Installation

Denote is a macOS desktop app. It runs alongside Claude Code, which is a separate install. Both are required.

Download

Denote is in open beta. Click Download Beta on the Denote home page to get the latest .dmg from GitHub Releases, or grab it directly from the releases page.

Prerequisites

A Mac with Apple Silicon (M1 or later). Intel Macs are not supported.
macOS 13 (Ventura) or later.
Claude Code installed and signed in. Denote relies on Claude Code to run skills and generate code. If you don't have Claude Code yet, follow the Anthropic install guide first.
A code editor of your choice, if you want to open project files outside Denote. Not required.

Install Denote

Download the .dmg.
Open the .dmg and drag Denote to your Applications folder.
Eject the disk image.

Denote is signed and notarized with Apple, so it opens with a normal double-click. The first launch may show the standard macOS confirmation for an app downloaded from the internet; click Open.

Denote opens to the Home screen, where you can create a new project, open an existing folder, or try the sample project.

Creating your first project

When you create a new project, Denote asks for a name, a location, and the product types you're designing for: responsive web, desktop app, native mobile, or any combination. This choice determines which surfaces (desktop web, mobile web, native phone, and so on) your design targets. You can change it later in Project settings. See Surfaces and platforms.

What gets created on disk

A new project is a folder at the location you choose:

my-project/
  .git/                ← initialized on first open if missing
  .claude/
    commands/          ← the five layer skills (/vision … /spec)
  .denote/             ← per-machine state, gitignored
  intelligence/        ← knowledge, skills, agents (copied from Denote)
    catalog/           ← generated JSON exports of system-level catalogs
  design/              ← everything Denote's layers author
    project.json       ← product types (which platforms you're designing for)
    vision.json
    ontology.json
    architecture.json
    screens.json
    sources/           ← reference materials you add (PRDs, research, notes)
    SPEC.md            ← generated by /spec
    skill.md           ← generated design summary Claude Code reads while building
    .denote/           ← activity log and internal state
  CLAUDE.md            ← project instructions for Claude Code

Everything under design/ is human-readable JSON and Markdown. Everything under intelligence/ is a local copy of Denote's design intelligence, which Claude Code reads when running skills. You can edit both by hand; Denote watches the design files and picks up changes live.

See Project file structure for the full tree and what each file is responsible for.

Updating Denote

Denote checks for updates on launch and once every 24 hours while open. When a new version is available, an in-app dialog shows the release title and notes. Clicking Get it opens the GitHub release page, where you download the new .dmg and install it over the old one. Remind me later snoozes the prompt until the next launch.

Where to next

You are ready to walk the full pipeline. Open the Quick Start for a ten-minute tour from empty project to a finished design spec.