Runs entirely on your Mac
Your Downloads,
sorted in two minutes.
Nook reads what’s inside each file, gives it a name you’ll actually recognise and tells you where it belongs. You approve with one key.
30 files freeOne-time paymentmacOS 26 · Apple silicon
Try it — use the arrow keys
The real thing
This is Nook, not a mock-up.
Ten files, start to finish. Watch the screenshot: it goes in called Screenshot 2026-06-02 at 09.41.18.png and comes out called screenshot-stripe-declined.png — Nook looked at the picture. And watch the scan a few cards earlier: it isn’t sure enough, so it says so and leaves the file exactly where it was.
How it works
Three keys. Nothing to configure.
No rules to write, no folder patterns to maintain. Nook proposes, you decide — one file at a time, as fast as you can press an arrow.
File it
It gets renamed and moved to its folder. It never overwrites a file that’s already there.
Trash it
To the system Trash, where you can still get it back. Nothing is ever really deleted.
Keep it
And ⌘Z undoes the last one — the file goes back exactly where it came from.
Privacy
Nook has no server.
The model that reads your files ships inside macOS. Neither the files nor their contents ever leave your Mac — there is nowhere for them to go.
The only thing that leaves your Mac is the licence key, once, to check that you bought it. After that Nook works with the Wi-Fi off.
Inside
It reads the file, not the filename.
That’s the whole difference. A scanned invoice has no text layer and a name like download(3).pdf — Nook opens it, reads it, and calls it what it is.
Scanned pages too
If a PDF has no text layer, Nook renders the page and reads it. Scanned invoices are the whole point.
Never overwrites
If a file with that name already exists, the new one gets numbered. Sorting can’t cost you anything.
In batches
Ten, twenty-five, a hundred — or the whole folder. You come back to a summary and decide whether to carry on.
Your folders
Downloads and Desktop out of the box, plus any other folder you point it at.
Only what you ask for
Just the videos. Just the screenshots. Just what’s over 100 MB — where the disk space actually is.
It admits it doesn’t know
When Nook isn’t sure, it doesn’t guess. It leaves the file alone and tells you why.
Honestly
What Nook doesn’t do.
Cheaper to read this now than to find out after paying.
No daemon, no menu bar icon, no watching folders. You open Nook when your Downloads folder has got out of hand, and you quit it.
If what you want is «every .zip from this sender into that folder, forever», you want Hazel. Nook decides file by file and asks you every time.
It reads inside PDFs, images, and text. For video, audio, archives and installers it goes by type, name, size and date — and says so on the card.
Only the folders you point it at, on this Mac’s disk. It won’t reorganise your photo library or anything living in someone else’s app.
The licence works on three, but each one sorts its own files. There’s nothing in the middle for them to talk through.
That’s where it’s going, but it isn’t there today, so macOS warns you the first time you open it. The whole story is below — it’s two clicks, once.
Pricing
Buy it once.
- One key, three Macs — yours, not one per machine
- Updates for good, and Nook installs them itself
- Sort 30 of your own files before you pay
- Works offline, and the key never expires
- No account, no email needed to try it
Requires macOS 26 and an Apple silicon Mac. Check yours →
Paid through Lemon Squeezy, who handle VAT and invoicing.
Requirements
Will it run on your Mac?
Thirty seconds to check, and worth it: the first two aren’t negotiable.
▸ Apple menu › About This Mac. Nook won’t open at all on anything earlier.
▸ Same window: it should say Chip: Apple M…, not Intel. On an Intel Mac the model that reads your files doesn’t exist, so Nook falls back to sorting by type and filename — which is not what you’d be paying for.
▸ System Settings › Apple Intelligence & Siri. It’s a free macOS feature, not a subscription. The first time you turn it on, macOS downloads the model — a few gigabytes, once. Nook tells you on screen which of the two modes it’s in, so you’re never guessing.
▸ macOS will ask the first time. If you say «Don’t Allow», Nook doesn’t pretend the folder is empty — it says it can’t look and takes you to the right settings pane.
▸ Only to activate your key the day you buy. After that Nook runs with the Wi-Fi off, forever.
Not sure? Don’t buy yet — download it and sort your 30 free files first. Nook shows you on the home screen whether it’s reading contents or just filenames, so you’ll know within a minute whether it’s doing the thing you want.
Install
Not on the App Store yet.
It’s where Nook is headed — getting there means an Apple developer account and a review process, and that’s the plan once the app has paid for it. Until then you install it straight from here, and macOS warns you the first time. It’s two clicks, once, and then never again.
Here’s the honest reason for the wait: Apple charges developers $99 a year to sign apps in a way macOS trusts on sight. Nook costs €3.99 and is made by one person, so for now it isn’t signed with one of those. The warning is macOS saying «I can’t verify who made this», not «this is dangerous». When Nook reaches the App Store, buyers from here keep their key and their updates — nobody pays twice.
Open the .zip and drag Nook to Applications.
Open it. macOS will say it can’t verify it. Click OK.
System Settings → Privacy & Security. Scroll to the bottom and click Open Anyway.
Done. Nook will ask for permission to see Downloads and Desktop.
Prefer the shortcut? xattr -d com.apple.quarantine /Applications/Nook.app
One thing to expect. Because Nook isn’t signed with a paid certificate, macOS sees each update as a slightly different app — so after one, it may ask again for permission to read Downloads and Desktop. Say yes again and carry on. It’s the one rough edge of not paying Apple $99 a year, and it’s in the price.
Updates install themselves. Nook checks once a day, tells you on the home screen when there’s something new, and only downloads if you say so. It checks the download’s fingerprint against the one published here before it replaces anything — if they don’t match, it doesn’t install. See what’s changed →
Questions
Before you buy.
What do I need?
macOS 26 or later on an Apple silicon Mac (M1 or newer), with Apple Intelligence switched on. That last one is a free macOS feature, not a subscription. Without it Nook still runs, but it sorts by type and filename instead of by content — and it tells you on screen which of the two it’s doing. Full list →
Can it delete something of mine?
No. Discarded files go to the system Trash, nothing moves without your approval file by file, and ⌘Z undoes it. When Nook isn’t sure, it doesn’t guess — it leaves the file alone and says so.
How does the trial work?
You sort 30 of your own files without paying or leaving an email. It doesn’t expire by date: if you don’t open it for a month, your 30 files are still waiting.
I buy it. What then?
Your key arrives by email the moment the payment clears. Paste it into Nook (there’s a paste button) and you’re done. You only need a connection at that moment — after that Nook works offline, and the key never expires.
Does it speak my language?
English and Spanish. Nook follows whatever your Mac is set to — including the folders it creates, so a Spanish Mac gets Documentos › Facturas and an English one gets Documents › Invoices.
I have an Intel Mac. Should I buy it?
No — and I’d rather say so here than refund you later. The model that reads your files is part of Apple silicon; on an Intel Mac it isn’t there, so Nook would only be sorting by type and filename. That’s the part you don’t need to pay for.
Where do my files actually end up?
In a folder called Nook in your home folder, with sensible subfolders inside it — Documents › Invoices, Images › Screenshots and so on. You can point that anywhere you like in Settings, including an existing folder structure you already use. Nothing is scattered: everything Nook files goes under that one folder, so if you hate the result you can undo it by hand in the Finder.
What if it gets a name wrong?
You see the proposed name, the folder and the reason before anything moves — that’s the whole card. Press ↓ and the file stays exactly as it was. If you approve one and change your mind, ⌘Z puts it straight back where it came from, with its old name. And Nook shows a confidence bar on every card: when it’s low, it’s telling you to look properly.
How fast is it on a really messy folder?
Reading and naming a file takes about two and a half seconds. Nook doesn’t make you wait for all of them: it thinks about the card in front of you and the next two, so once you get going you’re never waiting. You work in batches — ten, twenty-five, a hundred, or the lot — and it stops for a summary so you can walk away and come back.
Does it run in the background?
No. There’s no daemon, no menu bar icon, nothing watching your folders. Nook is an app you open when your Downloads folder has got out of hand, and quit when you’re done. Closed, it costs you nothing.
How many Macs does one key cover?
Three. It’s one licence for you, not one per machine — desktop, laptop and whatever else you’ve got. If you replace a Mac and run out of activations, email me and I’ll free one up.
Do I pay again for updates?
No. €3.99 is the whole price, and every version after this one is included. Nook checks for updates once a day and installs them itself — it verifies the download’s fingerprint against the one published on this site first, and refuses to install if they don’t match. You can see every version so far on the changelog.
Who am I actually paying?
Lemon Squeezy, who process the payment as merchant of record — they handle VAT and send you a proper invoice, so your card statement says them, not me. I never see your card details. The app is made by one person, Hugo, and support goes to a real inbox that I answer: email.
What if something breaks?
Write to me. It’s one person reading that inbox, so you’ll get a person back — usually the same day. Common snags (permissions, the Gatekeeper warning, a key that won’t activate) are written up on the support page with the exact fix.
Why isn’t it on the App Store?
Because it isn’t there yet. Getting an app onto the Mac App Store needs a paid Apple developer account and a review, and the plan is to do exactly that once Nook has earned it. Buying here now doesn’t leave you behind: your key and your free updates carry over, and you won’t be asked to buy it a second time. In the meantime you install it straight from this page, which is also why macOS shows you a warning the first time — two clicks, once.
Is any of this sent anywhere?
No. Nook has no analytics, no crash reporting, no account and no server of its own. Your filenames and file contents never leave the Mac, because there is nowhere for them to go. The only network request Nook ever makes is the one that checks your licence key the day you activate it, plus a daily look at a small file on this site to see if there’s a new version. The long version →
Your Downloads folder
has waited long enough.
30 files free. No account, no email.