Every line of Novi Notes was built on GitHub. Version control, issue tracking, project boards — GitHub is the infrastructure that makes solo indie development manageable. When you're building a full macOS app alone, having a reliable backbone for your entire workflow is everything.
Obsidian proved that your notes don't need to live on someone else's server. That local-first philosophy is at the core of Novi Notes — your data stays on your Mac, period. We wanted to bring that same data ownership with a Notion-style block editor and zero-config AI integration via MCP. Obsidian showed the way.
Notion redefined how I think about notes — blocks, structure, and organized workspaces. Novi Notes' block editor exists because Notion proved that structured editing is the future. We took that inspiration and went local-first with native AI integration. Thank you for setting the bar.
Building a native macOS app meant Xcode was the only real choice. SwiftUI previews and the built-in Instruments profiler made it possible to ship a polished, performant note-taking app as a solo developer.
Claude's MCP (Model Context Protocol) was a game-changer for Novi Note. It lets the AI interact directly with the user's notes — reading, creating, and organizing — all within a local-first architecture. No other model offered this level of native tool integration while respecting user privacy.
Novi Notes