Desktop app for Windows & Mac

Your document knowledge base.
Native on your desktop.

Watch folders for new scans. Search your entire library from any app with a global shortcut. Migrate from Evernote. All without opening a browser.

Free with your DocuRead account Auto-updates v1.0.0 · Feb 2026

Windows

Windows 10 / 11 — 64-bit

Download .exe
~91 MB · NSIS installer
First launch: Windows SmartScreen will say "Unknown publisher." Click More infoRun anyway. Code signing in progress.

macOS

macOS 12+ · Apple Silicon & Intel

Download .dmg
Universal binary · ARM + x64
First launch: Right-click → Open to bypass Gatekeeper. Signed & notarized builds coming soon.

Don't want to install anything?

DocuRead works entirely in your browser. Upload, search, manage — no download needed.

Open Web App
What the desktop app unlocks

Everything the web app does — plus the power of your local machine.

Watch folders

Point DocuRead at your scanner's output folder. New PDFs and images get auto-imported, OCR'd, and filed — with a native notification when each one lands.

Global search shortcut

Press ⌘/Ctrl+Shift+K from any app to search your entire document library. Find a receipt, pull up a contract — without switching windows.

System tray

Runs quietly in the background. Shows active watch folders, import counts, and quick access to your library or the Evernote migrator.

Local OCR

Tesseract runs on your machine. Scanned documents are OCR'd without sending images to any server. Text becomes searchable the moment it imports.

Evernote migration

Stream-parse .enex files of any size. Every scanned document re-OCR'd locally, notebooks become folders, duplicates auto-skip. Full details →

Auto-updates

New features ship straight to your desktop. Updates download in the background and install on next restart — no manual downloading.

Up and running in 60 seconds
1

Download & install

Run the installer. Takes 30 seconds. Open the app and sign in with your DocuRead account — same credentials as the web app.

2

Set up your workflow

Add a watch folder for your scanner output. Or open an Evernote migration via File → Migrate from Evernote. Or just use the full DocuRead app natively — all your documents are already there.

3

It runs in the background

DocuRead minimizes to your system tray. New scans import automatically. Press ⌘/Ctrl+Shift+K from any app to search your whole library without switching windows.

Common questions

Do I need the desktop app to use DocuRead?

No. The web app handles uploads, AI search, and folder management entirely in your browser. The desktop app adds watch folders, the global search shortcut, system tray, and the Evernote migration engine. Same account, same documents.

How do watch folders work?

File → Add Watch Folder. Pick a folder on your machine — like where your scanner saves PDFs. Choose which DocuRead folder to file them into. DocuRead watches for new files, auto-imports with OCR, and sends a native notification when each one lands. You can watch multiple folders at once.

Why does Windows show a security warning?

The installer isn't code-signed yet. Windows SmartScreen flags all unsigned apps — it's a standard warning, not a virus detection. Click "More info" then "Run anyway." Code signing is in progress.

Is my data sent to third parties?

OCR runs locally on your machine via Tesseract. Documents upload directly to your encrypted DocuRead account (AES-256). AI features use Claude with zero data retention — Anthropic doesn't store or train on your content.

How do I migrate from Evernote?

File → Migrate from Evernote. Pick your .enex file. The stream parser handles files of any size — we've tested 30GB+ exports with 30K+ notes. Full details on the migration page.

Stop reading documents. Start asking them.

Every document you own — uploaded, OCR'd, and AI-searchable. Start free with 25 documents, no card required.

Start free — no card required See pricing