A sleek, ultra-lightweight, cross-platform frosted-glass text & markdown editor for Windows and Android that just gets out of your way.
Clean, distraction-free writing that looks right at home on your desktop and phone.
Standard Notepad feels plain and dated, while modern writing apps can feel heavy, slow to launch, and hog your device's memory.
Cathet gives you the best of both worlds:
- 🪟 Real Frosted Glass (Windows): Uses genuine Windows Acrylic and Mica system backdrops with hardware acceleration to blend smoothly with your desktop wallpaper.
- 📱 Notes Dashboard & 120fps HyperOS Motion (Android): Full-featured mobile homepage with folder categorization, search, batch multi-select, and Xiaomi HyperOS-inspired container morph transitions with zero opacity fade.
- ⚡ 120Hz+ Display Refresh Rate Unlock: Automatically unlocks high refresh rates (120Hz/144Hz/165Hz) on Android for buttery-smooth scrolling and interactions.
- 🍃 Featherweight on Memory & Storage: Single Windows
.exeunder 4 MB, and an optimized universal Android APK that stays fast, cool, and battery-friendly. - 🎒 100% Portable: Just a single
.exefile on Windows! No installer, no setup wizards, and no leftover registry clutter. Run it from your desktop or a USB drive. - 📝 Everyday Scratchpad or Formatted Markdown: Edit plain text with zero lag, or toggle formatted Markdown preview with headers, checklists, tables, links, and images.
- 👥 Dual-Pane Mode: Horizontal side-by-side split on desktop (
Ctrl + D) and responsive vertical stacked split on Android with 3-state bidirectional scroll synchronization. - 📷 Smart In-Memory Images & Gboard Commit: Automatically compresses large clips (>500 KB) to WebP while keeping small clips and GIFs 1:1 crisp. Massive Base64 strings collapse into tidy badges, and Android keyboard stickers/GIFs paste directly into notes.
- 📶 Works 100% Offline & Private: Zero cloud telemetry, no account creation, and no proprietary lock-in. Your notes and files stay strictly on your device.
No complicated installation required! You can be up and running in under 10 seconds:
- Head over to the Latest Downloads page.
- Pick the download for your device architecture:
cathet-v...-x64.exe: For standard Windows PCs and laptops (Intel or AMD).cathet-v...-arm64.exe: For modern ARM devices (such as Microsoft Surface Pro Copilot+ or Snapdragon laptops).
- Double-click to open and start typing!
💡 Quick Tip: Right-click the
.exeand pick Pin to taskbar or Pin to Start so your glass scratchpad is always just one click away.
- Download
cathet-v...-android.apkfrom the Latest Downloads page. - Tap the APK to install on any device running Android 7.0+ (API 24 through 36).
- Open Cathet to enjoy high-refresh-rate note taking with folder organization and instant keyboard image support.
- 🪟 Modern DWM Backdrops: Authentic hardware-accelerated Acrylic and Mica frosted glass with intelligent focus-state transitions.
- 👥 Side-by-Side Dual Pane (
Ctrl + D): Split your window into two panes to compare notes, write drafts, or reference files simultaneously. Includes a draggable frosted glass splitter and independent preview toggles. - 📌 Always on Top (
Ctrl + T): Pin Cathet to float on top while watching videos, attending meetings, or browsing. - 🪟 Frameless Controls: Sleek built-in Minimize, Maximize, and Close buttons right in the header matching Windows 11.
- 📂 Multi-Target Drag & Drop: Drag
.txt,.md, or code files straight into the window. In Dual Pane mode, dual drop targets light up beneath your cursor to choose the receiving pane. - 🖱️ Custom Frosted Menus: Custom glass dropdowns and right-click context menus with quick shortcuts for Cut, Copy, Paste, and Word Wrap.
- 🛡️ Read-Only Protection: Warns you if you attempt to save changes to a read-only file, safely guiding you to "Save As...".
- 🔄 One-Click Auto-Updater: Checks for updates from GitHub releases and updates cleanly in-place (
--replace-old).
- 📱 Notes Dashboard: Home view with instant note creation, search filtering, and custom folder categorization.
- 🗂️ Multi-Select Batch Management: Long-press cards to batch pin, hide, move between folders, or delete notes.
- 🌊 Fluid Container Morph Transitions: Tapping a note card triggers a Xiaomi HyperOS-inspired 380ms scale and clip-path morph into the full editor with zero opacity fade. Back navigation collapses smoothly back into the origin slot.
- ⚡ 120Hz+ Display Unlock: Hardware-level refresh rate unlock for 120Hz/144Hz/165Hz displays on startup.
- ⌨️ Gboard Commit Content API: Paste images, stickers, and GIFs directly from Gboard or system clipboard into your notes.
- 📱 Vertical Dual-Pane Split: Stacked split view tailored for mobile screens with touch-friendly dock controls.
- 🎨 Circular Theme Reveal: Native
document.startViewTransitioncircular clip-path mask animation when toggling light/dark themes. - 📋 Slide-Up Mobile Settings: 120fps bottom sheet with GPU-composited backdrop scrim for quick personalization.
- 📝 Lossless Instant Toggle (
Ctrl + M): Switch seamlessly between raw text editing and rendered preview without DOM scraping or data loss. - 📷 In-Memory Image Optimization: Pasted clipboard images exceeding 500 KB are automatically downscaled (1920px max) and converted to WebP in memory. Small clips and animated GIFs bypass recompression to preserve 1:1 pixel sharpness.
- 💊 Collapsible Base64 Pills: In Edit mode, massive Base64 image strings fold into compact, clickable frosted glass pill badges (
[ 📷 WEBP ~245 KB ▾ ]). - 🖼️ Local & Remote Image Streaming: Preview relative (
./assets/...), absolute (C:/...), and web (https://...) images with automatic broken-image fallbacks. - 📋 Smart Clipboard Pasting: Paste formatted HTML from browsers directly as clean Markdown, or paste spreadsheet cells from Excel/Google Sheets as Markdown tables.
| What you want to do | Press |
|---|---|
| Toggle Markdown Preview | Ctrl + M |
| Toggle Dual Pane (side-by-side) mode | Ctrl + D |
| Pin / Unpin window to stay on top | Ctrl + T |
| Open Settings & Personalization | Ctrl + , (or click the ● dot in the top-left) |
| New document / window | Ctrl + N |
| Open a file | Ctrl + O |
| Save your document | Ctrl + S |
| Save as a new file | Ctrl + Shift + S |
| Paste text, tables, or auto-optimized images | Ctrl + V |
| Bold / Italic / Underline | Ctrl + B / Ctrl + I / Ctrl + U |
| Quick Google search on selected text | Ctrl + E |
| Toggle Word Wrap on / off | Alt + W |
| Zoom text in / out | Ctrl + Mouse Wheel |
| Close window | Esc |
| What you want to do | Action |
|---|---|
| Open note from Home | Tap any note card (smooth 120fps container morph into editor) |
| Return to Home / Close note | Tap the < back arrow in the top bar (dual-layer collapse) |
| Create new note | Tap the floating + action button |
| Enter multi-select mode | Long press any note card |
| Batch manage notes | Select cards in multi-select mode to Pin, Hide, Move, or Delete |
| Toggle Mobile Dual-Pane | Tap the Dual-Pane icon in the mobile action bar |
| Switch Scroll Sync Mode | Tap the scroll sync badge on the splitter (Standard, Snap 1:1, Paused) |
| Open Mobile Settings | Tap the settings gear in the mobile drawer |
| Switch Light / Dark Theme | Tap theme button (circular clip-path reveal) |
Access Settings on Desktop via Ctrl + , (or the top-left ● dot), or on Android via the mobile menu drawer:
- Appearance: Switch between sleek Dark glass and bright Light glass.
- Typography: Choose your favorite font family (Inter, Roboto, Cascadia Code, JetBrains Mono, Fira Code, Consolas, Segoe UI, Noto Sans, Arial).
- Window Controls (Desktop): Toggle persistent "Always on Top" pinning.
- Markdown Preview Default: Choose whether documents open directly in formatted preview while keeping blank scratchpads in edit mode.
- Dual Pane Scroll Sync: Toggle between proportional scroll synchronization and exact 1:1 snap scroll.
- Offline Tutorial: Click "Open Tutorial" to explore markdown formatting and interactive examples directly in the editor.
- Default Application (Windows): Register Cathet as your default text app with one click.
- Auto-Updater: Check for new releases with one click.
- About: View version information, meet the creator, or send feedback.
Does Cathet support Android as well as Windows?
Yes! Cathet v5.1.0 is cross-platform. It runs on Windows 10/11 (x64 and ARM64) as a portable executable, and on Android 7.0+ (Universal APK) with full hardware-accelerated 120Hz display refresh rate support, native keyboard commit integration, and a dedicated Notes Dashboard.
Does Cathet need an internet connection to work?
No! Cathet is 100% self-contained. All styles, fonts, and the interactive tutorial guide are built directly into the app. It works completely offline and never transmits telemetry or tracks your notes.
How does Cathet handle images and screenshots?
Cathet features a built-in in-memory image engine. When you paste an image (`Ctrl + V` on desktop or via keyboard/clipboard on Android), clips larger than 500 KB are automatically downscaled and converted to WebP in memory to keep file sizes lightweight. In Edit mode, massive Base64 strings collapse into tidy, clickable frosted glass pills (`[ 📷 WEBP ~245 KB ▾ ]`). In Preview mode (`Ctrl + M`), Cathet seamlessly renders local relative (`./img.png`), absolute (`C:/...`), and web images.
Where are my files and notes saved?
On Windows, Cathet saves standard text and Markdown files (`.txt`, `.md`, etc.) directly wherever you choose. On Android, notes are saved locally with instant folder categorization and can also be exported or opened from external files.
Can I take Cathet with me on a flash drive?
Yes! On Windows, Cathet is packaged as a single portable executable under 4 MB. You can copy it to any USB thumb drive and run it on any Windows 10 or 11 PC without installing anything.
How do I uninstall or remove Cathet?
On Windows, simply open Settings, click "Unregister Default App" (if previously enabled), and delete the `.exe` file. On Android, uninstall Cathet like any standard app from your device settings.
🛠️ For Developers & Builders (Compiling from Source)
If you would like to build Cathet locally from source:
- Node.js (v18+) &
npm - Rust (latest stable)
- Windows Builds: Windows PowerShell and Visual Studio C++ Build Tools
- Android Builds: Android Studio / SDK (API 24–36), Android NDK (r25+), JDK 17, and Rust Android targets (
rustup target add aarch64-linux-android armv7-linux-androideabi i686-linux-android x86_64-linux-android)
The repository root includes build.ps1, the single authoritative automation pipeline:
# 1. Clone repository & install frontend modules
git clone https://github.com/Crlyzd/Cathet.git
cd Cathet
npm install
# 2. Desktop Live Development (hot-reload)
.\build.ps1 -Live
# 3. Android Live Development (hot-reload with ADB reverse port forwarding)
.\build.ps1 -AndroidDev
# 4. Windows Desktop Release Builds (placed in release/)
.\build.ps1 -BuildX64 # Windows x64 (~3.7 MB -> release/cathet-v<version>-x64.exe)
.\build.ps1 -BuildArm64 # Windows ARM64 (~3.5 MB -> release/cathet-v<version>-arm64.exe)
.\build.ps1 -All # Build both Windows x64 and ARM64 releases
# 5. Android Release Build (Universal APK)
.\build.ps1 -AndroidBuild # Universal APK -> release/cathet-v<version>-android.apk
# 6. Synchronous Type & Compile Check
.\build.ps1 -Check # Runs npx tsc --noEmit and cargo checkAll compiled binaries are placed into release/ with optimized footprint (opt-level = "z", stripped symbols, native Windows Schannel TLS on Windows and Rustls on Android).
Cathet is free, open-source, and made with love.
- ⭐ If you like Cathet, please give the repo a star on GitHub!
- 🐛 Found a bug or have an idea? Open an issue.
- ☕ Support the creator via Saweria or PayPal.
Cathet is open-source software licensed under the MIT License.