Penlog is a handwritten iPad journal that turns notation into tasks and syncs to Notion and AI agents. Free to write in; Pro is $8.99/month with a trial.
Researched and fact-checked by Bartu Cavusoglu · Updated October 26, 2026
Penlog is a handwritten daily journal for iPad and Apple Pencil. Each day has its own page, available as blank, dotted, grid, or lined paper, so there is nothing to name or file. You write the way you would in a paper notebook, and the app does the structuring afterward.
The difference from a general notebook app is that Penlog reads your notation. A bullet becomes a task, a dash becomes a note, and an X marks something done. Tasks that stay open carry forward onto the next day's page until you cross them off.
The app is made by Rick Thomas, a solo founder in Indianapolis, and has been on the App Store since June 2026.
You write on the daily page with Apple Pencil. When the page syncs, a vision model reads it, transcribes the text, and sorts the notation into tasks and notes. The canvas is pencil-only, so finger input will not draw ink.
With Pro, the tasks reach Notion. Penlog creates a parent page with a Journal database for daily pages and a Tasks database with one row per handwritten task. Crossing a task off with the Pencil completes it in Notion, and changes made in the Notion Tasks database pull back into Penlog on the next sync.
Your primary copy lives in your iCloud account. Pro sync also stores pages and structured text on Supabase under your account, and you can delete your account and server-side data from Settings.
The core journal features are free: handwritten daily pages, iCloud sync between iPads, notation reading, task carry-forward, and Apple Calendar events placed on today's page as typed blocks. Penlog only reads the events you allow and never writes to your calendar. A marker highlight on a line marks it as priority, and the notation legend can be edited per journal.
Pro adds the connections. Two-way Notion sync covers the Journal and Tasks databases. An MCP server at mcp.penlog.app lets Claude, ChatGPT, and other compatible agents read and search your pages and add typed tasks. Each page is also a REST resource, returned already sorted into tasks and notes.
A Briefing view shows open loops and today's calendar in read-only form, and an iPhone companion lets you add tasks by typing or voice.
Penlog is a handwritten daily journal for iPad and Apple Pencil. It reads your notation so that bullets become tasks, dashes become notes, and an X marks a task done. Open tasks carry forward to the next day until you cross them off.
Penlog is free to download and write in. Penlog Pro costs $8.99/month or $89.99/year ($7.50/month). Billing goes through your Apple ID.
Yes. Penlog Pro includes a 14-day free trial on both the monthly and yearly plans. Cancel at least 24 hours before the trial ends to avoid being charged.
Penlog integrates with Notion for two-way sync of pages and tasks, with Claude and ChatGPT through its MCP server, and with Apple Calendar for reading the day's events. Any MCP-compatible agent can also connect.
Writing requires an iPad with iPadOS 18 or later and an Apple Pencil. An iPhone on iOS 18 or later shows today, adds and checks off tasks, and reads your pages, but cannot write. Penlog is not available for Mac or Android.
Goodnotes and Notability are notebooks for handwriting, PDFs, and annotation. Penlog is a daily journal that reads your notation and carries tasks forward, and with Pro it syncs them to Notion and AI agents. You do not have to switch away from those apps.
Your primary copy lives in your iCloud account. When you are signed in, pages are sent to Penlog's servers so a vision model can read them, and Pro sync also stores pages and structured text on Supabase. You can delete your account and server-side data from Settings in the app.
No. Agents read structured output from your pages and can add typed tasks or blocks, but they cannot write or erase your ink. Access is revocable under Settings and Connected Apps.