Why PaperCache? I saw a cool tool called Antinote, but it was locked behind a paywall. I wanted something similar that was open source and fit my own workflow perfectly, so I built PaperCache to match it. It solved my problem, and I figured other people might have the exact same needs, so I made it completely free and open for everyone. Read the full story in our Core Philosophy.
Summon it with a hotkey. Jot. Dismiss. It stays out of your way until you need it.
- Lives in the background — no dock icon, no window chrome. Press your hotkey, it appears on whatever screen your mouse is on. Click away, it vanishes.
- Reactive math & variables — define
/var x = 10, writex * 3 =, get30. Change the variable, everything updates. Works across notes with/globvar. - Inline AI — type
/ai <prompt>, press enter, get the answer inserted directly into your note. No sidebar, no context switch. - Auto-highlights hex colors, dates, and times —
#D97757renders as a color pill. Clicking on the circle copies the hex code.31-05-2024gets highlighted. Useful at a glance. - Interactive Checkboxes & Slash Commands — Type
/to see inline autosuggestions (like/check,/task, or/ai). PressTabto instantly complete them. Checkboxes strike through text when clicked. - Tasks & Reminders — Type
/taskfollowed by@ 1d2hto set a due date. PressCmd+Rto open a unified Tasks view that tracks all your pending items and due times. - Countdown Timers — Type
/timeror pressCmd+Tto open the Timers panel. Create timers with quick presets or custom durations — native OS notifications fire even when the app is minimized. - Tags & folders —
!tagnamefor tags,/in note titles for folders. Right-click any tag pill to export or delete all tagged notes at once. - Graph view — press
Cmd+Gto open a 2D knowledge graph with flat circle nodes, always-visible labels, and folder-based clustering. PressCmd+Fto fuzzy-search nodes and fly directly to the match.
Deep Dive: For a comprehensive list of every single feature in PaperCache, check out features.md. Performance: We take speed and battery life seriously. Check out our Performance Audit.
Homebrew (macOS):
brew tap variablethe/tap
brew install --cask papercacheDirect download: grab the latest .app or .exe from Releases.
To fix this, simply open your Terminal and run the following command to strip the quarantine flag:
xattr -cr /Applications/PaperCache.appgit clone https://github.com/VariableThe/PaperCache.git
cd PaperCache
npm install
npm run tauri dev # for local development
npm run tauri build # for production bundlingBuilt with Tauri, Rust, React, TypeScript, and Vite.
All shortcuts are fully customizable via Settings → Keybinds (Cmd+Shift+S). Defaults:
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Cmd+Shift+C |
Toggle visibility (global, configurable) |
Cmd+Shift+N |
New note (global, configurable) |
Cmd+Shift+S |
Open keybinds settings modal |
Cmd+N |
New note (in-app) |
Cmd+/ |
Open shortcuts reference |
Cmd+R |
Open Tasks & Reminders page |
Cmd+T |
Open Timers page |
Cmd+K |
Main action menu |
Cmd+P |
Search notes |
Cmd+G |
Graph view |
Cmd+F |
Search in graph (while graph is open) |
Cmd+H |
Highlight selected text |
Cmd+E |
Export note |
Cmd+Click |
Follow internal link |
Esc |
Close menus / modals |
PaperCache brings AI right into your note — no subscription, no middleman. You can configure your API key, model, and endpoint in Settings (Cmd+Shift+S).
- OpenAI: Works out-of-the-box with your OpenAI API key and models like
gpt-4o. - Free Models (OpenRouter): Don't have an AI subscription? Get a free key at OpenRouter, set your Base URL to
https://openrouter.ai/api/v1, and try a powerful free model likenvidia/nemotron-3-super-120b-a12b:free. - Local LLMs: Works seamlessly with local models like Ollama by pointing the Base URL to your local instance.
If you find PaperCache useful, consider buying me a coffee to support its ongoing development!
MIT License.