Scratch

Scratch is a minimalist, offline-first markdown note-taking app built for macOS, Windows, and Linux. Unlike cloud-based alternatives, Scratch stores all your notes as plain .md files that you fully own — no account required, no internet connection needed.

It features WYSIWYG editing that saves as markdown, a preview mode for any .md file via drag-and-drop or "Open With", markdown source mode toggle, syntax highlighting for 20+ languages with a GitHub-inspired color scheme, Mermaid diagram support, KaTeX math rendering, wikilinks with autocomplete, slash commands for quick formatting, focus mode for distraction-free writing, and optional Git integration for version control and multi-device sync.

Scratch is built with Tauri, React, and Tailwind CSS, making it lightweight — 5-10x smaller than Obsidian or Notion. It also integrates with local AI tools like Claude Code, OpenAI Codex, OpenCode, or Ollama for editing notes with AI, and detects external file changes so it works seamlessly alongside other tools.