Benchpad Quick Capture — the Chrome notes side panel

The problem: The tab-switching tax

You're deep in a Google Doc, reviewing a pull request, or reading a long, dense article. Suddenly, a thought lands—a task you need to remember, a counter-argument to a point you just read, or a snippet of text worth keeping.

Today, capturing that thought requires a violent context switch. You have to open a new tab or switch to a separate desktop app. You lose your exact place in the article. You paste your text, switch back, and then spend precious seconds finding the exact line you were reading.

Do that eight times a day, and the real cost isn't the lost seconds. It's the cognitive friction of eight interruptions. Most knowledge work happens in the browser, yet most note apps force you to leave the browser just to jot something down. This is fundamentally backwards.

The solution: A sharp knife right where you work

The place to capture shouldn't be somewhere else. Benchpad Quick Capture puts a fully functional, offline-first scratchpad directly into Chrome's side panel. It sits exactly one keystroke away. Your thought lands safely without you ever leaving the tab you're currently reading.

Benchpad Interface

How it actually works

Unlike bloated web clippers that dump URLs into a digital landfill you'll never read, Benchpad Quick Capture is the entire application, perfectly optimized for a tall, narrow panel.

• Summon it anywhere: A quick click of the toolbar icon or a keyboard shortcut (Alt+Shift+B) slides the panel out next to your current tab. Press it again to dismiss it. It's exactly that simple.
• The full editor experience: This isn't a stripped-down popup. You get full markdown shortcuts, slash commands, headings, tables, code blocks, and your preferred theme. We didn't compromise the knife just because it's in a side panel.
• Offline-first, always: Just like the main app, the side panel keeps working even if your connection drops on a flight or a bad coffee shop Wi-Fi. It writes locally first. Edits merge conflict-free across your devices when you're back online.
• Instant sync: A note you jot down in the browser side panel is on your phone and desktop moments later. It’s not a separate "browser notebook"—it's the exact same three pads you rely on everywhere else.

Capture from wherever the thought is

The Chrome side panel is just one of four doors into the exact same three pads. You can also access Benchpad via our menu bar and system tray app with a global hotkey over any application, native iOS and Android apps, and the main web app.

No matter where the thought happens, the sharp knife is right there to catch it.

Add it, then forget it's there

Install it once, and let it fade into the background. It will be there the next time you need to write something down without destroying your context.

Add to Chrome · Start writing for free

Related: The menu bar app · A truly cross-platform notes app · The best offline note app