Local-First, Privacy-Respecting Notes for Developers

Most note-taking apps want your data on their servers. We think that’s backwards for developer notes.

Why Local-First?

Your CLAUDE.md files contain project context. Your notes might include:

• API patterns and architectural decisions
• Client-specific requirements
• Debugging notes with stack traces
• Ideas you’re not ready to share

This stuff shouldn’t live on someone else’s server by default.

How strayfiles Works

Everything starts local:

1. strayfiles indexes Markdown files on your machine
2. The index lives in a local SQLite database (via glueSQL)
3. Search, tags, and workspaces — all local
4. Nothing leaves your machine unless you want it to

Cloud sync is optional:

When you upgrade to Pro, you get encrypted cloud sync:

• End-to-end encryption (we can’t read your notes)
• Zero-knowledge architecture
• Instant sync across devices
• Cloud version history

But the free tier? Completely local. Forever.

Sync Options

We support multiple sync strategies because developers have different needs:

Git Sync (Free)

[sync]
git_auto_commit = true
commit_message = "strayfiles: auto-save"
git_remote = "origin"

Your notes are just commits. Works with any Git hosting.

Folder Sync (Free)

Point strayfiles at an iCloud, Dropbox, or Syncthing folder. We don’t manage the sync — we just index what’s there.

Encrypted Cloud Sync (Pro)

For developers who want instant sync without managing Git or folder sync:

• Sub-second sync latency
• Works offline, syncs when connected
• Encrypted before upload
• Multi-device conflict resolution

The Technical Stack

For the curious:

• Core: Rust for performance and safety
• Database: glueSQL (SQL in Rust, compiles to multiple targets)
• iOS: SwiftUI with shared Rust core
• Cloud: Supabase Realtime for sync, Supabase Storage for encrypted blobs

What We Don’t Do

• We don’t train AI on your notes
• We don’t sell your data
• We don’t require an account for the free tier
• We don’t lock your files in a proprietary format

Your notes are Markdown. They’ll work in any text editor, forever.

Who’s Building This

strayfiles is built by bckgrnd, a development studio founded by Tito Febus — an automations expert and developer based in Orlando, Florida.

bckgrnd focuses on modern web applications, SaaS products, and native Apple apps with an emphasis on accessibility, minimalism, and scalability. The studio’s stack (Astro, Tailwind, Supabase, Swift) aligns perfectly with strayfiles’ goals: fast, privacy-respecting software that just works.

Tito has been building products independently and working with AI tools like Claude and OpenAI in production workflows — which is exactly why strayfiles exists. When you’re deep in Claude Code or Cursor all day, you accumulate a lot of context files. This app scratches our own itch.

The Business Model

Simple: the app is free, cloud sync is $10/month.

We make money from users who want the convenience of instant encrypted sync. Everyone else gets a fully-featured local app at no cost.

No ads. No data harvesting. No “free tier that’s secretly a trial.”

Try It

Download strayfiles and point it at your notes folder. No account required, no setup wizard, no onboarding emails.

Just your Markdown files, finally organized.