Your desktop’s new neighbor
Make a little space.
One free download for notes, tasks, bookmarks, Spaces, passwords, screen recording, and call transcription. Bring the AI you already use.
Barside for Windows
Version 1.69.2 · 160.4 MB · 64-bit (x64)
The installer and the Microsoft Store give you the same Barside. No separate Node.js or Python installation required. Updates keep your existing library.
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33b4f517341b361511bc809f0eac02ee7e15d568fc14005d7c1991c3b2f844e4Barside for Mac
Version 1.69.2 · 290.8 MB · Apple silicon and Intel
Open the disk image and drag Barside to Applications. Apple has not checked this beta, so the first time macOS asks you to confirm: open System Settings, choose Privacy & Security, and click Open Anyway.
To update, download the new version here. Barside tells you when one is ready.
What is different in the beta
Apple has not checked Barside for Mac. So macOS asks you to confirm the first time you open it, and Barside cannot update itself: it tells you when a new version is out, and you download it here, quit Barside, and replace it in Applications. After a new version, macOS can ask once for your Mac password, so that Barside can read its saved keys, and can ask again for permissions such as the microphone, the camera or screen recording.
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baf896cda4a44cb3cda31deec6f2805965bff9feae7dbedc8d1a5b77fe1a695dBarside for Linux
Version 1.69.2 · 188.2 MB · 64-bit (x64)
AppImage: make it executable (chmod +x Barside.AppImage), then open it. .deb: sudo apt install ./barside_1.69.2_amd64.deb
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16e383d11a0d7d0ef3145a868fd74f714d7ff2af4dcb85f89fca87c3e87ffb06Verify the .deb · SHA-256
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5d9182bc420658095b0041532d710009a028437959433e4f46bf1028d912552fThree steps to feel at home
Install Barside
Download and install.
Open the installer on Windows (or get Barside from the Microsoft Store), the disk image on a Mac, or the AppImage or .deb on Linux. Barside for Mac is a beta. Updates keep your existing Barside library.
Create your first workspace.
Choose a name and color. Add a note, paste a screenshot, or save a bookmark.
Find your edge.
Drag a note toward a monitor edge, or choose Dock desktop bar. Double-click a collapsed tab to open it.
One app instead of twelve
Say goodbye to your subscription monster.
Barside brings tools you would otherwise use separately into one app that lives at the edge of your screen. Select a card to see how it works.
Everything in the download
35 features. One app.
Every feature is included. Select one to see it working.
Organize
Capture
Intelligence
Together
Desktop
Private
See it working
Built for real work.
System requirements
What you need.
tesseract-ocr on Ubuntu and Debian).New in 1.69.2
Smoother typing in a big library.
Typing stays smooth in a big library, even when your computer is busy.
New in 1.69.2: smoother typing in a big library
- Typing in a note stays smooth in a big library, even when your computer is busy.
- Barside saves your notes when you pause, and still saves everything when you quit.
- On Linux, recording the screen with the computer sound turned on no longer fails. Linux cannot share the computer sound, so Barside records the picture and says so.
New in 1.69.1: anyone can join the creator program
- Anyone can join the creator program. Your link and code work right away.
- A Creators row in the sidebar, under Assistant, opens it in one click.
- The address where you post is optional.
- The Settings tabs sit in two rows, so you see every section at once.
Older updates (1.69 and earlier)
New in 1.69: the creator program
- Settings → Creators: ask to join the creator program with your code and the address where you post.
- Approved creators get a link and a code, see their clicks, the people they brought and their money, and connect Stripe to get paid.
- Creators earn 30% of each Barside Plus payment from the people they bring, for those people's first 12 months.
- Settings → Barside Plus: type the code of the creator who told you about Barside.
- The Settings tabs stay on one line. When they do not fit, arrows at the ends scroll them.
New in 1.68: videos and links in Spaces chats, Spaces up front, crash reports
- Videos play inside a Spaces chat, up to 100 MB.
- Links in a chat open with a click and show a card with the cover picture and details. YouTube, Vimeo and Loom videos play right in the chat.
- Open a file from the chat with one click, next to Save.
- Share in chat: put a Space's file, resource or note into its chat as a card.
- Forward: send the pictures, videos and files of a message to another Space or a friend.
- In Friends, a switch lets you stop friends from forwarding things to you.
- A link to a post can show its pictures and videos, if you choose it. This is off at first.
- Spaces has its own icon. A Spaces button with your unread count is in the title bar, next to the bell.
- Your Spaces unread count shows on the Barside icon: on the taskbar on Windows, on the Dock on a Mac, and on the launcher on Linux where the desktop shows counts.
- The tray menu has a Spaces item with your unread count. On the desktop bar, point at Spaces to see your five recent Spaces and friends.
- Crash and error reports. When something breaks, Barside sends what went wrong and where in its own code, with your system and Barside version. Never your notes, your files, or who you are. You can turn this off in Settings, under Privacy.
- A Report link on shared recordings, shared Spaces and invitations, which emails Barside support.
- Spaces is now right under All notes in the sidebar.
- New accounts can send fewer invitations and meeting emails in their first week, so spam cannot go out from Barside.
- Names such as Barside, Support or Admin are kept for the Barside team, so nobody can pretend to be us. Names you already have stay.
New in 1.67: make a Space private after you create it
- Make a Space private. Open your Space, click Manage Space, then Space settings, and click Make private. It leaves Discover, and your members stay.
- Manage Space has a row of buttons at the top. They take you straight to Invite, Share link, Space settings, Moderation, Pricing or Members.
- Space settings is where you hide the member count and the members list from your members.
New in 1.66: find words in a note
- Find in a note. In an open note, press Ctrl+F (Cmd+F on a Mac) or click the search button at the top of the note. Every match is marked, and the bar counts them. Press Enter or Shift+Enter to go to the next or previous match. Press Esc to close the bar.
- Words you select in a note fill the find box when you open it.
New in 1.65: search the chat of a Space
- Search in the chat of a Space. Type in the box above the chat to see every message with your words, newest first. Barside also looks through earlier messages. Click a result to open it in the chat.
- The message box grows as you type, so you can read your whole message before you send it. Very long messages scroll inside the box.
New in 1.64: usage counts, with a switch
- Usage counts. Barside tells barside.space which features were used that day, such as Notes or Recording, with your system and your Barside version. It never sends your notes, your files, or who you are. Barside shows a notice first, and you can turn this off in Settings: Home, Privacy, Share usage counts.
- Settings shows what was sent today, so you can check it.
- Meeting invitations and the update notes name Barside for Mac like Barside for Windows and Linux.
New in 1.63: Barside for Mac, as a beta
- Barside for Mac (beta), for Apple silicon and Intel, on macOS 12 or later. Get it on the download page. Apple has not checked this beta, so the first time you open it, macOS asks you to confirm: open System Settings, choose Privacy & Security, and click Open Anyway.
- Barside for Windows is in the Microsoft Store. Get it there, or with the installer from the download page. Both give you the same Barside.
- Barside for Windows and Barside for Linux are full versions now. The "Early access" label is gone.
- On a Mac, Barside tells you when a new version is out, and you get it from the download page.
- The "/" menu in a note is wider, so you can read what each block does.
- In Settings, the second line of an AI card is no longer cut off.
- Meeting invitations now offer Barside for Windows, Linux and Mac (beta).
New in 1.62.2: report an AI answer
- Report this answer, under each answer the AI writes. It opens your email app with a message to Barside support. Barside sends nothing by itself, and it does not add the answer to the message.
- Every program file in Barside for Windows is now signed by Vertex Innovation Collective Ltd.
New in 1.62.1: the Windows installer is now signed
- The Windows installer is signed by Vertex Innovation Collective Ltd., the company that makes Barside. Windows shows this name when you install Barside, instead of "Unknown publisher".
- Barside for Windows now checks that each update is signed by the same company before it installs it.
New in 1.62: hide your camera while you record, and a small red button for the controls
- Hide the camera during a screen recording. The webcam bubble closes, the camera turns off, and the recording goes on. Show the camera brings it back at the same place. The button is in the recorder, on the recording bar and on the bubble itself.
- The recording bar can be a small red button that beats. Put the pointer on it and the bar opens with the time, Pause and Stop & save. Move the pointer away and it is small again.
- Drag the small button to any place on the screen. Barside remembers the place.
- While you record, Small button in the recorder hides Barside and leaves only the small red button on the screen.
- Choose how the recording bar shows before you start: Bar or Small button, under Recording bar in the recorder.
New in 1.61: updates that install even while your AI app is connected
- When an AI app such as Claude Code or Claude Desktop is connected to Barside, updates now install. Before, the small bridge it runs could keep the update from installing.
- During an update, your AI app sees "Barside is being updated. Try again in a minute." Once Barside is open again, it connects as before.
New in 1.60: your AI key on our server, in plain sight
- When cloud agents keep your AI key on Barside's server, the AI cards in Settings → AI say so, with a Remove button.
- Disconnecting an AI also removes its key from Barside's server and turns cloud agents off, so no agent runs on a key you disconnected.
New in 1.59: use the AI plan you already pay for
- In Settings → AI, Claude and ChatGPT each have two ways: API key, or My plan.
- My plan runs Claude Code or Codex, the company's own program, on your computer, signed in with your account. Your plan's limits apply instead of a bill per use.
- Barside finds the program, shows how to install it if it is missing, and opens its own sign-in.
- Gemini shows why My plan is off: Google does not let other apps use Gemini plans. Web search, pictures, videos and cloud agents still need an API key.
New in 1.58: your notes, linked by your AI
- Ask your AI app to link related notes. The links show on your Note map and in each note's backlinks.
- AI apps can see which notes a note links to, and which notes link to it.
- The cloud address (Barside Plus) can now add boards, tables, charts, videos from approved sites and bookmarks, rename notes, and set reminders on notes and tasks.
- AI apps can find only your newsletters, or only your articles, in Reading.
New in 1.57: your newsletters, turned into posts
- In Agents & approvals, a scheduled agent can also read what came into Reading since its last run: new newsletters, or newsletters and articles.
- A ready-made agent, Social posts from newsletters, drafts posts for LinkedIn, X and Threads each morning.
- Ask the assistant in plain words, for example "draft a few social posts from my newsletters each day". It asks which workspace and how often, shows you what it will set up, and starts it when you approve.
- With no AI connected, the assistant keeps your request and shows the buttons to connect one. It starts on your request as soon as an AI is connected.
New in 1.56: more for your AI apps
- AI apps can add kanban boards, database tables and charts to your notes.
- AI apps can add a video, map or document from YouTube, Figma, Google Docs and other approved sites, and a picture from a web address.
- A new switch lets an AI app schedule Barside meetings and email the invitations. It is off until you turn it on.
- You can undo each thing an AI app adds, in Settings, then AI, then Use Barside in your AI app, then Recent changes. Undo also cancels a meeting.
New in 1.55: friends and direct messages
- Friends. Open Spaces, then Friends. Add a person by their handle, or from the members list of a Space. They accept or decline.
- Direct messages. Message a friend directly, with replies, reactions, files, polls, shared notes and resources.
- Share with a friend. Share a note, a bookmark or a file to a friend, the same way you share to a Space.
- You stay in control. Remove a friend, block a person, remove your own messages, or mute a conversation. You also choose who can send you friend requests.
- Alerts tell you about friend requests and new direct messages. They follow your Spaces notification settings.
New in 1.54: a cloud address for your agents
- A cloud address for Barside Plus. Open Settings, then AI, then Use Barside in your AI app, then Cloud address. Make a connection and choose the synced workspaces to share.
- Paste the address in Claude, ChatGPT, Paperclip or another AI app. The app shows a Barside page with a code. Enter the code in Barside to let the app in.
- A cloud connection can read your notes, bookmarks and tasks. If you allow it, it can also add notes, text and tasks. It never deletes a note.
- For tools that cannot open a sign-in page, copy a token instead. You can sign out apps, pause a connection or remove it at any time.
- Paperclip on another computer or in the cloud can now use Barside through the cloud address.
New in 1.53: for AI agents
- One click adds Barside to Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini CLI and VS Code. Open Settings, then AI, then Use Barside in your AI app.
- A barside command for the terminal. You and your agents can search, read and add notes and tasks from any terminal. Type barside help to see everything.
- Agents can change the text of a note when you allow it. Each change shows under Recent changes, and you can undo it.
- Teams of agents in Paperclip can use Barside. Each agent can have its own connection with its own permissions.
- Each connection has a new tab, Agents & terminal.
New in 1.52.1: your own number of uses
- Max number of uses on a share link has Custom. Type any number from 1 to 1,000, for example 625.
New in 1.52: share a post, link limits
- Share link on a note, resource, file or message in a Space. Post the link on X, LinkedIn or anywhere. People see a short preview, then open Barside to join the Space and read the post.
- Space owners choose who can share links to posts: only the owner, the owner and moderators, or everyone for their own posts.
- Share links can expire after 1 hour, 1 day, 7 days or 30 days, and can stop after 1 to 100 uses. By default they never expire and have no limit.
- The barside.space page for a shared link shows the post's preview above the Space.
New in 1.51: recording bar, Clear all, Announcements
- A recording bar shows the time, Pause and Stop & save on top of other apps while Barside is out of view. You can turn it off next to Webcam bubble.
- The Done column in Tasks has Clear all. Undo puts the tasks back.
- The Reading archive has Delete all. Archived items stay until you delete them.
- Announcements in Spaces tells you what changed in each Barside update.
- While Barside records, the tray icon shows a red dot.
- The recorder no longer shows the Microphone and Computer audio choices in a large gray box.
New in 1.50.1: less memory
- After you stop using your camera, Barside closes the camera's helper program after one quiet minute. This saves about 90 MB.
- The clipboard pop-up and the desktop bar's pop-up close after 10 minutes unused. The next time, they open in about half a second.
New in 1.50: import passwords, templates, delete recordings
- Passwords → Import from another password manager reads the export of 1Password, Bitwarden, LastPass, Dashlane, Proton Pass, NordPass, Keeper, KeePassXC, Chrome, Edge, Brave, Firefox and Apple Passwords.
- 31 free templates at barside.space/templates. Open in Barside shows a template in the app before it adds anything.
- Each card in the Recordings tab has an X that deletes the recording. The note stays.
New in 1.49.1: more room in the sidebar
- The sidebar now starts with the mode menu. The logo stays in the title bar.
New in 1.49: an AI spending limit
- Set a limit. In Settings → AI, choose an amount in US dollars for a day, a week or a month. Barside shows what its AI has spent.
- Told in time. At 80% and at 100%, a notification and a banner in the assistant say so. At the limit, Barside's AI stops until the count starts again or you raise it.
- Fresh walkthroughs. The Barside and Spaces tours now show the newer features, like modes, the / blocks, Recordings, share links and paid Spaces.
New in 1.48: recordings, modes and pinned notes
- Recordings tab. Every screen, audio and meeting recording in your notes, with filters and a search. Each one plays right on its card.
- Modes, refreshed. Each mode now has the newer tools that fit it, like Recordings in Writer, Team and Creator Mode. Hidden tools still wait on More.
- All workspaces and Pin to the top. The workspace menu starts with All workspaces, and important notes can stay at the top of their workspace.
New in 1.47: charts in notes
- A chart of a table. Type /chart under a database table for bars, a line or a donut of its rows, like spending by category.
- Always up to date. A new row, an edit or a filter on the table shows in the chart at once. Point at a bar to see its value, or show the numbers as a table.
- Workspaces in one row. The sidebar shows the workspace you use, and a menu lists all of them, with a box to find one by name.
New in 1.46: database tables
- Typed columns. Type /database for a table whose columns hold text, numbers, choices, dates, checkboxes or links, like a database in Notion.
- Quick to fill. Click a cell and type; Enter goes down and Tab goes right. A choice picks an option or adds a new one with its color.
- Sort, filter and total. Sort by any column, filter with rules, and show a Sum, an Average or a count under each column.
New in 1.45: embeds and HTML blocks
- Embed a link. Type /embed and paste a YouTube, Vimeo, Loom, Figma, Google Docs, Maps or Spotify link, or any web page. It shows right in the note.
- HTML blocks. Type /html, write or paste HTML or an embed code, and press Run. It runs in a sandbox, with no way into your notes or files.
- Private by default. YouTube plays from its privacy-enhanced player, and embedded pages never get your camera, microphone or screen.
New in 1.44: kanban boards in notes
- A board in any note. Press the board button in the note toolbar, or type /board, and you get To do, Doing and Done. Add cards one after another, and click one to change it.
- Drag cards. Move cards between columns or within one, with a line where they land. Alt and the arrow keys move them too, and Undo takes back each change.
- Your columns. Rename them, pick one of eight colors, move them, delete them, or add more.
- The / menu. Type / to add a heading, a list, a checklist, a board, a table, a drawing, a file and more.
New in 1.43: reminders on tasks
- A bell on every task. Point at a checklist item in a note, or at its card on the Tasks board, and press the bell. Pick In 1 hour, This evening, Tomorrow morning or Next Monday, or any date and time.
- Straight to the task. At that time, a notification shows the task and its note. Click it, and the note opens with the task lit up.
- One list. The Reminders list shows note and task reminders together: snooze for 10 minutes, tick the task, or remove the reminder. Copies of a task never ring twice.
- Titles fixed. Typing at the start or in the middle of a note’s title keeps the cursor where you type.
New in 1.42: files in notes
- Any file in a note. Drag it in, paste it, or use the paperclip in the toolbar: PDFs, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, ZIPs and more, up to 200 MB. Each shows as a card with its icon, name, kind and size.
- Open it in its own app. Click a card to open the file in your computer’s app, or choose Show in folder or Save a copy.
- PDF pages in the note. The eye on a PDF’s card shows its pages inside the note, sharp and scrollable.
- Safe and backed up. Programs and scripts never start from a note; they only show in their folder. Files go into your backups and cloud sync like pictures, search finds them by name, and they travel with a note you share to a Space.
New in 1.41
- Record a part of the screen. Choose a screen, then Part of the screen, and drag a box. Only that part is recorded. Move it, resize it, or draw it again.
- Settings with tabs. A wider Settings window with seven tabs: Home, Look & feel, AI, Reading, Tools, Backups & sync and Plus.
- Voice commands from the keyboard. Enter uses the command, Esc cancels, and Ctrl+Shift+M starts listening. The keys show on the buttons.
- A calmer desktop bar. Arrows scroll your workspaces when they do not fit, and the search, hotkeys and mode buttons sit in one tidy group.
- A Spaces sidebar you can resize. Drag its edge to make it wider. Barside remembers the width.
- Photos in Join requests (1.41.1). When people ask to join your Space, you see the photo they chose for their profile, as in the members list.
- Checklists in Spaces (1.41.1). In a note shared to a Space, each checkbox sits beside its text, like in your own notes.
New in 1.40
- An assistant that does the work. It writes, edits and restructures notes in place, gives untitled notes real titles, merges, splits and links them, draws diagrams and illustrations, adds pictures, schedules meetings and, when your AI offers it, searches the web. When a request is unclear, it asks.
- Undo for everything it did. Each reply shows what changed, with an Undo button. Undo all changes in this conversation reverts every reply, even after a restart. Rewrites and deletions still wait for your approval first.
- Make your own themes. Settings → Look & feel → Create a theme. Start from a theme, one color, a picture or a few words for your AI, then change 14 colors, the font, the corners and the background. Contrast checks and Fix contrast keep every text readable. Export and import .barside-theme files.
- Share your Space. Owners and moderators make a share link that shows the Space’s card to anyone. People ask to join, and you approve each request. In a paid Space, people pay only after you approve.
- Invitations from members wait for you. When members may invite people, their invitations wait for your approval. It is on by default, and you can turn it off in Space settings.
New in 1.39: calmer, clearer Spaces
- Pinned messages. Owners and moderators pin a message, and a Pinned bar at the top of the chat opens the list. Owners can let everyone pin.
- Descriptions show. A Space’s description appears under its name and on invitations, so people know what they are joining.
- Choose what members see (1.39.1). Switches for the member count and the members list. Owners and moderators always see both.
- AI moderation with your own AI. The AI you connect checks new messages for spam, scams, harassment and your own rules, and tells moderators, or also removes clear cases if you choose. Members see a note that it is on.
- Easier checklists (1.39.2). Click just after a checklist item to type at its end, and checkboxes line up everywhere.
New in 1.38: Barside for Linux
- Every feature on Linux. An AppImage for most 64-bit systems and a .deb for Ubuntu and Debian. Where Linux works differently, Barside does the closest thing and says what differs.
- Barside for Mac came later. It is out as a beta since version 1.63.
- Quit from the search bar. Type quit in the search bar.
New in 1.35: Barside Plus
- Easier to spot (1.35.1). Star a Space to keep it at the top of Your Spaces. Paid Spaces show a dollar sign in your list of Spaces, Pricing & payments opens right away in Manage Space, and the Keep windows on top setting says clearly what it does.
- Optional, and Barside stays free. US$20 a month or US$200 a year, plus the sales tax where you live. Subscribe, switch plans or cancel in Settings → Barside Plus.
- Encrypted cloud backup. A daily backup that only you can open, with any day of the last 90 days to restore. When your 50 GB is full, the oldest days make room, and your newest backup always stays (1.35.2).
- Bigger share links. Files up to 2 GB, links that stay until you remove them, an optional password, and view counts.
- A lower Spaces fee. Barside keeps 5% instead of 8% of your paid Space payments while you have Plus.
- Cloud sync (1.36). Turn it on in Settings → Cloud sync on each computer. Notes, workspaces, templates, agents and the files in your notes stay the same everywhere; a note changed on two computers at once keeps both versions.
- Cloud address (1.54). Settings → AI → Use Barside in your AI app → Cloud address: a fixed address on barside.space where the AI apps and agents you allow, such as Claude, ChatGPT or Paperclip, reach your synced notes, bookmarks and tasks while your computers are off. Read-only unless you allow adding.
- Cloud agents (1.37). Settings → Cloud agents: your scheduled agents, like a morning briefing, run on Barside’s server at their times with your own AI, and their notes reach all your computers. What they propose still waits for your approval.
New in 1.34
- Tidier details (1.34.1). The desktop bar’s search and mode group is easy to read in Gradient themes, the theme tabs give every name room, and the Reminders empty message lines up.
- Send to support. Every error has a small Send to support button. One click sends what went wrong, and the steps before it, to Barside’s support.
- A fix is on its way. A card confirms that the report arrived. With automatic updates on, the fix reaches you on its own. Add a note, or see exactly what was sent.
- Calmer Spaces. Owners and moderators can turn on slow mode (5 seconds to 1 hour between a member’s messages) and make a Space read-only, so only owners and moderators post. Members still read, react and vote. A flood guard is always on: more than 5 messages in 10 seconds means a one-minute wait.
- Private by design. A report never includes your notes, titles, passwords, keys, email addresses, clipboard or files. See Error reports and your data.
New in 1.33.3
- Minimize folds into the tab. Minimize an opened docked window, and it goes back to its tab on the same edge. The X still takes it off the edge, and a floating window still comes back floating in place.
- Spelling suggestions. Right-click a word with a red underline to pick the right spelling, or add the word to the dictionary. Cut, Copy, Paste and Select all are in the same menu.
- Create. The New… button is now called Create. Its choices stay the same.
- Menus close when you click elsewhere. The desktop bar’s Create menu, mode menu, workspace lists and hotkeys card close when you click anywhere else in the bar.
New in 1.33.2
- A Create menu. One click fans out New note, New task, New drawing, New recording and New meeting, in the sidebar, above your notes and on the desktop bar. It shows only what your mode uses. Ctrl+N still makes a note at once.
- Delete from the card. Point at a note card and click the X next to the pin. Barside asks before it deletes.
- Search bar commands. New task, New recording and New meeting keep their aliases (task, rec, meet). New: AI connections (connect), Use Barside in your AI app (mcp) and Reading settings.
- Reader Mode. Reading, notes, bookmarks, the note map, Library and the assistant, and nothing else. It opens on Reading. Writer Mode includes Reading, and Team Mode adds Library & briefing, where meeting follow-through lives. Type reader in the search bar to switch.
- Docking only when you ask. A window docks only when you drag it to an edge or use the dock button. Moves the system makes, like restoring a window, no longer dock it.
- Newsletters are live. Subscribe with your Barside email address, or forward newsletters to it from Gmail.
- Tidier Reading. The search icon sits inside the search box, the reader’s toolbar fits narrow and docked windows, and small alignment fixes in Import, Settings → Reading and Settings → AI.
Reading
- Reading. A new sidebar item for the articles you want to read, with Inbox, Newsletters, Favorites, Archive and Highlights. Search by title, source or tag, or filter by tag. Unread items have a dot, and the sidebar shows how many are unread.
- Save a page. Paste a link and choose Save, or save the page open in your browser with one click. In the search bar, Save to Reading saves the link you type, or the page open in your browser if you leave it empty. The assistant can save a page too.
- A copy on your computer. Barside keeps a readable copy with its pictures. Your computer downloads the page and its pictures once, without your browser’s cookies, and nothing loads from the web when you read. A page that needs a sign-in or only works with scripts is saved as a link; Get article text tries again.
- Highlights and tags. Select text to highlight it, with an optional comment. Click a highlight to remove it. Star favorites, add tags, and archive what you finished.
- Listen. Barside reads an article aloud with the voices built into your computer, at 0.8× to 2× speed.
- Part of your second brain. Reading items stay out of your notes list, but search, Library answers, the assistant and your AI apps can find them. Keep as a note moves an item to your notes. Settings → Reading picks the workspace they are stored in.
- Bring your reading. Import from Matter, Readwise, Instapaper and Raindrop.io, or a Pocket or Omnivore export you downloaded before they shut down. Highlights and tags come along, and articles already in Reading are skipped.
- More imports. Granola meeting notes, Google Keep from Google Takeout, bookmarks exported from Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Safari and Brave, and OPML outlines from Workflowy, Dynalist, Logseq and other outliners.
- Newsletters. Sign in to Barside and get your own Barside email address in Settings → Reading. Subscribe to newsletters with it, or forward them to it from Gmail with a filter that also takes them out of your inbox. Barside shows one Confirm button for Gmail’s confirmation email, and never connects to your Google account.
AI connections
- AI in one click. Settings → AI has a button for Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini and OpenRouter. Existing AI Gateway keys keep working.
- Copy your key to connect. The Claude, ChatGPT and Gemini buttons open the key page in your browser. Copy your new key there, and Barside connects and removes it from the clipboard.
- OpenRouter sign-in. Sign in and press Authorize. One OpenRouter account gives Claude, GPT and Gemini models.
- Works across Barside. The AI you connect runs the assistant, agents, Library answers and the Space helper.
- Switch in one click. Click another connected AI to switch, and choose the model under the buttons.
- Tasks for the assistant. The assistant can list, add and complete tasks, and set reminders.
- Add to Claude Desktop. In Settings → Use Barside in your AI app, one click connects Claude Desktop to every workspace. It can read and add, but never deletes.
- Safer clipboard history. It never keeps AI API keys.
AI
- Bring your own AI. Claude, ChatGPT and other MCP apps connect to Barside and use your own AI with your notes, bookmarks and tasks. You choose the workspaces. See AI connections.
- Tasks through MCP. Your AI app can list, add and change tasks. Ready-made prompts: Plan my day, Weekly review and Meeting follow-up.
- No 7 GB download. Barside no longer installs a local AI model. The assistant inside Barside uses the AI you connect in Settings → AI. Speech still stays on your computer.
- Free up space. If you used the old local AI, remove its files in Assistant settings.
Organize & look
- Six Fluid themes. Aurora, Ember, Ocean, Bloom, Meadow and Dusk: soft colors drift behind glass. They stay still if your computer is set to reduce motion.
- Edit tasks. Double-click a task on the Tasks board to change its text, or delete it. Undo brings it back.
- Full screen. A new button expands Barside or Spaces to fill the screen, and restores it. Double-clicking the title bar does the same.
- Close docked tabs. Each tab on a screen edge has an X. It unpins a note, or hides Barside in the tray or menu bar. It also takes the window off the edge, so it opens as a normal window next time.
Spaces
- Paid Spaces. Owners can set a one-time, monthly or yearly price in CAD or USD. Members pay by card through Stripe, and the money goes to the owner's own Stripe account. Barside keeps 8%. See the Terms.
- Memberships & billing. See your paid memberships, stop a renewal, and get receipts in one place.
Meetings
- Join from the browser. People without Barside join in Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari. They type a name and wait until you let them in.
- Works on strict networks. When a network blocks direct connections, Cloudflare's relay passes the encrypted video and sound on.
- A Meetings tab. Start a meeting now, or schedule one with a time zone and a repeat. Your meetings and invitations are listed by day, with a reminder five minutes before.
- Invite anyone. Barside emails the invitation, or copy it, send it from your own email app, or add the meeting to Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar. The link opens a join page on barside.space.
- A waiting room for strangers. Invited people go straight in. Anyone else with the link waits until you let them in.
- Video meetings for up to 6 people, with a preview first. Choose your camera, microphone and speaker, and add a background or a filter.
- Steadier backgrounds. A stronger model on your graphics card keeps your face, hair and cap whole, even in front of a busy wall, and does not flicker. Faces on posters behind you stay out, and Blur no longer glows around you. The same goes for the webcam bubble in recordings.
- In front when it opens. The meeting window opens on top of everything, Barside notes too.
- Share your screen or one window, with computer sound on Windows. The meeting's own sound is left out, so nobody hears an echo.
- Chat, private messages, reactions and raised hands. Gallery or speaker view, pin anyone, and a small window that stays on top.
- Host tools. A waiting room, mute and ask to unmute, lock, spotlight, co-hosts, remove, and end for everyone.
- Live captions and meeting notes. Each person's words are written down on their own computer. Your meeting note keeps the transcript, the chat and any recording, ready for your AI to summarize.
Clips
- A Clips tab. Every video and recording from your notes in one place, with its clips. Record or add a video; each one gets its own note.
- Edit by text. Open any video in a note with Make clips. Barside writes down every word on your computer. Cut words by selecting them, and remove filler words and long pauses in one click.
- Captions and reframe. Animated captions in four styles, with the spoken word highlighted. Make vertical 9:16, square or wide clips; the frame follows the speaker, found on your computer.
- B-roll. Show your own photos and videos over the speaker while the sound continues.
- With your AI. Allow video clips for your AI connection, and ask it to find the best moments and make the clips. The finished MP4 goes into your note.
Draw
- A Drawings tab. Every drawing from your notes, newest first. Open one, or start a new drawing in its own note.
- Drawings. The full Excalidraw editor inside a note: shapes, arrows, lines, freehand, text, images, frames, the laser pointer and a shapes library. Drawings save into the note as you draw, work offline, and their text is searchable.
- Text to diagram. Describe a diagram and your AI draws it, or paste Mermaid code. It uses the AI you connect in Settings → AI.
- Export. Save PNG or SVG pictures, copy a drawing as an image, or save and open .excalidraw files. Drop an .excalidraw file into a note to add it. A note shared to a Space shows its drawings as pictures.
- Libraries. Browse libraries.excalidraw.com in your browser and add a library to Barside in one click. Your library is included in backups.
- Embeds. Paste a YouTube, Vimeo, Figma, StackBlitz, Val Town, Giphy or SimplePDF link to show it live in a drawing.
Organize
- Modes. Focus Barside on your work: Default Mode shows every tool, Writer Mode your notes and tasks, Team Mode meetings and Spaces, Creator Mode clips and drawings, and Custom Mode the tools you pick. Hidden tools wait on the More tab.
- Note links. Type [[ in a note to link another note, or to create one. Links always show the note’s current title. Under every note, Linked from lists the notes that link to it, with the sentence around each link.
- Note map. Notes as dots and links as lines. Drag, zoom, click a dot to open the note, and filter by workspace.
- Tasks. Every checklist item from every note on one board: Overdue, Today, Tomorrow, Next 7 days, Later and No due date. Tick, change dates, drag between columns, or add a task from the board. Tasks you add on the board stay there and no longer show up as a note in All notes. Set due dates on checklist items in a note.
- Templates. Six ready-made templates, or save any note as a template. Repeating notes are created every day, every weekday, on chosen weekdays or monthly, at a set time. If your computer was off, Barside creates the latest missed note when it starts.
- Import. Notion (Markdown & CSV export ZIP), Obsidian (vault folder), Evernote (.enex) and OneNote (pages exported as Word .docx), plus Markdown, Word, HTML, text and CSV files. Preview before you import. Files are read on your computer; nothing is uploaded.
- A search bar over everything. Alt+Shift+Space in any app, or Ctrl+K in Barside: the screen dims and one box finds notes, tasks, bookmarks, meetings, events, drawings, videos and every command. It does sums and keeps your favorites.
- Quick AI. Type a question and press Tab. The assistant answers in the search bar, and asks before it acts.
- Hotkeys and aliases. Give any command a hotkey that works from any app, or a short alias for the search bar, like task buy milk. The desktop bar has new search, hotkeys and mode buttons.
- Calendar. Connect Google Calendar or Outlook with the calendar’s private iCal (ICS) address. See today and the next 7 days, make a meeting note from any event, and get a quiet reminder before meetings.
Capture
- Screen text. Press Alt+Shift+S, select part of any screen, and copy the text or add the capture to a note. The text recognition built into your computer reads it on your computer. Text in note images becomes searchable.
- Clipboard history. Off by default. Alt+Shift+V shows recent copied text and images to search, pin and paste. Stored encrypted on your computer and never in backups.
- Recordings. Trim a recording, add a round webcam bubble with a preview, blur or replace your background or show only you, add a filter, choose Share-friendly quality, and share a private link. Anyone with the link can watch on barside.space for 7 days. Files up to 50 MB; needs a Spaces sign-in.
- Transcripts. Lines are labelled You (your microphone) and Others (computer audio), with timestamps. Transcribe in English and 34 more languages, or let Barside detect the language. Languages other than English use an optional 141 MB model.
Intelligence
- AI agents. Every action an agent proposes waits in one approval inbox, with a history of what each agent did. Nothing is sent or changed outside Barside without your approval.
- Scheduled agents run at set times, like every weekday at 8:30, and put their results in a note.
- Meeting agent (optional) proposes tasks, reminders and a recap email after a call transcript. The email opens as a draft in your email app. Barside never sends it.
- Research agent searches the web with DuckDuckGo, reads up to 5 pages, saves copies of them, and writes a summary note with numbered sources.
- Saved workflows. Save a computer task you did with the assistant, then run it again later or on a schedule. Each outside action still asks first.
Together
- Polls in Spaces. Members see who voted.
- Voice rooms for up to 6 people, connected directly. In 1.25 they became video meetings, and in 1.26 meetings moved to their own tab. People in the meeting and a public connection helper can see your IP address.
- Member numbers for owners and moderators: members, new and active members, messages per day, and top contributors.
- Space helper. Answers member questions with the AI the owner connected, using only what the Space has shared. Replies are marked Auto-reply, and Ask me first sends drafts to the owner’s approval inbox. It runs only while the owner’s Barside is running.
Private
- Two-step login codes in Passwords. Scan the QR code on screen or paste the setup key, then copy or fill the 6-digit code.
- Leaked-password check (optional). Only the first 5 characters of a hash of each password go to Have I Been Pwned. The password never leaves your computer.
- Reused-password warnings.
Earlier versions
Updates meeting invitations: they offer Barside for every system it runs on.
Makes the assistant do the work: it edits, restructures and links your notes, draws, adds pictures, schedules meetings and researches the web, and Undo reverts anything it changed. You can also make your own themes with the new theme builder, and share a Space with a link that lets people ask to join.
Lets you click at the end of a checklist line again (the "+ date" button moved to the right end of the line), lines up the checkboxes in every screen, and makes two hints clearer.
Adds a second switch for Space owners: hide the members list, so members see only the owner, the moderators and themselves.
Brings pinned messages to Spaces, shows each Space’s description under its name and on invitations, lets owners hide the member count, and adds AI moderation that uses the AI you connect. The website also has new guides and comparisons.
Makes the recorder pick a whole screen and wait until it has found your camera, so a webcam bubble you turned on is always in the recording, and keeps the desktop bar’s hotkeys card open right after a menu closes.
Brings Barside to Linux: an AppImage for most 64-bit systems and a .deb for Ubuntu and Debian, with every feature there. It also lets you quit Barside from the search bar (type quit), keeps an open comment in the reader when you scroll, and makes a few checkboxes and messages clearer.
Adds cloud agents to Barside Plus: your scheduled agents run at their times even when your computer is off, with the AI you connect.
Adds cloud sync to Barside Plus: turn it on, and your notes are the same on all your computers.
Updates what is coming to Barside Plus: cloud sync, and cloud agents that run while your computer is off.
Makes cloud backup make room by itself: when it is full, the oldest days go first, and your newest backup always stays.
Lets you star Spaces so they stay at the top, marks paid Spaces with a dollar sign and opens Pricing & payments right away.
Adds Barside Plus, an optional subscription with cloud backup, bigger share links and a lower Spaces fee; Barside stays free.
Fixes three small display problems.
Adds a Send to support button to every error, with a confirmation that the report arrived, and slow mode, a flood guard and read-only Spaces.
Folds a minimized docked window back into its tab, renames New… to Create, adds spelling suggestions when you right-click a word, and closes the desktop bar’s menus when you click elsewhere.
Adds the Create menu, an X to delete a note from its card, and Reader Mode for your second brain. Newsletters by email are live.
Adds a guide for forwarding Gmail newsletters to your Barside email address.
Adds Reading, one inbox for the articles you save, with highlights and read aloud. It also imports from Matter, Readwise, Pocket, Granola, Google Keep and more.
Lets you connect Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or OpenRouter in Settings → AI, and add Barside to Claude Desktop in one click.
Closing a docked window also takes it off the edge.
Makes the Fluid themes move so you can see it, and makes the task and tab buttons small and quiet.
Lets you bring your own AI app to Barside, instead of a 7 GB local model. It also adds six Fluid themes, task editing, and a full-screen button.
Brings paid Spaces: owners can charge for access, and payments are live.
Lets people join meetings from their browser, and adds a relay for strict networks.
Adds a search bar over everything, with Quick AI, and hotkeys and aliases.
Adds modes, Clips and Drawings tabs, and a stronger background model.
Gives meetings their own tab, with invitations by email and calendar.
Adds video meetings. Versions 1.25.2 and 1.25.3 make camera backgrounds cleaner.
Adds the clips editor.
Adds webcam backgrounds, filters and a preview.
Adds drawings with Excalidraw.
Adds linked notes, tasks, templates and search.
Enter-to-send chat, creator-controlled file and resource sharing, unread-message badges on the desktop bar, a direct shortcut to notification settings, clearer Google sign-in, and a more balanced layout.
Automatic update checks and background downloads. Choose Restart & install when you are ready; Barside saves your library and makes a safety backup first. Active recordings and tasks must finish before installation. Control checks and downloads in Settings & backups → App updates. Users on 1.18 or earlier need to install this version once; future updates arrive in the app.
Separate guided walkthroughs for Barside and Spaces. New users get a step-by-step introduction with highlighted controls, Back, Next, Skip, and saved progress. Replay either guide in Settings & backups; Spaces also has a question-mark shortcut.
Remembers resized note and main-panel dimensions when docking, detaching, moving between monitors, and restarting. Docking or removing the desktop workspace bar leaves your other edge tabs in place. Clearer controls distinguish the main panel, individual notes, and desktop bar.
Fixes the recording player's fullscreen button. Expand a recording to fill your monitor, then press Escape or use the exit-fullscreen control to return to the note. Playback position, note size, and dock placement stay intact in floating, docked and pinned notes.
Fixes current-browser detection for saved webpages and bookmarks when Windows takes longer to connect to a busy browser. The webpage dialog now shows separate reading and saving progress, keeps your entered address if detection fails, and offers clear retry or paste instructions.
Spaces becomes more spacious: account controls share one header row, message tools sit inside the typing box, and twelve illustrated character avatars join profile photos. Switching tabs keeps the previous content visible until the next tab is ready. Library and other feature panels keep a consistent height. Untitled notes suggest one- or two-word titles directly in the title field, and docking preserves your chosen window size.
Screen and audio recording into notes, offline webpage copies, local note-title suggestions, and a more compact Spaces chat with overlay status messages and animated GIF attachment previews. Recordings save locally as WebM. Saved webpages are individual page snapshots; sign-in and interactive content may not be preserved.
Email invitations and notification preferences, files and screenshots in chat, a searchable color emoji picker, optional GIPHY GIFs, owner messaging controls, and stable loading indicators.
All 25 themes are available, including Cobalt, Orchid, Lagoon, and Honey Glass, the Citrus Sky, Sunset Pop, Mint Bloom, and Rose Quartz gradients, and the six Fluid themes. Choose a look under Settings & backups → Look & feel, or try them here with the Theme menu. To make your own, choose Create a theme there: start from a built-in theme, one color, a picture or a few words for your AI, and Fix contrast keeps text readable.
A few things to know.
Publisher information
Windows: The installer is signed by Vertex Innovation Collective Ltd., the company that makes Barside. Windows shows this name when you run it. Windows can still show a notice for a new release that few people have downloaded yet: check that the publisher is Vertex Innovation Collective Ltd. You can also compare the file's SHA-256 with the checksum on this page.
Mac: Barside for Mac is a beta. Apple has not checked it: it is not signed with an Apple Developer ID and not notarized. So macOS asks you to confirm before it opens the first time, and a new version is a new download. Use the official download above and compare its SHA-256 with the checksum on this page.
Linux: The AppImage and the .deb are not signed by an app store. Use the official download above and compare its SHA-256 with the checksum on this page.
Does Barside work offline?
Your notes, tasks, bookmarks, articles saved in Reading, and local media remain available offline. Spaces, share links, saving pages to Reading, calendar updates, the research agent, the leaked-password check, opening websites, downloading the speech model, the AI you connect, and remote MCP connections require the relevant network services.
Do I need an AI subscription?
No subscription is needed to take notes. Barside brings no AI of its own. Connect the AI app you already use, like Claude Desktop or ChatGPT, through MCP. Your AI app may require its own plan. For AI inside Barside, connect Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or OpenRouter in Settings → AI. Claude and ChatGPT each offer two ways: an API key, which the company bills for what you use, or My plan, which runs Claude Code or Codex on your computer with your Claude or ChatGPT plan. Barside itself does not charge for AI. Speech turns into text on your computer and needs no key.
Can I bring my notes from another app?
Yes. Import a Notion Markdown & CSV export ZIP, an Obsidian vault folder, Evernote .enex files, or OneNote pages exported as Word .docx, as well as Markdown, Word, HTML, text and CSV files. Granola, Google Keep, browser bookmarks and OPML outlines come in too. Your reading from Matter, Readwise, Pocket, Omnivore, Instapaper and Raindrop.io goes to Reading, with its highlights and tags. You see a preview first. Links between notes, checklists, tables, images, audio and video come along, and tags are kept as text. Files are read on your computer; nothing is uploaded.
Do AI agents act on their own?
No. Agents can run on a schedule or after a call, but every action they propose waits in the approval inbox. Nothing is sent or changed outside Barside until you approve it. An approved recap email opens as a draft in your email app; Barside never sends it. Agents use the AI you connect in Settings → AI and the model you pick.
How do I move to a new computer?
Use Settings → Export backup, then Restore backup on the other computer. The ZIP contains notes, media, bookmarks, and preferences. Passwords use a separate encrypted export; generate new MCP connections and connect your AI again in Settings → AI on the new computer. Clipboard history and agent history are not included in backups. With Barside Plus, turn on Settings → Cloud sync on both computers instead: your notes, workspaces, templates and the files in your notes arrive by themselves, and encrypted cloud backup keeps a copy of each day for 90 days.
What happens when I close Barside?
Closing the main window keeps Barside in the system tray, or the menu bar on a Mac. Quit from there to fully exit, or type quit in Barside’s search bar. Reminders, scheduled agents, the Space helper and remote connections require Barside to be running (with Barside Plus, scheduled agents can run in the cloud instead); startup behavior is configurable in Settings. If your computer was off when a repeating note was due, Barside creates the latest missed note when it starts.
Is Barside free? What does Barside Plus add?
Barside is free, with no account needed for your notes. Barside Plus is an optional subscription, US$20 a month or US$200 a year plus the sales tax where you live: cloud sync between your computers, encrypted cloud backup once a day with a recovery key only you hold, scheduled agents that run in the cloud while your computers are off, share links for files up to 2 GB, and a lower fee on paid Spaces (Barside keeps 5% instead of 8%). Subscribe in Settings → Barside Plus.
Where does Spaces work?
Open Spaces in the sidebar or desktop bar. Spaces needs an internet connection and a sign-in with Google or an emailed code. Your personal workspaces stay local. Need help? Contact support.