jot

A lightweight macOS menu bar app for quick note capture. Jot down thoughts instantly with a global keyboard shortcut — notes are saved as Markdown files to a directory of your choice.

Features

• Global shortcut (Cmd+Shift+N) to capture notes from anywhere
• Saves notes as Markdown with optional YAML frontmatter tags
• Configurable save directory and default tag
• Floating panel with frosted glass appearance
• Runs as a menu bar app (no Dock icon)

Install

curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/furst/Jot/main/scripts/install.sh | bash

This clones the repo, builds from source, and installs jot.app into /Applications.

Requirements: macOS 13.0+ with Xcode Command Line Tools (xcode-select --install).

Manual build

git clone https://github.com/furst/Jot.git
cd Jot
./scripts/bundle.sh
open .build/bundle/jot.app

Usage

• Left-click the menu bar icon to open the note editor
• Right-click for the menu (Settings, Quit)
• Cmd+Shift+N to open from anywhere (requires Accessibility permission)
• Cmd+Return to save a note
• Escape to dismiss

Settings

• Save Location — directory where notes are saved (default: ~/Documents)
• Default Tag — automatically added to every note's frontmatter

License

MIT