Write Markdown Notes in Your New Tab (No App-Switching)

If you write, you know the cost of the context switch. A thought lands mid-task — a paragraph to draft, a snippet to keep, a decision to record — and the note app you meant to use is behind three other windows. By the time it loads, the thought has gone soft. A markdown scratchpad that lives on your new tab removes that friction entirely: the page you already open dozens of times a day becomes the place you write.

Here is how to keep markdown notes in your browser without switching apps, and how to write them the way you already think in markdown.

Why a new-tab scratchpad beats a separate app

A note only gets written if capturing it is faster than the urge to skip it. Standalone editors add steps — find the icon, wait for the app, locate the right file — and every step is a chance to lose the thought. When your notes sit on the new tab, that gap disappears. Open a tab, start typing, and you are already writing. Nothing to launch, nothing to remember. For the wider case of jotting things down mid-session, see how to take notes while browsing without switching apps.

How to write markdown notes in your new tab

1. Install Slaet from the Chrome Web Store — it is free and takes one click.
2. When Chrome asks whether to keep the change, choose Keep it.
3. Open a new tab, click into the notes area, and start typing. Your text is saved as you go — no account, no setup.

That is the whole setup. From here on, every new tab opens with a writing space that is one keystroke away.

Markdown shortcuts that format as you type

The point of markdown is that you never lift your hands off the keyboard to format. Slaet honours that. Type # followed by a space and the line becomes a heading. Start a line with - or 1. and it turns into a bullet or numbered list. Wrap a phrase in asterisks for bold, open a line with > for a quote, and use backticks for inline code. The markdown-style shortcut converts to real formatting the instant you type it, so what you see is the finished note rather than a wall of syntax. Prefer clicking? The same headings, bold, lists, quotes, and code are on the toolbar too.

Paste code and markdown without it breaking

The moment most scratchpads fall apart is the paste. Copy a formatted answer from Claude or ChatGPT, or a block of markdown from a doc, and a lesser editor flattens it into one grey blob. Slaet keeps the structure: paste a Claude or ChatGPT response, a webpage excerpt, or raw markdown and the headings, lists, and code blocks come through intact. That makes it a natural home for the code you want to keep close — if snippets are your main use, here is more on saving code snippets in your browser.

Notes that stand alone or ride with a task

Sometimes a note is just a note; sometimes it belongs to something you are doing. In Slaet a note can live on its own, or be attached to a task so the context travels with the work. Either way it is always one tab away, next to your tasks, lists, and reminders in a single workspace. There is more on the formatting model in the Slaet guide.

Make sure it stays yours

A scratchpad you write in all day has to be one you trust. Slaet is local-first: your notes live in your browser and work fully offline, with no account required. If you want them on more than one machine, sign in and they sync across Chrome, Brave, and Edge — but that is optional. Slaet never reads your browsing history and never sells your data.

Frequently asked questions

Does Slaet support markdown shortcuts as I type?

Yes. Markdown-style shortcuts — # for headings, - for lists, asterisks for bold, backticks for code — format as you type, and the same options are available on the toolbar.

Can I import or export raw .md files?

Slaet is not a file-based markdown editor, so it does not import or export .md files. What it does is let you write with markdown-style shortcuts and paste markdown in cleanly, keeping its formatting.

Will my notes stay if I close the browser?

Yes. Notes are stored in your browser and work offline, so they are there when you reopen. Sign in only if you want them synced across devices.

Is it free?

Completely. Slaet is a free Chrome extension and web app with no paid tier and no account required.