Hatchery designed RedRover Notes as a focused desktop and web product for private thinking that can also understand authorized RedRover work. Notes, folders, protected content, Today planning, files, timers, and connected context stay close without becoming a shared task board.
People need a quiet place for rough ideas, meeting notes, files, and daily focus. Standalone note apps leave business context elsewhere; shared workspaces create the wrong privacy assumptions. RedRover Notes was designed to preserve both private thought and useful, authorized context.
A desktop notes product touches authentication, offline data, attachments, encryption, linked work, timers, AI access, updates, and native operating-system behavior. One loose boundary can expose content or create conflicting records.
Notes has its own calm Electron and web experience, while RedRover's Java services provide identity, security, live work context, AWS storage, MCP controls, status changes, and time tracking. The product feels independent without becoming disconnected.
| Need | Standalone notes | RedRover Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Privacy | Shared workspace or admin assumptions can blur who may read personal content. | Every note is account-and-owner scoped; workspace roles and administrators do not inherit access. |
| Protection | A lock can be only a visual control or a single device password. | Protected content can use note-specific passwords, AES-256-GCM encryption at rest, cooldowns, and short-lived unlock grants. |
| Work context | A task, customer, or release is pasted into a note and quickly becomes stale. | Authorized RedRover records stay linked to their live status, permissions, conversations, and source. |
| Future context | The notebook remains isolated from the systems where business actually happens. | The integration model can bring in approved context from RedRover today and other business systems in the future. |
| AI access | A connector may receive every note or depend on one broad permission. | MCP note permissions are separate, per connection, off by default, and never expose protected notes. |
| Offline desktop | Local drafts can be left in ordinary browser or application storage. | New offline captures use an encrypted operating-system vault separated by server, account, and user. |
Strategy, design, code, integrations, infrastructure, and operations move together so the product can launch and keep serving customers.
One shared Axis and Redactor interface runs in Electron, a standalone Notes site, and an embedded RedRover route without duplicating the backend.
Every query and mutation binds the authenticated account and owner. Revision checks, CSRF protection, bounded input, and server authorization protect saves, folders, files, and exports.
PBKDF2-derived keys and AES-256-GCM can protect note text, titles, attachment metadata, and AWS-stored bytes. Passwords and reversible keys are not stored.
High-priority work, requirements, releases, and due-this-week items can appear beside private notes. People can inspect or update what they are allowed to use while the original RedRover record remains the source of truth.
Each connection receives independent Read, Add, Edit, and Delete controls. Access starts disabled, is revalidated on every call, and cannot open protected notes.
The Electron shell isolates authentication, exposes a fixed preload bridge, keeps credentials out of the renderer, supports update checks, and ships through Apple signing, notarization, Gatekeeper, and stapling checks.
New device captures survive restart in an encrypted OS vault. A person signs in and explicitly imports or saves them before they become account content.
A separate source tree, interface, website, Electron app, release artifact, and documentation path keep the experience focused instead of hiding it inside a larger system.
Owner-only content is a domain rule, not a navigation preference. Normal account administration and workspace membership never grant note access.
Notes stores a private reference and rechecks the current RedRover permission. Removing a card never deletes or silently changes the original work item.
AI convenience does not override the stronger protection choice. Encrypted notes remain unavailable to MCP even when ordinary note permissions are enabled.
The renderer receives only the capabilities it needs. Raw IPC, credentials, and filesystem paths are not exposed to note content.
RedRover Notes provides a fast desktop and web experience for private writing, files, folders, pins, Today planning, protected content, and optional MCP access. Its defining advantage is context: authorized RedRover work is available without copying it into a disconnected notebook.
Notes demonstrates how Hatchery can make a focused desktop product feel immediate and personal while securely connecting it to a larger operating system. The same approach can extend to other approved business platforms as the product evolves.
Notes proves that a small, calm product can still demand serious engineering. Privacy, native desktop behavior, offline resilience, security, and connected work all have to agree.
The product keeps writing visually quiet while making folders, encryption, local capture, Today planning, and live RedRover context tangible.
It is a separate product with its own Electron app, web interface, source, and release path. It can also open from RedRover and reuses RedRover's authenticated Java services for identity, security, files, work links, and timers.
No. Personal notes are scoped to the authenticated account and owner. Workspace membership, administrator status, and ordinary role hierarchy do not grant access.
Protected notes can use a separate password, PBKDF2-HMAC-SHA256 key derivation, AES-256-GCM encryption at rest, note-bound associated data, short-lived unlock grants, and cooldowns after repeated failures. The server handles plaintext transiently after an authorized unlock, so this is encryption at rest rather than end-to-end encryption.
Only when the owner explicitly enables the relevant permission for a specific active connection. Read, Add, Edit, and Delete are independent and start disabled. Protected notes remain unavailable through MCP.
Notes stores an owner-only reference to the original task or requirement. Current permissions are checked whenever it is read or changed. Removing the link does not delete the work item, and task timers use the original RedRover time service.
The Mac application has been signed, notarized, stapled, and Gatekeeper-validated. A Windows x64 preview has been packaged and inspected, but native Windows installation, signing, and login acceptance still require a Windows machine.
Clarify what to build, what to simplify, what to protect, and what must work first.
