Local-first finance · For Mac
Every rupee you spend, already on your Mac.
Stave reads the transaction alerts your bank sends you — and builds your complete ledger on-device. No bank logins. On-device by default — nothing leaves this machine unless you choose otherwise.
Free during beta • Local-first • No bank logins • On-device by default
Optional — one email when a new beta build ships. Nothing else, unsubscribe anytime.
macOS 13 or later · Apple Silicon & Intel
How it works
Authorise once.
Stave reads your bank's transaction SMS from Messages and statements from Apple Mail on your Mac. You confirm your accounts and card last-4 digits once. Only messages from banks are parsed — your personal conversations are never read.
Everything happens on your Mac.
No data mining. Where other finance tools parse your data on their servers, Stave reads and sorts every transaction on your Mac's own chip by default — even offline.
Clear the deck.
New transactions land in a review inbox, ready to go. Use keyboard shortcuts to categorise, tag, and take the list to zero.
Under the hood
The whole pipeline, inside one machine.
Your Mac
Messages & Mail
Bank SMS and PDF statements your bank already sends you
Stave
Parses and categorises every transaction on-device
Your ledger
Stored locally, readable offline, yours alone
This diagram has no servers because none are involved by default. Turn on a Pro subscription or optional cloud categorisation and the only connection you'll ever see is to getstave.app — nowhere else. Don't take our word for it — run Stave alongside a network monitor like Little Snitch.
Philosophy
Taken individually, they are just transactions. Taken together, they tell your story. Your financial history belongs to you.
Also included
Auto-categorisation
Transactions sorted the moment they arrive
PDF statements
Import bank statements from Apple Mail
Recurring payments
Subscriptions and bills tracked automatically
iCloud sync
Optional — keep Mac and iPhone in sync
Tags and notes
Add context to any transaction
Spending charts
Monthly overview at a glance
Multiple accounts
All your banks and cards in one place
Free trial
3 months free. Cancel anytime.
Pricing
Simple, honest pricing.
Stave Pro
3-month free trial. Cancel anytime.
- Pro intelligence — Recurring-payment detection and natural-language search
- On-device processing by default — No account required
- Local-first architecture — Your data stays in your personal control
- iPhone companion app (coming soon) — Review transactions on your iPhone
Free while in beta. Subscriptions open at launch.
Core tracking stays free forever. No account required. 14-day refund policy.
People often ask
(for anything else, email us at stave@avysion.studio)
- No. Stave never connects to your bank, never asks for your bank login, and never accesses your account directly. It reads the SMS alerts your bank already sends you — messages that are already on your Mac via Apple Messages.
- No. Stave only parses messages from bank sender IDs — like HDFCBK or ICICIB. Your personal conversations are never read, stored, or indexed.
- Your transactions, balances, and messages never leave your Mac — Stave processes them entirely locally, with no analytics unless you opt in. The only outbound calls Stave makes are Pro license checks and, if you explicitly opt in on the direct download, sending a bare merchant name (never transaction data) for a categorisation suggestion. Don't take our word for it: run Stave alongside a network monitor like Little Snitch and watch.
- Two things, both granted by you during setup: the Apple Messages database (where your bank SMS already live) and your Apple Mail folder (for PDF statements). Nothing else — no Full Disk Access, no contacts, no browsing data. You can revoke either at any time.
- Any Indian bank that sends SMS transaction alerts is supported — HDFC, ICICI, SBI, Axis, Kotak, Standard Chartered, Slice, and many more. If your bank sends you an SMS when you spend, Stave can read it.
- Yes. Stave works completely offline. Internet is only needed for optional iCloud sync between your Mac and iPhone.
- Fully supported. Stave tracks credit card transactions, outstanding balances, and payment due dates from your bank SMS.
- The App Store sandboxes apps from accessing Apple Messages data. Stave needs direct access to read your SMS — which requires distributing outside the App Store. This is a deliberate technical decision, not a workaround. Stave is signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarised by Apple, so Gatekeeper verifies every build before it runs.
- Yes. The core app — tracking, categorisation, history — is free and stays free. Stave Pro (recurring-payment detection, natural-language search) comes with a 3-month free trial, no payment details required. Subscribe only if it earns its keep.
Download Stave
Free while in beta. The download starts immediately — no email required.
Free during beta • Local-first • No bank logins • On-device by default
Optional — one email when a new beta build ships. Nothing else, unsubscribe anytime.