one keystroke
It's already open
While Napkin is running, ⌃⌥N brings a blank napkin forward from any app. You can start drawing before the thought gets away.
Free for Mac
Sketch it on a napkin.
Press ⌃⌥N from anywhere and a fresh paper napkin lands on your desktop. Draw the idea, press ⌘C, and paste it into the chat. No account, no files, no setup.
Made for the next thirty seconds.
Some ideas need a whiteboard, a project, and a team. Most just need a pen and something to draw on while you explain. Napkin handles that part and stays out of the way the rest of the time.
no paperwork
Nothing to name or file
There are no documents, libraries, boards or settings screens. Copy the drawing, paste it where the conversation is, and start a new napkin.
stays put
Nothing leaves your Mac
No sign-in, no analytics, no network connection. The App Store privacy label reads Data Not Collected, and that is the whole story.
A sketch pad, sized for a sketch.
Big canvas apps are great at big projects. For a quick drawing, most of what they offer gets in the way.
| Typical whiteboard apps | Napkin | |
|---|---|---|
| Before your first line | Often an account, then a new board or file | One shortcut, and you're drawing |
| Where the drawing ends up | Usually in a cloud workspace to manage | On your clipboard as a crisp PNG |
| What it costs | Frequently a subscription for the good parts | Free, with no ads or in-app purchases |
| What it knows about you | Depends on the service and its privacy policy | Nothing. Data Not Collected. |
| How it feels | A blank rectangle on a grid | A real napkin, with folds and wrinkles that bend your ink |
General comparison with common whiteboard and canvas apps. Features vary by app and plan.
Everything a pen can do. Plus undo.
Ten tools, seven inks, and a paper surface that looks like it was dropped on your desk. Every tool has a keyboard shortcut.
Pencil and ink
Four pen weights, from fine to marker, and seven inks that read well on white paper, plus any custom color. Strokes are smoothed as you draw so your lines look intentional.
Shapes
Lines, arrows, double arrows, squares, ovals and triangles, outlined or filled. Hold ⇧ for perfect squares, circles and 45° angles.
Handwritten text
Type in pen lettering. Drag out a box to wrap it, turn it to any angle, or click a line you drew and the words ride along its curve.
A real eraser
It removes ink without touching the paper, and it cuts clean holes in transparent exports.
Move and re-edit
Grab any line, shape or word and drag it somewhere else. Double-click text to change it later. Text stuck to a line moves with it.
Copy or save as PNG
Exports are rendered at 2×, cropped to the drawing, on white or transparent. What you see is exactly what you paste.
Paper that feels real
Four soft plies, rolled folds, a quilted edge and gentle wrinkles that bend your ink as it crosses them.
Never lose the last one
Your last napkin is saved automatically. File ▸ Reopen Last Napkin brings it back, and even New Napkin can be undone.
Stays out of the way
Glass palettes float beside the napkin and fade out when your pointer leaves, so only the paper is left on your desktop.
On your desktop. In your chat.
The napkin sits on your desktop like the real thing. When you copy it, you get just the drawing, ready to drop into Messages, Slack, Mail or a doc.
Fast from the keyboard.
Everything lives in the menu bar, and the everyday actions have shortcuts. Tool keys step aside while you type text.
- New napkin from any app
- ⌃⌥N
- New napkin (undoable)
- ⌘N
- Copy as PNG
- ⌘C
- Save as PNG
- ⌘S
- Transparent background
- ⇧⌘T
- Undo · Redo
- ⌘Z ⇧⌘Z
- Reopen last napkin
- ⇧⌘R
- Pencil · Eraser · Text · Move
- PEWV
- Line · Arrow · Double arrow
- LA⇧A
- Square · Oval · Triangle
- ROT
- Fill shapes
- F
- Thinner · Thicker pen
- []
- Ink colors
- 1–7
- Square, circle, 45°
- hold ⇧
Data Not Collected.
Napkin has no account, no analytics and no network code. Your drawings and preferences stay on your Mac.
Questions
Is Napkin really free?
Yes. There's no price, no subscription, no ads and no in-app purchases.
Which Macs does it run on?
Any Mac running macOS 26 or later.
Where do my drawings go?
Nowhere, unless you copy or save them. Napkin keeps your most recent napkin on your Mac so you can reopen it, and remembers your ink, pen weight and background choice. Nothing is uploaded.
Does ⌃⌥N work when Napkin is closed?
It works whenever Napkin is running, from any app. Closing the napkin window quits Napkin, so keep it running (minimized is fine) if you want the shortcut ready.
Can I keep several napkins?
Napkin is one sheet at a time, on purpose. Save anything you want to keep as a PNG with ⌘S, then start fresh with ⌘N.
Why does my ink bend a little?
The napkin has real wrinkles, and ink follows them by a point or two, the way a pen does on actual paper. Exports keep that look, cropped to the flat drawing area inside the border.
Keep a napkin on your Mac.
Napkin is on its way to the Mac App Store. It will be free, with no ads, no subscription and nothing to sign up for.
Coming soon to theMac App Store
Get support