Guest Mode

Overview

Guest mode lets you use TheBrain without ever creating or logging in to an account. As a guest, you can open, create, and work with local brains — no account required.

Guest mode is available in the desktop app only. The web client always requires signing in — it works with brains stored in the cloud, so there are no local brains for a guest to use — and the mobile apps also ask you to sign in.

Do I Need Guest Mode?

• You have logged in before — No. Your account is remembered locally and TheBrain works normally when the server is unreachable. Your account-linked brains and local brains are all available.
• You have never logged in and want to work without an account — Yes. Continue as a guest to bypass the login screen and work with local brains only.
• You have never logged in and have no internet connection — Yes, to get past the login screen of a new installation. You can log in later, once you're online.

How to Use Guest Mode

1. Launch the desktop app. On the login screen, a Continue as guest link sits below the login form. (If the screen lists accounts that are still signed in under Choose an account to continue, choose Use another account first to show the form and the link.)
2. Click the link. Depending on how your login page is configured, TheBrain may first show a Create a free account dialog summarizing what a free account adds (sync, BrainBox capture, settings that follow you, a daily AI allowance, brain sharing, standalone shareable pages, and web access) — choose Continue as guest there to proceed.
3. You land on the brains list, ready to create and open local brains.

Guest mode stays enabled for future sessions, so you won't see the login screen again unless you sign in — or log out, which ends guest mode and brings the welcome screen back on the next launch. There is no separate guest-mode setting to manage — continuing as a guest is all it takes.

What Works in Guest Mode

• Opening and navigating local brains stored on your device.
• Creating new brains.
• Importing brain archives.
• Editing thoughts, notes, and attachments in local brains.
• Your preferences stick: keyboard shortcuts and toolbar customization are remembered across restarts. When you create a new account, they are copied to it: whether signing in with Google, Apple, or Microsoft creates the account, or you create it with the Create Account form on this computer and then log in to it here for the first time. When you log in to an account that already existed, TheBrain uses that account's own settings.

What Doesn't Work Without an Account

• Cloud sync — Brains cannot sync with TheBrain's servers.
• Cerebro and other AI features — Every AI feature needs a signed-in account. As a guest you don't get the Cerebro chat panel, the AI script buttons, or the AI section of Settings, which includes Local AI — so a guest can't use AI even with a local model. Sign in to an account to use them (see Logging In Later below).
• BrainBox and Quick Thoughts — Both need a signed-in account, and their buttons are hidden until you sign in. The desktop capture window still opens, for example from Quick Thought in the tray icon's menu, but it says Sign in to TheBrain to sync — notes stay on this device. and holds your notes until you sign in (see Quick Thoughts Capture Shortcuts).
• Shared pages — Shared thought pages require an internet connection and a logged-in account.
• Account-linked brains — Only local brains are available. Brains associated with an account require logging in at least once.

Logging In Later

You can log in at any time to access your account-linked brains and enable cloud sync.

To sign in or create an account while you are using TheBrain as a guest:

1. Open the account menu in the top-right corner (a person icon while you are a guest). Its last item reads Login instead of Log Out.
2. Choose Login. TheBrain shows the login screen.
3. Log in, or choose Create Account, where it is offered, to sign up for a new account (see Signing In and Creating an Account).

If you have no brains yet, the brains list also shows the prompt You're using TheBrain as a guest. Sign in or create a free account to sync your brains and unlock more. with a Sign in or create an account button, which opens the same login screen.

Any brains you created without an account will still appear in your brains list after you log in. You can then sync them to the cloud using your account. However, once a brain is associated with your account, it will only be accessible when logged in to that account — it will no longer appear when using guest mode without an account.