I've bounced between Apple Notes, Obsidian and Bear for years and kept hitting the same wall: my notes either live in someone's database or the tool grows into something I spend more time configuring than writing in. So I built Margin.

Margin is a markdown notes app for macOS where notes are plain .md files in normal folders you choose. Delete the app and your notes are still sitting there as readable files. Edit them in vim or sync them with git, the app picks up external changes live. Point Claude or any agent at the folder and it can read everything, no plugin or export step.

Key features:

• Local-first: notes are plain Markdown files on your Mac, no cloud sync required

• Markdown that stays out of the way: syntax hides when you're not on it, with tables, task lists and callouts

• Links between notes update automatically on rename, so nothing breaks

• Spaces separate work, personal and family, each with its own folder, note list, search and visual tint

• Todos, tags and relative dates like "today" live inline in the text, and a Todo view collects individual checkboxes from across all notes

• AI for searching, rewording, summarizing and generating, through your own API key or a small local model, with every change shown as a diff before you accept it

• Quick capture, even with the main window closed

• Instant startup, no spinners, works with Shortcuts and Raycast

• 29 themes and deep customization

• No account, nothing leaves your Mac unless you ask

It's a 17MB native app built with Tauri. macOS only for now, and pricing isn't decided yet, early waitlist signups will get a discount either way.