StackPad Download

Free notepad for Windows & Linux

The notepad that keeps every tab in view.

StackPad stacks your tabs in a slim rail down the side, sorts them into groups, and remembers every one, even the ones you never saved. Close it mid-sentence and pick up exactly where you left off.

Download StackPad

Version 2.2.0 · Windows 10 & 11 · Linux

Other downloads

  • Free, no trial, no ads
  • No account or sign-in
  • Nothing leaves your computer
StackPad with its tab rail open, showing tabs sorted into Work and Home groups beside a meeting note.

Why vertical tabs

Eight tabs in. Which one was the meeting notes?

A tab strip across the top squeezes every title until they're unreadable. A rail down the side has room for all of them, and it stays out of your way while you write.

Horizontal tabs run out of room and cut every title short.
Work MNMeeting Notes PIProject Ideas RCRelease Checklist Home GLGrocery List RERecipes JOJournal
StackPad's rail shows a coloured initials badge for each tab, and opens over the editor to show full titles.

Never lose a note

Close it mid-sentence. It'll still be there.

Most notepads only keep what you saved. StackPad keeps everything, as you type, so you never have to think about it.

  • Every tab comes back

    Quit, restart or update, and every tab returns with its text, even tabs you never saved to a file.

  • Saved as you type

    Even the last keystrokes before you close the window are written to disk.

  • Crash-proof saving

    Files are written in full before they replace the old version, so a crash or power cut can't leave a half-saved document.

  • Edited somewhere else? You'll know.

    If another program changes a file you have open, StackPad reloads it, or asks before replacing your unsaved changes.

Features

Everything a notepad needs. Nothing it doesn't.

  • Tab groups

    Name a group, drag tabs into it, fold it away. Drag groups to reorder them.

  • One-click window sizes

    Snap to a 4:5 or 16:9 window, or go Freeform and StackPad remembers your size and position.

  • Find & replace that keeps up

    Live "3 of 12" count, match case, whole word, and Replace All you can undo.

  • Your files stay as they were

    Line endings (CRLF or LF) and encodings (UTF-8, UTF-16, ANSI) are kept exactly when you save.

  • Light and dark

    Follows your system theme, or pick one. Opens straight into it, with no white flash.

  • Updates itself

    New versions download quietly and install when you close StackPad. You can turn this off.

StackPad with the tab rail collapsed to coloured initials badges, a meeting note open, and a status bar showing line, column, word count, line endings and encoding.
The rail collapses to colour-coded badges while you write. The status bar shows your position, word count, line endings and encoding.

StackPad vs. Windows Notepad

Same simplicity, fewer frustrations.

Both are plain-text editors with tabs, find and replace, themes and session restore. Here's where StackPad is different.

Windows Notepad StackPad
Tab layout Horizontal strip across the top Vertical rail that opens over the editor, so your text never shifts
Organising tabs One flat row Named groups you can fold away, plus a colour badge for every tab
Window size Resize by hand One-click 4:5 and 16:9 presets, or Freeform
Status bar Position, characters, zoom, line endings, encoding The same, plus a live word count
Online features Microsoft account and AI features None: no account, no AI, no telemetry
Runs on Windows Windows and Linux
Source code Closed Open source (MIT): read it, change it, build it yourself

Your notes are yours. Full stop.

StackPad has no accounts, no analytics and no AI. It never uploads your notes. Its only connection to the internet is an update check, which you can switch off. Don't take our word for it: the source code is public.

Read the privacy policy

Keyboard shortcuts

Keep your hands on the keys.

The Notepad shortcuts you already know, plus a few new ones. On Linux they're the same.

New tab
CtrlN
New group
CtrlShiftN
Open
CtrlO
Save / Save As
CtrlS / CtrlShiftS
Print
CtrlP
Close tab
CtrlW
Next / previous tab
CtrlTab / CtrlShiftTab
Undo / Redo
CtrlZ / CtrlY
Find
CtrlF
Find next / previous
F3 / ShiftF3
Replace
CtrlH
Replace current / all
Enter / CtrlEnter
Go to line
CtrlG
Insert time and date
F5
Zoom in / out / reset
Ctrl+ / Ctrl− / Ctrl0
Close find or replace
Esc

Download

Get StackPad 2.2.0

Free, about a minute to install, and it updates itself from then on.

Prefer to build it yourself? Build from source. Looking for an older version? See all releases and the release notes.

FAQ

Questions, answered.

Is StackPad really free?

Yes. No trial, no "pro" version, no ads and no data collection. It's open source under the MIT license, so it will stay free.

Will it replace Windows Notepad?

Only if you want it to. StackPad installs alongside Notepad and adds itself to Open with for .txt files. To make it the default, right-click a .txt file → Open with → Choose another app, pick StackPad and tick Always.

Where are my notes stored?

On your computer only: %APPDATA%\stackpad on Windows and ~/.config/stackpad on Linux. Files you save with Save As live wherever you put them. Uninstalling StackPad keeps your notes unless you delete that folder.

Why does Windows warn me when I install it? Is it safe?

Windows SmartScreen shows "Windows protected your PC" for any app that isn't code-signed. Signing certificates cost money every year, and StackPad is a free project without one. The warning means Windows doesn't know the publisher. It doesn't mean anything was found in the file. Click More info → Run anyway to install; you only see it once. To avoid the warning entirely, get StackPad from the Microsoft Store instead: Microsoft signs the Store version. Every installer is built in public by GitHub Actions from the open source code, so anyone can check exactly what went into it.

How do updates work?

StackPad checks GitHub for a new version in the background. On Windows and the Linux AppImage, it downloads the update and installs it the next time you close the app, or straight away if you choose "Restart now". The .deb version tells you when an update is out. You can turn checking off under Help → Check for Updates Automatically.

Is there a Mac version?

Not as a download. StackPad can run on macOS from the source code, but Windows and Linux are the supported platforms.

Can it open large files or code?

StackPad is a plain-text notepad. It opens any text file up to 50 MB, but it doesn't do syntax highlighting. For programming, a code editor is the better tool.

I found a bug or have an idea. Where do I go?

In StackPad, choose Help → Report a Problem: it fills in your version for you. Or open an issue on GitHub.

Give your notes some room.

Free for Windows and Linux. Set up in about a minute.

Download StackPad