Installation

Getting Notemap up and running on your Mac takes just a minute. This guide walks you through downloading, installing, and launching the app for the first time.

Video: Downloading, installing, and launching Notemap for the first time

System requirements

Requirement	Details
Operating system	macOS 14 (Sonoma) or later
Processor	Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4) and Intel Macs both supported
Disk space	Approximately 25 MB

Download

Visit notemap.com/download to download the latest version of Notemap.

The download is a standard .dmg disk image file.

Install

Open the downloaded .dmg file. Double-click the disk image to mount it. A Finder window will appear showing the Notemap app icon and an alias to your Applications folder.
Drag Notemap to Applications. Drag the Notemap icon onto the Applications folder alias. This copies the app to your Mac.
Eject the disk image. Once the copy is complete, you can eject the mounted disk image from Finder’s sidebar or by right-clicking it on your desktop and selecting Eject.

First launch

Open Notemap from your Applications folder or by searching for it with Spotlight (Cmd + Space, then type “Notemap”).

Gatekeeper warning

Because Notemap is downloaded from the web rather than the Mac App Store, macOS may show a warning the first time you open it saying the app “can’t be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software.”

To open it:

Right-click (or Control-click) on the Notemap app icon in your Applications folder.
Select Open from the context menu.
In the dialog that appears, click Open to confirm.

You only need to do this once. After the first launch, Notemap will open normally like any other application.

Note

This Gatekeeper dialog is standard macOS behavior for apps distributed outside the Mac App Store. It does not indicate any problem with the app.

Free and Pro tiers

Notemap is free to use with a generous set of features. A one-time Pro purchase unlocks everything.

Free tier

The free tier gives you everything you need to start mind mapping:

Unlimited mind maps
2 visual themes
2 node shapes
1 layout mode (horizontal)
PNG export

Pro tier (one-time purchase)

The Pro tier is a single purchase that unlocks the full power of Notemap:

17 visual themes to match your style or mood
12 node shapes for visually rich maps
4 layout modes including vertical, horizontal, and more
AI features — generate nodes, brainstorm, refine text, expand branches, summarize, and more
All export formats — PNG, SVG, plain text, OPML, AI-generated articles, and AI summaries
Present mode for walking through your maps as presentations

Tip

You can use the free tier for as long as you like with no time limits. Upgrade to Pro whenever you're ready.

Where your data is stored

Notemap is a local-first application. Your mind map files are stored directly on your Mac’s file system. There is no cloud account, no sync server, and no login required.

By default, Notemap saves your files in a workspace directory on your local disk. You can see and manage all your files in the sidebar’s file tree.

Syncing across devices

While Notemap does not have built-in cloud sync, you can easily sync your workspace folder using any cloud storage service:

iCloud Drive — Move or create your Notemap workspace inside your iCloud Drive folder. Your files will sync automatically across all your Macs.
Dropbox — Place your workspace folder inside Dropbox for automatic syncing.
Any cloud folder — Google Drive, OneDrive, or any service that syncs a local folder will work.

To set this up, simply point Notemap’s workspace to a folder inside your preferred cloud storage directory.

Note

When syncing via cloud storage, avoid editing the same mind map on two devices simultaneously to prevent file conflicts.

What’s next

Now that Notemap is installed, head over to Creating Your First Map to build your first mind map.