01
Hit the hotkey
A small panel floats over whatever you're doing. No app switch, no tab hunt.
For Mac · For Obsidian
Your vault,
sorted and linked.
A system-wide hotkey for macOS that drops your thought into today's Obsidian daily note — auto-linked, auto-tagged, ready to connect.
How it works
Three steps. None of them pull you out of what you're doing.
Three steps, none of them disruptive. Capture now, sort later — the app handles the filing so you don't have to.
02
Type and move on
Write the note. Spillway saves and closes. Whatever you were focused on is still there.
03
Tidy up later
When you have a moment, review the links, tags, and follow-ups Spillway suggested. Accept what's useful, skip the rest.
Features
Built around the workflow Obsidian users already have.
Everything stays close to the job: capture fast, file locally, and reduce the cleanup that usually piles up later.
Open the capture panel from any app on your Mac and return to work just as quickly. No need to switch windows or find the right note first.
Every capture appends directly to today's file in Obsidian. Nothing to file, nothing to forget.
Between meetings or at day's end, accept the links and tags Spillway proposed. One pass, and you're done.
Spillway reads your vault and offers [[links]], #tags, and note matches as you type. Accept with Tab, ignore by continuing. Captures land in today's daily note already connected to the rest of your notes.
If you allow it, Spillway uses what's on your calendar for context and can push action items to Apple Reminders.
FAQ
Quick answers.
How do I install it?
Download and open the installer, drag Spillway into Applications, and launch it. On first run the app walks you through connecting your Obsidian vault and granting any permissions it needs.
Why isn't it on the App Store?
Spillway needs a system-wide hotkey and direct access to your vault — two things the App Store doesn't allow without significant limitations. Direct download keeps the experience clean and the workflow frictionless.
Does it send my notes anywhere?
No. Captures, suggestions, and writes all happen on your Mac. Nothing leaves your machine.
What permissions does it ask for?
Accessibility access for the global hotkey. File access for your vault. Calendar and Reminders are optional — only requested if you use those integrations.
Isn't this just Drafts, Raycast Notes, or QuickAdd?
Those tools capture. Spillway captures into your existing vault — reading your notes, suggesting links to entities you've already created, and appending to the daily note format you already use. Nothing to re-file later.
Does it respect my existing daily note template?
Spillway appends captures to today's daily note. You can configure which heading they land under — for example a ## Inbox or ## Captures section — or leave it unset to append at the end of the file. It doesn't rewrite the rest of your template.
What if Obsidian is open and editing the same file?
Spillway writes atomically — it writes to a temp file and renames it into place — so there's no risk of corrupting a file Obsidian has open. Obsidian picks up the change on its next file-watch tick.
Download
Try the beta.
- Native Mac app Built in Swift and SwiftUI for macOS 14 and later.
- Direct download No App Store. Open the installer and the app walks you through setup.
- Offline by default No account, no telemetry. Everything happens on your Mac.
- Built around Obsidian Daily notes, wiki links, tags — the workflows you already use.