Pastemorphic

The lines you paste all the time, kept in .

Your email address. A postal address. A sign-off. A reference number. Pastemorphic keeps them a click away — and stores them as ordinary bookmarks, so they follow you between computers with no account and no server anywhere.

One note saved in a bookmark folder, appearing in three different browsers, with no server between them.
Your browser already syncs bookmarks. Pastemorphic just puts your notes where that sync can find them.
01

A short list of text, one click away

Click the toolbar icon and your saved lines are there. Click one and it is on your clipboard. Turn on one setting and a click drops the text straight into whatever box you were typing in instead.

Notes go into tabs — up to six, seven letters each — so a handful of them stays a handful rather than a wall. Drag them into whatever order suits you.

The Pastemorphic list: a row of tabs across the top and saved lines of text beneath, each with a keyboard shortcut beside it.
Four of your notes can hold a keyboard shortcut, so the ones you reach for most never need the list at all.
02

Why bookmarks, of all things

Every other tool like this needs somewhere to keep your text. That means an account, a server, a company, and a promise. Pastemorphic uses something your browser already syncs, already backs up, and already lets you see: a bookmark folder.

A note is one bookmark. Its name is the note's name. The text itself is tucked into the bookmark's web address, which is why it travels wherever your bookmarks travel.

A note pulled apart: the bookmark's name is the note's name, and the text of the note is stored inside the bookmark's web address.
Nothing clever, nothing hidden. Open your bookmark manager and there they are.

That has a consequence worth saying out loud, and Pastemorphic says it to you the first time you open it: your notes are as visible as any other bookmark. Anyone who can open your browser can read them. Keep passwords and card numbers out of it and use a password manager for those.

03

Two ways to install it

From GitHub

No Google account needed

Download the zip, unzip it, and load the folder in your browser. Two minutes, nothing to sign up for, and you can read every line of what you are installing first.

From the store

Automatic updates

Coming to the Chrome Web Store, which works for Chrome, Brave, Vivaldi and Edge. Updates arrive on their own.

Installing it from GitHub

  1. Download the latest zip from the releases page and unzip it.
  2. Open your browser's extensions page: chrome://extensions, brave://extensions, edge://extensions or vivaldi://extensions.
  3. Turn on Developer mode, usually a switch in the top right corner.
  4. Click Load unpacked and choose the folder you unzipped.

Firefox: open about:debugging, choose This Firefox, then Load Temporary Add-on and pick the manifest file. Firefox drops temporary add-ons when it closes.

04

What it never does

Pastemorphic makes no network requests of any kind. Not one. There is no server to talk to, no analytics, no advertising, no crash reporting, and nothing that could be switched on later without you noticing — because the code is right there for you to read.

A browser with a line running to a crossed-out server, showing that nothing is sent anywhere.
  • No account, no sign-in, no email address collected.
  • No tracking of any kind.
  • It asks for no access to the websites you visit.
  • Uninstalling it leaves your notes behind, because they are bookmarks.
05

Open source, and small enough to actually read

The whole extension is about fifteen files of plain JavaScript, HTML and CSS. No build step, no bundler, no minifier, no framework. What is in the repository is exactly what runs in your browser — you can read it in an afternoon and satisfy yourself it does what this page claims.

It is released under the GNU General Public License v3. You may use it, study it, change it and pass it on — on the condition that anything you build from it stays free in the same way. A licence that cannot be quietly closed up later.

Read the source on GitHub

06

Short answers

Is Pastemorphic free?

Yes. It is free software under the GNU General Public License v3, and there is nothing to pay for now or later. There is no paid tier.

Do my notes sync between computers?

Yes, if your browser's own bookmark sync is turned on. Notes are bookmarks, so they travel with the rest of your bookmarks. Pastemorphic is not involved in the syncing and cannot see it.

Which browsers does it work in?

Chrome, Brave, Vivaldi, Edge and any other Chromium-based browser, plus Firefox.

Can I use it without a Google account?

Yes. Download it from GitHub and load it yourself. The Chrome Web Store is offered only as a convenience for automatic updates.

Is it safe to keep passwords in it?

No. Notes are bookmarks, so anyone who can open your browser can read them. Use a password manager for passwords, card numbers and anything else private.

More questions and answers