From download
to your first note.
Install Ampersand, choose the folder your notes will live in, and learn the parts of the window. Ten minutes, no account, nothing to configure first.
Four steps, and
none of them is setup
A native app on all three platforms — one download, one install, and it opens in about a second.
Download your build
macOS 14 or later on Apple Silicon or Intel, Windows 10 and 11 on x64 or ARM, or Linux as a .deb, an .rpm or an AppImage. Every build is the whole app — no trial clock, no account.
Open it
On a Mac, open the .dmg and drag Ampersand into Applications; the build is signed and notarized, so it opens cleanly. On Windows, choose More info → Run anyway the first time: the installers are not certificate-signed yet.
Say hello
First launch shows a short welcome: light, dark or system, and the name you would like credited on your work. Skip it if you like — every choice also lives in Settings.
Write something
Ampersand opens on a vault that is ready to use. Press Cmd + N (Ctrl + N) for a new note, name it, and type. Use a forward slash whenever you want something that is not a paragraph.
Ampersand/
├── Inbox.md
├── Reading notes.md
├── Projects/
│ ├── Launch plan.md
│ └── Pricing research.md
├── attachments/
│ └── roadmap.pdf
└── .ampersand/ ← templates, sidebar order
A vault is
just a folder
.md file with optional YAML frontmatter. On a Mac, Ampersand offers an Ampersand folder in iCloud Drive, or one in Documents if you do not use iCloud. Point it elsewhere whenever you like with Open vault… in the command palette — the notes stay put and the app comes to them. Already keep notes somewhere? Bring them over from Obsidian, Notion or Word.- Any folder: iCloud, Dropbox, a git checkout, an external disk
- Standard Markdown with optional YAML frontmatter
- A hidden .ampersand folder holds templates and sidebar order
Ampersand syncs nothing for you, which is the point: keep the folder in whatever service you already trust and it travels like any other folder of text files. You can run several vaults, too, and switch between them from the palette — switching is free, creating extra vaults is part of Ampersand Pro. More in vaults and sync.
Six things to learn,
then it is muscle memory
All of it is reachable from the keyboard, and every shortcut can be rebound in Settings → Shortcuts.
The sidebar
Your vault’s folders and notes, in whatever order you drag them into. Right-click for a new note, a folder, or one from a template. Cmd + \ hides it.
Tabs
Notes open in tabs. Cmd + T opens one, Cmd + W closes it, Cmd + Shift + T reopens the last, Cmd + 1 through 9 jumps. Drag a tab out for its own window.
The command palette
Cmd + K runs any command by name; Cmd + P is the quick switcher — type a note’s title and hit Enter. Cmd + Shift + P shows every category.
The page
The editor, with no toolbar on top of your words. Formatting appears on selection, blocks on a slash, and a drag handle in the margin as you hover.
The document panel
An outline of your headings, backlinks from other notes, counts and reading time, per-document style, and this note’s version history.
The status bar
Edited or Saved, your word count, reading time, and a clickable Cmd + K button so the palette is never a secret.
---
title: Launch plan
tags: [product, q3]
---
# Launch plan
The date is fixed; see [[Pricing research]].
- [x] Lock the feature list
- [ ] Draft the announcement
> [!NOTE]
> Ship notes go out the morning after.
The same file,
three ways to see it
- Live blocks, plain files
- Source view with highlighting
- Split view, scroll-linked
There is no
save button
Ampersand writes to disk about half a second after you stop typing. The status bar carries the story: a breathing dot and Edited while a change is outstanding, a check and Saved once it lands. ⌘S forces it, and quitting flushes anything pending first. If the app is ever killed mid-sentence, unsaved work is journaled separately and offered back on the next launch, tabs and all.
Every save is also a snapshot, recorded into a per-vault history, so each note has a timeline you can scroll back through with a line-by-line diff. A burst of autosaves collapses into one entry — by default after fifteen seconds of quiet — so the timeline reads like a writing session, not a keystroke log. The timeline and the diff are free; restoring a version in one click is part of Ampersand Pro. Press ⌘⇧H to open it.
History lives outside your vault, on this machine, so it never syncs and never becomes a second copy of your notes in the cloud — and it is deliberately skipped for notes you encrypt with a vault passphrase.
Nothing switched on behind your back
Free is not a trial
Pick the part
you need today
Most people go to slash commands, blocks and tables next — the everyday writing surface, including tables that calculate and links between notes. From there, diagrams, math, charts and live calculation shows what a note can hold beyond prose, and exporting to PDF, Word or HTML covers getting a document in front of someone else.
When you want machine help, connecting your own AI key explains which provider handles which feature, local models included, and publishing to a private share link sends one note to one person. Two references are worth a bookmark: the shortcuts page, which mirrors the in-app cheat sheet on ⌘/, and the specifications sheet.
Good to know
How long does it take to set up Ampersand?
A couple of minutes. Download the build for your platform, install it, and it opens on a vault folder that already works — no account, no sign-in, no server to choose, no sync to configure. After a short welcome screen you are looking at a page you can type into.
Can I choose which folder Ampersand keeps my notes in?
Yes, any folder on your computer. Ampersand starts with an Ampersand folder in iCloud Drive on a Mac, or one in Documents on Windows and Linux; Open vault in the command palette points it elsewhere — an existing notes directory, a Dropbox folder, a git checkout. The notes never move, the app does.
Is there a save button in Ampersand?
No, and you do not need one. Ampersand writes changes to disk about half a second after you stop typing; the status bar reads Edited while a change is pending and Saved once it lands. Cmd + S forces a save, and every save is recorded in that note’s version history.
Does Ampersand work offline?
Completely. Writing, search, wiki-links, backlinks, version history, Markdown export and every smart block run locally. Only optional extras reach the internet: a cloud AI provider you configure yourself, publishing a note to a share link, checking for updates, and one anonymous daily count you can switch off in Settings.
What is free in Ampersand and what needs Pro?
The editor, smart blocks, vault search, wiki-links, the version history timeline and Markdown export are free forever. Ampersand Pro is a one-time purchase adding PDF, Word and HTML export, AI agents, per-note encryption, publishing, multiple vaults, one-click restore, and meeting recording on macOS.
Will my notes still open if I stop using Ampersand?
Yes. Every note is a plain .md text file in a folder you picked, readable in any text editor on any operating system. There is no proprietary database, and unlocking and decrypting notes you encrypted is never gated behind a licence.
Your first note is
two minutes away.
Download Ampersand, point it at a folder, and write. No account, no trial timer, nothing to undo.
Free to start · Mac, Windows & Linux · No account required