Pin-and-note panel for sticky notes listing Setup MSI, verified winget, brew NONE, and GPL-2.0 doors.
Verified doors: Windows PinnyNotes-Setup x64.msi on current tags, verified winget 63BeetleSmurf.PinnyNotes, no Homebrew cask. Cork Latch original pin-and-note geometry for this sticky notes install guide (not an upstream project logo).

sticky notes: switch from Stickies overview

Install PinnyNotes first. Prefer PinnyNotes-Setup-*-x64.msi or winget id 63BeetleSmurf.PinnyNotes. Then copy Stickies text into new note cards and pin what must stay visible.

winget install -e --id 63BeetleSmurf.PinnyNotes

Cutover steps for pinned reminders

  1. List Stickies notes you still need.
  2. Install PinnyNotes.
  3. Paste text into new cards and pin.
  4. Uninstall Stickies when ready.

What Stickies still does better

Deep long-running freeware habits and existing desk muscle memory may favour Stickies on some machines. PinnyNotes wins on GPL-2.0 source, official Setup MSI, and dedicated pin controls mapped here.

pinned notes vs Stickies, sticky notes: switch from Windows pinned notes, installed.

Desk workflow that survives a reimage

Write the install door on the machine card before you change colours. Reminder work fails when a substitute invents a second Downloads mirror during SmartScreen friction. Prefer returning to GitHub Releases for PinnyNotes-Setup-*-x64.msi or the verified winget id 63BeetleSmurf.PinnyNotes every time.

Shared apartments and classroom desks should document which Windows user owns the tray session. Two people sharing one profile will collide on pin defaults and note colours. Separate OS accounts keep maps honest and make uninstall tickets shorter.

Travel laptops benefit from a single documented installer door written beside the notes folder. Lab images drift when someone installs a Softonic-style wrapper that only ranked for reminder-pad searches. Prefer the named Setup MSI filename on the ticket.

PinnyNotes features worth proving early

Prove pin always-on-top first. Then prove auto-save by typing a line, restarting the app, and confirming the text returned. Only after those two prove steps should you explore colours, transparency, dark mode, and right-click tools such as Base64, Hash, JSON, Case, and DateTime.

Spell checking on current releases uses Windows APIs, which improves performance versus older approaches. Tray bring-to-front helps when note windows are buried under browsers. Block minimizing helps when Show Desktop would otherwise hide reminders you still need.

Honesty about rivals

Windows Sticky Notes remains the right choice when Microsoft account sync is the job. Stickies remains a long-running freeware option with its own habits. Simple pinned notes and Notezilla serve other feature sets, including paid tiers on some rivals. This guide does not invent scores; it maps stranger-safe PinnyNotes install doors.

Cutover from any rival means paste text by hand. There is no documented importer in the PinnyNotes README for rival databases. Plan a quiet half hour. Keep a text backup if your team requires rollback.

Package honesty for fleets

winget id 63BeetleSmurf.PinnyNotes is YAML-verified in microsoft/winget-pkgs against the same MSI and portable zip URLs on GitHub Releases. Homebrew has no PinnyNotes cask. Linux binaries are not published on verified tags, and upstream README states Linux is not planned for this client.

Write brew NONE on printed cards. Write Windows-only on the standard. That prevents weekend chat storms when a volunteer hunts for a package that does not exist.

Security posture without invented audits

Prefer official GitHub Releases assets and the verified winget id. Skip claiming third-party audits the README does not publish. Licence is GPL-2.0. Security contact surface is the GitHub security page for 63BeetleSmurf/PinnyNotes. Note text lives locally on the Windows PC you manage after install.

Pillar: home. Releases: releases. GitHub: GitHub. Download safely: download safely. For this computer: for this computer. Installed: installed. Guides: guides. About: about. Editorial: editorial policy. Safety: is it safe.

Closing checklist

Confirm the tag, the MSI filename, the winget id if used, one pinned note, and auto-save after reboot. That five-box checklist outperforms a three-page essay nobody finishes under stress.

Frequently asked questions

How do I switch sticky notes from Stickies?

Install PinnyNotes from GitHub Releases or winget, copy text from Stickies notes you keep, paste into new sticky notes cards, and pin the ones that must stay on top. Prefer official GitHub Releases or the verified winget id, write the Setup MSI filename on the machine card, and prove pin always-on-top plus auto-save once before trusting the desk.

Will Stickies import into sticky notes?

No automated importer is documented in the PinnyNotes README. Plan to paste text by hand for sticky notes cutover. Prefer official GitHub Releases or the verified winget id, write the Setup MSI filename on the machine card, and prove pin always-on-top plus auto-save once before trusting the desk.

Should I uninstall Stickies first?

Install and prove PinnyNotes sticky notes first, then uninstall Stickies when the prove step passes so you are never without reminders mid-migration. Prefer official GitHub Releases or the verified winget id, write the Setup MSI filename on the machine card, and prove pin always-on-top plus auto-save once before trusting the desk.

Is sticky notes free like Stickies?

PinnyNotes sticky notes is free under GPL-2.0. Stickies is freeware with its own licence terms on the vendor site. Prefer official GitHub Releases or the verified winget id, write the Setup MSI filename on the machine card, and prove pin always-on-top plus auto-save once before trusting the desk.