Free and open source, no project cap

Every project. One board.

Your WordPress sites, Node apps, static pages, Blender scenes, and Ableton Sets each keep their own Red Pen notes. The Hub reads them all and shows one board in your browser: every open note, every project, one screen. Resolve a note there and the change flows back to where it lives.

It runs on your own computer and binds to localhost only. It asks for no account, and a request arriving with a non-loopback Host header is turned away.

How it works

Point it at your work

The Hub is a small local app. It reads note stores where they already are, so it never becomes the only copy of anything.

Run it

Start the Hub and open localhost:3900 in your browser. First run takes under a minute.

Add your projects

Scan a folder and the Hub finds every Red Pen store in it. Or paste its connect token into a surface's settings and that project pushes itself.

Triage on one screen

Search, filter by project, surface, type, or priority, save the views you use, and sort by what matters today.

Changes flow back

Resolve or reopen on the board and the Hub writes the change to the note's source: the site, the file, the Set.

The aggregation layer

Made for people with too many projects

Every feature exists because juggling client sites, apps, and creative work in one week demanded it.

Five surfaces, one board

WordPress, Express, static sites, Blender, and Ableton Live all land in the same table, with the same statuses and priorities.

Two-way, with timestamps

Resolve on the board or at the source, and whichever acted last wins. Where the board cannot prove which that was, it says so on the row and stands down rather than overriding you in silence.

Filters and saved views

Slice by project, surface, type, or priority; search everything; save the combinations you reach for daily.

Export MD and CSV

Turn the current view into a Markdown digest with task checkboxes, built for daily notes and standups, or a CSV for a spreadsheet.

Localhost only

Binds to your loopback interface and nothing else. Your notes never transit anyone's server, including ours. There is no "ours".

Unlimited projects

Connect as many projects as you keep on the go. It is free the way the rest of Red Pen is free, WordPress white-label reports included.

The board your projects deserve

The Hub is free to run with no project cap. A real tool, not a trial. Every surface feeds it, and it all stays on your machine.

This page runs the web version of Red Pen. The red button in the corner feeds a board just like it.

FAQ

Questions

Do I need the Hub to use Red Pen?

No. Every surface is complete on its own. The Hub earns its place when you have several projects and want one list instead of five.

Does my data go anywhere?

No. The Hub runs on your machine, binds to localhost only, and reads note stores that already live on your disk or your own sites. No hosted component exists at all.

What exactly is free?

Everything. Filters, saved views, exports, two-way sync, unlimited projects. None of it is held back. Nothing asks for a key, and nothing counts your projects.

How do surfaces connect?

Two ways: the Hub scans a folder and finds Red Pen stores by itself, or you paste the Hub's connect token into a surface's settings and that project pushes its notes over.

Where does the Hub keep its own data?

In a per-user folder on your machine: the source list, the connect token, and a small file per pushing project. Back that folder up and you have backed up the Hub.