Installing BetterStickies

Here's how to get BetterStickies onto your computer, keep it up to date, and remove it again if you ever want to. Everything you need is on the download page.

There is one download for everyone. Premium isn't a separate app: you unlock it inside the app you install (see Free and Premium below).

Windows

The setup from the download page

Download BetterStickies_<version>_Setup.exe and run it. It installs BetterStickies just for you, so it never asks for an administrator password.

1. Windows may show Windows protected your PC, because the setup isn't signed yet. Click More info, then Run anyway.
2. If you like, tick Create a desktop shortcut (it's off by default), then click Install.
3. On the last page, leave Launch Better Stickies ticked and click Finish.

From then on, start BetterStickies from the Start menu. Coming from the older single-file .exe? Moving from the single-file version below takes a minute, and your notes come with you.

Moving from the single-file version

Earlier versions came as one .exe file you ran from wherever you saved it. To move to the installed version:

1. Quit the old copy (right-click the tray icon, then Exit).
2. Run the setup. Your notes, settings and reminders are all still there, since both versions keep them in the same place.
3. If you had Start Better Stickies when I log in turned on, it now starts the installed version. If you had turned it off in Task Manager instead, turn it back on there first and then open the installed BetterStickies once, so it points at the installed version (Troubleshooting).
4. Delete the old .exe. If you had pinned it to the taskbar, unpin it and pin BetterStickies again from the Start menu.

The Microsoft Store

Open the Better Stickies page in the Microsoft Store and click Get (or Install). The Store keeps it up to date for you. In the Store version, Premium is bought through the Store too.

Mac

1. Download the Mac app from the download page and open the .dmg file.
2. Drag Better Stickies onto the Applications folder in the window that opens.
3. Open Better Stickies from your Applications folder or Launchpad. The first time, your Mac asks whether you want to open an app downloaded from the internet: click Open.

Once it's in Applications, you can eject the disk image (the Better Stickies drive in Finder's sidebar) and delete the .dmg.

On a Mac, BetterStickies lives in the Dock rather than the menu bar. Click its Dock icon to show or hide the hub.

Linux

AppImage

The AppImage is a single file that runs on most distributions from 2022 onwards (Ubuntu 22.04 or newer, or anything of a similar age).

1. Download BetterStickies_<version>-x86_64.AppImage and put it somewhere it can stay, such as a folder in your home.
2. Allow it to run: right-click it, open Properties, and turn on Allow executing file as program (the wording varies by desktop). Or, in a terminal, run chmod +x BetterStickies_*.AppImage.
3. Double-click it to start BetterStickies.

Snap

Install it from the Snap Store, from your software center (search for Better Stickies), or in a terminal:

sudo snap install betterstickies

A few features need system access that the Snap's security sandbox blocks: global shortcuts and automatic virtual desktop pinning. If you rely on those, use the AppImage instead.

Flatpak

BetterStickies isn't on Flathub yet; it's coming soon.

The First Time You Open It

A note titled Welcome opens, with a few things to try right there in it, and the hub (a small bar for creating and finding notes) sits on your desktop. On Windows and Linux there's also an icon in the system tray near the clock; on a Mac it's the Dock icon. Getting Started walks you through the rest.

Your notes are saved as you type, so there's nothing to set up before you start.

Free and Premium

Every download starts as the free version, with every feature included. Upgrade to Premium for as many notes as you need: buy it at betterstickies.com, then activate it right inside the app: open About from the ☰ menu and click Activate Premium…. This works in the Windows setup, the Mac app, the AppImage and the Snap. The Microsoft Store version buys Premium through the Store instead.

Activation stays when you update BetterStickies, and when you uninstall and reinstall the Windows, Mac or AppImage version. Removing the Snap removes the activation along with your notes, but activating the same computer again never uses up another one. Free & Premium has the step-by-step guide.

Where Your Notes Are Kept

Your notes and settings live in one folder, separate from the app itself:

Your notes are in the data folder inside it. Menu > Settings… shows that data folder's exact path at the bottom of the General tab, under Data Storage, with an Open Folder button. Backing Up Your Notes explains what's inside and how to keep a copy.

Updating

Your notes, settings and Premium activation carry over to every new version. About in the ☰ menu shows which version you have, and Check for Updates opens the download page (in the Microsoft Store version, the Store page).

• Windows setup: run the new version's setup. If BetterStickies is running, the setup offers to close it for you; your notes are saved first, and the new version starts when you click Finish.
• Microsoft Store: updates arrive through the Store automatically.
• Mac: quit BetterStickies, open the new .dmg and drag Better Stickies onto the Applications folder again. Choose Replace when your Mac asks.
• AppImage: quit BetterStickies, download the new AppImage, allow it to run as before, and delete the old file. If you had Start Better Stickies when I log in turned on, open the new AppImage once and it updates its startup entry.
• Snap: updates install automatically in the background. To update right away, run sudo snap refresh betterstickies.

Uninstalling

First quit BetterStickies: right-click its tray icon and click Exit, or on a Mac right-click the Dock icon and click Quit. If you'd like a copy of your notes, back up your data folder now.

• Windows setup: open Settings → Apps, find Better Stickies and click Uninstall. Your notes and settings stay, so installing again later brings everything back. The uninstaller also removes BetterStickies from your startup apps.
• Microsoft Store: right-click Better Stickies in the Start menu and click Uninstall.
• Mac: if you turned on Start Better Stickies when I log in, turn it off in Settings first. Then drag Better Stickies from your Applications folder to the Trash. Your notes and settings stay.
• AppImage: if you turned on Start Better Stickies when I log in, turn it off in Settings first, then delete the AppImage file. Your notes and settings stay.
• Snap: removing the Snap removes your notes too, because the Snap keeps them inside its own folder. Back up ~/snap/betterstickies/current/.config/BetterStickies/data/ first if you want to keep them. Then run sudo snap remove betterstickies, or remove it in your software center. Most systems also keep an automatic copy for 31 days: snap saved lists it, and reinstalling and then running sudo snap restore with the number it shows brings everything back.

Removing your notes and settings too

If you want nothing left behind, delete the folder from Where Your Notes Are Kept after uninstalling. This deletes every note, reminder and backup, and can't be undone. For the Snap, run sudo snap remove --purge betterstickies instead, which keeps no automatic copy (an older copy shown by snap saved goes with sudo snap forget and its number). On Windows and the Mac, BetterStickies also keeps a few preferences such as window positions outside that folder. Advanced users can remove them too: on Windows the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\BetterStickies key in Registry Editor, on a Mac the file ~/Library/Preferences/com.betterstickies.BetterStickies.plist.

See Also

• Getting Started: a tour of notes and the hub
• Free & Premium: what each version includes and how to activate Premium
• Backing Up Your Notes: automatic backups, manual backups and syncing
• Troubleshooting: help when something doesn't work