Use the Mac app

The Mac app uses the same account and the same notes as the web app, and adds a few things only a Mac can do: the Today bookmark tab that slides out from the left edge of the screen, a menu bar icon, a desktop calendar that sits beneath your other windows, system notifications, and macOS widgets.

Install

1. On the Download page, click Download for Mac (.dmg).
2. Open the .dmg and drag CommonNote into your Applications folder. The app is notarized by Apple, so it opens without warnings.
3. Open the app and sign in with the username you use on the web. There’s no separate sign-up.

The app downloaded from the website runs on macOS 11 Big Sur or later; the App Store edition and the desktop widgets need macOS 12 Monterey or later. It supports both Apple silicon and Intel Macs. In the app, ⌘N (new note) and ⇧⌘N (new notebook) work as-is; in a browser, use ⌥N and ⇧⌥N.

The Today bookmark tab

The tab is hidden most of the time. Move the cursor to the left edge of the screen (at any height) and a vertical tab slides out showing today’s progress, such as how many tasks are left. Move away and it slides back in after a moment. It works whenever the app is running, even with its window closed.

• Click the tab to open today’s task list. Click a circle to mark a task done or not done, and use Open today’s note at the bottom to jump to your daily note.
• Drag the tab up or down to move it. It slides out at the middle of the edge, or at the height you moved it to.
• One exception: when you have a task handoff you haven’t answered, the tab comes out on its own and shows a count. It stays out until you click the handoff row at the top of the list.
• Choose View → Today’s Tasks Summary (⌥⌘T) or use the menu bar icon to bring up the list at any time.
• Right-click the tab to move it back to the middle, turn it off or open settings.

Settings are under Today bookmark tab in View options (the slider icon in the top bar). The option appears only in the Mac app and is on by default.

The menu bar icon and the window

• Left-click the menu bar icon to bring the window forward; right-click it for a menu: Open CommonNote, New Note, Today’s Tasks Summary, Desktop Calendar Widget, Preview a Notification and Quit.
• The red close button hides the window without quitting. Reopen it from the Dock icon or the menu bar icon. To quit completely, choose Quit from the menu bar icon.

The desktop calendar widget

Turn on Desktop Calendar Widget in the menu bar icon’s menu to get a small calendar window that sits beneath your other windows on every desktop. It starts at the top right of your main display and remembers where you drag it.

• The left side shows the month; the right side lists the tasks for the day you point at. Hover over a date to see that day; move away to return to today (or a day you clicked to pin).
• Click a task to bring the main window forward with that note open. Buttons include Back to today, Open note and Turn widget off.

Notifications, zoom and updates

• Notifications: macOS asks for permission the first time the app sends one. Once you allow it, new requests, alarms and more arrive as system notifications. Use Preview a Notification in the menu bar menu to check that they get through. See Get notifications.
• Zoom: in the View menu, Zoom In ⌘+, Zoom Out ⌘− and Actual Size ⌘0. Steps run from 50% to 200%, and the level is kept for next time. The View options → Display scale slider covers 40–300%.
• Updates: the downloaded app quietly checks for a new version at launch and every 90 minutes after that. When the download is verified, a “CommonNote update ready” dialog offers Restart Now or Later.
• The app downloaded from commonnote.app loads its screens from the server, so you can pick up new web features right away with View → Reload (⌘R). The Mac App Store version has its screens built in; reloading doesn’t bring new ones, so update the app from the App Store instead.