Quick Capture

Quick Capture for Mac.
From Thought to Note in 1 Second.

Six ways to capture an idea before it disappears — most in 1 second, all under 3. Drag, click, type, speak, shake, or ask an AI.

Download on the App Store See the six ways

macOS 14+  •  Free download  •  Works in any app

Drag a sticky note from the SlashNote menu bar icon — an empty yellow note appears instantly under the cursor with a peel animation

Six Ways to Capture a Note

Pick the entry point that matches the moment. Three free, three Pro. All land you in an editable sticky note.

👆

Drag from Menu Bar

Free
~1s

Pull the menu bar icon down — a sticky note grows under your cursor with a smooth peel animation. Unique to SlashNote.

🖱️

Click the Icon

Free
~2s

Click the menu bar icon and pick New Note. Classic, predictable, familiar to every Mac user.

⌨️

Global Hotkey

Free
~1s

Customizable keyboard shortcut from anywhere on macOS. No mouse, no app switch. Works even when another app is fullscreen.

🎤

Voice Note

Pro
~1s after press

Push-to-talk with a customizable hotkey. Powered by Whisper running on-device. No audio leaves your Mac.

How voice notes work →
🫨

Shake Gesture

Pro
~2s

Dragging a file or text from another app? Shake your mouse — the content drops into a brand new sticky note.

🤖

From an AI Agent

Pro
via Claude/Cursor

Ask Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client in natural language. The AI creates the note for you. 26 endpoints exposed.

Set up the MCP server →

Want every way? Compare all 10 methods to take a quick note on Mac →

Why 1 Second Matters

Speed is not a vanity metric. It is the difference between a captured idea and a forgotten one.

Working memory holds new information for roughly 15 to 30 seconds before it decays without rehearsal. A 5 to 10 second app-launch delay is not just slow — it eats your idea's lifespan.

~1s

SlashNote drag or hotkey

One gesture, no app switch. The thought is on the page before working memory drops it.

~5–10s

Conventional notes apps

Cmd+Tab, find the app, launch, wait for the window, click into a field, start typing. A lot can be lost in those seconds.

Speed Showdown

SlashNote vs the apps people most often compare it to.

Method SlashNote Apple Quick Note (Fn+Q) Apple Notes Raycast Tot Notion
Time to editable note ~1s ~3s ~5–10s ~2s ~2s ~5–7s
Menu bar access Drag + click No No Via Raycast bar Click only No
Customizable hotkey Yes Fn+Q only No Yes Yes Yes
Voice capture On-device Whisper Siri dictation Siri dictation No No No
3-state checkboxes Yes No No (2-state) No No No (2-state)
Works offline Fully Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Cost Free / $9.99 mo / $29.99 yr / $29.99 lifetime Free with macOS Free with macOS Free / Pro $20 one-time Free / Plus / Business

Times measured from intent to editable cursor in a new note. macOS 14, default settings, Feb 2026.

Full breakdown: SlashNote vs Apple Fn+Q vs Tot vs Raycast vs Notion →

Capture Once. Pin It. Check It Off.

The combination no competitor has — 3-state checkboxes plus pinned-always-visible sticky notes. Built for daily plans, recurring checklists, and tracking what is in progress right now.

☑️

3-State Checkboxes

Track progress with three states — to-do, in-progress, done. Most apps have two. We have three. Right-click any checkbox to cycle.

[ ] To-do [/] In-progress [x] Done
📌

Pinned Over Every Window

A pinned note stays visible above all apps, across every Space, even on top of fullscreen apps. Your daily checklist never gets buried.

Across Spaces • Above fullscreen apps
🔁

Reusable Daily Checklists

Morning routine, daily standup, code review steps, weekly review — keep one sticky for each. Check off, reset, repeat.

Morning • Standup • Review • Weekly

Want a methodology to wrap around this? Build a daily second-brain workflow →

Works Wherever You Are

Capture from any app, any state, any network condition.

🖥️

In Fullscreen Apps

Global hotkey pierces fullscreen mode. Capturing during a presentation, Figma full-bleed, or Xcode focus mode works the same as everywhere else.

✈️

Without the Internet

Every capture method is local. Notes save to SQLite on disk. On a plane, in a tunnel, in a remote cabin — capture still works.

🌐

From Any Browser or IDE

Drag a paragraph from Safari, a link from Chrome, code from Cursor or VS Code. Shake the mouse mid-drag — instant note.

🤝

From AI Agents

Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, JetBrains, Zed — any MCP client can create notes on your behalf via natural language.

Deep dives: voice notes  •  developer integrations  •  MCP server

Frequently Asked Questions

What's the fastest way to capture notes on Mac? ▾
Drag from the menu bar — about 1 second from intent to editable cursor. SlashNote is the only Mac notes app with a drag-out gesture. The global keyboard shortcut is tied at ~1 second. Voice and click-the-icon take about 2 seconds. All six methods land you in a sticky note ready to type.
How does SlashNote compare to Apple's Quick Note (Fn+Q)? ▾
Fn+Q is great when you remember it exists. SlashNote gives you six entry points instead of one — including drag, voice, shake, and AI — and your notes show up as sticky notes you can pin, color-code, and check off, not buried inside the Notes app. Average capture time: ~1s vs ~3s for Fn+Q.
Can I capture notes without opening an app? ▾
Yes. SlashNote lives in your menu bar. Drag the icon down, click it to open the menu, or press your global hotkey from anywhere — no app to switch to, no window to find. The note appears, you type, you move on.
Is quick capture free or Pro? ▾
Drag, click-the-icon, and global hotkey capture are all free, forever. Voice notes, shake gesture, and MCP-from-AI are Pro features (Pro Monthly $9.99, Pro Yearly $29.99, Lifetime $29.99). 3-state checkboxes and pinning over windows are free.
Can I customize the keyboard shortcut? ▾
Yes. Go to Settings → Shortcuts and pick any combination you want. You can also set a separate hotkey for the voice note push-to-talk.
Does the hotkey work when another app is fullscreen? ▾
Yes. The global hotkey is registered at the macOS system level, so it triggers even when you are in a fullscreen presentation, Figma, Xcode focus mode, or any other fullscreen context.
Can I capture notes from Claude or Cursor? ▾
Yes. SlashNote includes an MCP server with 26 HTTP endpoints. Any MCP-compatible AI client — Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Cursor, Windsurf, JetBrains, Zed — can create, edit, search, and organize notes in natural language. Pro feature.
What if I am offline? ▾
Every capture method works offline. Notes are stored locally in SQLite. Voice transcription runs on-device with Whisper after the first model download. AI features that require cloud (like /note Cloud or Anthropic) need internet — everything else, including the MCP server, runs locally.

Looking for an Apple Quick Note (Fn+Q) replacement? Read our full guide →

Capture Your Next Idea

Download SlashNote — free on the Mac App Store. Pro unlocks voice, shake, and MCP.

Download on the App Store