Chrome extension beta

Get it down fast. Sort it later in root.

Capture rough notes, links, task lines, scratch files, and prompts before they scatter. Keep the useful bits close, then turn them into tasks, snippets, or a clean Context Handoff when the shape is clearer.

Install from Chrome Web Store See the workflow

Want the exact breakdown before install? Read Security & Permissions.

What is root?

A private local workspace for working text

root is a calmer place for rough notes, links, task lines, scratch files, reusable prompts, and handoff context before they become a doc, task system, archive, or finished artifact. It keeps the speed of a plain text surface, with just enough structure to keep active work moving.

Anti-friction capture

Use Inbox when you do not know where something belongs yet. Quick Capture lets the rough line land without making you build structure first.

Keep action in the text

Checklist lines can stay inside the notes where the context lives. Open Tasks rolls unfinished lines into one view without becoming a separate task manager.

Choose exactly what leaves root

Context Handoff turns selected material into a preview you can inspect, frame with a saved prompt, and copy only when it is ready.

Scratch files

A better workspace for loose text files

Plenty of useful work still starts in Notepad, TextEdit, VS Code, or a folder full of .txt and .md files. root keeps that plain-text feeling, but gives multiple loose files one place to land, sit together, get edited, and turn into something useful.

Bring them in

Drag in multiple files

Drop a handful of .txt or .md files into root instead of opening them one by one in separate editor windows.

See the set

Work from one sidebar

View the files together, switch between them quickly, and keep the rough material visible without building a folder system first.

Shape the text

Edit, task, or snippet

Clean up the text, pull checklist lines into Open Tasks, or save reusable fragments as Snippets when they keep coming back.

Share the slice

Hand off what matters

Use Context Handoff when one file, several files, or the open tasks need to leave root as a clean packet.

AI project memory

Keep your project memory portable

As more work happens with AI tools, project managers, and task-specific agents, it helps to keep your own working context somewhere you control. root gives rough notes, decisions, links, task lines, snippets, and reusable prompts a Markdown-friendly place to live before you choose what to share.

Memory outside one chat

Keep decisions, links, and next steps in root instead of burying the whole project trail inside a single AI conversation.

Your own .md context

Use Markdown-friendly notes, tasks, tags, and snippets to keep context portable and easy to hand off.

Use the right AI for the moment

Send the right packet to ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude, a browser sidebar, a doc, or another person without making one tool your only memory.

Workflow

Capture. Shape. Reuse. Choose what leaves.

Start with rough text. Keep the useful middle visible. When something needs to leave root, add the right prompt framing and choose the exact slice first.

root Inbox showing links with notes, open tasks, and a completed task

Inbox

Inbox is the safe place for rough material

The first job is not perfect organization. It is keeping useful text alive long enough to decide what it should become.

  • Links with notes beside them
  • Open and completed task lines in the same item
  • Rough captures that can later become snippets, tasks, docs, or handoffs
root Quick Capture opening from the browser toolbar on a normal webpage

Quick Capture

Quick Capture catches text in place

Quick Capture is the tiny intake surface that lets you save something while you are still on the page you were already using. It drops straight into the same workspace where Inbox, tags, Open Tasks, and Snippets are waiting.

  • Fast intake from the extension button
  • Inbox or pinned items as append destinations
  • Optional current-page link capture for research or follow-up
  • Task and date-stamp options right in the popup
root Open Tasks showing unfinished checklist lines from launch notes, research links, customer feedback, and support snippets

Middle layer

Open Tasks shows the work hiding across items

Checklist lines can stay inside the item where the context lives. Open Tasks gives unfinished lines one view without turning root into a separate task manager.

  • Tasks roll up from different workspace items
  • Each task keeps its source item visible
  • Snippets keep reusable prompts nearby for the eventual handoff

Browser AI Companion Workflow

Keep the context in root. Ask browser AI when you want help.

Open root beside Gemini, Atlas, Copilot, or another browser assistant when you want help with the work on screen. root keeps the working text readable and local; the assistant sees only what your browser and settings allow.

  • Use visible notes, links, and tasks as working context
  • Ask for summaries, next steps, rewrites, or planning help
  • Use Context Handoff when you want a deliberate packet to copy or share
root beside a browser AI sidebar answering questions about visible working text

Context Handoff

Choose exactly what leaves root

Open Context Handoff, choose the current item, selected items, a project slice, pinned context, or Open Tasks, then decide what actually leaves root. If the handoff needs framing, add a saved prompt from Snippets before you copy or share.

  • Current item, selection, pinned context, project slice, or Open Tasks
  • Add a saved prompt from Snippets before copy
  • Preview the packet, then keep or remove metadata
root Context Handoff showing selected items, Add prompt, metadata, and preview before copy

Principles

Private by default. Honest about what gets shared.

root should make sense even if you never paste into an assistant. It keeps the workspace local and makes sharing an intentional action, not a background behavior.

Local first Workspace content stays in the browser unless you explicitly export or copy it. Browser AI still follows your browser's own sharing settings.
Plain text Markdown-friendly structure keeps the app lightweight, legible, and portable.
Scoped sharing Move a chosen item, project slice, pinned context, or open tasks instead of dumping everything.
Recovery built in Version history, Archive, Trash, and Export reduce the fear of moving quickly.

Explore more

Keep exploring root

If you want the details behind the workflow, these are the best next stops.

Start here FAQ What root is, who it is for, and how Inbox, Quick Capture, Open Tasks, snippets, and Context Handoff work. Get unstuck Support Install help, Quick Capture basics, export and import guidance, troubleshooting, and what to try first. Reach out Contact Questions, bug reports, product feedback, and the right email for each kind of support. Learn the shape Blog Practical notes on working text, local-first workflows, calmer capture, and cleaner handoffs. AI context setup Start with about-me.md Use ordinary Markdown files, tags, Snippets, and Context Handoff to carry only the useful packet into an AI chat. Compare calmly Honest root comparisons See where root fits beside notes, task, and AI tools without pretending to replace everything. Organize lightly How to use tags Practical tag patterns by role, project, status, person, and workflow without building a folder maze. Reuse text Starter snippets Meeting notes, follow-ups, task prompts, support replies, and handoff helpers you can copy into root.