Inklingfor Mac

Notes that stay on your Mac, with optional iCloud sync

· 6 min read

If you want notes that live on your Mac and nowhere else, macOS already gives you three ways to do it: the On My Mac account in Apple Notes, Stickies, or plain text files kept in a folder iCloud Drive does not touch. The catch is that each one is either easy to sync by accident or slow to reach while you are in the middle of something. Inkling is a notes app in the MacBook notch that keeps notes on the Mac by default, and lets you turn on iCloud sync later, through your own private iCloud, if you decide you want it.

This post covers how to check where your notes live right now, how to set up each local option, and what to weigh before you switch sync on.

First, check where your notes are stored now

Plenty of people believe their notes are local when they are not. Two places decide it.

  1. Apple Notes. Open Notes and look at the sidebar. Notes are grouped by account: iCloud, any mail account that also stores notes, and On My Mac if it is turned on. Anything under iCloud is stored with Apple and synced to every device signed in to your Apple account.
  2. Files on the Desktop or in Documents. Open System Settings, click your name at the top, choose iCloud, and look at the iCloud Drive options. If Desktop & Documents Folders is on, every text file you save in those two folders is uploaded to iCloud Drive as well.

Neither of these is a problem in itself. iCloud is convenient, and for a shopping list it is exactly what you want. But if the reason you are looking for local notes is that some of them should stay on one machine (client details, unfinished drafts, ideas you would rather not see pop up on a phone), it is worth knowing which bucket each note is in before you add any more.

Keep notes local in Apple Notes

Apple Notes can keep an account that never syncs. On most Macs signed in to iCloud it is switched off.

  1. Open Notes.
  2. Choose Notes > Settings from the menu bar.
  3. Turn on “Enable the On My Mac account”.
  4. An On My Mac section appears in the sidebar. Notes you create there stay on this Mac.
  5. To move an existing note, drag it from the note list onto On My Mac in the sidebar.

If you want new notes to go there automatically, the same settings window has a choice for the default account. Set it to On My Mac and a new note no longer lands in iCloud unless you put it there.

The trade-off is that some Notes features rely on iCloud. Sharing a note with someone else, for example, needs the iCloud account. If you mostly write for yourself, you will not miss much.

Stickies and plain text files

Stickies has been part of macOS for a long time and keeps its notes on the Mac with no sync at all. It suits a few short notes you want in view while you work, and Window > Float on Top keeps a note above your other windows. It is not built for finding something you wrote months ago, and it has no structure beyond text and some formatting.

Plain text files are the most portable option. In TextEdit, choose Format > Make Plain Text, write, and save the file to a folder in your home folder that is not the Desktop or Documents, such as a new folder called Notes. Any app on any computer can open a .txt file, and Spotlight searches inside them. The downside is friction: opening an app, making a new document, naming it and choosing where to save it is a lot of steps for a thought that takes seconds to write.

What local notes get you, and what they cost

Keeping notes on the Mac has real benefits:

  • Writing and searching work offline. On a plane or a bad hotel connection, nothing waits for a server.
  • You know where they are. There is one copy, on one machine, under your control.
  • Backups are yours to arrange. Time Machine backs up your home folder, which includes local notes from Notes, Stickies and your own files.

The cost is the other side of the same coin. One copy on one machine means that if the Mac is lost or the drive fails and you have no backup, the notes go with it. This is the honest reason sync exists, and why it is worth deciding on purpose rather than by default.

A sensible middle ground for most people: keep notes local, make sure Time Machine (or another backup) is running, and only switch on sync when you actually start working across two Macs.

When you do want sync, keep it in your own iCloud

If you add a second Mac, there are three questions worth asking of any notes app before you turn sync on:

  1. Whose account does it go through? Your own iCloud means no new account to create and no extra company holding your notes.
  2. Is it off until you turn it on? Sync that starts on its own is how notes end up somewhere you did not expect.
  3. What happens when two Macs edit the same note? Some apps quietly keep whichever change arrived last, and the other one is gone.

This is the part Inkling was built around. Notes live on the Mac, and writing and searching work offline. iCloud sync is optional and off by default; when you turn it on, it goes through your own private iCloud, with no separate account to create. If two Macs change the same line, both versions are kept instead of one being picked, so you decide what stays. There is no analytics or advertising tracking. The app does go online for a few things: activating and checking your license, checking for updates, and, when you capture a web URL, visiting that page to fetch its title.

A license covers up to 3 Macs, so a laptop, a desk Mac and one more can share the same notes through your iCloud.

Getting notes in and out

Local only matters if you can leave. Inkling imports Markdown, so a folder of plain text notes can come with you, and it exports notes as Markdown, rich text or PDF. It also makes daily local backups, which sit alongside whatever Time Machine is doing.

Reaching a note is quick: hover over the notch or press Option-N, write, and press Command-Return. The note tucks away and a pair of eyes in the notch, called Ink, gives a small nod. On a display without a notch, it shows a virtual one.

Some honest limits. It runs on macOS 14 Sonoma or later, on Apple silicon and Intel. There is no iPhone or iPad app, so sync is between Macs only; if you need your notes on your phone, Apple Notes with iCloud is the better fit. There is no sharing or collaboration either. It costs $12 once, with 24 hours free and no card needed, and a 7-day refund policy.

Questions

Are notes in the On My Mac account included in Time Machine backups? Yes. Time Machine backs up your home folder, and that is where Notes keeps its local data. Restoring one note from a backup is less direct than restoring one text file, so if you rely on a particular note, exporting a copy now and then is a good habit.

Does Inkling need an account or an internet connection? No Inkling account. Writing and searching work offline. iCloud sync, if you turn it on, uses your own Apple account; activating a license and checking for updates need a connection, and capturing a web URL goes online to fetch that page’s title.

What happens to my notes when the trial ends? Every note stays readable, searchable, copyable and exportable. A license unlocks writing and editing.