Your references,
always on top.

A tiny, free reference board that floats above your drawing app. Drop in images, pile them up, or run a timed quickdraw session.

Download RefRef

macOS · Windows · Linux

Try it here

This is the real app. Drop images from your computer, paste with Ctrl/⌘+V, and right-click for everything else.

Three ways to look at a board

Freeform 1

Pan, zoom, drag and scale images anywhere. Arrange them into a tidy grid with one click.

Pile 2

Images snap together around the center, edge to edge with no overlap, so a big board fits in a small window.

Quickdraw 3

A timed slideshow for gesture practice. Pick seconds per image, shuffle, pause.

Stays out of the way

Always on top, frameless, with a transparent backdrop and adjustable opacity.

Drop from anywhere

Drag files or images straight from a browser, or paste with Ctrl/⌘+V.

Flip and grayscale

Check values and proportions without leaving your canvas.

Keyboard shortcuts

Views1 · 2 · 3
Next / previous slide← →
Auto-advance / pauseA · Space
Flip / grayscaleH · G
Always on top / transparentP · T
Undo / redo⌘Z · ⌘⇧Z
Save / open board⌘S · ⌘O
Everything elseright-click

Free, and staying free

RefRef has no account, no subscription and no tracking. If it saves you time, a coffee keeps it going.

Support on Ko-fi

macOS: the app isn't notarized yet. On first launch, right-click RefRef → Open, or allow it in System Settings → Privacy & Security. Linux: chmod +x RefRef-linux.AppImage, then run it.

Feedback

Found a bug, or missing something? Tell me. I read every message.