Header
Your notes, meetings, and research, together on your Mac. All in plain Markdown files you own.
Now in beta for macOS
Header is a Mac app. Open this page on your Mac to download it, or email yourself the link.
Free download, notarized by Apple. Header tells you when a new beta is ready. Installed before 11 October? Download once more and it will tell you when the next beta is ready. Questions or ideas? They go to the community forum, where the people building Header answer.
Free during the beta · macOS 14.4 or later · Apple silicon and Intel
A tour of Header's Markdown editor, meeting notes, local file ownership, and optional AI edits you can accept or reject. Instrumental music; no spoken audio.
Your notes stay yours
Header works on a folder of plain Markdown files, so everything you write stays readable without it.
Open the folder you already have
Point Header at a local folder, iCloud Drive, or Dropbox. Existing Markdown notes open as they are, with no import step. Obsidian vaults work too, though Obsidian plugins don't carry over.
Meetings, written up
Record a call or an in-person meeting, and the minutes land in your vault as a note.
Minutes for every meeting
Record a call or an in-person meeting and get a note with a summary, decisions, and action items, each linked to the moment it was said. Optionally connect your calendar to see upcoming meetings and record them in one click. Recording happens on your Mac, and you decide whether to keep the audio.
No Header server ever receives your audio or transcripts.
Recorded and transcribed on your Mac on macOS 26 or later, or with the optional Whisper model. On earlier macOS versions and for some languages, Apple’s speech recognition may process audio on Apple’s servers. Summaries are written on your Mac; cloud AI runs only when you ask. Audio is deleted after transcription unless you keep it.
Your day at a glance
One page for today's calendar and the tasks your notes are waiting on.
Today
Today brings your schedule and the open tasks from your notes into one place, each linked back to the note it came from. When you're done, close the day with a short record in today's note. It's built from your notes on your Mac, with no cloud AI.
Share it when it is ready
Turn a note into a document you can send.
Export in the format people expect
Export a note as a PDF, a web page, a Word document, a PowerPoint presentation, Rich Text, Markdown, or plain text.
Write, link, and look back
The everyday tools, all working on the same plain files.
Rich or raw Markdown
Write in a rich editor, plain source, or both side by side. Tables, diagrams, and math render as you type.
Links and tags
Link notes with [[ ]], see backlinks, and browse by tag.
History
Every note keeps earlier versions you can browse and restore.
Graph and Canvas
See how notes connect, or lay ideas out on a board.
Quick Capture
Save a thought or a link with a shortcut, or from the menu bar, even when Header isn't in front.
Built for focus and the keyboard
Hide everything but the page, or press ⌘K to jump to any note or command.
Make it yours
Choose from six ink themes, each in light and dark. Header can follow your Mac's appearance or keep the one you pick.
Optional AI
You don't need AI to use Header. If you turn it on, it stays checkable.
Review every suggested edit
AI suggestions arrive as changes you accept or reject, and answers to your questions cite the notes they came from. Earlier versions stay available in History.
AI needs your own provider key (such as OpenAI, Anthropic, or Mistral), Ollama, or Apple Intelligence on supported Macs.
And more
From first draft to finished work.
Manuscripts
Write long pieces in chapters, then export the whole manuscript.
Research and reading
Add sources from a DOI, PubMed ID, ISBN, arXiv link, URL, title, or citation, and cite them as you write. Read PDFs and Word files beside your notes; highlights never change the file.
Lenses
Turn your notes into tables of tasks, decisions, and open questions.
Atlas
With AI, a wiki of your vault that cites the notes behind every page.
Your vaults, your rules
Keep work and personal notes in separate vaults, and lock private notes behind Touch ID, encrypted on disk.
At home on your Mac
Spotlight search, Shortcuts actions, and a desktop widget.
Why Header
Notes, meetings, and research in one Mac app, built on files you own.
| Feature | Header | Cloud note apps | Plain Markdown editors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your notes | Plain Markdown files in a folder you choose | Stored in their service; export to take them with you | Plain files |
| Account | Not required | Required | Usually not required |
| Meetings | Built in, transcribed on your Mac on macOS 26 or later | Often an add-on, processed in their cloud | Plugins, if any |
| AI | Optional: your provider, Ollama, or Apple Intelligence | Built in, runs on their servers | Plugins |
| Editing | Rich or raw Markdown, with history for every note | Rich editor, their own format | Raw Markdown |
- Your files stay yours
- Plain Markdown, saved in a folder you choose.
- No account needed
- Open Header and start writing.
- Meeting notes, built in
- Transcribe on your Mac with macOS 26 or later.
- AI is your choice
- Use your provider, Ollama, or Apple Intelligence—or leave AI off.
- Edit your way
- Rich text or raw Markdown, with history for every note.
Compare with other apps
| Feature | Header | Cloud note apps | Plain Markdown editors |
|---|---|---|---|
| Your notes | Plain Markdown files in a folder you choose | Stored in their service; export to take them with you | Plain files |
| Account | Not required | Required | Usually not required |
| Meetings | Built in, transcribed on your Mac on macOS 26 or later | Often an add-on, processed in their cloud | Plugins, if any |
| AI | Optional: your provider, Ollama, or Apple Intelligence | Built in, runs on their servers | Plugins |
| Editing | Rich or raw Markdown, with history for every note | Rich editor, their own format | Raw Markdown |
Questions
Everything you need before you start.
How do I join the beta?
Two ways, both free. Download Header, open the file, drag Header to Applications and open it. It's notarized by Apple. Header checks once a day and tells you when a new beta is ready (or choose Header › Check for Updates…). From beta 11 on, one click installs it and relaunches Header; earlier betas only open this page, so download beta 11 once. Or open the TestFlight link on your Mac, install TestFlight from the App Store if you don't have it, then install HeaderNotes; updates arrive automatically. Pick one, since they're the same app. Header needs macOS 14.4 or later and runs on Apple silicon and Intel Macs.
Is the download different from the TestFlight version?
It's the same app. The download can also do a few things the App Store rules don't allow: Git sync, the Pandoc export route and importing from Apple Notes. TestFlight gives you automatic updates and a built-in way to send feedback. If you switch, open your notes folder again in the other one; your notes are just files, so nothing moves.
How can I send feedback?
Share ideas, report bugs, or join the conversation on our community forum. You can also use Help → Report Issue in Header, or write to support@morrowfieldlabs.com.
Is Header the same as HeaderNotes?
Yes. The app is called Header, and you will find it as HeaderNotes in TestFlight and on the App Store.
Is Header free?
Header is free to try during the beta. We will share more about pricing when the full version is ready.
Is it Mac only?
The beta is for Mac. We want to get it right there before talking about other platforms.
Where are my notes stored? Do I need AI?
Your notes are plain Markdown files in a folder you choose. AI is optional: you can connect your own provider, use Ollama, or use Apple Intelligence on supported Macs. By default, Header shows you what it will send before any note text goes to a cloud provider. See the privacy policy for details.
Talk to the people building Header
The community forum is where beta testers and the Header team meet. It is small and new, so your post gets read and answered by the people who make the decisions.
- What's new in each beta build, and how to get it.
- Ask anything about Markdown, folders, sync or setting up AI.
- Shape what comes next: feature requests and bug reports, discussed in the open.
A free account on our forum. It takes a minute.
Come help shape Header
Beta feedback goes straight to the people building Header. Try it, tell us what you think, and help decide what comes next.
Header is a Mac app. Open this page on your Mac to download it, or email yourself the link.