Installation

Denote is a macOS desktop app. It runs alongside Claude Code, which is a separate install. Both are required.

Beta access

Denote is in closed beta. To request access, use the Request access form on the Denote home page. You will receive a download link by email once your request is approved.

Prerequisites

macOS 13 (Ventura) or later. Apple Silicon and Intel are both supported.
Claude Code installed and signed in. Denote relies on Claude Code to run skills and generate code. If you do not have Claude Code yet, follow the Anthropic install guide first.
A code editor of your choice, if you want to open your project files outside Denote. Not required.

Install Denote

Download the .dmg from the link in your beta access email.
Open the .dmg and drag Denote to your Applications folder.
Eject the disk image.

First launch

The first time you open Denote, macOS will ask you to confirm you trust the developer. Click Open. If you see a Gatekeeper warning that blocks the launch entirely, right-click the app icon in Applications and choose Open from the menu.

Denote will open to the Home screen. From here you can create a new project or open the sample project.

What gets created on disk

When you create a new project, Denote writes a folder at the location you choose with this structure:

my-project/
  .git/             ← initialized on first open if missing
  .claude/
    commands/       ← slash commands for the seven layer skills
  design/           ← everything Denote's layers author
    vision.json
    entities.json
    ...
    .denote/        ← activity log and internal state
  intelligence/     ← knowledge, skills, agents (copied from Denote)
  CLAUDE.md         ← project instructions for Claude Code

Everything under design/ is human-readable JSON and Markdown. Everything under intelligence/ is a local copy of Denote's design intelligence, which Claude Code reads when running skills. You can edit both by hand; Denote will pick up the changes the next time the project is opened.

See Project file structure for the full tree and what each file is responsible for.

Updating Denote

When a new version of Denote is available, you will see a notification inside the app on launch with an Update button.

Where to next

You are ready to walk the full pipeline. Open the Quick Start for a ten-minute tour from empty project to a built page.