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Network Notes — Tutorials

Everything you need to get Network Notes running on your home or office network. Work through them in order or jump to any section.

1 Getting Started

What you'll learn: installing Network Notes and connecting two Macs.

Network Notes is a menu bar app. Once launched it sits quietly as a duck icon in your menu bar until you need it.

First launch

  1. Download and open Network Notes. The duck icon appears in your menu bar.
  2. On first launch, Network Notes asks whether you want it to Open at Login. Click Open at Login — this ensures you never miss a message. You can change this later in Settings.
  3. Install Network Notes on the other Mac and launch it there too.
  4. Click the duck icon on either Mac. Within a few seconds the other Mac's name appears in the peer list with a green dot.
Same network required. Both Macs must be on the same WiFi network or connected to the same router. Network Notes does not work over the internet.

2 Sending a Note

What you'll learn: sending a text note or URL to another Mac.

  1. Click the duck icon in your menu bar.
  2. Click the name of the Mac you want to message. The compose window slides open.
  3. Type your note. URLs are detected automatically — paste a link and it will arrive as a clickable link on the other side.
  4. Press ⌘Return or click Send. A "Sent" confirmation appears briefly, then the window returns to the peer list.

When the message arrives on the other Mac, the history window opens automatically and comes to the front — even if it was behind other windows.

Encrypted in transit. Every message is encrypted end-to-end with AES-256-GCM before it leaves your Mac. No one between the two machines can read it.

3 Sending Images

What you'll learn: sending a photo or screenshot to another Mac.

Drag and drop

  1. Open the compose window for the person you want to send to.
  2. Drag any image from Finder, Photos, or your Desktop and drop it onto the compose area. A preview appears.
  3. Optionally type a caption in the text field below the preview.
  4. Press ⌘Return or click Send.

Using the photo picker

  1. Open the compose window and click the photo icon at the bottom left.
  2. Select an image from Finder.
  3. Add a caption if you like, then send.
Images are automatically resized to a maximum of 1024 pixels on their longest side and compressed before sending. This keeps transfers fast on a home network while preserving enough quality for most uses.

4 Send to All

What you'll learn: broadcasting a note or image to everyone on the network at once.

When two or more Macs are connected, a Send to All button appears at the top of the peer list.

  1. Click the duck icon to open the peer list.
  2. Click Send to All at the top of the list (only visible when 2+ people are connected).
  3. The compose window opens with To: Everyone as the recipient.
  4. Type your note or drop an image, then send. Every connected Mac receives it simultaneously.
Each recipient sees the message individually in their history. The delivery to each person is encrypted separately — your note is not broadcast as a single unencrypted packet.

5 Message History

What you'll learn: viewing, searching, and clearing your message history.

Every sent and received message is stored locally in Message History. It opens automatically when a message arrives, and you can also open it manually.

Opening history

  1. Click the duck icon and then click History in the footer.
  2. The history window shows all messages, newest first. Outgoing messages show a blue arrow; incoming show a green arrow.
  3. Click any image to open it full-size in Preview.
  4. URLs in messages are underlined and clickable.

Clearing history

  1. Open the history window.
  2. To delete a single message, hover over it and press Delete, or swipe left.
  3. To clear everything, click Clear All in the toolbar.
Message history is stored only on your Mac. Clearing it on one machine does not affect history on other machines.

6 Your Display Name

What you'll learn: changing the name other people see when you send them a note.

Network Notes uses your Mac's computer name by default. If multiple Macs on your network share the same name (e.g., "MacBook Pro"), you can set a unique display name.

  1. Click the duck icon, then click the gear icon in the footer.
  2. Edit the name in the Display name field.
  3. Click Apply. Network Notes re-advertises immediately with the new name.
Your display name is what other Macs see in their peer list and in their message history. Choose something that makes it obvious who is sending — "Geoff's Mac" is clearer than "MacBook Pro."

7 Open at Login

What you'll learn: making Network Notes start automatically when you log in.

Network Notes works best when it starts at login — that way the duck is always in your menu bar and you never miss a message.

Enabling Open at Login

  1. Click the duck icon, then click the gear icon.
  2. Turn on the Open at Login toggle.

Disabling Open at Login

  1. Click the duck icon, then click the gear icon.
  2. Turn off the Open at Login toggle.
You can also manage login items in System Settings → General → Login Items & Extensions. Network Notes appears there under "Allow in the Background."

8 Installing on Another Mac

What you'll learn: getting Network Notes onto a second Mac without the App Store.

From the App Store

Search for Network Notes in the Mac App Store and install it the same way as any free app.

Direct install (for beta or household sharing)

  1. On the Mac that already has Network Notes, use Finder → Applications to locate NetworkNotes.app.
  2. AirDrop it to the other Mac, or copy it to a shared folder.
  3. On the receiving Mac, right-click → Open on the first launch to allow it past Gatekeeper.

9 Troubleshooting

What to do when peers don't appear or messages don't arrive.

SymptomLikely causeFix
Peer never appears in the list Both Macs are not on the same network, or a firewall is blocking Bonjour. Confirm both Macs are on the same WiFi. Check System Settings → Network → Firewall and ensure it allows incoming connections for Network Notes.
Peer shows as "Connecting…" but never connects A VPN or corporate proxy is interfering with local network traffic. Disable any active VPN. Network Notes only uses the local network and doesn't route traffic through a VPN, but some VPN clients block local discovery.
Messages send but don't arrive The receiving Mac may have notifications disabled for Network Notes. On the receiving Mac, go to System Settings → Notifications → Network Notes and enable alerts.
Peer disappears after being connected Network Notes automatically reconnects if the Bonjour service is still visible. The peer reappears within a few seconds. Wait a few seconds. If the peer doesn't reappear, ensure both Macs are still on the same network.
History window doesn't open on incoming messages Focus & Assistance modes on macOS may be suppressing alerts. Check System Settings → Focus and ensure Network Notes notifications are allowed in your active Focus mode.