Stela Notes

Your notes, in your own folder.

A free notes app for Windows and macOS. A folder tree on the left, the note on the right, with images, PDFs, audio and video inside the note. Encrypt any note with a password.

  • No account
  • No licence key
  • No telemetry

The first release is being prepared.

Representation, with sample notes.Locked · read onlySealed

Your folder, your rules

Every note is its own file in a folder you choose. Put the folder in OneDrive, iCloud Drive or Google Drive and your notes sync between your computers, with no Stela account.

Conflicts
If two computers change the same note, both versions are shown side by side and you decide which to keep. No note is ever discarded silently.
Trash
Deleted notes and folders can be restored from the trash.

Everything you need to write

Font and size, headings, bulleted and check lists, tables, quotes and code blocks, links. A note saves itself when you stop typing.

Images
Inside the note, resizable.
PDF
Read page by page inside the note.
Audio and video
Supported formats play inside the note; a file that is not supported opens in its default app.
Other files
Added as a card with name and size.

Lock and password

Make a finished note read-only with one click so it cannot change by accident. Put a password on sensitive notes: the content and attachments are encrypted, and only the title shows in the tree.

Encryption
A key derived with Argon2id, XChaCha20-Poly1305.
Closes on its own
An opened protected note closes again after 5 minutes without activity, when the screen locks or when the app is minimised. You can change the time in Settings.
No recovery
If you forget the password, nobody can open the note, including us. You confirm this when you set it.

Search

Search from anywhere in the app with Ctrl+K (Cmd+K on macOS). Turkish letters match correctly: İ with i, I with ı. Protected notes are searched by title only.

Shortcut
Ctrl+K, Cmd+K on macOS
Results
Title, folder path and a highlighted snippet.

Privacy

Stela collects no personal data; your notes stay on your computer and in the folder you choose. The only network request the app makes is the update check to GitHub.

Sent
App version, operating system and processor architecture. GitHub’s own privacy policy applies to this request.
Updates
Signed with our own key; an update whose signature does not match is not installed. Installation waits for your confirmation, and you can turn the check off.

Installation

Stela does not carry an operating-system signing certificate yet, so Windows and macOS show a warning on first install. These steps take you past it.

Windows

  1. Download the .exe and run it.
  2. On “Windows protected your PC”, select “More info”, then “Run anyway”.
  3. It installs for your user only; no administrator rights are needed.
  4. On Windows 11 with Smart App Control on, unsigned installers may be blocked, and then “Run anyway” does not appear.

macOS

  1. Open the .dmg and drag Stela Notes to the Applications folder.
  2. macOS shows a warning the first time you open it; select “Done”.
  3. In System Settings > Privacy & Security, select “Open Anyway” and confirm with your password or Touch ID. You only need to do this once.
  4. On macOS 14 and earlier: Control-click Stela Notes in the Applications folder and choose “Open”.

Details

Platform
Windows, macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon)
Languages
Turkish, English
Theme
Light, dark, system
Price
Free
Account
Not needed
Developer
XSECURE BİLGİ VE İLETİŞİM TEKNOLOJİLERİ LİMİTED ŞİRKETİ, İstanbul, Türkiye

The end-user licence agreement, privacy notice and open-source licences are in the app and on the release page on GitHub.

Make room for your notes.

The first release is being prepared.