Titles, in lists
Docs named by hand keep that name in the sidebar, the Docs browser and on cards.
For iPad with Apple Pencil · Free, for good
Read PDFs, write by hand, and never lose where a thought came from.
Your handwriting stays handwriting. Every highlight keeps an exact link back to its passage. Every note shows what it links to, what links to it, and why.
Most note apps give you pages to fill. GraphNotes keeps track of how your thinking connects: which passage a note came from, which notes cite a page, and why two ideas belong together.
Write
Your handwriting is the note.
Put the Pencil down and write. There is nothing to tap first, no block to make, no mode to switch on. GraphNotes keeps your strokes as ink, everywhere they go.
Write on a card, right on the board.
Every card has open paper below its last line. Start writing there and the ink becomes a new handwriting block in place. It grows as you write, and the card grows with it.
- First touch, not first tapThe Pencil makes the block when it lands.
- Blocks that make roomAreas grow line by line while you write.
- Only the Pencil drawsYour fingers scroll, select and move cards. A resting hand leaves no marks.
Name it by hand.
A new doc opens on its title, ready for the Pencil. Write the name and it stays in your hand: lists, cards and the Docs browser all show the title you wrote. Below the title, the page is open paper, all the way down.
- Written titlesType one instead whenever you like.
- Open paper on every pageWrite below the last block and a new one begins.
Everywhere your ink goes.
GraphNotes reads your handwriting on your iPad so it can find it. It never swaps your ink for its guess. You get typed text only when you ask for it.
Cards on a board
Write on a resting card. No editor, no mode.
Margin notes
Each highlight's notes sit beside its passage, handwritten or typed.
Sticky notes
Quick questions in your own hand, anywhere on a board.
Search results
Search shows your strokes, with the match marked.
Citations
When you cite handwriting, the citation keeps the original strokes.
Connect
Every thought keeps its way back.
Highlight a passage and it becomes a note of its own, with an exact link to its page and words. Quote it, cite it or connect it, and the trail runs both ways.
Links that say why.
Connect two cards, then tap the line between them to give it a reason and a label. Supports, Contradicts, Cites, Derived From, Written While: the reason travels with the link, so every note that cites a passage shows what it was for.
- Both directionsEach item shows what it links to and what links to it.
- Exact addressesA link opens the page, flashes the words and never breaks on a rename.
One panel for every connection.
The Connections panel lists everything a doc, highlight or board links to and is linked from, grouped by reason. Your handwritten notes appear there as ink.
Quote it, and the source comes with it.
Pin the sources you are writing from, then quote or attach them to a block. GraphNotes records which block cites what, and keeps the words you quoted with the citation, so a later change to the source never rewrites what you cited.
Rediscover
Type a word. Find your handwriting.
Search reads what you wrote by hand on your iPad and shows it back to you as handwriting, with the matching words marked. Typed notes, titles and highlighted passages come up beside it.
Made for people who read with a pen.
One library for PDFs, handwriting, typed notes and boards, shaped by how you work.
A reading board that remembers.
Spread a paper across the board with its highlights beside their passages. Write in the margin, pull the passages that matter into your notes, and draft a review where every claim knows its source.
- Passages with addressesCite p. 3 and land on p. 3, words flashed.
- Sources tabWhat you have used, and what you have not yet.
Lecture notes that find their chapter.
Keep the textbook chapter on the board with your handwritten notes beside it. Link each note to the passage it explains, then search your handwriting the night before the exam.
- Your handwriting, searchable"glucose" finds the line you wrote in class.
- Review that reusesBring a handwritten block into your study guide as a synced block.
A case file where every line has a cite.
Put the deposition beside the contract. Highlight the testimony, write your note in the margin, and connect it to the clause it contradicts. Your timeline and draft brief cite the exact page and line.
- Contradicts, Supports, CitesSay why two passages belong together.
- Pin cites to the passage"Benton Dep. 42:7" opens the transcript at that line.
The case shown is fictional.
As someone with ADHD and autism, I made GraphNotes for myself first: to fill a gap no other app could, and to finally have tools that work the way my brain does.
Free, with nothing to extract.
GraphNotes is free, and it stays that way. No feature waits behind a payment, and nothing in the app pulls against the people using it.
Free, for goodNo subscription, no ads, no locked features.
Data Not CollectedNo analytics, no tracking, no account.
Your iCloud, not a serverYour library lives on your iPad and in your own iCloud. Handwriting is read on the device.
Your notes leave with youExport to Markdown today. A complete export with PDFs, ink and boards is planned before release.
Details are in the Privacy Policy.
Questions
Is GraphNotes a notebook app?
Not quite. You write and type pages as in a notebook, but your handwriting, typed notes, PDF highlights and boards share one library. Everything has its own link, and every note shows what it links to and what links to it.
Does my handwriting turn into typed text?
Only when you ask. Your iPad reads your handwriting so Search can find it, but GraphNotes always shows your ink. Copy as Text and Use as Text give you typed text on request.
Do I need an Apple Pencil?
For handwriting, yes. Only the Pencil draws, so your fingers scroll, select and move things without leaving marks. You can type everything without one. If you write with your left hand, the margin and its notes can sit on the left.
Can I write directly on my PDFs?
Not yet. You highlight passages and write notes on each highlight, by hand or typed, and those notes sit beside their passages on a board. Your PDF file is never changed.
Can I search my handwriting?
Yes. Search finds words in handwritten notes, titles and sticky notes and shows your handwriting with the words marked. It also searches typed notes and the passages you have highlighted. Inside an open PDF, use Find.
Where are my notes stored?
On your iPad and, when you are signed in to iCloud, in your own private iCloud. PDFs go in a GraphNotes folder in iCloud Drive. There is no GraphNotes account and no GraphNotes server, and the app has no analytics, ads or tracking. The Privacy Policy has the details.
Does GraphNotes use Apple Intelligence?
Only if you ask, for one thing: on iPads with Apple Intelligence, Reflect on Connection can draft a short note on how two notes might relate. It runs on the device, is labelled "Generated by Apple Intelligence" and saves nothing. Suggested connections come from matching done on your iPad, and nothing is linked until you choose Keep.
What does it cost?
Nothing. GraphNotes is free, with no subscription, no ads and no feature behind a payment.
What do I need?
An iPad on iPadOS 27 or later, and an Apple Pencil for handwriting. GraphNotes is made for iPad; other devices are not part of the beta.
Does it record lectures or meetings?
No, there is no audio recording. You can import a transcript (SRT or timestamped text) into a doc and confirm when the session started.
Be one of the first few hundred.
The public beta opens on TestFlight soon, starting with people who read and write with a Pencil. Leave your email and GraphNotes will send you an invitation.