Where NoteOwl stores your data
Last updated Checked against NoteOwl 1.0.0
NoteOwl stores everything you record and write in one folder on your Mac: ~/Library/Application Support/NoteOwl. To open it, click Settings in NoteOwl, then the General tab, and click Show in Finder beside Local Vault.
Nothing you record is kept on NoteOwl's servers. Your recordings, transcripts, notes, memory and Chat conversations exist only in this folder, unless you export them.
Where is NoteOwl's data folder?
In your home folder, at ~/Library/Application Support/NoteOwl. NoteOwl calls it your Local Vault. Finder hides the Library folder, so the easiest way there is the Show in Finder button in NoteOwl's settings.
- Open NoteOwl and click Settings in the sidebar.
- Click the General tab.
- Under On-disk location, click Show in Finder beside Local Vault. A Finder window opens with the NoteOwl folder selected.
Without NoteOwl, choose Go → Go to Folder… in Finder, type ~/Library/Application Support/NoteOwl and press Return.
What's in the NoteOwl folder?
Your recordings as Markdown text and audio files, a database for search and memory, the on-device AI models, and a few files for your settings. The main parts:
| In the folder | What it holds |
|---|---|
notes/meetings, notes/transcripts and notes/dictations | Each meeting, imported recording and dictation as a Markdown file, with its transcript and your notes. Summaries and other things NoteOwl writes from a recording are kept as Markdown files too |
audio | The recordings, as WAV files, for playback and for rebuilding a transcript. A meeting also has separate files for your microphone and your Mac's audio |
index | NoteOwl's database: the search index for your recordings, plus your memory, such as people and commitments, and your Chat conversations |
models | Most of NoteOwl's on-device AI models, which download once after you install NoteOwl. They aren't your data, and Delete all my data leaves them in place |
Files such as templates.json, vocabulary.json and voiceprints.json | Your templates, your Vocabulary, the voices NoteOwl learned to recognise, what you wrote about people, and your calendar setup |
CrashReports | Crash reports, if NoteOwl ever crashes. They stay here unless you choose to email one to support |
Leave these files as NoteOwl wrote them. To change or remove something, do it in NoteOwl. For a copy you can open in other apps, use Export all data: see export a note, or all of your data.
What isn't in the NoteOwl folder?
A few things live elsewhere on your Mac:
- Your NoteOwl Pro licence is kept in the macOS Keychain.
- The permissions you granted, such as Microphone and Accessibility, are kept by macOS.
- Your calendar and contacts stay in macOS Calendar and Contacts. NoteOwl reads them there, if you allow it, and never changes them.
- Exports you saved are wherever you chose to save them.
Does NoteOwl keep anything on its servers?
Nothing you record or write. NoteOwl records, transcribes and answers on your Mac, so there's nothing to upload. If you use the trial or NoteOwl Pro, NoteOwl's licensing service holds only your account and licence details, such as your email address.
See what NoteOwl sends over the network for every connection NoteOwl makes.
How do I remove NoteOwl's data?
In NoteOwl, open Settings, click the Memory tab and click Delete all my data. It erases your recordings, transcripts and memory from this folder and keeps the on-device AI models, so you don't download them again. See delete a recording or all your data.
Common questions
Does NoteOwl store my recordings in the cloud?
No. NoteOwl keeps your recordings, transcripts, notes and memory only in its folder on your Mac. It doesn't upload them, sync them to iCloud or keep a copy on NoteOwl's servers.
Is NoteOwl's data included in my Time Machine backups?
NoteOwl doesn't exclude its folder from backups, so if you use Time Machine, macOS backs it up with the rest of your home folder. For a copy of your NoteOwl data you control, use Export all data in Settings → Memory.
Can I move NoteOwl's data folder somewhere else?
No. NoteOwl 1.0.0 keeps its data in ~/Library/Application Support/NoteOwl and has no setting to move it. To take your data elsewhere, use Export all data in Settings → Memory, which saves everything to one zip file.
Teach NoteOwl names and jargon
Add “When I say” → “Replace with” rules in NoteOwl's Vocabulary, and names and jargon are spelled your way in dictation, meetings and imports from then on.
What NoteOwl sends over the network
NoteOwl goes online for a one-time model download, update checks and, for NoteOwl Pro, sign-in and a weekly licence check. Your recordings never leave your Mac.