Your data. Your rules.
Novara is a local-first knowledge manager for Windows — memos, paths, tasks, sticky notes and a rich-text diary in one encrypted database. No cloud. No tracking. No account.
Private by design.
No cloud. No telemetry. No backdoor. Everything lives in a single local database — encrypted with AES-256-GCM authenticated encryption the moment you set a password.
- AES-256-GCM authenticated encryption — tamper-proof
- 6–64 character password, never stored in plaintext
- 5 failed tries → 30-minute lockout, persists across restarts
- 2.0 databases migrate seamlessly on first unlock
- Recycle bin — deleted cards recoverable for 7 days
- XSS-safe diary with double HTML sanitization
Everything you need to remember
From quick notes to a whole knowledge base — scroll through the highlights.
Memos, beautifully organized.
The central hub of Novara. Organize entries into custom groups, star and pin what matters, and move items between groups. Five entry types — Email, Account, API Key, Website and Custom — cover almost everything you need to remember.
- 5 entry types
- Groups & search
- Star & pin
Every key, verified in one click.
Store API keys in an encrypted database — safe from plaintext leaks. Right-click any key and Novara probes its endpoint with a GET /v1/models request (idempotent, no cost). It tries Bearer first, retries without it on 401/403, and works with both OpenAI-standard and domestic providers.
- GET /v1/models probe
- Bearer auto-switch
- Save on success only
Your paths, always valid.
Save folders and files you use often — type them or pick with the built-in file/folder pickers. Novara continuously validates paths: green means alive, red means gone. One click copies, another opens it in Explorer.
- Built-in pickers
- Real-time validity
- One-click copy & open
Todos that think ahead.
Main tasks with subtasks — check them all and the card completes itself. Sticky notes expand when content grows. Right-click the empty area to add desktop countdown reminders that ring even when Novara is closed.
- Smart subtask linkage
- Sticky notes
- Desktop reminders
Your notes, right on the desktop.
Send any note card to your desktop with one click. A lightweight host process keeps them visible even when Novara is closed — drag, resize, lock in place, edit from the desktop, and everything stays in sync. Countdown reminders ring three times and pulse red when time's up.
- Works without Novara
- Drag & resize
- Desktop reminders
Your story, day by day.
A clean list of all your entries, with starred and pinned items lifted to the top and everything sorted by recency. Tap in and out of the editor seamlessly — your writing is always saved.
- Star & pin
- Auto-save
- Recency sorted
Write like you mean it.
A WebView2-powered editor with bold, italic, underline, colors and images. The floating capsule toolbar stays accessible, blank overwrites are blocked, and every HTML import is double-sanitized against XSS.
- Floating toolbar
- Image insertion
- XSS-safe HTML
Press Ctrl+K. Find anything.
Search across memos, paths, todos, notes and diary entries at once — one list, source badges, keywords highlighted. Click a result and Novara jumps to the card, scrolls it into view and pulses it with a brand-colored flash.
- Ctrl+K anywhere
- All data types
- Jump-to-result
Looks great, day and night.
Light, Dark and Follow System — carefully calibrated themes, plus a unified button system that keeps every action consistent.
One app, five languages.
Switch in one tap — the whole interface translates instantly. Your data stays language-independent.
Technical specifications
Built to last, from the ground up.
System requirements
- Windows 10 version 2004 (Build 19041) or newer / Windows 11
- WebView2 Runtime — auto-installed if missing
- .NET 8 — bundled inside the self-contained package
Free. Open source. Yours forever.
Novara 3.0 is open source on GitHub — read the code, follow the roadmap, or grab the latest release.
View on GitHub