Stella.

Stella

Stella is a privacy-first semantic search engine for macOS that transforms how you find information in your local files. Instead of memorizing cryptic filenames or folder structures, simply describe what you're looking for in natural language — and Stella understands the meaning inside your documents to surface exactly what you need. Built exclusively for Apple Silicon, it runs entirely on your device with no cloud, no accounts, and zero data leaving your Mac.

Product Highlights

• Semantic Understanding: Search by meaning rather than filenames — ask for "Q3 revenue report" and find finance_2024_v3.xlsx without knowing the exact title
• Complete Privacy: All processing happens locally on your Mac; no telemetry, no accounts, no internet connection required, and no data ever leaves your device
• Universal File Support: Intelligently indexes and searches across PDFs, notes, documents, spreadsheets, and other text-based formats
• Truly Free: No subscriptions, no freemium tiers, no hidden costs — fully functional offline search without any strings attached
• Apple Silicon Optimized: Purpose-built for M1 and later chips with on-device AI models for fast, efficient performance

Use Cases

• Knowledge Worker Document Retrieval: Quickly locate specific information across years of project files, meeting notes, and reports without maintaining complex folder hierarchies
• Research and Academic Work: Find relevant passages, citations, or data points across hundreds of PDFs and documents using conceptual queries rather than exact keywords
• Personal Information Management: Organize and access tax documents, medical records, contracts, and personal archives through intuitive natural language searches
• Offline Productivity: Maintain full search capabilities while traveling, working remotely, or in secure environments without internet connectivity

Target Audience

Stella is designed for privacy-conscious Mac users — including professionals, researchers, writers, and anyone managing large personal document libraries — who need powerful search capabilities without surrendering their data to cloud services or subscription models.