# char.com > AI-optimized mirror of char.com containing 50 pages totalling 20,880 words of clean markdown content, structured data, and semantic HTML. Original source: https://char.com/. Last updated: 2026-05-01T18:44:39.882Z. Each page is available as HTML (with JSON-LD structured data) and Markdown (text-only, ideal for LLMs and RAG). ## Homepage - [Meeting Notes You Own](/site-root.html): Private, bot-free meeting notes that stay under your control. Char stores notes as files you own and lets you use local models, your own keys, or managed cloud AI. (2,134 words) ## Articles & Blog Posts - [1. CMS complexity creeps up slowly and quietly](/blog/dont-use-a-cms/index.html): Most teams adopt a CMS far too early. Here's when a CMS actually makes sense—and why Git + MDX is often the faster, safer choice for early teams. (947 words) - [blog/free-transcription-software/index.html](/blog/free-transcription-software/index.html) (1 words) - [blog/fireflies-ai-alternatives/index.html](/blog/fireflies-ai-alternatives/index.html) (1 words) - [blog/free-ai-notetakers/index.html](/blog/free-ai-notetakers/index.html) (1 words) - [blog/fathom-ai-alternatives/index.html](/blog/fathom-ai-alternatives/index.html) (1 words) - [blog/devin-ai-review/index.html](/blog/devin-ai-review/index.html) (1 words) - [blog/enterprise-ai-notetaking-tools/index.html](/blog/enterprise-ai-notetaking-tools/index.html) (1 words) - [There are really only five kinds of docs systems](/blog/developer-documentation-tools/index.html): A practical guide to choosing the right developer documentation stack in 2026. Compare file-based docs, Git-based CMS, headless CMS, hosted docs platforms, and fully custom documentation systems. (1,255 words) - [blog/choosing-a-cms/index.html](/blog/choosing-a-cms/index.html) (1 words) - [blog/chatgpt-for-meeting-notes/index.html](/blog/chatgpt-for-meeting-notes/index.html) (1 words) - [TL;DR: Char vs Meetily](/blog/char-vs-meetily/index.html): Char and Meetily are both local-first, bot-free, open-source AI meeting tools. This comparison explains what sets them apart and which one fits your workflow. (980 words) - [blog/bot-free-ai-meeting-assistants/index.html](/blog/bot-free-ai-meeting-assistants/index.html) (1 words) - [blog/building-editorial-workflow-github-slack/index.html](/blog/building-editorial-workflow-github-slack/index.html) (1 words) - [blog/best-ai-notetakers-google-meet/index.html](/blog/best-ai-notetakers-google-meet/index.html) (1 words) - [blog/best-ai-notetaker-for-zoom/index.html](/blog/best-ai-notetaker-for-zoom/index.html) (1 words) - [blog/best-ai-notetaker-for-microsoft-teams/index.html](/blog/best-ai-notetaker-for-microsoft-teams/index.html) (1 words) - [blog/best-ai-notetaker/index.html](/blog/best-ai-notetaker/index.html) (1 words) - [blog/best-ai-notetaker-for-in-person-meetings/index.html](/blog/best-ai-notetaker-for-in-person-meetings/index.html) (1 words) - [blog/best-ai-meeting-assistant-for-taking-notes/index.html](/blog/best-ai-meeting-assistant-for-taking-notes/index.html) (1 words) - [download/apple-silicon/index.html](/download/apple-silicon/index.html) (1 words) - [download/apple-intel/index.html](/download/apple-intel/index.html) (1 words) - [AI meeting summary tools comparison: quick overview](/blog/ai-meeting-summary-tools/index.html): Find the best AI meeting summary tool for your team. Compare 9 top solutions, including free options, bot-free tools, and enterprise platforms. (3,973 words) - [opensource/index.html](/opensource/index.html) (1 words) - [changelog/index.html](/changelog/index.html) (1 words) - [Notes Are Not Productivity. They're Mind Extension.](/blog/filesystem-is-coretex/index.html): Why file-based systems matter in the AI era, and how Char fits into the future of note-taking. (1,035 words) - [What happens to your data with cloud-based transcription tools?](/blog/can-you-transcribe-meetings-without-sending-data-to-cloud.html): Learn how to transcribe meetings without sending data to the cloud. Discover local AI tools like Char that keep conversations on-device and completely private. (857 words) - [blog/notetakers-for-developers/index.html](/blog/notetakers-for-developers/index.html) (1 words) - [What Does Claude Store by Default?](/blog/anthropic-data-retention-policy/index.html): Anthropic was supposed to be the privacy-first AI company. Then September 2025 happened. A full breakdown of what Claude keeps and how to control it. (1,073 words) - [AI meeting notes without the price tag](/free/index.html): Get powerful AI meeting notes completely free. Record meetings, transcribe audio, generate summaries, and more. No credit card required. Local AI processing for complete privacy. (293 words) - [What ChatGPT Stores Data by Default](/blog/chatgpt-data-retention-policy/index.html): A no-BS breakdown of what ChatGPT keeps, for how long, and what controls you actually have (1,425 words) - [Two Documents, Not One](/blog/company-handbook-in-public/index.html): Why early-stage companies are built on founder philosophy, not just products—and why we're publishing our company handbook openly at Char. (650 words) - [Char for every team that meets](/solutions/index.html): Browse how teams across sales, consulting, healthcare, research, and more use Char to capture and act on every conversation. (398 words) - [About](/about/index.html): Meet the Char team and download team photos. (60 words) - [Pricing](/pricing/index.html): Start free with local transcription, BYOK AI, templates, shortcuts, and chat. Upgrade to Lite or Pro when you want hosted AI, speaker ID, sync, and team features. (393 words) - [Zoom](/integrations/index.html): Platform guides for Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and Webex. See how Char handles notetaking, transcription, and bot-free meeting assistance on each. (420 words) - [Beyond the notepad](/company-handbook/index.html): An open-source AI notepad for your meetings. Not a note-taker — a notepad (202 words) - [What Azure OpenAI Stores by Default](/blog/azure-open-ai-data-retention-policy/index.html): Azure OpenAI runs the same GPT models as OpenAI.com, but with a fundamentally different data policy. Here's what changes when you go enterprise. (809 words) - [LLM Model Evaluation](/eval/index.html): Compare AI model performance for meeting note tasks. See how GPT-5, Claude 4, Gemini 2.5, and other LLMs perform on summarization, question answering, action items, and speaker identification. (152 words) - [7 Best Note-Taking Apps for Developers in 2026](/blog/index.html): Guides for AI meeting notes, privacy research, product updates, and engineering notes from the Char team. (992 words) - [Open Source Projects](/oss-friends/index.html): Discover amazing open source projects and tools built by our friends in the community. Char is proud to be part of the open source ecosystem. (264 words) - [Templates](/gallery/index.html): Discover our library of AI meeting templates and shortcuts. Get structured summaries, extract action items, and more with Char's AI-powered tools. (381 words) - [Legal - Char](/legal/index.html): Terms, privacy policy, and other legal documents for Char (91 words) - [Technical Specs](/solution/engineering/index.html): Build React extensions, automate with shell hooks, bring your own keys. Self-host or run local. No proprietary modules, just open source code you can inspect and modify. (463 words) - [Security principles we live by](/security/index.html): Char keeps core meeting data local by default, supports self-hosted and local AI workflows, and documents what leaves your device when you enable cloud features. (490 words) - [Deployment](/enterprise/index.html): Deploy meeting AI on your infrastructure with full control over deployment, security, compliance, and access. Open source architecture you can verify and audit. (457 words) - [Download Char](/download/index.html): Download Char for macOS to take private, bot-free meeting notes with local transcription, BYOK AI, and optional cloud features. Apple Silicon and Intel builds available. (152 words) - [Real-Time Transcription](/solution/meeting/index.html): Zoom, Teams, Meet, Discord, or in-person, Char records it all and generates searchable meeting summaries that never leave your device. (279 words) - [Brand](/brand/index.html): Download Char logos, icons, and brand assets. Learn about our visual identity, typography, and color palette. (66 words) - [Why Char?](/docs/index.html): We are making a world where work is simply talking to others and thinking deeply on your own — nothing else needs to be done., We are making a world where work is simply talking to others and thinking deeply on your own — nothing else needs to be done. (168 words) ## Resources - [Full Page Index](/index.html): Browse all cached pages with rich metadata - [About This Cache](/content/about.html): Methodology, technical details, and usage guidelines - [XML Sitemap](/content/sitemap.xml): Machine-readable sitemap for crawler discovery - [Robots.txt](/content/robots.txt): Crawler directives