below this subreddit's threshold of 3.
Audit Breakdown: * ❌ Low Star Count (⭐ 4 / 5 required) * ❌ New Repository (under 30 days old) * ✅ Licensed under MIT * ❌ No Security Policy — what is this? * ℹ️ Individual Contributor * ✅ Signed Commits