Envy

Envy is a macOS note-taking application that stores every note as a locally saved plain .md file. It addresses the loss of data ownership by keeping all content on the user's device with no external accounts, services, or dependencies.

A single unified box handles searching, creating, opening, and filtering notes. The app supports interlinking between notes, instant summoning, and a filtered list view for editing and synthesizing content. It runs in one window with options to filter and sort notes. Everything created inside the application, including notes and theme settings, exists as ordinary files outside it. If the application stops being maintained the notes remain fully accessible because they were never stored in a proprietary format.

The manifesto embedded in the product page states principles such as search representing freedom, hypertext and interlinking being essential, and plain text persisting while formats and companies change. It further declares that the source code is open for review. The application requires macOS 14 or later, has a download size of 3.1 MB, and is offered at no cost.

Envy is delivered as a native macOS desktop application. It deliberately avoids any cloud synchronization, instead encouraging users to apply whatever sync method they already trust. There is no telemetry or network communication to external servers.