Curio 34 Early Access

Capture More Than Notes

Name: Curio
Rating: 4.6 (30 reviews)
Author: Zengobi

Curio running on a MacBook Pro, showing a freeform idea space with notes, mind maps, and tables.

Gather your notes, research, and documents in Curio’s intuitive, freeform notebook environment. Integrated tools for brainstorming, outlining, mind mapping, tasks, and more help you shape ideas and move your work forward. And every project is a local file on your Mac — private, offline-ready, and yours.

Try Curio For Free ›

Curio Overview

See how Curio's integrated tools and freeform environment transform the way you capture, organize, and develop your ideas.

Welcome to Curio’s freeform idea space environment.

Create a Curio project to represent a real-world project. Next, fill it with everything related to that project, including text notes, markdown, images, PDFs, documents, web links, multimedia, and much, much more.

A mix of markdown, rich text, images, tables, and mind maps; plus ChatGPT integration.

Place this information anywhere on Curio’s freeform idea spaces. Use Curio’s integrated mind maps, lists, tables, index cards, albums, pinboards, and Kanban boards to organize your data into powerful collections and compositions.

ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and other AI services are at your fingertips.

Your all-in-one solution. Everything related to your project lives in a single local project file, managed and tracked within one well-integrated application — on your Mac, under your control. You’re not uploading your work to online services in remote data centers, or scattering it across a mess of files and disparate apps on your hard disk.

Spread a PDF across an idea space and then to additional idea spaces for annotations and notes.

Find it all. Use Curio’s extensive metadata, such as tags, dates, percent complete, resources, priority, rating, and custom cross-references, to find, track, and manage it all. Support for deep links, synced figures, query-based collections & Kanban boards, and file-backed figure content allows even more flexibility.

The journal feature is perfect for daily classes or meetings; the cross-project Status shelf is on the right.

We have an amazingly diverse collection of customers. Designers gather inspiration and client requirements. Writers brainstorm plot and character development. Students take notes, annotate handouts, and collect research. Professors create and present lesson plans. Scientists gather lab results and images. Project Managers track tasks and feature checklists. Programmers plan new product features, sketch prototypes, and track competitors. Lawyers gather information, organize ideas, and prepare cases. Entrepreneurs mind map ideas and plan new companies.

An idea space with multiple mind maps, plus the Stencils shelf.

Curio includes a 2-week trial so you can check it out, risk-free. On launch, Curio will open the Welcome to Curio project and step you through the big features.

If you’re eager for more details, check out Curio’s complete online documentation.

Coming Soon

Curio 34 is in early release.

A Curio Kanban board with generated stacks. — Kanban boards automatically generate sorted stacks from priority, ratings, tag sets, dates, and other grouping options.

A Smart Kanban board generated from a Curio query. — Smart Kanban boards use Curio Pro queries to gather matching figures from across a project into synced Kanban stacks.

A Curio table with calculated formula results. — Native table formulas add Excel-like structured references, current-row values, whole-column ranges, and common math functions.

A rendered markdown table with formula results. — Markdown table formulas bring Excel-like structured references to rendered markdown tables, including numeric formatting with `TEXT`.

Curio CLI output in a terminal window. — Curio CLI+MCP gives Terminal scripts and AI agents like ChatGPT and Claude Code direct automation access to Curio projects, with an included Claude Connector.

Synced collection instances mirror copied lists, mind maps, and stacks while keeping item content and meta in sync.

A Curio list with checkbox adornments separated to the left and other adornments on the right. — Separated Checkbox Adornments keep checkboxes aligned in their own margin while other adornments stay grouped with each figure.

A Curio presentation Jump To context menu. — Presentation Jump To Context Menu adds Organizer-aware navigation directly inside presentation mode.

A Curio Status widget. — Curio widgets bring Status and Query results to the macOS Desktop and Notification Center.

A Curio project tag sets table. — Project tag sets scope tag sets to a single project while still supporting colors, ordering, and Kanban grouping.

Paragraph and character text styles in Curio. — Text styles add project-wide paragraph and character styles that update matching rich text and markdown styles.

The Curio References inspector panel. — References panel attaches typed references to figures using Curio jump targets or web URLs from the clipboard.

A Curio table context menu with sort commands. — Table sorting sorts body rows by a selected column while keeping header and footer rows fixed.

Adornment positions around a Curio figure. — Adornment positions expand to 12 placements around figures for checkboxes, tags, dates, priority, ratings, and more.

Focus for idea graphs follows snapped line connections so downstream related figures remain visible.

Curio word count status bar module and popover. — Word Count status bar shows live selection metrics with a detailed readability and sentiment popover.

Curio color sliders panel. — Color sliders and eyedropper add Control-click color sliders and Command-click system color sampling to inspector wells.

A Curio mind map with a generated color palette. — Generated color palettes spread balanced OKLCH palettes across list and mind map branches from a base color.

Plus dozens of other improvements. Check out the detailed release notes ›

Curio 34 feedback

“Curio 34 is a moonshot that worked. So many devs are just bolting on a ‘talk to my notes’ integration with MCPs, which, IMO, is weak and not interesting in the long run. Curio 34 is built for the long run.”

Recent Highlights

We’re always working on new productivity features.

LaTeX block and inline math equations rendered live in a Curio markdown text figure. — Math equations render live in markdown, with block, inline, and math code block support plus Curio’s Equation Editor.

A Mermaid flowchart diagram rendered inside a Curio idea space. — Mermaid figures turn pasted Mermaid code, Mermaid files, and markdown code blocks into rendered diagrams.

A syntax-highlighted language code block rendered in a Curio markdown figure. — Language code blocks add syntax coloring to markdown code fenced with a specific language.

Markdown block quotes rendered as note, tip, important, warning, and caution callouts in Curio. — Block quote callouts style markdown quotes as note, tip, important, warning, caution, or custom callouts.

Heavy, regular, and light markdown horizontal rules rendered in a Curio markdown text figure. — Horizontal rules add heavy, regular, and light dividers to markdown text figures.

Compositions organize mixed figures and nested collections with flexible tabloid and matrix layouts.

Sync files connect text and collections to markdown, OPML, TaskPaper, CSV, TSV, and Obsidian-friendly files.

Compare Curio Editions

Click a feature to learn more in the documentation.

	Standard	ProProfessional
Notebook Environment
Project notebook environment with intuitive freeform idea spaces.
Rich text figures with support for bundled and custom figure styles.
Paragraph and character text styles for managing consistent text formatting across a project, with paragraph styles for entire paragraphs and character styles for inline ranges.
Line height and paragraph spacing controls for multiplier, minimum, exact, and grid-based spacing.
Markdown text figures with extensive syntax support for bold, italics, underline, strikethrough, highlight, inline code, links, LaTeX inline and block equations , wikilinks, headers, emoji, images, lists, checklists, dashed lists, tables, block quotes and callouts, code blocks, and horizontal rules.
Embedded and aliased files, images, PDF’s, audio, videos, Mail messages, web links, web preview cards, and embedded live web views.
[[Wikilinks]] and backlinks, markdown links, links to selected text or embedded PDF text, jump actions, jump anchors, idea space link figures, and hyperlinks.
Custom idea space templates and figure stencils plus a handy Stencils shelf.
Hierarchical Organizer sections for independent divisions in larger projects.
Integrated Journal for a project diary, meeting notes, or class notes.
Follow Figures and Bundle Figures for lightweight figure groupings.
Automatic project backups for peace of mind.
Bundled appearance themes to change the look of your Curio interface.
Multiple project windows open for the same project.
Color inspector sliders and eyedropper with RGB, OKLCH, OKLAB, and HSL color spaces, plus instant screen color sampling.
Word count status bar module with detailed readability and sentiment metrics including Flesch-Kincaid and Gunning Fog.
Home button in navigator controls for instantly jumping to a designated Home idea space.
Collections
Compositions provide flexible, dynamically-sized arrangements of contained figures including text, images, files, plus lists, mind maps, tables, and more. Tabloid compositions create newspaper-style layouts with flexible rows and columns, while matrix compositions provide structured, simplified grids.
Mind mapping with left, right, top-down, right-down, tree, and org chart arrangements; branch boundary shading; relationship lines; date calculations.
Lists from simple to-do’s to complex hierarchical lists, numbered or bulleted, checkboxes, level styles, date calculations.
Albums of photos or documents, such as PDFs, with optional captions.
Index cards for organizing your notes.
Tables with headers, footers, numeric formatting, and column sorting .
Pinboards for freeform collections of text and images.
Stacks for task tracking and layout grouping.
Kanban boards that automatically generate sorted stacks from groupings like priority, rating, tag sets, and dates for Trello-style task organization.
Generate color palettes for list and mind map branches using OKLCH-based hue spreading from a base color.
Table of Contents list or mind map.
Focus mode to help you concentrate on specific figures, branches, or connected idea graph figures .
Meta
Figure meta including checkmarks; percent complete; project and global keyword tags, project and global tag sets; start, due, duration, done, plus smart date calculations; priorities; ratings; resources; notes; custom click actions.
Flexible adornment positioning with 12 placement positions around a figure, plus separated checkbox adornments and collection-level overrides.
Inline #tags and @resources.
Organizer meta flags column.
Status bar to view and edit figure meta data.
Search and Quick Find to quickly find and jump to idea spaces and figures with simple or complex queries including regular expressions and boolean logic.
Query-based Organizer Filters, dynamic Smart Filters, and Pinned Organizer Items.
Multimedia and PDFs
Create and embed audio and video recordings.
Embed YouTube videos.
SVG images.
Placeholder images for easy swapping, perfect for stencils.
Resample images to optimize format, compression, dimensions, and DPI.
Markup images to crop, annotate, highlight, and scribble on an image.
Brush and pen sketching with support for iPad+Apple Pencil via Sidecar.
Integrated equation editor for LaTeX, AsciiMath, or MathML rendering of inline or standalone equations.
Spread PDF to spread the pages of a PDF across multiple idea spaces for inline annotations and note-taking alongside each PDF page.
Flowcharting
Flowcharting shapes for idea graphs, diagrams, and prototyping.
Sticky lines with numerous arrowhead choices; straight, curved, or orthogonal; with support for multiple line labels.
Assistants
Sleuth window and Sleuth sidebar shelf for integrated Internet searching via popular research and image sites like Google, Wikipedia, and more.
AI Services including ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Copilot, Perplexity, Poe, Groq, Grok, Mistral, DeepSeek, Qwen, and local LLM chat servers are also available from within Sleuth.
macOS Integrations
Curio App Intents bring Curio into Apple Shortcuts with native actions for opening projects, finding items, reading the current selection, navigating, exporting, and importing into the current idea space.
Curio Query widget for macOS Desktop and Notification Center are available to keep project query results visible at a glance.
Import / Export
Import/export as text, markdown, image, PDF, HTML, CSV, OPML, and 3rd party mind map formats.
Extensive markdown export and import.
PDF Mirror live export of your project as a PDF to any specified location, including synced cloud services.
PDF Table of Contents in exports.
Sync tasks to Calendar & Reminders.
Local library shelf to easily list, find, preview, open, and drag in files anywhere on your Mac or within custom scope folders, including support for DEVONthink items.
TaskPaper import and export and OmniOutliner Pro OPML import.
Works with Curiota: our free, always available menu bar app for quickly jotting down ideas, taking notes, or collecting files when inspiration strikes.
Pro Power User Functionality Advanced features for power users and productivity gurus, exclusive to our flagship Pro edition.
Smart Kanban boards backed by search queries that dynamically generate stacks filled with synced figure instances from across a project.
Table formulas and markdown table formulas with Excel-like structured references, SUM, AVERAGE, MIN, MAX, and more.
Mermaid figures, Mermaid in markdown code blocks, and Mermaid Organizer documents for advanced diagramming.
Markdown language code blocks with syntax coloring.
Synced figure instances where one or more copies of figures can share content and meta across an entire project, plus synced collection instances for lists, mind maps, and stacks .
Sync Files where figures can sync the contents of text figures and list, mind map, stack, and table collection figures to external local or cloud-hosted files, either bidirectionally, export only, or import only.
File-backed text figures display the content of embedded or aliased rich text or markdown files, located on disk on in the cloud, as editable text figures.
Figure layers allow for more flexible layouts and arrangements.
Figure references supporting custom types like Agree and Evidence between figures, idea spaces, and web locations, with a dedicated References panel in the Meta inspector .
Status shelf for easy cross-project task tracking at a glance.
Curio Status widget mirrors the Curio Pro Status shelf on the macOS Desktop and in Notification Center for cross-project task tracking at a glance.
Query-based collections allow you to create list, mind map, or stack collections that contain the dynamic results of a query, like `due<2w or #active`.
Master figure styles & stencils, master idea space styles & templates, and master markdown styles for dynamic updates throughout a project.
Presentation mode for group brainstorming sessions, plus Present in Window for remote window sharing, and a Jump To context menu for navigating idea spaces during presentations .
Custom figure data allows custom keys and formatted values to be associated with your project figures and available for search queries.
Custom variables for use throughout your project for dynamic text replacements.
Custom sharing actions to export data to other apps via 3rd party app URL schemes.
Custom appearance themes to fine-tune the look of your Curio interface.
Custom project backup settings.
External project library to support Spotlight searching of project assets.
External repositories for sharing styles, stencils, and templates with colleagues.
Project password for project security.
Special Perks For Sustainers Sustainers are customers who either have an active subscription or are still within the one-year update period of their perpetual license.
Custom app icons featuring creative, fun styles like cartoon, clay, glass, oil painted, and more.
Curio CLI command line tool for Terminal users, scripts, and AI workflows, with a built-in MCP server for AI clients like ChatGPT Desktop, Codex, Claude Desktop, and Claude Code. Give your favorite AI access to all your Curio data to rewrite text, fine-tune images, perform queries & analysis, import and export data, set meta values, and much more.

Discounts on new licenses are available for qualifying staff, faculty, and students of accredited educational organizations.

If the email address you enter below is a school-issued email address, such as .edu, .k12, .ac.uk, or other recognized academic domains, we may be able to instantly qualify you for academic pricing when you press Continue.

👉 Your new license will be issued to this email address!

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Questions or need a pre-validation code instead?

Enter your current license information to see your license renewal and crossgrade options. License renewals include one full year of free major updates!

If upgrading from an old purchase of Curio 7 Core or Curio 11 Express from the Mac App Store then follow .

Find your current license key via the Curio > License menu item. (Or we can send it to you.)

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▼ Never mind, please dismiss the academic questions.

If the registered email address you entered above is a school-issued email address, such as .edu, .k12, .ac.uk, or other recognized academic domains, we may be able to instantly qualify you for academic pricing when you press Continue.

Otherwise, please upload your proof of academic eligibility, issued by the institution with your name and institution name, dated within the past 12 months.

Examples: a school ID card, report card, transcript, tuition bill. PDF, JPEG, HEIC, or PNG. Max 2MB.
Questions or need a pre-validation code instead?

“Curio is the centerpiece of my learning life, which is about 80% of life itself for me nowadays, so I really appreciate all the improvements the app has gone through over the years.”

Try Curio For Free

Begin your 2-week trial from the Mac App Store if you prefer a monthly or yearly subscription, or from our website if you prefer a license key purchase.

Billed yearly. Affordable and always up to date. Subscription managed by Apple.

One-time purchase. Includes 1 year of updates. Doesn’t expire. Renew anytime.

Free

Great for trying Curio and small projects. Compare ›

No purchase required

For smaller projects

Highlights include:

Projects restricted to 5 idea spaces
Rich text & markdown with LaTeX equations
Mind maps, lists, tables, and kanban stacks
Tags, dates, priorities, and search
Web research via Sleuth, with ChatGPT, Claude & Gemini
Import/export as PDF, markdown, and more

Standard

Kickstart your productivity with amazing features and functionality with projects unlimited in size. Compare ›

Renewals as low as Curio 34 Standard License Renewals
From Curio 33: $59.99 ($49.99 edu). 🤗
Otherwise: $69.99 ($59.99 edu). $59.99 ($49.99 edu).

/ month

Everything in Free, plus:

Unlimited number of idea spaces for expansive research, planning, and note-taking projects of any size

Professional

Our flagship and most comprehensive offering with advanced features for power-users and productivity gurus. Compare ›

Renewals as low as Curio 34 Professional License Renewals
From Curio 33: $79.99 ($69.99 edu). 🤗
Otherwise: $89.99 ($79.99 edu). $79.99 ($69.99 edu).

/ month

Everything in Standard, plus highlights like:

Curio CLI + MCP for AI agents like ChatGPT and Claude Code
Smart Kanban & query-based collections
Table & markdown table formulas
Synced figures, collections, and files
Mermaid diagrams & code blocks
Presentation mode & Status shelf

And many more power-user features ›

You’ll get Curio 33, today’s shipping release. Curio 34 arrives soon as a free update — turn on Early Access in Curio’s Settings if you’d like it sooner.

Download from theZengobi Website

You’ll get Curio 33, today’s shipping release. Curio 34 arrives soon as a free update, installed automatically by the Mac App Store.

Download on theMac App Store

Includes 2-week free trial with all Pro features enabled.
No purchase required.

👉 Already have a subscription? Download from the Mac App Store instead.

👉 Already have a license key? Download from our website instead.

Prices in USD. Taxes may apply.
Curio 34 runs on macOS 15 Sequoia through macOS 27 Golden Gate on Apple silicon or Intel.
Curio downloaded from Zengobi only works with license keys, not Mac App Store subscriptions.Curio downloaded from the Mac App Store only works with Apple’s subscriptions, not license keys.
Release Notes - Online Documentation (PDF) - Zengobi License Agreement Apple License Agreement - Terms of Use - Privacy Policy

Subscriptions vs License Keys

Should I choose a subscription or license key?

Both options give you access to nearly all Curio features, with some minor differences due to App Store requirements:

Choose a subscription if: You want lower upfront cost, one-click installation, automatic updates to the latest release, and the convenience of the Mac App Store — especially if you only need Curio periodically.

Choose a license key if: You prefer a one-time purchase, want control over when you renew updates, need academic or volume discounts, want access to beta releases, or need specific features like AppleScript figure actions support.

See our complete Subscription FAQ and License Key FAQ for detailed differences.

How does the 2-week trial and free mode work?

Mac App Store: Download Curio from the Mac App Store to start a 2-week trial immediately with all Professional features enabled. If you later subscribe to a Standard or Professional plan, Curio unlocks the appropriate features and Apple handles billing and renewal.

Website: Download Curio from our Zengobi website to start a 2-week trial immediately with all Professional features enabled.

After the trial: If you don’t subscribe or buy a license, Curio continues in free mode (Standard features, up to 5 idea spaces). Larger projects open read-only for viewing, exporting, and printing.

How do subscriptions work?

Subscriptions are purchased monthly or yearly through the Mac App Store, with Apple handling transactions and renewals. If you cancel or let your subscription expire, Curio reverts to free mode. Manage your subscription anytime in your Apple account settings.

Note: Only Curio downloaded from the Mac App Store supports subscriptions.

How do license keys work?

A license key is a one-time purchase for the current version of Curio plus a full year of free major updates. After that, Curio doesn’t expire — it simply stops receiving updates until you renew. You can renew at any time to update to the latest release.

Note: Only Curio downloaded from our website supports license keys.

Can I use Curio on multiple Macs?

Subscriptions (Mac App Store): Follows Apple’s standard app agreement for installations on Macs you own or control.

License keys (website): Installation is allowed on multiple Macs you personally own or control (see our License Agreement).

Are academic and volume discounts available?

Subscriptions (Mac App Store): Academic and volume discounts aren’t supported.

License keys (website): Students and educators are eligible for a discount with academic verification. Quantity purchases of 20+ receive an automatic 20% volume discount at checkout.

I have more questions!

See our complete Subscription FAQ and License Key FAQ, or email us.

How Curio Compares

Deciding between Curio and another thinking tool? Honest comparisons, no fluff.

Curio vs. Notion Curio vs. Obsidian Curio vs. Apple Notes Curio vs. Freeform Curio vs. Craft Curio vs. Milanote Curio vs. Heptabase See all comparisons →

Customer Profiles

Our customers are amazing.

I wanted to thank you for creating Curio.

While preparing for the most difficult board exam of my life, I was overwhelmed by the volume of material and needed a way to visualize my notes without copy-pasting or locking them inside a single app. Finding Curio was a turning point—it became a lifesaver and played a key role in helping me pass the first USMLE exam.

Curio’s seamless integration with DEVONthink has been invaluable. Being able to sync and render notes and multimedia without exporting, edit everything fluidly across devices, and reuse notes depending on my focus has made an enormous difference in how I study.

Although Curio was designed for many use cases, for obsessive physicians like myself, it’s simply unmatched.

— Zengobi website customer

NOTHING like it

Curion is the ONLY app that allows me to work in the same way that I think.

I've tried all the major players in the 'whiteboard' niche and Curio is more powerful, versatile and intuitive than all of them.

Curio works with you to help your mind explore ideas according to your own disposition, connect those ideas in meaningful ways, and to mold and remold them into communicable realities.

Some of the screenshots are perhaps a little bit old fashioned in that these days everything is visually super minimal and slick, but the interface itself is great and what you create reflects your own mind.

In addition the support is world class and the developer is open to feedback in a way that's rearely seen.

If you're looking for a whiteboard app that allows you to free-associate while remaining focused then this is the app for you.

— ★★★★★ Mac App Store customer, August 2024

My Favorite Brain Storming Tool

I have been using Curio for over a decade to brainstorm, design, and create printable assets. I am a very visual planner and thinker, and the way this incredibly flexible tool allows me to create mindmaps, storyboards, and design documents very quickly is unparalleled. And my little perfectionist soul loves that I can set virtually any attribute—from the font, to the shape, to the layout, etc. It really helps my storyboarding process when I can steep my workspace in the look and feeling of the thing I am trying to bring to life, and Curio allows me to do that to a degree no other tool has. HIGHLY recommended for creative and visual thinkers.

— ★★★★★ Mac App Store customer, November 2023

Extremely flexible

The new synced text feature has really unlocked a lot of potential.

I use Curio to plan creative writing. A corkboard of index cards is a nice way to build a constellation of ideas.

The new synced text feature means a virtual index card can appear everywhere its relevant, in multiple places, on multiple canvasses, and editing any one instance updates all.

I also use Curio for a math notebook. Curio's MathJax support gives me a way to write publication-ready equations with companion notes.

It's great and Curio's developers are friendly and easy to contact.

— ★★★★★ Mac App Store customer, July 2022

Gem

Curio is a gem you are waitng to discover. It integrates so much possibility in one app. Try it; the only problem is you won't have enough time to learn all it can do during the trial.

— ★★★★★ Mac App Store customer, September 2021

I am a consultant, senior IT advisor to several Federal agencies. My work involves supporting Federal executives in their major IT service contract procurements, IT strategy and policy, and business operations. A normal week includes juggling work on 5 or 10 ongoing projects for my clients. My constant sidekick is Curio.

I use Curio to brainstorm and plan work, outline and create deliverables, analyze problems, and store documents for each of my projects. There a are a handful of apps in my Dock that get opened first thing in the morning and closed last thing at night. Curio is at the top of this list. Though the term productivity app is well overworked, in Curio's case it is perfect.

Without Curio I wouldn't be productive. It's as simple as that.

— Zengobi website customer since 2008

The power and freedom offered by Curio is unparalleled and particularly useful to visual thinkers and those working on, or managing, complex projects.

In my work as a manager overseeing a large portfolio of independent complex projects, I can capture everything I need easily into a means by which I can quickly access relevant information about a specific project at any time — including all of the project's current and historical information as well as any other notes or contextual material I collect that are relevant to the project along the way. I can track progress on activities for the project or for the entire portfolio easily.

As a mentor for a high school robotics team that competes annually in the FIRST Robotics Competition, Curio serves me well as a place to organize and create many of the things we need to do with its power and integration capabilities - brainstorming, strategy, robot design options, references to software and hardware material, schedule, ... you name it!

— Zengobi website customer since 2010

I have been looking for this for years

I have tried dozens of notetaking apps but have never found one that does it all, until now. Love it so far.

— ★★★★★ Mac App Store customer, July 2020

Great program with tons of options, especially if you need to customize your notebook

Most flexible notebook program I’ve ever used. I appreciate that it’s off the cloud as well—greatful for an app for people who simply don’t want their information on the omnipresent but cryptic “cloud". Curio allows you to make mindmaps, spreadsheets, Kanban boards, albums—I’ve never encountered a notebook that lets you do all of this in one program. And also determine the way it looks and feels.

For those not wanting a subscription, you can buy the app off their site. It’s not cheap, but worth it to me. I will most definitely support any developer that gives me the option to avoid subscriptions.

— ★★★★★ Mac App Store customer, March 2020

Finally the PERFECT APP

I have been searching for an app that is simple! This app allows me to manage all my clients w/ kanban boards, project lists and other minor features. If you are looking for a whiteboard with the ability to take notes effectively then this is it. Also I LOVE the fact I can collapse within notes. Good job!!!!

— ★★★★★ Mac App Store customer, April 2026

Lists in compositions, side by side with text boxes, like dogs and cats living together without being a sign of the end times!

Right now, I'm planning a story with short lists of what happens in each subdivision of the story. Those lists are in the left column of a composition. The right column holds synced text figures with notes about people, places, and things. Text boxes spanning both columns delimit the story subdivisions.

Whatever else Curio is, it is unquestionably the world's strongest outlining tool, ever.

Now I just learned I can paste a synced text figure into the body of an index card, producing collapsable synced figures in a composition, saving real estate as needed. Is there no end to these new powers?

— Zengobi website customer since 2019

Like many musicians, I earn a living through a combination of gigs – a lot of them. Each has its own clients, specs, deliverables and deadlines, none of which can negatively impact the others. Curio is my secret weapon for staying sane and on deadline.

I write music for several TV/film music publishers, using Curio to track creative briefs, file specs and due dates. I write music descriptions and metadata for one such publisher, exploring SEO strategies and tracking deadlines in Curio. I teach music tech for three different colleges, using Curio to develop lesson plans, collect and annotate screenshots, and create flyers to promote my courses. I write and administer arts grants, which obviously involves research, writing and project management.

And I love to design and diagram experimental-electronics performance setups. Curio's sticky lines are the bomb for depicting cables and signal flow!

— Zengobi website customer since 2005

Curio is one of only a handful of keystone apps in my daily workflow. Whether it be to develop lecture notes, brainstorm ideas, or administer the big picture of my GTD life, Curio is the point guard in the team of tools that I use.

It is truly the most flexible idea board that I have found to pull information together in a variety of ways: mind maps, lists, notecards, and pictures are my go-to displays. Put those together on pin boards or stacks, then give them tags, priorities, and scheduling dates. Wow!

Folks may say, when you have a hammer, everything is a nail. I would say, when you have Curio, you have every tool you might need to put an idea together from start to end. It fits everything.

And the support is top-notch, whether via direct email or through the forums.

— Zengobi website customer since 2010

As a professor, I need a way to gather and organize the various materials for my classes in one place; Curio offers the best solution for doing so. I begin with the Templates feature to map out the format for common documents I use for class: lecture notes, essay prompts, group projects, reading notes. Next, I use the Organizer panel to create folders for each type of document as well as for class texts. I then begin to populate the folders. Curio's gracefully manages a wide variety of sources, including YouTube videos, webpages, PDF files, as well as images.

Once the materials are in place, I shift my attention to creating the content for the class—writing assignments, drafting notes, preparing schedules. Here again, Curio shines and allows me to house the necessary text documents, spreadsheets, and presentations within Curio itself. Many programs that attempt to be all things to all people do nothing very well; using them requires compromises and kludges. Curio is that rare exception: a program that does most things and that does all of them much better than one could hope; using it encourages clarity and elegance.

— Zengobi website customer since 2008

Trusted tool for many years

Versatile tool that I have replied for a huge range of projects over many years. Excellent support too.

— ★★★★★ Mac App Store customer, April 2021

Feature rich

This is a feature-rich app that can be used not only for note-taking but various others like task management, creating visually rich presentations, and more. The export feature and sync to reminders/calendar are my favorites. I am able to manage all my projects -both academic and personal - through this app. I would highly recommend it.

— ★★★★★ Mac App Store customer, November 2020

I have used Curio to run my practice as a freelance lawyer for the last 7 years and have become totally dependent upon it to organise the hundreds of pages of documents which I need to come to grips with on a daily basis.

In my experience, Curio provides the only viable way in which to organise, navigate and cross-link between PDF documents and it has allowed me to run an entirely "electronic" practice, both outside and inside the court room. No other software program has come close.

I am thrilled by the continued commitment of Zengobi to refine and expand upon the capabilities of this wonderful program.

— Zengobi website customer since 2011

I use Curio to manage my major projects, and it is an amazing note taking, organization, research, and presentation program, by far the best I have ever used.

The whiteboard idea space format offers an amazing variety of tools to layout information, in lists, mind maps, photo galleries, diagrams and much more. I am a visual person and Curio meets my needs perfectly.

— Zengobi website customer since 2011

This is truly a killer app

I've been using Curio for many years now and have gladly decided to pay for the subscription to it. Frankly, I want to support the developer who has made such a powerful, feature-rich information-management app.

If you haven't used Curio, download the trial. For creative types it's mandatory, for anyone who manages lots of digital information in many different forms (text, images, PDFs, video, mindmaps, tasks - all rolled up into projects), this is a game changer.

And to be clear, a subscription isn't the only way to pay for this app, you can purchase it off the Zengobi website for a one time price and own it without any futher cost.

Try it out, you will realize that you have a secret weapon in Curio and will then hope that your competion doesn't know about it.

— ★★★★★ Mac App Store customer, February 2020

Video Gallery

ChatGPT and Curio CLI

0:59 • 7/21/2026

Welcome to Curio!

1:23 • 5/19/2020

Curio Interface Overview

4:27 • 4/2/2019

Compositions

0:22 • 6/11/2024

Synced Figure Instances

2:17 • 6/14/2022

File-Backed Text Figures

2:17 • 6/7/2022

What's New in Curio 30

3:00 • 10/9/2024

Follow Figures

0:55 • 5/24/2023

Bundle Figures

1:10 • 5/24/2023

Continuity Camera

0:10 • 5/22/2019

Master Idea Space Templates

7:50 • 5/29/2017

Master Figure Stencils

1:24 • 5/22/2017

Master Styles

1:38 • 5/17/2017

Tutoriots Review

24:31 • 4/11/2017

ScreenCastsOnline Preview

1:06 • 3/2/2017

Curio Sightings

Learn how customers are using Curio.

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Story planning
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Curio used for a lawyer's briefcase
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Curiota: Curio’s Little Buddy

Curiota is our free, out of the way yet always available menu bar app that allows you to quickly jot down ideas, take notes, or collect files when inspiration strikes.

You can also send text or files into Curiota via macOS Services, the macOS Share button, the print dialog’s Save PDF to Curiota option, a browser bookmarklet, and even AppleScript.

While Curiota can be used even if you don’t own Curio, when combined with Curio you have a powerhouse combination since Curiota helps you collect notes and files outside of Curio. Then, when you’re back in Curio, you can view, search, and access all your collected Curiota information directly using Curio’s Library.

Learn more about Curiota ›

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