SillyNotes

SillyNotes is a lightweight, privacy-first desktop note-taking application for Windows that puts you in complete control of your data. Built as a native desktop app using Python and webview, SillyNotes keeps everything stored locally on your machine — no cloud accounts, no telemetry, no sign-ups. At just 50 MB of RAM usage, it runs quietly in your system tray without slowing down your workflow, ready to pop up instantly with a global hotkey (Ctrl+Alt+N) whenever inspiration strikes.

Use at: This Link OR download it for desktop natively using the download button above.

SillyNotes supports multiple note formats including plain text, Markdown with live preview, and a dedicated code editor with syntax highlighting for over a dozen languages including JavaScript, Python, HTML, CSS, Bash, Rust, Go, Java, and more. A built-in Markdown renderer handles headings, bold, italic, code blocks, blockquotes, checklists, images, links, wiki-style [[note links]], tables, and horizontal rules — everything you need to write structured documents without leaving the app.

Organisation is flexible and intuitive. Notes can be sorted by last updated, creation date, alphabetically, or by size. A folder system lets you group notes into categories, with collapsible folder headers in the sidebar for a clean overview. Pin your most important notes to the top, tag them with hashtags for quick filtering, or use the built-in search to find anything instantly. For power users, a command palette (Ctrl+K) provides fast access to every action in the app without touching the mouse.

Privacy and security are at the heart of SillyNotes. All data at rest is encrypted using Windows DPAPI, meaning your notes are bound to your Windows user account and unreadable to anyone else on the machine. Individual notes can be further protected with password-based encryption for an extra layer of security. A configurable PIN lock screen guards access to the app itself, with options to lock on startup, on reopen, or on a timed auto-lock after a period of inactivity. Failed PIN attempts trigger progressive lockout delays to prevent brute-force access. If you forget your PIN, a secure Windows password authentication flow lets you reset it without losing data. There is even an option to automatically clear your clipboard after 30 seconds to prevent sensitive content from lingering.

SillyNotes includes a fully integrated AI assistant powered by your choice of provider. Connect to Venice AI with an API key for cloud-based intelligence, or run models locally and completely offline through Ollama — your conversations never leave your machine if you choose local. The AI assistant can do far more than just chat: it has full tool-calling capabilities, meaning it can create, edit, and delete notes directly within a sandboxed workspace. You review every change before it touches your real notes. A collaborate mode lets you work side-by-side with the AI on a specific note, with a live preview panel showing proposed changes in real time. A refine feature lets you select any text in your editor and ask the AI to improve, summarise, expand, fix grammar, or transform it with a custom instruction — all with streaming responses so you see results as they arrive. Multi-chat support means you can maintain multiple ongoing conversations, star your favourites, rename them, and browse your history through a dedicated chat manager. You can even attach documents and images to your AI messages for context-aware assistance.

Templates accelerate common workflows with one click. Choose from Meeting Notes, To-Do Lists, Journal Entries, Bug Reports, Code Snippets, Project Briefs, Weekly Reviews, and Reading Notes — each pre-structured with the right headings and prompts so you can start writing immediately rather than staring at a blank page.

A comprehensive per-note backup system automatically preserves every version of every note, with the ability to browse backup history, preview past versions, restore any snapshot, or delete backups you no longer need. Combined with autosave that writes changes within a second of your last keystroke, you will never lose work again.

For users who work across multiple devices on the same network, SillyNotes includes peer-to-peer LAN sync. One device hosts a sync server and generates a connection token; the other connects using that token. Notes are merged intelligently, with newer versions taking priority, and the entire transfer is encrypted. No internet connection or third-party service is involved.

The app is deeply customisable. Eleven built-in themes — Light, Dark, Glass, Cyberpunk, Nord, Dracula, Tokyo Night, Catppuccin, One Dark, Sunset, and Midnight — let you match the app to your aesthetic. Six accent colours (purple, blue, green, rose, orange, teal) and three font size options (compact, default, comfortable) give you further control. A distraction-free Zen mode strips away the sidebar and toolbar so you can focus purely on writing, and fullscreen mode (Ctrl+Alt+F) expands the app to fill your display.

Additional features round out the experience: image embedding with automatic compression to keep file sizes low, note export to text and Markdown files, bulk export of all notes, note duplication, word and character count in the status bar, reading progress tracking, a filesystem browser for opening and editing local files directly, and a first-run setup wizard that walks new users through choosing their AI provider, theme, accent colour, font size, and PIN in five simple steps.

SillyNotes is available for a one-time purchase of £0 GBP (skip to bottom) — no subscriptions, no recurring fees, no in-app purchases. You buy it once and own it forever, including all future updates. It is a single portable application that installs cleanly on Windows, uses approximately 50 MB of RAM during normal use, and respects your system by living unobtrusively in the system tray until you need it.

Whether you are a developer jotting down code snippets, a student organising lecture notes, a writer drafting prose, or anyone who values privacy and simplicity in their tools, SillyNotes is the note-taking app that stays out of your way and keeps your thoughts safe.

*As of riting this now, SillyNotes has become free :D