About Mote
Mote is a floating markdown workspace for macOS. Notes, meeting transcripts, a terminal, and AI agents share one window that stays above your other apps, and you can split it into panes or take it full screen.
What Mote does
A note above every app
Press ⌘. anywhere on your Mac and Mote appears on top of your other windows, with live markdown rendering. Write the thought down and go back to what you were doing.
YouTube notes
Mote pauses the video when you start typing and links each note to the moment it refers to. More on YouTube notes.
Local meeting transcription
Mote captures microphone and system audio and transcribes it on your Mac, with live captions during the call and a refined, speaker-labelled transcript afterward. More on transcription.
Obsidian integration
Search your vault, open daily notes, and promote a scratch note into the vault when it deserves a permanent home. More on Obsidian.
Panes and full screen
Split the window into panes to keep a note, a chat, and a terminal side by side: ⌘D splits right, ⌘⇧D splits down, and ⌘⇧F zooms one pane. Press ⌃⌘F to take Mote full screen when you want the whole display.
Terminal and AI agents
A real shell lives inside the panel, and Claude Code, Codex, or OpenCode can read and edit your notes from it. You can also ask questions about a meeting while it is still happening.
What makes Mote different
One payment, not a subscription
Mote costs $18.99 once for the first 100 copies and $24.99 after that, with updates included. Raycast Notes caps the free tier at 5 notes and puts unlimited notes behind Raycast Pro at $96 a year.
Meeting transcription in the same window
Mote transcribes microphone and system audio on your Mac, with speaker labels, beside the note you are already writing. None of Raycast Notes, Antinote, SideNotes or Tot transcribe meetings, and Mote never sends a bot into the call.
Works inside your Obsidian vault
Mote searches your vault, opens daily notes, and promotes a scratch note to a vault file with ⌘⇧E. Antinote can only export to Obsidian; the other floating note apps have no vault integration.
Unlimited notes, as plain files
Every note is a markdown file in a folder on your Mac, and there is no cap on how many you keep.
Native and private
Mote is written in Swift, Apple’s own language for Mac apps, instead of being a web page wrapped in Electron. It opens instantly and uses about 80 MB of memory while idle. There are no accounts and no tracking, and your notes stay on your Mac.
Building toward a floating workspace layer
Mote is growing from a floating note into a workspace layer that sits above everything on your Mac, and later your iPhone. An iPhone companion app and iCloud sync are next on the roadmap, with widgets to follow.
Who uses Mote
- Obsidian users who want a quick place to capture ideas before filing them in the vault
- Students and self-learners who take notes from lectures and tutorials on YouTube
- People with a day full of calls who want transcripts without a bot in the meeting
- Developers who keep a terminal and an AI agent next to their notes
- Anyone who wants plain markdown files on their own Mac instead of another cloud account
“As someone addicted to workflow optimization who has tried them all (I mean, all), [mote] nailed it. Really. The render-in-place flow is very smooth, and that's not easy in Swift. So well done.”
aka kika · @akakikaaa“i like the approach of the main use case is simple (i just want to take quick floating notes), but as my needs grow the software has the depth to support it. i feel like so far mote has been very aligned with that.”
Dorian · @dorian_escplan“The Obsidian integration is genius, especially the ability to search your vault. Honestly impressive the responsiveness. No bugs I'm noticing.”
Noah · @noahliskWho makes Mote
Mote is built by Marcel, an independent developer. Work on the app started in February 2026, and version 1.0 was released on Jun 8, 2026. There is no team or investors, so the person reading your feedback is the person writing the code.
Follow along on X (@miltovi777), or ask a question in the Discord.
Why Marcel built it
“I tried every floating notes app I could find, and each one left me wanting more. Raycast Notes looks great, but its notes live in Raycast’s own database rather than as files, so my agents couldn’t work with them, and it doesn’t connect to the tools I already use. Antinote could send a note to Obsidian, but I couldn’t browse my vault or open a note from it.
I felt macOS was missing a floating layer that’s always ready: one place to save an idea, take notes in a meeting, and hand either one to an agent, without hopping into another app. Nothing did enough, so I built it.” — Marcel
How Mote works
- Download Mote and use every feature free for three days. No card or account needed.
- Buy a license once to keep using it. Updates are included and install from inside the app.
- Questions and bug reports go to marcel@getmote.md, the in-app feedback form, or Discord. All three reach Marcel directly.
Key facts
- Name
- Mote
- Type
- Native macOS app (floating markdown workspace)
- Founded
- February 2026
- Founder
- Marcel, independent developer
- Website
- getmote.md
- Latest version
- 1.5.0 (8 releases since Jun 2026, changelog)
- Platform
- macOS 15 or later; Apple Silicon required for local transcription
- Built with
- Swift and AppKit, no Electron
- Pricing
- $18.99 once (first 100 copies), then $24.99; free 3-day trial
- License terms
- One-time purchase, no subscription, updates included
- Features
- Floating editor, YouTube notes, local meeting transcription, Obsidian integration, terminal, AI agent chat, check-in timer, web clipper
- Data
- Notes stored locally as markdown files; no accounts or usage tracking
- Support
- marcel@getmote.md, Discord
- Alternatives
- Raycast Notes, Antinote, SideNotes, Tot
Frequently asked questions
Who makes Mote?
Mote is built by Marcel, an independent developer, with no team or investors behind it. Emails and bug reports go straight to him.
Is Mote actively developed?
Yes. New versions usually ship every week and install through the in-app updater. The changelog lists every release and the roadmap shows what is next.
What happens to my notes if Mote stops being developed?
Nothing. Your notes are plain markdown files in a folder on your Mac, so any text editor or Obsidian can open them. The copy of Mote you bought keeps working.