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optcmd.space

quick capture for macOS · open source · local-first

thought to inbox in one keystroke

Capture todos, notes, and ideas without breaking your flow. Press ⌥⌘Space anywhere, type, hit enter, save locally.

download for macOSv0.2.0
view on github
>
>review pull requests1h
>draft the launch note3h
>skim the changelog5h
⏎ to submit·⌘⏎ to submit and continue7 today
features

a small surface, by design.

one keystroke. one field.

press ⌥⌘Space from any app. the panel arrives borderless and already accepting keystrokes. enter to save. esc to dismiss without losing the draft.

>
>review pull requests1h
>draft the launch note3h
>skim the changelog5h
⏎ to submit·⌘⏎ to submit and continue7 today

inline tags and dates.

no pickers. no modes. type #work inline and it's stored as a structured tag. coming soon: dates like today, tomorrow, next week, and weekday names, parsed the same way.

>finish proposal for mira #work thursday
>standup notes#standup9m
>book flight back from SFOfri2h
>sync with platform team#work tue1d
thursday, may 14

find anything, one field.

/find runs substring, tag, and date in a single query. no search modes, no advanced syntax to remember. ↑↓ to move.

>/find auth
>refactor the auth middlewarenow
>rotate the auth token #work2d
>read paper on passwordless auth1w
3 results·↑↓ to navigate

triage with the keyboard.

↑↓ to navigate, ↩ to mark done, ⌫ to delete, t to tag. coming soon: b to move to a bin, n to convert to a note. the inbox never asks for the mouse.

>finalize the launch notenow
>call mom about saturday1h
>refactor the auth middleware3h
>book idea: trust as a feature2d
t to tag·b to move to bin soon·n to convert to note soon
how it works

three steps. that's the loop.

01 · hotkey

press the keys.

from any app, any space, any focus state. the panel arrives, already accepting keystrokes.
⌥⌘Space
works system-wide, in any app.
02 · one field

type, hit enter.

no fields to fill. inline tags like #work, inline dates like tomorrow. enter to save.
>finish proposal #work
just write, forget dropdowns.
03 · the inbox

forget it landed.

stored locally in plain SQLite. later you can come back and triage the items.
finish proposal#worknow
call mom about saturday2h
refactor the auth middleware1d
book idea: trust as a feature1w

the panel does more, see all keyboard shortcuts

the principles behind it.

01

trust the inbox.

saves are local and sub-millisecond. no spinner, no confirmation. write it, forget it, resurface it later.
02

no nags, no streaks, no badges.

the dopamine comes from the speed of the loop, not from the app asking. extrinsic gamification corrodes the trust layer.
03

longevity over momentum.

built to be here in ten years. plain SQLite, plain markdown export. tools you can leave are tools worth using.
that's about it

ready when you are.

free, open source, local-first. install once and the panel is a keystroke away.

download for macOSv0.2.0
view on github
transparency

the business model, in plain text.

the app you just downloaded is free forever. it will not start charging, will not show an upsell, will not introduce a feature gate. the binary works without an account.

there is one optional product on top of it: encrypted sync across your devices. it is opt-in, end-to-end encrypted, and the only way money flows into this project. you are completely fine without it, and most people will not use it.

no venture capital. no advertising. no telemetry by default. nothing to sell to a third party because there is nothing collected. that is the entire revenue plan. a small number of people who use sync, covers the cost of building the tool slowly and well.

plain SQLite database. plain markdown export. if this project ever stops, you walk away with your data and a file format that will outlive most software. tools you can leave are tools worth using.

— Rodrigo

faq

questions worth answering.

is my data on your servers?
no. captures live in a local SQLite database in your home folder. nothing is uploaded unless you opt into encrypted sync.
is sync available?
encrypted sync is on the roadmap as an opt-in paid product. it is end-to-end encrypted, never required, never the default. the local app works fully without it.
can i get on the sync waitlist?
no formal waitlist yet. email rodrigo@optcmd.space with one line on what you'd sync between. that's the list, it shapes what launches.
what telemetry is collected?
none by default. crash reports can be enabled in settings if you want to help. apart from checking for updates, the app does not send any requests on launch, on save, or on any other action.
why mac only?
doing it well on one platform is more honest than doing it adequately on three. iOS and linux may follow if enough people ask for it.
is it really open source?
yes, MIT licensed. fork it, audit it, run your own build. the github repo is the canonical source.
what happens if the project stops?
you keep the binary, you keep the database, export however you want, or just keep using it. nothing locks you in, that is the point.
where do i report a bug?
github issues. there is no support email tier list, no priority lanes.
where do i ask a question or suggest something?
github discussions. ideas and questions go there first; accepted ideas get promoted to issues by maintainers. workflows and setups go in show-and-tell.

still curious? ask, share a workflow, or sketch an idea in discussions