Freedom251 › Meeting Notes Software
Minutes
What Minutes is
Minutes is a local meeting and voice-notes app for macOS and Windows. It records and transcribes meetings, voice memos, and dictation, then stores conversations as Markdown files with YAML frontmatter on your own disk. The app can organize decisions, commitments, and action items into queryable notes, while its archive supports search and speaker labels. Dictation can produce natural or literal text, insert text at the cursor, or save to a daily note. AI summaries can use Ollama, OpenAI-compatible gateways, local servers, or no summarizer. Minutes provides 34 MCP tools for assistants including Claude, Codex, Gemini, and Cursor, letting them search history you authorize. Capture, transcription, and storage run locally, and no account is required. Optional cloud assistants or summarizers may receive authorized context. The free plan is free forever and MIT licensed.
Who it suits
Minutes suits people who want searchable local records of meetings, voice memos, and dictation on macOS or Windows. It also fits users who want to give selected conversation history to compatible AI assistants.
What it does well
- Local capture, transcription, and storage
- Searchable archive with speaker labels
- Structures decisions and action items
- 34 MCP tools for assistants
- Free forever plan; no account required
What to know first
- Available only on macOS and Windows
- First launch downloads a speech model
- Authorized cloud services may receive context
- Local processing is not compliance certification
Plans
| Plan | Billed and limits | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Minutes | Free forever · MIT licensed | Free |
As useminutes.app lists them, read 11 Oct 2026. The maker's own page has the final word.
Verdict
Minutes combines local recording, transcription, structured notes, and assistant access in one free desktop app. Its cloud-sharing options are optional, but users should distinguish local processing from compliance certification.
Facts from Minutes's own pages
- Account requirement
- Minutes does not require an account to capture and store conversations. · useminutes.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Action-item tracking
- Yes · useminutes.app, 22 Sept 2026
- AI summaries
- Yes · useminutes.app, 22 Sept 2026
- Audience
- Minutes presents itself as a local notetaker and conversation memory layer for people who want searchable meeting records and agent access to them. · useminutes.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Compliance
- The maker says local processing is not a compliance certification and that Minutes is a disclosure aid, not legal advice. · useminutes.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Dictation
- Dictation supports natural or literal text and can insert it at the cursor or save it to a daily note. · useminutes.app, 11 Oct 2026
- File permissions
- The security page says Markdown records are written to disk with 0600 owner-only permissions. · useminutes.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Free plan
- Yes · useminutes.app, 22 Sept 2026
- Integrations
- Minutes provides 34 MCP tools and names Claude, Codex, Gemini, Cursor, and other MCP clients among the supported assistants. · useminutes.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Limits
- The download page lists Mac and Windows installs; it says the first launch downloads a speech model. · useminutes.app, 11 Oct 2026
- LLM options
- For summarization, Minutes supports Ollama, OpenAI-compatible gateways, local servers, or no summarizer; cloud assistants receive context you authorize. · useminutes.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Local files
- It stores conversations as plain Markdown files with YAML frontmatter on your own disk. · useminutes.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Meeting notes
- The app can structure action items, decisions, and commitments into queryable Markdown. · useminutes.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Privacy
- Capture, transcription, and storage run locally; optional cloud assistants or summarizers may receive authorized meeting context. · useminutes.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Product
- Minutes records and transcribes meetings, voice memos, and dictation locally, then lets AI assistants search the history you choose to share. · useminutes.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Meeting recording
- Yes · useminutes.app, 22 Sept 2026
- Searchable archive
- Yes · useminutes.app, 22 Sept 2026
- Speaker labels
- Local pyannote diarization separates speakers in multi-person meetings. · useminutes.app, 11 Oct 2026
- Transcription
- Transcription runs on-device using Whisper or Parakeet, depending on platform and installed models. · useminutes.app, 11 Oct 2026
Where Minutes stands on Freedom251
- Meeting Notes Software#39 of 112