SideNote Pro

Features

SideNote Pro is a native Windows 11 x64 assistant that stays beside your work, summoned with Ctrl+Shift+Space, connected to the AI provider you choose. Each page below covers one capability in detail, including its limits.

How it connects to AI

SideNote Pro has no AI service of its own. These pages cover how you connect it to one, and how much control you keep over the model.

Bring your own key (BYOK)

Configure your own OpenAI-compatible provider and API key. No bundled AI plan, no hosted proxy.

AI providers

OpenAI, Ollama, LM Studio and custom endpoints, with model discovery and per-profile settings.

Model and reasoning controls

Pick the model per profile and optionally send an OpenAI-compatible reasoning effort level.

On your desktop

How the assistant behaves as a Windows application, and exactly where your data lives.

Windows AI sidebar

Dock to the screen edge, retract to a slim leash, summon with a global shortcut.

Local-first privacy

The exact boundary between your machine, your AI provider, and the licensing service.

Working with your content

Everything you can put into a request beyond typed text.

Local folder context

Index a folder locally, retrieve relevant excerpts with lexical search, and get sources you can open.

Document input

PDF, DOCX, TXT and Markdown extracted locally, then sent as text to your provider.

Screenshots and images

Region, window, screen and virtual-desktop capture, plus clipboard paste and drag and drop.

Selected-text actions

Summarize, rewrite, explain or translate a selection from any app, plus custom actions.

Conversations and output

What happens to an answer once you have it.

Local conversation history

Threads, search, pins, retention, optional encryption and Markdown export, all local.

PDF response export

Save one assistant response as a formatted A4 PDF, rendered locally.

Usage and cost tracking

Token counts, local cost estimates, a daily ledger and an optional daily limit.

Response rendering and controls

Markdown rendering, copy actions, and controls for stopping, continuing, regenerating and editing.

New to SideNote Pro? Start with getting started, which walks from install to your first answer, or read what bring your own key means if that is the part you want to understand first.