SideNotes 1.6.4

by razahussain · September 6, 2026

SideNotes 1.6.4 for Mac

A slide-out scratchpad that parks notes, tasks, and clips at the Mac screen edge so you can jot something down without leaving the app you are in.

Pulling the panel and capturing a thought
The panel sits above other windows, including full screen and Stage Manager. Show or hide it with a keyboard shortcut, a click on the open bar, or by moving the pointer to the chosen screen edge (Hot Side). A useful capture is short: paste from the clipboard, drop an image or a file shortcut, tick a task, or park a #rrggbb swatch. If the clipboard already holds the thought, create a note from the pasteboard and file it once you are back in the main app. Notes can be Markdown with hidden markup, plain text, or a Code note. Search the library, pin frequent notes or folders, and fold long cards so the stack stays short. Color a note with a full wash or a thin side bar. Move items between folders with Command-Shift-M. Apple Shortcuts, AppleScript, and a URL scheme can pin, fold, or open a note from other tools; the vendor lists Alfred, Raycast, PopClip, Hookmark, and Dropzone as existing integrations.

What you pay for, and what stays on disk
Notes live on the Mac. Optional iCloud sync is available; SideNotes Mobile for iPhone and iPad is a separate purchase. Automatic backups cover accidental deletes. Apptorium sells a one-time 1.x license about $19.99 for one user on up to five Macs, with a website trial and a 14-day money-back window on direct checkout. The Mac App Store and Setapp carry the same product without that website trial. Version 2 is planned as a paid upgrade with a discount for existing 1.x users, and free if you bought within the last six months. The current line needs macOS 13 or later and runs on Apple Silicon and Intel.

Scratchpad versus a full notes library
Use it when a full notes window is too much switching for a two-line reminder. Stay with a larger Markdown library if you need wiki links, a graph, or files you manage in Finder. Stickies is enough only if you never want folders, sync, or Shortcuts. On 1.6.4, Command-V can wrap selected text in a pasted URL, and Shift-Return inserts a soft line break editor habits that match how you already type in a browser.