NotesBar
NotesBar
A unified, professional macOS utility for Obsidian and Apple Notes.
NotesBar is a high-performance macOS utility designed to seamlessly unify your personal knowledge base across Obsidian and Apple Notes. It provides instantaneous system-wide search, live markdown previews, and floating context preservation, empowering you to interact with your notes without disrupting your primary workflow.
📦 Installation
You can easily install NotesBar via Homebrew:
brew install --cask aman-senpai/apps/notesbar
🏗 Architecture
The diagram below outlines the core components and data flow within the application.
graph TD
A[Global Search Controller] --> B[Vault Provider]
B --> C[Obsidian Vaults]
B --> D[Apple Notes Service]
A --> E[Spotlight Indexer]
A --> F[Dual-Pane Search View]
F --> G[Markdown Preview Engine]
G --> H[Mermaid/KaTeX Rendering]
F --> I[Floating Window Manager]
🔄 User Workflow
NotesBar streamlines the discovery and interaction of your notes through a unified search-first model.
graph LR
Start([Global Shortcut]) --> Search[System-Wide Search]
Search --> Preview[Live Metadata Preview]
Preview --> Action{Navigation}
Action --> Floating[Floating Note Window]
Action --> Native[Native App Handover]
Action --> Spotlight[Spotlight Tab Search]
✨ Core Features
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Unified Search Interface A high-performance search experience that aggregates content from all Obsidian vaults and Apple Notes simultaneously.
-
Global Accessibility Access your entire knowledge base from any application using a dedicated system-wide shortcut (
Ctrl + N). -
Apple Notes Integration Native support for viewing and searching Apple Notes with high-fidelity Markdown previews.
-
Spotlight System Integration Deep integration with macOS Spotlight, including support for specialized “Tab to Search” functionality for rapid note retrieval.
-
Markdown and Diagram Rendering High-performance rendering of Markdown content, including complex Mermaid diagrams and KaTeX mathematical notation.
-
Persistent Floating Windows Pin specific notes in independent, floating windows for continuous reference during complex tasks.
-
Context Preservation Operates entirely from the menu bar and floating panels, ensuring your primary workspace remains undisturbed.
🙏 Acknowledgments
- Obsidian ecosystem and URI schemes
- Apple Notes framework and automation services
- Mermaid.js for diagram rendering
- KaTeX for mathematical notation support