Your lists and notes. Available offline.

• macOS desktop app (Intel + Apple Silicon)
• Unlimited to-do lists with priority levels
• Unlimited Markdown notes with live preview editor
• Categories with subcategory support
• PDF and Word (DOCX) export
• AI list suggestions & item expansion (optional)
• AI grammar, writing improvement & TLDR (optional)
• Note version history (auto-saved before AI changes)
• Daily auto-backups (15 rolling)
• Full data import & export
• Trash with 14-day recovery
• Light & dark themes
• Free updates

How the main features work

To-Do Lists & Checklists

Create lists with checkable items, priority levels, and categories. Mark items as complete, reorder, expand vague items into specific alternatives with AI, or get suggestions for what else to add.

Markdown Editor with Live Preview

Write notes in Markdown with a side-by-side preview pane and a formatting toolbar for quick access to bold, italic, headings, lists, links, code, and more. Full support for tables, code blocks, and checklists. Notes are stored as individual .md files on your machine.

Categories & Subcategories

Organise lists and notes with categories, including subcategories (e.g. travel/japan). Filter and search across everything from the sidebar.

AI Writing Assistance

Optional online AI features powered by your own API key. Get a TLDR summary, check grammar and spelling, improve writing clarity, or generate opposing viewpoints on a note. A version is saved before any AI changes so you can always undo.

PDF & Word Document Export

Export any note to PDF with clean formatting, font selection, and optional metadata. Or export to Word (DOCX) for sharing and collaboration. Copy as Markdown for pasting into other apps. Lists can also be exported as text.

Private by Design. Available Offline.

Your work and daily auto-backups are stored on your Mac, with no app account required. Optional AI tools need internet and send only the note or list you choose to your AI provider.

Works With Your AI Assistant

Assistant access in Settings is off until you turn it on. While it's on and Lists & Notes is open, an AI assistant on your Mac such as Claude Desktop or ChatGPT desktop can read, add to and change your lists and notes and add or rename categories, with anything it deletes going to Trash, and what it reads is sent to the AI service behind that assistant. The setup steps are in the help centre.

Personal Organisers

Keep track of shopping lists, project ideas, reading lists, travel plans — anything that works as a list or a note. Categories keep it all findable.

Writers & Note-Takers

A distraction-free writing app with Markdown support and real-time preview. Export finished documents to PDF or Word.

Professionals

Meeting notes, client briefs, project checklists, research notes. Create polished PDF documents or Word files for sharing.

Privacy-Conscious Users

Keep your lists and notes on your own Mac, with no app account required. If you use optional AI tools, the selected content is sent to your chosen provider.

Students & Researchers

Organise research by topic, take lecture notes in Markdown, group with categories. Export to PDF or Word for papers and presentations.

Anyone Who Values Privacy

Keep your notes and lists on your own computer, with no app account or cloud sync required.

Why Lists & Notes instead of a cloud app?

No account required

Download, open, start writing. No signup, no email, no password.

Notes stored as Markdown files

Each note is a plain .md file in the app's data folder, so nothing is locked in a database. Export to PDF or Word when you need a note elsewhere, and back the folder up however you like.

One-time purchase

Pay once, use it forever. No subscription that stops working when you stop paying.

No feature bloat

Lists and notes with categories, priorities, and export. Not a project management platform pretending to be a note app.

1. Create your first list or note — hit the + button to start a new list or switch to Notes and create a note. Pick a category to keep things organised.
2. Organise with categories — create categories that match how you think. Use subcategories for finer grouping (e.g. work/projects, personal/health). Filter from the sidebar.
3. Write in Markdown — notes support full Markdown with a live preview pane. Toggle between edit, preview, or split view.
4. Add AI if you want it — in Settings, add your Claude or OpenAI API key. AI features then appear on lists and notes: suggestions, grammar checks, TLDR summaries, writing improvement.

First time installing one of these apps? The Installing an app guide walks through downloading it from your Gumroad Library and installing it on your Mac.

Does Lists & Notes work offline?

Yes. Once downloaded and installed, you can create, edit, search, save and export lists and notes without an internet connection, including PDF and Word export. Your work is stored on your Mac. Optional AI tools, update checks and downloads, and external websites need internet.

Do I need an account to use the app?

No. Open the installed app and start writing. You do not need a Lists & Notes account or an online sign-in to access your notes. Optional AI tools require your own API key from a supported provider.

Do I need an AI API key?

No. Lists & Notes works fully without AI. You can create lists, write notes, organise with categories, export to PDF — all without an API key. AI adds optional features: list item suggestions, grammar checking, writing improvement, and note summaries.

Is my data stored in the cloud?

No. All data is stored locally on your Mac — lists, notes, settings, and backups. API keys are encrypted at rest on your machine. Note content is only sent to your chosen AI provider when you explicitly trigger an AI feature on that specific note.

What format are notes stored in?

Notes are stored as individual Markdown (.md) files on your Mac. The app manages the files for you. You can export your full dataset as JSON at any time for backup or migration.

Can I back up my data?

Yes. The app automatically creates daily backups (up to 15 are kept). You can view and restore from any backup in Settings. You can also manually export all data as a JSON file and import it on another machine. Import is non-destructive — existing items are skipped, only new ones are added.

Can I export notes?

Yes. Export any note to PDF (with page formatting, font choice, and optional metadata) or Word (DOCX). You can also export your entire dataset as JSON for backup or migration.

How is this different from Evernote or Notion?

Lists & Notes is a one-time purchase that runs entirely offline on your Mac. There's no account, no cloud sync, no subscription, and no tracking. Each note is saved as its own Markdown file in the app's data folder, and you can export to PDF or Word whenever you need a note somewhere else. If you want a private, offline alternative to cloud-based note taking apps, this is built for that.

Is the app safe to install?

Yes. Lists & Notes is code-signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarized by Apple, for both Intel and Apple Silicon Macs. That means macOS verifies it opens cleanly without security warnings, and Apple has checked the build for malicious code.

Does it work on Windows?

Currently macOS only (12 or later). A Windows version may follow based on demand.

Can I try the app and get a refund?

Yes. Individual app purchases include a 14-day money-back guarantee. Install it, try it, and if it does not suit your needs, email david@tiongcreative.com.au with your order details within 14 days of purchase.

If your purchase is fully refunded and the licence ends, you must stop using the app and delete copies and installers held under that licence. Your own documents and exported work remain yours to keep.

Are updates included?

Yes. When you buy the app on its own there is no subscription, and future updates to it are included.

Do I need a subscription?

No. Lists & Notes is a one-time purchase. If you choose to use the AI features, you'll need your own API key from Anthropic or OpenAI, which you pay for at your provider's usage rates. Or get every app through the Tiong Creative membership with updates while your membership is active.

How is payment processed?

Prices are in USD and payment is processed securely by Gumroad. Gumroad may show the price converted to your local currency as a guide, but your card is charged in USD, so your bank may add a small foreign transaction fee.

What's changed in the latest version?

If you buy the app, every future update to it is included at no extra cost. Members get updates while their membership is active. You can see the full list of changes on the changelog page. To download the latest version, visit your Gumroad Library or use the download link in your original purchase receipt. Open the downloaded DMG and drag the app to your Applications folder. When macOS asks if you want to Replace the existing copy, click Replace — your data and settings are kept automatically.

Step-by-step guides, from writing notes to checklists, exporting and backups, are in the help pages. Release notes are on the changelog page. For anything else, email david@tiongcreative.com.au.