noam.

Local-first Markdown notes your team edits together in real time.

Noam is a local-first Markdown notes app that keeps your notes as plain files on your disk and lets your team edit them together, live.

Download for macOS View on GitHub

Free and open source · macOS (Apple Silicon) · No account needed

Apache 2.0 open source
Zero telemetry
Plain .md files
Self-hosted sync

Features

Everything a notes app should be. Nothing it should not.

Your notes stay yours: plain files, local-first, and open. Collaboration and AI plug in on your terms.

.md

Plain Markdown files

Every note is a plain .md file on disk. No database lock-in, no proprietary format. Open them in any editor, back them up with any tool.

≈

Real-time collaboration

Edit the same notes together, live. Yjs CRDTs keep every cursor and keystroke in sync across your team.

Rs

Rust sync bridge

A Rust bridge keeps CRDT state and your files perfectly in sync. Fast, reliable, and invisible.

AI

Scoped AI access

AI access is opt-in and permission-scoped per file via MCP. Agents see only what you allow, nothing else.

Q

Full-text search

Instant full-text search across every note, powered by SQLite FTS5. It runs locally, so it is always fast.

∞

Backlinks and note graph

See how your notes connect. Backlinks and a note graph turn scattered files into a real knowledge base.

How it works

Yours first. Shared when you say so.

No account, no onboarding flow, no cloud to sign into. Start local, add sync and sharing only if you want them.

STEP 1

Write locally, your files stay yours

Install Noam and start writing. Your notes live as plain Markdown on your machine from the first keystroke.

STEP 2

Self-host sync when you want it

Spin up the sync server with docker compose up on your own machine. Free and unlimited, because there is no managed tier.

STEP 3

Invite your team, or point an agent at it

Share notes with collaborators in real time, or give an AI agent scoped access to exactly the files it needs.

Privacy

Your notes never leave your machine unless you say so.

  • Zero telemetry. A fresh install makes no network connections at all.
  • No analytics, no crash reporting, no phone-home code anywhere in the app.
  • Sync carries only opaque binary CRDT updates over TLS, to a server you control.
  • No account, no sign-in, no identity to track.
Honest caveat: sync is not end-to-end encrypted yet, so you trust your own server. The sync protocol is open and self-hosted, and stronger encryption is on the roadmap.

Download

Noam v0.1.59 for macOS

Apple Silicon only. Signed and notarized. No auto-update yet, so grab the latest .dmg when a new release drops.

Download .dmg All releases

Prefer the source? Build it yourself on GitHub.

FAQ

Questions, answered plainly.

Is it really free?
Yes. Noam is open source under Apache 2.0, and sync is self-hosted, so there is no managed tier to charge you for. Free means free.
Which platforms are supported?
The current v0.1.59 release supports macOS on Apple Silicon only. Intel Macs and other platforms are not supported yet, and there is no auto-update yet.
Is my data encrypted?
Sync traffic runs over TLS and carries only opaque binary CRDT updates, but sync is not end-to-end encrypted yet, so you trust your own server. Files on disk are protected by your operating system, like FileVault on macOS.
Does it phone home?
No. Zero telemetry. A fresh install makes no network connections. There is no analytics, crash reporting, or phone-home code anywhere in the app.
Can AI read my notes?
Only what you allow. AI access is opt-in and scoped per file through MCP. An agent sees exactly the files you grant it access to, and nothing else.
How is this different from Obsidian or Notion?
Your notes are plain .md files that stay on your machine, there is no account and no telemetry, real-time collaboration is built in through CRDTs instead of bolted on, and sync is a self-hosted open component rather than a paid service.