Private, local-first workspace

Get it down. Keep it moving.

Root is a private notes workspace that stays beside the web in Chrome. Capture quotes, links, and quick thoughts without losing your place, shape them beside your work, and hand off clean text when you're ready.

Install Root for Chrome See how it works
Download on the App Store
  • Free to download and use
  • No Root account needed
  • Your workspace starts locally

Use Root independently in desktop Chrome or on iPhone. Safari for Mac is in development. View all downloads → Free on iPhone and desktop Chrome. View all downloads →

Want the exact breakdown before install? Read Security & Permissions.

Image credits

Article text: GOV.UK, under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Browser presentation frame and fictional demo notes; no endorsement implied.

Draft

Open full-size image

One workflow

Capture. Shape. Handoff.

Root gives ideas somewhere to land, a place to become useful, and a clean way to move when they are ready. The working text stays visible instead of disappearing between tools.

Looking for the Chrome-specific path? See how Draft works in Chrome.

01 Capture

Start before the thought is tidy

Draft and Inbox let notes, quotes, links, tasks, and prompts land without asking you to organize them first.

02 Shape

Keep the useful middle

Search, Open Tasks, tags, and Snippets help fragments become material you can work with without stripping away their context.

03 Handoff

Move context without rebuilding it

Context Handoff turns selected notes, prompts, and source material into a packet you can inspect before it leaves Root.

Scratch files

A better workspace for loose text files

Plenty of useful work still starts in Notepad, TextEdit, VS Code, or a folder full of .txt and .md files. Root keeps that plain-text feeling, but gives multiple loose files one place to land, sit together, get edited, and turn into something useful.

Bring them in

Drag in multiple files

Drop a handful of .txt or .md files into Root instead of opening them one by one in separate editor windows.

See the set

Work from one sidebar

View the files together, switch between them quickly, and keep the rough material visible without building a folder system first.

Shape the text

Edit, task, or snippet

Clean up the text, pull checklist lines into Open Tasks, or save reusable fragments as Snippets when they keep coming back.

Share the slice

Hand off what matters

Use Context Handoff when one file, several files, or the open tasks need to leave Root as a clean packet.

AI project memory

Keep your project memory portable

As more work happens with AI tools, project managers, and task-specific agents, it helps to keep your own working context somewhere you control. Root gives rough notes, decisions, links, task lines, snippets, and reusable prompts a Markdown-friendly place to live before you choose what to share.

Project memory

Memory outside one chat

Keep decisions, links, and next steps in Root instead of burying the whole project trail inside a single AI conversation.

Portable text

Your own .md context

Use Markdown-friendly notes, tasks, tags, and snippets to keep context portable and easy to hand off.

Choose the tool

Use the right AI for the moment

Send the right packet to ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, a browser sidebar, a doc, or another person without making one tool your only memory.

Sync your project memory through your own Google Drive

Each app works independently. Optional paid Root Connect syncs supported devices through your Google Drive with a one-time unlock. No Root account or subscription is required.

See how sync works →

Principles

Private by default. Honest about what gets shared.

Root should make sense even if you never paste into an assistant. It keeps the workspace local and makes sharing an intentional action, not a background behavior.

Local first Your Chrome workspace starts in browser storage. Copy, export, and optional paid Root Connect sync are deliberate choices. Browser AI follows your browser's sharing settings.
Plain text Markdown-friendly structure keeps the app lightweight, legible, and portable.
Scoped sharing Move a chosen item, project slice, pinned context, or open tasks instead of dumping everything.
Recovery built in Version history, Archive, Trash, and Export reduce the fear of moving quickly.

Explore more

Keep exploring Root

If you want the details behind the workflow, these are the best next stops.

Codex beta Root for Codex Prepare local Codex Drafts, briefs, answers, and project memory, then import them into Root when ready. Available on the App Store Root for iPhone Take the same core workspace with you, with Smart Scan for QR codes and photo text, Voice Note, Meeting Transcripts, and Share Sheet capture. AI context setup Start with about-me.md Use ordinary Markdown files, tags, Snippets, and Context Handoff to carry only the useful packet into an AI chat. Direct comparisons Honest Root comparisons See where Root fits beside notes, task, and AI tools without pretending to replace everything. Organize lightly How to use tags Practical tag patterns by role, project, status, person, and workflow without building a folder maze. Reuse text Starter snippets Meeting notes, follow-ups, task prompts, support replies, and handoff helpers you can copy into Root.