Shelf is a small native macOS app for saving links, files, and quick notes for later. Drop something in, keep moving, and come back when you actually need it.
- Saves web links as normal
.txtfiles - Copies dropped files into your Shelf folder
- Saves dropped text as notes
- Lets you pin important items
- Lets you remove items from the Shelf list without deleting the saved file
- Includes a simple Check for Updates button that opens the latest release page
Download the newest version here:
github.com/dudeactual/Shelf/releases/latest
On the release page, download the newest Shelf .zip or .dmg, open it, then move Shelf.app into your Applications folder.
Shelf requires macOS 14 or newer.
Shelf is currently distributed for free outside the Mac App Store. That means macOS may show a warning like:
“Shelf” cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified.
To open it:
- Right-click
Shelf.app - Choose Open
- Click Open again if macOS asks
This only happens because the free build is not Apple-notarized yet. The app still stores your data locally in your own Documents folder.
Shelf saves everything in:
~/Documents/Shelf
Inside that folder:
- Dropped files are copied as regular files
- Links are saved as
.txtfiles containing the URL - Notes are saved as
.txtfiles .shelf-index.jsonstores display info like pinning and list order
Inside Shelf, open Settings and click Check for Updates.
Right now, this opens the latest GitHub Release page so you can download the newest version manually. Full in-app auto-updates may come later.
Questions, ideas, bugs, and feature requests are welcome in the Shelf Discord:
If you want to build Shelf from source:
./script/build_and_run.shTo create a local release package:
VERSION=1.0.0 ./script/package_release.shThis creates downloadable files in releases/.
To ship a new version:
git add .
git commit -m "Update Shelf"
git push
./script/ship_update.sh 1.0.1GitHub Actions will build the release and attach the download files to GitHub Releases.