InboxApp

Just capture. Nothing else.

Capture fast. Process later.

InboxApp is a hyper-minimal macOS inbox for capturing fleeting thoughts in Markdown with near-zero friction. It is designed to be emptied, not to become another knowledge base.

🔗 https://tryinbox.app/

📺 Watch the demo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdY6tsNhN30

Key Features

Single, distraction-free writing surface with raw Markdown.
Today-only capture buffer (daily file) with the cursor placed at the end on open.
Local, offline storage in human-readable files at ~/.inboxapp.
Ultra-lightweight UI that resembles a blank page (black/white, minimalist).
Today’s item count shown in the native window title as Inbox — N.
No AI, no tagging, no organization: just capture and move on.

Install (Developer)

Use the DMG on the GitHub releases page.

🚩 This app is not yet signed or notarized by Apple, so macOS may block it on first launch.

Option A (recommended)

In Finder, Control-click the app (or the app inside the DMG).
Choose Open.
When prompted, click Open again.

Option B

Try to open the app once (it will be blocked).
Go to System Settings → Privacy & Security.
Click Open Anyway next to the app.

Advanced (Terminal)

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /path/to/YourApp.app

Notes

These steps create a per-app exception in Gatekeeper.
Only proceed if you trust the source.
Updates may require repeating the process.

Prerequisites

Node.js (with npm)
Rust toolchain
Tauri prerequisites for macOS (Xcode Command Line Tools)

Steps

npm install
npm run dev

Scripts

npm run dev - Run the app in development mode.
npm run build - Build a macOS installer in src-tauri/target/release/bundle/.

Release Flow

Use Conventional Commits on branches merged into main.
Release Please opens or updates a release PR on main.
Merge the release PR to create the vX.Y.Z tag and GitHub Release.
GitHub Actions builds the DMG and attaches it to the release.

Develop

Run the app

npm run dev

Run Rust tests

cargo test

Project layout

src/ - frontend (HTML/CSS/JS)
src-tauri/ - backend (Rust/Tauri)
~/.inboxapp/ - local storage (daily Markdown files)

Design Principles

Capture only, no processing inside the app.
One surface, one action: write.
Markdown-first, Obsidian-compatible output.
Visually quiet and fast.

Non-goals

Long-term storage or knowledge management.
Rich editing, rendered Markdown, or inline formatting.
Sync, automation, or AI features.

rufuspollock/inboxapp