The AI meeting notetaker you've been using is now Anarlog. Same app, same files, same 8.3k⭐ on GitHub. New name, new license (MIT), and a clear single purpose: an open-source meeting notetaker that runs on your machine.
The name Char still exists — but it's a different product now. Char is an AI notepad that finishes your todos. Different category, different audience, different bet. We'll get to it below.
If you're here for meeting notes — you're in the right place. anarlog.so is the new home. char.com/blog/* redirects here.
why two names
Char (the meeting notetaker) and Char (the agentic todo notepad we've been building) were trying to live under one brand. They couldn't.
The meeting notetaker is finished software in the best sense — system audio capture, plain markdown files, your AI of choice, no bots in your calls. People love it because it's focused. They want a tool they can audit, fork, and run forever — with or without us.
The new Char is the opposite of finished. It's a thesis: that your todo list should finish itself. Type a checkbox, an agent picks it up — researches, drafts, schedules — while you stay in command of what matters. It's a delegation product, not a transcription one. Different mechanic. Different problem. Different people.
We tried to ship both as "Char." The homepage was a mess. The roadmap was a coin flip on every feature. Worst of all: people who came for the meeting notetaker kept getting confused by the agent stuff, and people interested in delegation kept asking "wait, do I have to take meeting notes?"
Two products, two names. That's the whole story.
so what is anarlog
It's the existing app. Renamed, relicensed (GPL → MIT), kept open source forever.
- Open source on GitHub: github.com/fastrepl/anarlog
- Free forever — there is no paid tier and there won't be
- System audio capture (no bot joining your calls, no calendar permissions)
- Plain markdown files on your device
- BYOK or local models (Ollama, LM Studio) — your AI, your keys
- 45+ languages, works with Zoom / Meet / Teams / phone / in-person
- macOS and Linux. Windows is on the roadmap.
If you're already running Char (the desktop app), it'll keep working. The next update will rename itself to Anarlog. Your local files don't move. Your stack doesn't change. We're keeping the pro AI models and the calendar integration in Anarlog through the migration window — nothing gets ripped out from under you.
After the migration, Anarlog stays as a community-maintained OSS project. We'll keep it running. Patches, security fixes, the occasional feature. But the team's daily focus moves to the new Char.
so what is char now
Char is the AI notepad that knows and works for you. Your todos, on autopilot.
Type a checkbox in your daily note. An agent picks it up — researches a company before your call, drafts a follow-up email, schedules a meeting, books the flight. You stay in command of what matters. The work moves on its own. Char remembers your projects, contacts, and how you work, so week one it helps and month one it knows you.
The category Char competes in isn't "meeting notetaker." It's the todo list — Things, Todoist, Notion — and the new wave of delegation agents (Yutori, AirJelly, Manus). Notetakers stop where the meeting ends. Char starts there: every action item becomes a checkbox that finishes itself.
It's a different product. Private alpha right now, paid SaaS when it ships. Same company. Same conviction that humans deserve to stay in command of their own work. Different shape.
If that sounds interesting, char.com is the place. If it doesn't — totally fine. Stay on Anarlog, take your meeting notes, own your files. We built it for you.
the journey
If you've been following along, this is the second rename. The first one, from Hyprnote to Char, corrected a name we never liked. This one is different. We're not renaming for fashion. We're separating two products that grew up inside one repo and started pulling in opposite directions.
Each rename has been a sharper version of the same conviction: people deserve to own their work. The first time, that conviction was an instinct. The second time, it's a product split — because the people who care most about owning their meeting notes shouldn't have to share a brand with the people who want a notepad that delegates their day.
Both are valid. They want different things. Now they get different things.
why "anarlog"
It's an anagram of granola. The product everyone keeps comparing us to — and the one we keep beating on the things that matter (no bots, local files, your stack). "Granola, rearranged." We liked the joke and the name stuck.
It also reads as anar + log — anar for autonomy, log for the artifact. Your stack, your keys, your files. A log you keep, not one we host.
Both readings are true. Take whichever you like.
tl;dr
- Anarlog = the meeting notetaker you've been using. OSS, free forever, MIT. anarlog.so · github.com/fastrepl/anarlog
- Char = a new product. AI notepad that finishes your todos. Private alpha. char.com
- Same team, same company (
fastrepl, YC S25), same conviction. - Old
char.com/blog/*links now redirect here. Your bookmarks still work.
— John