6 sticky note apps later and I'm starting to think the perfect one is a myth - HELP
Looking for the perfect desktop sticky note app (I've tried everything) This is going to be hilariously long, given how simple of a tool this is (or should be), but I promise you if you knew the workflow and everything that I use these for, it would make a lot more sense. I need a macOS sticky note app that floats on my desktop above everything, looks good, and lets me format my notes the easy way. Every app I've tried fails at least one of those, so I'm asking the experts. Requirements: Floats on top and stays on the desktop like a real Post-it. No hiding behind windows, no living buried in the menu bar Looks modern and clean. Native Stickies is ugly and I'm regrettably a UI/UX snob Unlimited notes with no cap Ideally, a toolbar that's visible all the time, or at least the option to keep it visible. I really don't want to memorize a million keyboard shortcuts. My brain is already on a never-ending doom cycle of memorizing 500 other things, and more shortcuts is the last thing I need or want Formatting, which is the part I care about most: Headers that actually render: whether with markdown ## inputs or just being able to select which header I want, from a tool bar Bold and italic Bullet points and checklists (bonus points for custom bullets like tot) Highlighting text in different colors Nice but not required: A font picker, so I'm not stuck with one typeface Customization in general: themes, note colors, backgrounds Already tried and ruled out: Native Apple Stickies: Ugly and boring. It does basic formatting through keyboard shortcuts, but the options are too limited and there's no easy way to add bullets Glassnote: I bought it before realizing it's plain text only. No bold, no bullets, no headers, nothing. Genuinely sad about this one, because I’m obsessed with glassmorphism and this one is beautifully done Tot: No headers, and it caps you at seven notes, which I hate. Also a bummer, because I loved the custom bullet points and note dividers. Stickies (third-party): Everything is a keyboard shortcut, down to making a new note. Antinote: Really pretty, but the toolbar hides unless you hover over it, you can't change the font, and it runs on shortcuts and markdown. Raycast notes: No option to highlight text in different colors If this app exists, please let me know so I can at least attempt to save whatever shred of sanity I have left
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Do you mind reaching out? I was planning on building a free sticky note app anyways since I have many of the same frustrations, and I would love to build the perfect one.
DM sent!
Check out Stickier (free). It's pretty mature. The dev is open to suggestions as well.
I did I just forgot to add it to this list, but I couldn't figure out a way to add headers. Do you know of a way?
Pick any text editor you like and use Floaty or similar to make them float on top? https://www.floatytool.com/
I use side note. I like its ease of access.
I really need the floating sticky note type app because I have 4-6 windows open at all times and can't sacrifice the space
These are some good requirements for a sticky notes app and any power user must be feeling the same emotions.
At least I'm not alone! I was a bit nervous to post this as it seems like a ridiculous thing to care about so much, but having them float on my desktop and being able to have all those requirements really impacts my workflow
This looks good? Noticky — Sticky Note Always on Top | macOS
I think the annoying answer is: two apps. The “always visible sticky note” part and the “proper rich text editor” part seem to fight each other pretty hard on macOS. I’d keep sticky notes for scratch stuff, then move anything formatted into a real notes app.
unfortunately im incredibly stubborn and it would be less pain staking to teach myself swift and build one myself than it would be to use 2 apps for such a simple tool
I was in the same situation last week and tried all the note apps for my workflow. I was looking for markdown support, an always-on-top feature, minimal design, and the ability to embed screenshots. Ended up using Obsidian with plugins. The best part is that it's completely free, highly customizable, and you can use it with your iCloud account for syncing.
If you do try building it yourself, the Mac-specific parts to ask for explicitly are usually more important than the note editor itself: an NSPanel or borderless window, always-on-top/floating level, Spaces/full-screen behavior, menu bar item, autosave, and restoring note positions across launches. The editor can start simple. The hard part is making the window feel like a real Mac utility instead of a normal document window that happens to contain text.
Great advice! Thank you!
I am not sure if we can use colored highlight fonts, but this app "stik" is maybe the closest one I found. You can change background transparency and make your own theme, so I think you can make a design you like. Also, "meteorite" is a good app too, but maybe it is a bit different from sticky notes. If you really want everything, maybe making it by yourself or asking developers who are very active is the best way! And if you find a good one, please share it with me! If you don't mind!
Just an alternative view: Maybe you should take a look at Edgemark. Or must it be a sticky style note app?
I really prefer the floating sticky note type app because I have 4-6 windows open at all times and can't sacrifice the space
interesting read. one would have thought at least ine dev would have come up with all options in one app
Right?!
Surprised you didn’t ask for cloud sync. I would love one that would sync across Macs. Any ideas
This post is really a condensed list as I didn’t wanna seem insane for the things I FULLY want but cloud sync is on my complete list
The 3M app - given that they invented the original one I'm shocked you haven't tried it 🤔
I'm the dev of a note app called Lucid Notes that has a contextual notes feature. Might not be a 100% fit for your list, but sharing in case it clicks. Quick video of how it works (couldn't attach it here) → https://www.reddit.com/r/MacOS/comments/1tyj9xn/i_got_tired_of_sticky_notes_staying_around_after/
My app Floaters seems to check a lot of these boxes! https://floaters.app