A minimalist, stealth-mode note-taking application for Windows that remains invisible to screen sharing and recording while being fully visible and interactive to the user.
- Invisible to Screen Sharing: Uses Windows API
SetWindowDisplayAffinityto exclude from screen capture - No Taskbar Presence: Hidden from taskbar and Alt+Tab switcher
- User Visible: Fully visible and interactive to the user while invisible to recordings
- Toggle On/Off: Easy toggle with button or Ctrl+Shift+T hotkey
- Ctrl+Shift+H: Show/Hide window
- Ctrl+Shift+F: Cycle window modes (Compact ? Simple ? Full-screen)
- Ctrl+Shift+T: Toggle stealth mode
- Dark Mode: Professional dark theme with subtle grays
- Bright Mode: Clean bright theme with high contrast
- System Mode: Automatically syncs with Windows theme preference
- Compact: Fixed 400×300 pixels for minimal screen space usage
- Simple: Resizable (default 600×400) with 300×200 minimum, 80% screen maximum
- Full-screen: Covers entire screen, hiding taskbar and borders
- Single Note Storage: All text stored in
%AppData%\StealthNote\note.txt - Auto-save: Saves every 5 seconds when not in stealth mode
- Manual Save: Save button and hotkey support
- Stealth Protection: Prevents saving in stealth mode to maintain invisibility
- Persistent Settings: UI mode, window mode, and opacity saved to
%AppData%\StealthNote\config.json - Opacity Control: Adjustable transparency (50%-100%) for stealth mode
- Logging: Application events logged to
%AppData%\StealthNote\logs.txt
- Operating System: Windows 10 (version 2004+) or Windows 11
- Framework: Microsoft .NET 8.0 Desktop Runtime
- Memory: <100MB RAM usage
- CPU: <5% CPU usage during normal operation
- Architecture: x64
- Download
StealthNoteSetup.exefrom releases - Run the installer (will check for .NET 8.0 Runtime)
- Follow installation wizard
- Launch from Start Menu or Desktop shortcut
- Download
StealthNote-Portable-v1.1.0.zip - Extract to desired folder
- Ensure .NET 8.0 Desktop Runtime is installed
- Run
StealthNote.exeor useLaunch-StealthNote.bat
- Launch: Run StealthNote.exe or use global hotkey Ctrl+Shift+H if already running
- Type: Enter text directly in the editor area
- Save: Click Save button or text auto-saves every 5 seconds (when not in stealth mode)
- Hide: Click Hide button or press Ctrl+Shift+H
- Default: Enabled by startup
- Behavior: Window invisible to screen sharing/recording but visible to user
- Saving: Disabled in stealth mode - toggle off to save
- Toggle: Click ghost icon or press Ctrl+Shift+T
- Resize: Drag corners/edges (Simple mode only)
- Move: Drag from any area of the window
- Mode Switch: Click window mode button or press Ctrl+Shift+F
- Theme: Use dropdown in header to change appearance
%AppData%\StealthNote\
??? note.txt # Your note content
??? config.json # Application settings
??? logs.txt # Application event logs
| Hotkey | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl+Shift+H | Show/Hide window |
| Ctrl+Shift+F | Cycle window modes |
| Ctrl+Shift+T | Toggle stealth mode |
- Uses
WDA_EXCLUDEFROMCAPTUREflag with Windows API - Compatible with Windows 10 version 2004+ and Windows 11
- Hides from Alt+Tab using
WS_EX_TOOLWINDOWextended style - No system tray presence for complete invisibility
- Minimal CPU usage through optimized text change handling
- Thread-safe file operations with locking mechanisms
- Efficient auto-save with debouncing to prevent excessive writes
- Memory-conscious design with proper resource disposal
- Automatic screen size detection for proper window sizing
- High-DPI awareness for crisp display on modern monitors
- Proper positioning across multiple monitor setups
- Visual Studio 2022 or Visual Studio Code
- .NET 8.0 SDK
- Windows 10 SDK (for Windows API features)
# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/CKShetty4/StealthNote.git
cd StealthNote
# Restore dependencies
dotnet restore
# Build Release version
dotnet build -c Release
# Create portable package
create-portable.bat
# Create installer (requires Inno Setup)
# Open StealthNote-Setup.iss in Inno Setup CompilerApplication won't start
- Ensure .NET 8.0 Desktop Runtime is installed
- Check Windows version compatibility (10 version 2004+ required)
- Run as administrator if permission issues occur
Hotkeys not working
- Check for conflicts with other applications
- Restart application to re-register hotkeys
- Verify Windows version supports global hotkey registration
Stealth mode not working
- Confirm Windows 10 version 2004+ or Windows 11
- Test with screen sharing software (Teams, Zoom, etc.)
- Check application logs in
%AppData%\StealthNote\logs.txt
High CPU usage
- Close and restart application
- Check for large amounts of text (>50,000 characters)
- Disable auto-save if experiencing issues
If you encounter issues:
- Check
%AppData%\StealthNote\logs.txtfor error details - Report issues at: https://github.com/CKShetty4/StealthNote/issues
- Include system details, error logs, and reproduction steps
- No Network Activity: Application operates entirely offline
- Local Storage Only: All data stored locally in user's AppData folder
- No Telemetry: No usage data or analytics collected
- User Account Restricted: File access limited to current user account
- Secure by Design: Stealth mode prevents accidental exposure
We welcome contributions! Please see our contributing guidelines and submit pull requests to the main repository.
This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.
- Issues: https://github.com/CKShetty4/StealthNote/issues
- Email: dev.ckshetty@gmail.com
- Documentation: https://github.com/CKShetty4/StealthNote/wiki
- Enhanced icon system with properly scaled SVG icons
- Added window dragging functionality from header area
- Implemented dynamic window mode indicators with distinct icons
- Added application close button with auto-save on exit
- Comprehensive help system with email issue reporting
- Fixed icon clipping issues with Viewbox containers
- Improved theme-adaptive icon coloring
- Enhanced error handling and user feedback
- Fixed XML encoding issues in help content
- Added null reference safety improvements
- Initial release
- Stealth mode with screen capture exclusion
- Global hotkey system
- Three window modes (Compact, Simple, Full-screen)
- Three theme modes (Dark, Bright, System)
- Auto-save functionality
- Configuration persistence
- Comprehensive error handling and logging
- Multi-monitor and high-DPI support
- Production-ready installer and portable packages
StealthNote - Take notes invisibly, work confidently.