NoteBay

Some notes you want to read while you work, not instead of it. NoteBay opens any note as its own small window that stays above the app you are using. Type in it without losing your place: the window takes your text and gives the focus straight back. Set it half transparent when it should sit quietly in a corner, and move it wherever you like. A note is more than a text box. Write in blocks. A slash opens the block menu: heading, checklist, quote, table, image, code. If you know the shortcuts you can skip the menu, since ``` turns into a code block and "- " into a bullet as you type. Bold, italic, strikethrough and inline code sit on the usual keys. Give the whole note a colour so you recognise it in the list without reading a word. Reach for it without reaching for the mouse. NoteBay sits in the menu bar. One shortcut opens an empty note over whatever you are doing, even in fullscreen. Two sentences, close it, carry on. Your notes, on both your devices. Everything syncs through your own iCloud. No account to create, no server of ours in between, nothing to configure. On the iPhone the home screen widget starts a new note in one tap, and full text search finds it again later. Room to keep things in order. Nest folders as deep as you need, mark favourites, colour what matters. Archive what you are done with, and the trash holds deleted notes for 30 days before it lets go. And when you want an AI to help. NoteBay includes a local MCP server, so assistants like Claude can read, write and sort notes in your library. It only ever sees folders you unlocked yourself. Everything else stays invisible to it, and the folder icon tells you which is which at a glance. No subscription and no ads, now or later. NoteBay is free for up to 10 notes so you can try it properly. Unlock the rest once, and it counts for your Mac and your iPhone together.