Tired of overloadednote-taking apps?

KeepZen is a minimalist, local-first workspace designed to help you find focus. It is an antidote to overloaded, complex note-taking apps that steal your attention. You get a clean, distraction-free environment to capture thoughts instantly, with data that stays truly yours.

KeepZen is for writers, thinkers, and anyone tired of noisy apps. It is perfect if you want a distraction-free space to capture thoughts across multiple devices without sacrificing privacy or speed.

We sit in the middle ground. Unlike Notion, we are local-first and private by default. Unlike Apple Notes, we offer cross-platform E2EE sync. Unlike Obsidian, we give you a seamless, zero-config web experience — the simplicity you want with the security you need.

The app works primarily with a local database in your browser (IndexedDB). You do not need to wait for the server to open or save a note — everything happens instantly.

No, not for basic use or for keeping notes on a single device. An account is only needed if you want to turn on encrypted sync across multiple devices.

We use a real-time synchronization engine that handles updates through a secure pull/push queue. When you make a change, it's instantly encrypted and sent to our server, which then pushes the update to your other connected devices. It's designed to resolve conflicts automatically so you can just write.

Think of it this way: your email grants access to your account, but your passphrase is the actual physical key to your encrypted vault. We do not store your passphrase on our servers, which ensures that even if someone gained access to your email, they still couldn't read your notes without your secret key.

Yes. KeepZen is local-first: notes are stored locally, so you can use KeepZen without the internet after you've opened it online at least once on that device. Sync and email sign-in require a connection. Install it as a PWA for a native-like shortcut; offline behavior is most reliable in Chrome and Edge.

Yes, but keep in mind that each browser or profile has its own independent local storage. Your notes won't appear in a new browser automatically until you sign in and enable Cloud Sync. Without sync, each profile acts as a completely separate, local "Zen" space.

Generally, no. Modern browsers treat IndexedDB (where KeepZen stores notes) differently from your browsing history or cache. However, using "Reset browser settings" or manually clearing "Site data and cookies" for keepzen.io will wipe your local notes. We always recommend enabling Cloud Sync or making regular manual exports for peace of mind.

Most sync issues are temporary. First, check your internet connection and ensure you've entered the correct master passphrase. If the error persists, try refreshing the page or restarting the app. As an early-stage tool, we do not offer a formal SLA, but we are constantly monitoring the system to ensure your data flows smoothly.

Yes. KeepZen is a Progressive Web App (PWA). You can install it from your browser’s menu and use it like a regular app on your phone or tablet.

Yes. KeepZen uses a hybrid Markdown editor. You can type familiar syntax (e.g. # for headings or ** for bold), and it is rendered as formatted text as you type.

Only you. Since KeepZen uses local-first storage and end-to-end encryption, your notes are decrypted only on your device. We do not have the keys to read your data, and neither does anyone else.

We use end-to-end encryption (E2EE) with the AES-GCM standard. Your notes are encrypted in your browser using your master passphrase. Data is sent to the server already encrypted — we cannot read it.

"Encrypted at rest" means data is safe on a server, but the provider holds the key; in KeepZen, your master passphrase creates a unique key on your device, so only encrypted "noise" ever reaches our servers.

You can recover your notes on a new device by signing in via magic link and entering your master passphrase. Without that passphrase, the data in the cloud remains an unbreakable encrypted code that even we cannot recover for you.

We follow a zero-knowledge policy: we do not store your passphrase or have access to it. Unfortunately, we cannot recover access to encrypted data if you lose it. That is the trade-off for full privacy.

No invasive trackers or cookies are used. We use Umami Cloud, a privacy-focused, cookieless analytics tool. It helps us understand general usage patterns (like which features are popular) without ever identifying you, collecting your IP, or tracking you across the web. Your identity remains 100% anonymous.

Type [[ and start typing the title of another note. This creates a link between notes. You can build a “second brain” where ideas form a living network instead of a flat list.

Type a hashtag in the note body, for example #ideas or #work. KeepZen picks up words after # (letters, numbers, _, and -; Unicode letters are supported) and lists them in the sidebar so you can filter notes by tag. The first line of the note is treated as the title and is not scanned for tags—only the body below it counts.

Search runs over each note's title and full body content (including the HTML that backs the editor). That means you can find text from paragraphs, headings, links, and inline #tags because they live in the body. Matching is fuzzy (small typos can still match). There isn't a separate "tags-only" search index—the sidebar tag list is for filtering; the command palette search covers title and body.

You can embed images in a note (paste or insert from your device). Images are compressed for storage (up to about 1200px on the long edge, with optimized quality). Other file types (PDFs, arbitrary attachments) are not supported—KeepZen is focused on notes, links, and images. When sync is on, images are stored as encrypted assets and are pulled and pushed with your notes so they can appear on your other devices.

There are no technical limits in the app. The size of your knowledge base is limited only by the storage on your device or your browser’s storage quota.

Yes, and we encourage it. You can export your entire knowledge base as JSON at any time. No proprietary formats — your data belongs to you.

Yes. At the moment all features are free — there are no limits on the number of notes or on how many devices you sync.

KeepZen works in up-to-date versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari. You can also install it as a Progressive Web App (PWA) for a more app-like shortcut on desktop and mobile. The most consistent install-and-offline experience is in Chromium-based browsers (Chrome, Edge, and similar); on iOS, "Add to Home Screen" follows Apple's web-app rules, which can differ slightly from Android or desktop.

You sign in with your email — no separate password for the account. Enter your address in the app; we send a magic link to your inbox. Open the link to complete sign-in. Each link is valid for about 15 minutes and can be used only once. If it expired or was already used, request a new link from the same screen.

KeepZen works well on mobile as a PWA — you can add it to your home screen from the browser. The web app is fully responsive, so you can use it on any device without a separate mobile app.

Message @ElijahBuild on X. A short note with what you expected, what happened, and your browser + OS makes it much easier to track down issues.