Version 1.3 · Rich text & themes

Capture ideas instantly.
Right from your menu bar.

The lightweight, distraction-free note-taking companion for macOS. Rich text, encryption, Markdown export, and appearance options—without leaving the menu bar.

Download for macOS (DMG)

Free · macOS 14.0 (Sonoma) or later · Code-signed Release build

Install: open Phyllon.dmg, drag Phyllon into Applications, then launch from Launchpad or the menu bar.

🍃

Phyllon — Hover over the menu bar icon, start typing.

The fastest way to capture thoughts without leaving my workflow. It's essentially invisible until I need it.
— Alex Rivers, Creative Director
Hardened runtime 🔒 AES-GCM encrypted 🌿 Local only 📦 DMG installer

Designed for deep work

Instant access

Hover over the menu bar icon and start typing. No tabs, no switching apps.

☁️

Auto-save

Every change is debounced and saved automatically. Never lose a thought again.

✏️

Simple formatting

Bold, italic, and underline using native macOS text traits—reliable in the menu bar editor and preserved in RTF and exports.

🔢

Word count

A live word count keeps drafts and quick notes easy to gauge at a glance.

🪟

Auto-close on exit

Optional behavior: when the pointer leaves the window, the panel hides—toggle it in options if you prefer it to stay open.

🌙

Dark mode & system

Match the system appearance or pin light or dark theme from the options sheet.

🔤

Font size & families

Resize selected text only (or your next keystrokes when nothing is selected). Pick a typeface from a curated list of macOS fonts, including the system UI font.

🎯

Sixteen text colors

Quick presets for emphasis and structure—apply to a selection or to text you are about to type.

📋

Copy plain or rich

Copy the whole note as plain text or as rich text (RTF on the pasteboard) for other apps.

📝

Markdown export

Save a Markdown (.md) file derived from your formatting for blogs, repos, or static sites.

🎨

Customization

Optional custom editor background and text colors, plus window opacity, for a workspace that feels like yours.

🔒

Encrypted storage

Notes encrypted with AES-GCM. Key in Keychain. Export as plain, Markdown, or encrypted .phyllon.

📄

Export & import

Open .txt, .md, or .phyllon; save as .txt, .md, or encrypted backup. Rich notes round-trip in .phyllon.

Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.

Grab the latest DMG, read what changed in 1.3, and start capturing ideas in seconds.

Download Phyllon 1.3

View release notes