How does Dash work without an internet connection?

There is nothing to connect to. Notes are files in Dash’s directory on your Mac or iPhone, and the editor, search, folders, tags and encryption all run locally. The app does not check in with a server on launch and does not need one to open a note.

Where are my notes stored?

On the desktop, in Dash’s application directory as JSON files written atomically so a crash cannot leave a half-written note. On iPhone and in the browser, in the device’s own database. Locked notes are stored as ciphertext either way.

Can I sync notes between devices?

If you want to. Dash Sync is an optional subscription at $4.99 a month or $47.99 a year with a seven-day trial, and it keeps Mac, iPhone, iPad and the web in step, encrypting everything on your device first so the relay only stores ciphertext. Leave it off and Dash stays entirely local; move notes with an encrypted .dashpack export instead.

What happens if I lose my device?

Notes that exist only on that device are gone with it, which is the trade for keeping them off a server. Export encrypted .dashpack backups to storage you control, or turn on sync so an encrypted copy lives on your other devices.

Does search work offline?

Yes. Search runs against the notes on the device, so it works with the Wi‑Fi off and returns results instantly. Locked notes are searchable by title; their contents stay encrypted until you unlock them.

Is the web version offline too?

Largely. The web app installs as a progressive web app and keeps notes in the browser’s local database, so it keeps working when the connection drops. For a genuinely offline setup, the Mac and iPhone apps are the better choice.

Dash Notes

Free on iPhone

Works offline

An Offline Notes App That Needs No Connection

No signal on the train, no Wi‑Fi in the basement, no account anywhere. Dash opens and works exactly the same.

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Updated September 2026 · Dash team

Most notes apps are websites with an app wrapped around them. They open to a spinner, refuse to load an old note in a tunnel, and lose a paragraph when the connection returns mid-save. That is a strange property for the place you keep your thinking.

Dash is offline in the plain sense: the notes are files on your device and the app never needs a server to read or write one. Sync exists, but as something you switch on, not as the thing holding the app together.

Notes that open in a tunnel. Dash is $14.99 once on Mac, free on iPhone.

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What offline actually means here

No connection check on launch. The app opens to your notes, not to a login or a spinner.
Everything local: editor, search, folders, tags, [[links]], attachments and encryption all run on the device.
No account. Nothing to sign into, so nothing to fail when you are offline.
Atomic writes. Notes are saved so that a crash or a flat battery cannot leave a note half written.
Local AI, optionally. The assistant talks to a model on your own machine, so even that works on a plane.

Why offline and private are the same question

An app that works offline is an app that does not need your notes on someone else’s computer. The two properties come from one decision: keep the data where the user is. That is why the offline notes app and the private notes app tend to be the same app, and why cloud-first products struggle to be either.

It also decides what happens when a company changes. A service can raise prices, alter terms, or shut down; a folder of files on your Mac cannot. Dash exports to Markdown, PDF, DOCX and an encrypted backup, so leaving is always available.

When you do want more than one device

Offline should not mean stranded. Dash Sync is optional and end-to-end encrypted: each change is encrypted on the device with a vault key that never leaves your devices, and the relay stores ciphertext it cannot read. Devices pair with a QR code and a short one-time code. Turn it off and Dash stops contacting the server entirely.

If you would rather not subscribe at all, an encrypted .dashpack export moves notes between machines by hand, opening only with your password.

One purchase. Two platforms. Sync only if you want it.

You never need a subscription to take notes.

Get Dashthe same app, on both platforms

Mac

iPhone

Freeon the App Store

No purchase, no trial, no account

Same encryption, Face IDWorks fully offlineNo account to makeFree on the web too

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OptionalAdd Dash Sync

Keeps Mac, iPhone, iPad and web in step, encrypted on your device first. Dash works completely without it — notes, encryption and everything else.

$4.99 / mo

or $47.99 / year · 7-day trial

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Frequently asked questions

Keep reading

Offline-first appsWhy an app that works without a server is a different kind of software.Private notes appNotes that stay on your device, with no account.Encrypted notes appAES-256 on any note, and how the optional sync stays end-to-end encrypted.

No signal required.

$14.99 once on Mac. Free on iPhone.

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