Canto
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SaferowCanto guide
On this page 5 sections
Canto is a private notebook with AI that runs on your Mac. You write notes, ask questions about them, and let Canto research, summarise and edit with you. Its models run on the Mac itself, so your notes stay there unless you choose a feature that sends them somewhere.
This guide is for Canto 1.0, which is in beta (1.0 beta 6). If you use Canto 0.10.3, the stable release, start with Upgrading from Canto 0.10.
What stays on your Mac#
Your notes, chats and files live in one vault on your Mac, encrypted on disk with a key kept in your Keychain. The AI runs on the Mac too: Canto's own models, Apple Intelligence where your Mac has it, and search by meaning all work offline.
A few features can send data off the Mac, and only when you use them or turn them on: web search, cloud models, iCloud sync, publishing, apps you connect over MCP, and a handful of others. Settings › Memory & privacy › What leaves this Mac lists every one with a real switch, and What leaves this Mac explains each line.
Canto never needs an account. A free copy sends nothing about a license.
Free and Pro#
Canto is free on one Mac, with nothing to unlock. Free includes:
- the whole app, offline and encrypted
- unlimited AI on your Mac: Ask with citations, web answers, rewriting and summarising
- any model Canto offers, plus Ollama, LM Studio and other model servers, and OpenRouter on your own account
- dictation, image descriptions, and Ask's edits to one note at a time
- canvases, the vault graph, version history, backups, export, and 3 published pages
Canto Pro adds deep research reports with an evidence ledger, meeting capture, edits across many notes, write access for apps connected over MCP, every palette, and 50 published pages with your own domain. Pro · 3 Macs also syncs your notes between your Macs through iCloud.
Pro is a one-time purchase: $29 for one Mac or $39 for three, with every new Pro feature for life and nothing to renew. Most Pro features can be tried three times on each Mac first. Free and Pro has the details.
Where to start#
| If you want to | Read |
|---|---|
| Install Canto and go through setup | Install and set up |
| Move over from Canto 0.10 | Upgrading from Canto 0.10 |
| Find your way around the window | Around the window |
| Ask about your notes | Ask about your notes |
| Write a cited report | Research and research notes |
| Pick a model for your Mac | Models on your Mac |
| Check what Canto sends, and to whom | What leaves this Mac |
| Activate Pro or move it to another Mac | Your license and Macs |
| Learn the keys | Keyboard shortcuts |
| Fix something that isn't working | Troubleshooting |
Three keys get you most of the way: ⌘K finds and runs anything, ⌘J opens Ask beside your note, and ⌥Space saves a thought to your Inbox from any app.
Versions#
| Version | Channel | Where to get it |
|---|---|---|
| 1.0 beta 6 | Beta | lonelyduck.io/canto |
| 0.10.3 | Stable | lonelyduck.io/download, or "Prefer the stable release?" on the Canto page |
Canto needs a Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or later) and macOS 14 or later. Some features need a newer macOS; Install and set up lists them.
Once you install a beta, Canto keeps you on beta updates. A copy of Canto 0.10 never receives a beta. See Updates and betas.
Getting help#
If something doesn't work, start with Troubleshooting. Help › Send Diagnostics… in Canto shows you everything in a report before it sends it, and gives you a reference to quote when you write to support@lonelyduck.io. One person answers, usually within two working days.