Sonasi Notebook
A private, multi-model, 100% local, full-featured alternative to Notebook LM
Overview
Sonasi Notebook keeps one subject together — the files about it, your notes, and your questions. Add PDFs, Word and PowerPoint files, web pages, YouTube videos or recordings, then ask in plain words and get an answer with the page it came from.
Everything happens on your Mac. Your files, your notes and the search index live in one folder inside Application Support, so a backup is a copy of that folder and moving to a new Mac is the same copy. Reading, text recognition on scanned pages and speech-to-text all run on device, with no account and nothing to pay for.
When you want a cloud model to do the writing, add an account — Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, or anything that speaks the OpenAI format, including a model running on your own machine. Keys are kept in the macOS Keychain, never in the app's files.
One app, one process. No server to start, no container, no background daemon: it opens in under a second and keeps working when the internet does not.
Features
Notebooks, not folders
Group a subject's files, notes and chat sessions in one place. The same file can sit in several notebooks.
Answers with sources
Ask in plain words. Every answer names the file and page it came from, so you can check it.
On-device by default
Your Mac reads the files. Nothing is sent anywhere, nothing costs anything, and it works offline.
Reads what you have
PDFs including scans, Word, PowerPoint and Excel, web pages, YouTube videos and audio recordings.
Search that understands
Find by meaning, by exact words, or both at once — across one notebook or everything.
Summaries written for you
Each new file can come back with its main points, a short summary, open questions, or your own instruction.
Your choice of model
Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, or anything OpenAI-compatible including your own server. Keys live in the Keychain.
Data you can carry
One folder holds your files, notes and index. Back up by copying it.
Requirements
- Operating system
- macOS 14 Sonoma or later
- Processor
- Apple silicon recommended; Intel supported
- Space
- Under 60 MB for the app, plus room for your own files
- Account
- None required — optional for cloud models
- Interface languages
- English, Japanese, Korean, Chinese
Questions
Does it need an internet connection?
No. Adding files, reading them, recognising text on scanned pages, turning recordings into text and searching all happen on your Mac. An internet connection is only needed if you choose a cloud account to write answers.
Where do my files go?
They stay where they are and a copy goes into one folder inside Application Support, next to the notes and the search index. Nothing is uploaded unless you pick a cloud account.
Can I use a local model or my own server?
Yes. Choose "Something else" when adding an account, give it an address such as http://localhost:11434/v1 and type the model names — anything that speaks the OpenAI format works.
How do I back up?
Copy the app's folder in Application Support. It holds your files, your notes and everything the app has written. To move to a new Mac, copy it across.
Which languages does it handle?
Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean, Chinese and English documents are handled without settings; diacritics and tone marks are kept in the index rather than folded away, which is what makes accented search reliable. The interface itself is available in English, Japanese, Korean and Chinese.
Can I trust the answers?
Every answer carries the file and page it came from, and you decide which files are used — all of a file, only its summary, or none of it.