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.2024-05-31gets highlighted. Useful at a glance. - Tags & folders —
!tagnamefor tags,/in note titles for folders. Simple conventions, no UI overhead. - Graph view — see how your notes connect (
Cmd+G).
Deep Dive: For a comprehensive list of every single feature in PaperCache, check out features.md.
Homebrew (macOS):
brew tap variablethe/tap
brew install --cask papercacheDirect download: grab the latest .app or .exe from Releases.
If macOS blocks the app, run:
xattr -cr /Applications/PaperCache.app
git clone https://github.com/VariableThe/PaperCache.git
cd PaperCache
npm install
npm run devBuilt with Electron, React, TypeScript, and Vite.
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
Cmd+Shift+C |
Toggle visibility (global, configurable) |
Cmd+Shift+N |
New note (global, configurable) |
Cmd+Shift+S |
Open settings panel |
Cmd+N |
New note (in-app) |
Cmd+K |
Main action menu |
Cmd+P |
Search notes |
Cmd+G |
Graph view |
Cmd+H |
Highlight selected text |
Cmd+E |
Export note |
Cmd+Click |
Follow internal link |
Cmd + / - |
Zoom in / out |
Cmd + 0 |
Reset zoom |
Esc |
Close menus or modals |
PaperCache uses your own OpenAI API key — no subscription, no middleman. Configure your key, model, and optionally a custom endpoint (works with local LLMs like Ollama) in Settings (Cmd+K → Settings).
MIT License.