The same visual, no-filing library. The difference is underneath: every save lands in a folder on your own computer as a markdown file with the original next to it. Delete Tenoa and the library is still there
$49 once · Up to three desktop computers · 14-day free trial
If you stop paying, everything keeps working
My Library
⌕ ···
Every save becomes two files on your own computer: a markdown note with the text, tags and summary, and the original next to it. Open the folder and it is all there. Nothing is uploaded.
That was my own library. 16,352 cards and 13,906 images and PDFs came across with zero failures, and the import ran on my own computer with the wifi off.
What changes when you switch
No accountFiles on your diskNo subscriptionImport runs on your computer
mymind is good. That needs saying up front, because most alternative pages open by pretending the thing you are leaving was bad, and you already know it wasn't. The saving is effortless, the grid is beautiful, and the no-filing idea is right.
The problem is where everything lives. Your library sits on their servers. The yearly plan keeps the door open, and the day you stop paying, your access to your own saves goes with it.
Tenoa keeps the part mymind got right and changes the part underneath. Every save lands in a folder on your own computer as a markdown file with the original beside it. Delete Tenoa and the library is still sitting there, readable in any editor.
I built it because I was one of those subscribers. I pulled my last 16,352 saves out of mymind, turned them into plain files, and cancelled.
Side by side
How the two actually compare
The honest version, including where mymind is still ahead
mymind
Tenoa
Where your library lives
mymind's servers
A folder on your own disk
What a save becomes
An entry in their system
A markdown file plus the original asset
If you stop paying
Access ends with the plan
The app and your files keep working
Saving an image
Right-click through the extension, or a save button on some sites
A save button appears when you hover the image, on any site
Search
Their AI search, on their servers
Runs on your computer. Nothing is sent off to be indexed
Summaries and image understanding
Built in, on their infrastructure
On your computer with a local model, or through an AI service you connect with your own key
Mobile
iPhone and Android
iPhone and iPad, free. No Android
Polish and maturity
Years ahead. The best-looking product in this category
Younger. One developer
Price
A yearly plan, every year
$49 once. Optional $29 a year for hosted sync and new features
What "keeps your files" means
Nothing to export. It was always yours
Every item in Tenoa is a markdown file you can open anywhere, with images and PDFs saved beside it in a normal folder. Tenoa keeps a search index on top so everything stays fast. That index is throwaway. It rebuilds itself from the files whenever it needs to
Three things follow. There is no export step, because the files were yours from the moment you saved them. Any other tool can read the library: a text editor, a backup script, your own AI setup. The app going away is an inconvenience, not a loss
Kintsugi.mdMarkdown document · 3 KB · your note, the summary, the tags
JPG
kintsugi-bowl.jpgJPEG image · 2.1 MB · the original, untouched
MD
The Art of Code.mdMarkdown document · 41 KB · transcript and chapters
PDF
attention-paper.pdfPDF document · 2.2 MB
Moving over
Bring your mymind library home
mymind exports the original files plus one spreadsheet. Tenoa reads that export and turns it into files on your disk. The whole thing runs on your own computer. Your export never gets sent anywhere, not to me, not to a Tenoa server, not to anyone
Export from mymindAccount page, "Export my mind". Desktop Chrome or Edge only. You get every image and PDF plus cards.csv with your notes, quotes, tags and dates
Check what you gotDo this before you cancel. mymind has no import, so the export is the only copy once the account closes
Drop it into TenoaPoint the importer at the folder. Your tags come across. Spaces don't export, but tags cover most of the same ground
The Great Wave.mdyour note · tags · saved 2021-03-14
JPG
the-great-wave.jpgthe original, untouched
Fair is fair
Who should stay on mymind
Switching costs an afternoon. It is only worth it if the thing that bothers you is the thing Tenoa fixes
You want zero setup on any device you touch, foreverand the yearly plan doesn't bother you. mymind's cloud is the convenience you are paying for, and it is real
You live on Android todayTenoa has free iPhone and iPad apps. It does not have Android
You want the most polished version of this category that existsmymind has years of design head start and it shows. Tenoa is younger and built by one person
If none of those hold, and the thing that bothers you is that your saved life sits on someone else's servers, that is the exact itch Tenoa exists to scratch
Pricing
Buy the app. Keep the app
One purchase instead of a yearly plan. The optional annual covers the part that costs money to keep running. It does not rent your own library back to you
Launch price
Tenoa desktop
$49 once
One license for up to three desktop computers, plus your first year of Tenoa Sync + Updates
Your license key arrives by email within a minute of purchase. Refunds are honored for 14 days, no questions asked. Write to hello@tenoa.app if anything goes sideways
Optional after year one
Tenoa Sync + Updates
$29 / year
Hosted syncing across networks, plus new features released after your included year
✓ Tenoa-hosted device sync
✓ New features while current
✓ Same-network sync stays free
✓ Security fixes stay free
✓ Compatibility fixes stay free
If you stop paying, everything you already own keeps working
FAQ
Questions people leaving mymind ask
Is there a mymind alternative that stores everything locally?+
Yes. Tenoa saves every item as a markdown file in a folder on your own computer, with the original image, PDF or page content next to it. The visual library and search sit on top of those files rather than on a hosted database
Can I import my mymind library into Tenoa?+
Yes. Export your library from mymind, drop the export into Tenoa, and it becomes plain files on your disk. Nothing leaves your computer. Proven on 16,352 cards and 13,906 images and PDFs with zero failures. The import guide has the steps
What happens to my Tenoa library if I stop paying?+
Nothing. The one-time purchase is yours. Lapsing the optional annual turns off the hosted sync service and pauses new features. Everything on your computer keeps working, including same-network sync between your devices
Does Tenoa's search send my saves to a server?+
No. Search and indexing run on your computer. Summaries run locally too, or through an AI service you connect with your own key, which is a setting you control
Is Tenoa as polished as mymind?+
Not yet, honestly. mymind has years of head start and a team. Tenoa trades some of that polish for an architecture where the files are yours, and it is built by one person who uses it every day
What platforms are supported?+
Today, Tenoa is a Mac app with the Safari extension built in, plus a local web app for Safari, Chromium, and Firefox. The free iPhone and iPad apps are in App Review. The signed Windows installer is targeted for October 1
Your saves, as files you keep
Try it on your own mymind export first. The trial is 14 days and needs no card