fabsticky Get fabsticky

Getting started with fabsticky

Everything you need to install fabsticky, activate your license, and get the most out of it.

Install

  1. After purchase, Lemon Squeezy will email you a download link and your license key. Keep the email — you'll need the key in a moment.
  2. Download the .zip file and extract it, then double-click fabsticky.exe to run it. There's nothing to install — no setup wizard, no configuration.
  3. fabsticky runs from the system tray — look for its icon near your clock after launching. There's no separate main window.
fabsticky is a single portable app. It doesn't require administrator rights, and there's no installer to run.
Since fabsticky is a small independent app, Windows SmartScreen may show a "Windows protected your PC" warning the first time you run it. Click More info, then Run anyway. This is expected for new, unsigned apps and only appears once.

Activate your license

  1. On first launch, an Activate fabsticky window appears.
  2. Paste the license key from your purchase email and click Activate.
  3. That's it — the app checks your key online once, then remembers your activation on this PC.

Not ready to activate? Click Skip for now to keep using fabsticky unlicensed for a little while. After a few skips, activation becomes required to continue.

You can reopen the activation window anytime from the tray icon menu → License… — useful for checking your activation status or entering a key later.

Using fabsticky

fabsticky runs entirely from the system tray — there's no main window. Click the tray icon to open its menu, or click a note's own ☰ button for note-specific options.

Creating and managing notes

Moving, resizing, and collapsing

Formatting text

Each note has a small formatting toolbar just under its title bar:

Formatting applies to whatever text is currently selected, like any standard text editor.

Note appearance

From a note's ☰ menu, choose Note Color to pick from six preset background colors, or toggle Word Wrap to control whether long lines wrap or scroll horizontally.

Keyboard shortcuts

Both shortcuts can be changed from the tray menu → Change Show/Hide Hotkey... and Change Opacity Hotkey....

Tray menu reference

Want to password-protect a note? See Locked notes below.

Using fabsticky on multiple PCs

Each license activates on up to 3 computers at the same time — install and activate fabsticky on each one with the same license key.

Already used all 3 activations and need to swap in a different PC?

  1. On the PC you're replacing, open the tray menu → License… and choose Deactivate this PC.
  2. Install fabsticky on the new PC and activate it with the same license key.
Lost access to a PC and can't deactivate it first? Reply to your purchase receipt email and we'll free up the activation for you.

Locked notes

Any note can be password-protected from its menu (☰ → Lock Note…). Locked notes are encrypted on disk and re-lock automatically every time fabsticky restarts — you'll need the password again to view or edit them. Set an optional hint when locking a note in case you forget the password later.

There is no password recovery. If you forget a note's password and didn't set a hint, that note's content can't be recovered — only deleted.

FAQ & support

Is this a subscription?

No — fabsticky is a one-time purchase with lifetime updates for the version you bought.

Can I get a refund?

Yes. Refund requests are handled through Lemon Squeezy — use the link in your purchase receipt email, or contact support below.

Does fabsticky sync notes between computers?

Not built in — fabsticky doesn't have its own cloud sync. Notes are saved locally on each PC, and your license covers up to 3 PCs, so you can install and activate fabsticky on each one (see "Using fabsticky on multiple PCs" above).

If you want your notes to follow you across computers, use the tray menu → Change Notes Location... to point fabsticky at a folder synced by:

  • Syncthing — free, open-source, peer-to-peer sync directly between your own devices, no cloud account required.
  • Google Drive, OneDrive, or Dropbox — install the desktop sync client, then choose a folder inside your synced Drive/OneDrive/Dropbox folder when prompted. fabsticky moves your existing notes there automatically.
This is an unofficial workaround, not a feature fabsticky manages for you — if a note is open and being edited on two computers at once, the sync tool's own conflict handling decides which version wins. Locked (password-protected) notes stay encrypted at rest, so they're safe to sync this way too.

Where are my notes stored?

By default, locally in your Windows user profile — nothing is uploaded anywhere. You can change where notes are stored anytime from the tray menu → Change Notes Location..., which lets you pick any folder and moves your existing notes there. Wherever they're stored, notes aren't backed up automatically, so back up that folder yourself if you rely on them.

How secure is note locking?

Locking a note encrypts its contents with AES-256 using a key derived from your password via PBKDF2-SHA256 with 100,000 iterations, plus a random salt and IV generated for that note. The password itself is never stored — only a separate verification hash, so fabsticky can check your password is correct without ever needing to decrypt anything first. The encrypted content is what's written to disk; while a note is locked, its plaintext only exists in memory once you've unlocked it that session.

This protects your notes if someone gets hold of the note file on disk, but it isn't a substitute for full-disk encryption or protecting your Windows login. There's no password recovery by design — see "Locked notes" above.

Still need help?

Use the feedback form to ask for help, report a bug, or request a feature — we read every message.