A local-first canvas for research before it disappears.
Drop in screenshots, notes, PDFs, links, and quotes. Shape them with Spaces, groups, shelf pins, and focus mode. Keep it on your Mac with no account, cloud, or AI.
v0.1.0 · macOS
Features
Capture first. Shape later. Return instantly.
Catchboard keeps the board as the main surface, then layers organization, search, and reading tools around it like native app controls.
Capture immediately
Drag a screenshot, paste a URL, drop in a PDF, or turn copied text into a quote. Catchboard lands the item on the board first, then lets you decide what it means.
Screenshot
1,280 x 800
Research.pdf
Page preview
Article card
OpenGraph
Highlight
Quote card
Organize without moving the map
Use Spaces for working sets, groups for local clusters, archive for hiding what is done, and shelf pins for the handful of things you need right now.
Checklist
Pinned
Source quote
In Research
Return to anything
Search with chips, jump through Command-K, open focus mode, or click a shelf pin. You get back to the item without losing the spatial context around it.
Read one item, arrow through a space, then close back to the board.
Privacy
Private by design. Always local.
Catchboard stores your board on your Mac in a plain SQLite database and local Assets folder. There are no accounts, servers, sync, cloud storage, OCR, or AI. The only network exception: URL captures may fetch public page preview metadata and images, best effort, never blocking capture.
No accounts
Nothing to sign up for
No server
No backend to trust
No cloud or sync
Everything stays local
No AI or OCR
No content analysis
On-device storage
Plain SQLite + files
Best-effort previews
Only for pasted URLs
Everything is stored here
~/Library/Application Support/Catchboard/Download Catchboard v0.1.0
Free for macOS 15.5 and later, on Apple Silicon and Intel.
Requires macOS 15.5+. Not sure which chip you have? Apple menu › About This Mac.
Installing Catchboard
Catchboard is signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens with a normal double-click — no security workarounds needed.
- 1
Install the app
Open the downloaded.dmgand drag Catchboard into yourApplicationsfolder. - 2
Open it
Launch Catchboard from Applications or Spotlight as usual.