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Local data & privacy

A clear boundary around your reading life.

Marginalia is a local-first desktop application. It has no user account, no Marginalia cloud library, and no background upload of your books.

Product note for version 2.3.0 · Updated September 14, 2026
The short version

Your files and complete reading index stay on your Mac. Only your question and selected evidence are sent to the AI provider you configure when an AI operation needs them.

01

What is stored locally

Marginalia stores imported text, chapters, evidence, chapter analysis, Discuss, Debate and Roundtable history, knowledge cards, and the local Obsidian note index in the application workspace on your device.

  • File conversion, OCR, chapter splitting, and evidence indexing run locally.
  • Provider, model, Base URL, Vault configuration, drafts, language, and layout preferences are local settings.
  • In the packaged desktop app, your API key is encrypted with macOS-backed safeStorage and is not written to browser localStorage.

The browser development build uses browser storage as a compatibility fallback and should not be used on a shared computer.

02

When a network request happens

Marginalia connects only to the Base URL you configure for OpenAI or Kimi. A request occurs when you test the connection, run chapter AI analysis, or submit a Discuss, Debate, or Roundtable turn.

Sent for that request

Your prompt, selected evidence passages, limited recent conversation context, model settings, and API credential.

Not sent as a background upload

Your whole library, unrelated books, complete Vault, local cards, or files that were not selected for the request.

Your chosen provider processes these requests under its own terms and privacy policy. Marginalia does not proxy them through a separate Marginalia account service.

03

Obsidian stays secondary and local

Connecting a Vault is optional. Marginalia skips hidden folders and .obsidian, then builds a local keyword index from Markdown note titles, excerpts, tags, wikilinks, and paths.

  • Related notes never override evidence from the current book.
  • Cards are written only when you choose Add to Obsidian.
  • Existing files are not silently overwritten; conflicts require an explicit choice.

04

Deletion and exported files

Deleting a book removes its local chapters, evidence, cards, and conversation records from the Marginalia workspace. Markdown files already exported to an Obsidian Vault remain in that Vault.

Removing an API key in Settings removes the encrypted credential file from the desktop app.

The practical rule is simple: the book stays local until you ask a configured model to work with selected evidence.

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