Installation

Quick Install (TUI)

For the terminal version on any OS, run this in your terminal:

curl -fsSL https://strayfiles.com/install.sh | sh

This automatically detects your operating system and architecture, downloads the TUI binary, and installs it.

Note: Mac users who prefer the native app should use the download page instead.

Manual Download

Download the latest version from our download page.

Platforms

Platform	Type	Requirements
macOS	Native app	macOS 13.0 (Ventura) or later
Linux	TUI (terminal)	64-bit Linux
iOS	Native app	iOS 17.0+, Pro subscription

First Launch

On first launch, strayfiles will ask you to:

1. Select folders to index — Choose where your Markdown files live
2. Grant file access — Allow strayfiles to read your selected folders
3. Optional: Set up sync — Configure Git or Stray Cloud if desired

That’s it! strayfiles will begin indexing your Markdown files immediately.

Creating Your First Note

To create a new note in strayfiles:

1. Press a (or use the menu) to add a new note
2. Enter a name for your note
3. Choose where to save the file

Important: strayfiles creates an actual Markdown file at the path you specify. Your content is saved directly to this file, not to a database.

This means:

• Your notes are always accessible as regular .md files
• You can edit them with any text editor
• They work with Git, iCloud, Dropbox, or any sync tool
• If you delete the note in strayfiles, the file is also deleted (see File Deletion Behavior)

Adding Existing Files

Already have Markdown files? You don’t need to create new notes. Instead:

1. Add frontmatter to your existing files (see Frontmatter Basics)
2. Or configure folders in strayfiles.toml (see TOML Config)

strayfiles will index them without moving or copying anything.