Frequently asked questions
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General
What is NoteSmith?
NoteSmith is a real-time collaborative document platform. Teams use it to write, edit, and discuss documents together in real time — with built-in chat, task checklists, @mentions, and full-text search.
How is NoteSmith different from Google Docs?
Google Docs is great for simple documents but lacks built-in team chat — you still have to jump to Slack. NoteSmith keeps conversation and documents in one place, with live cursors, document chat, and @mentions built in.
How is NoteSmith different from Notion?
Notion is great for knowledge bases, but its real-time collaboration is limited and it has no built-in chat. NoteSmith is optimized for teams actively working in documents together — live cursors, document chat, and collaborative editing are first-class features.
Does NoteSmith have a mobile app?
NoteSmith is a Progressive Web App (PWA) — you can install it on any device and it works like a native app with its own window, offline fallback, and home-screen icon. See "How do I install NoteSmith as an app?" below for step-by-step instructions.
How do I install NoteSmith as an app (PWA)?
NoteSmith can be installed as a standalone app on any modern device — no app store required. • Chrome / Edge (desktop): look for the install icon (⊕) in the address bar, click it, then choose Install. • Edge (desktop, alternate): Settings menu (⋯) → Apps → "Install this site as an app". • Chrome (Android): tap the ⋮ menu → "Add to Home screen" → Add. • Safari (iPhone / iPad): tap the Share button → "Add to Home Screen" → Add. Once installed, NoteSmith opens in its own window without browser chrome and shows an offline page if your connection drops.
Is NoteSmith open to the public?
NoteSmith is currently invite-only. Admins send invitations by email. If you'd like access, use the Contact page to request an invite.
Daily Notes
What are Daily Notes?
Daily Notes are a quick-capture feature. Each day gets its own document, automatically titled with today's date (e.g. 2026-05-27). They live in a "Daily Notes" folder that NoteSmith creates for you automatically.
How do I create a daily note?
Click the "Today's note" button (📅 calendar icon) in the sidebar. NoteSmith opens today's note if it already exists, or creates a new one. You can also access past daily notes by browsing the Daily Notes folder.
Are daily notes collaborative?
Yes — just like any other document. Share the link with teammates or invite them to the workspace and they can co-edit your daily note in real time.
Can I create daily notes for past or future dates?
The quick button always creates today's note. For other dates, open the Daily Notes folder, click "New document", and set the title to any date you want (e.g. 2026-06-01).
Folders & Organizing Documents
How do I create a folder?
In the sidebar, click the + icon next to the "Folders" heading. Type a name and press Enter. You can also create subfolders from a folder's … menu.
How do I move a document into a folder?
There are two ways: (1) Hover over a document card and click ⋯ → "Move to folder", then pick a folder. (2) Drag the document card from the main grid and drop it onto a folder in the sidebar. Drop it on "All documents" to move it back to the root.
How do I move or delete multiple documents and folders at once?
Click the "Select" button in the top-right sort controls to enter selection mode. In selection mode, clicking any document card or folder card toggles its selection (blue ring = selected). Once you have items selected: click "Move docs" to move all selected documents to a folder, or click "Delete N" to delete the selection. A confirmation dialog requires you to type DELETE before anything is removed.
How do I rename or delete a folder?
Three ways: (1) Hover over any folder card in the main content area and click the ⋯ menu → Rename or Delete. (2) Hover over the folder in the sidebar and click ⋯ → Rename or Delete. (3) Enter selection mode, select one or more folders, then click Delete. When a folder is deleted, all documents inside it are moved to Trash (recoverable) and any subfolders are deleted recursively.
What is the "Starred" section?
Starred is a smart view, not a real folder. Click the ★ on any document card to star it. All starred documents appear together under "Starred" in the sidebar. You can hide this section under Settings → Appearance → Sidebar.
Can I view documents as a nested tree instead of a grid?
Yes. In the dashboard, click the tree icon (next to the grid icon in the top-right view controls) to switch to tree view. Tree view groups documents under their parent folders in a collapsible hierarchy — useful for large workspaces with many nested folders. Click the grid icon to return to card view.
Is there a Trash / Recycle Bin?
Yes. Deleting a document moves it to Trash (it is soft-deleted, not immediately removed). Open Trash from the sidebar link to restore or permanently delete documents.
Can I share a folder with someone?
Yes. Hover over a folder in the sidebar → ⋯ → Share. You can grant view or edit access to specific users.
Migrating from Quip
Why is Salesforce retiring Quip?
Salesforce acquired Slack for $27.7B in 2020 and is consolidating all collaboration features around Slack Canvas. Quip subscriptions cannot be renewed after March 1, 2027. After expiry, there's a read-only period, then accounts are blocked, then data is permanently deleted.
How do I import my Quip documents into NoteSmith?
Go to Settings → Import → Import from Quip. Paste your Quip personal access token (get it at quip.com/dev/token). NoteSmith will list all your documents — select which ones to import and click Import. Your token is used only during the import and is never stored.
What can't be migrated from Quip?
Quip Live Apps (Kanban boards, Salesforce record embeds, Calendar) have no portable format — they're proprietary to Quip. Spreadsheet formulas referencing live Salesforce data will also not migrate. Quip Slides should be exported to PDF before shutdown.
When do I need to migrate by?
Quip subscriptions can no longer be renewed after March 1, 2027. Don't wait — import your content now.
Importing from Other Apps
How do I import from Obsidian?
Go to Settings → Import → Import from Obsidian. There are two modes: (1) "Connect vault" — click "Open vault folder" and select your entire vault directory. NoteSmith recreates your full folder hierarchy and imports all Markdown files in one step. (2) "Upload files" — manually pick individual .md files to import into a specific folder. Both modes preserve headings and paragraphs. Images and embeds are not imported.
How do I connect my entire Obsidian vault with folder structure?
Go to Settings → Import → Import from Obsidian → "Connect vault" tab. Click "Open vault folder" and select your vault's root folder in the browser picker. NoteSmith scans the vault recursively, creates matching folders in your workspace, then imports all Markdown files into the correct folders. This requires Chrome or Edge 86+ (the File System Access API is not supported in Firefox or Safari). After import, an "Undo import" button lets you roll back everything if needed.
Can I undo a vault import if something went wrong?
Yes. After a vault connect import completes, an "Undo import" button appears on the results screen. Click it to remove all folders and documents that were just created. Documents are moved to Trash (recoverable); folders are permanently deleted. The undo button is only available immediately after the import — once you navigate away it is gone.
How do I import from Evernote?
Go to Settings → Import → Import from Evernote. In Evernote: right-click a notebook → Export Notes → save as .enex. Then upload that .enex file. All notes in the export are imported at once. One .enex file can contain up to 500 notes.
How do I import from OneNote?
Go to Settings → Import → Import from OneNote. In OneNote: open each page → File → Export → Page → Web Page (.htm). Upload the .htm files. You can select multiple pages at once.
How do I import from Notion?
Go to Settings → Import → Import from Notion. In Notion: Settings & Members → Settings → Export all workspace content → choose "Markdown & CSV" or "HTML". Unzip the export, then upload the .md or .html files. CSV database files are skipped automatically.
Can I import into a specific folder?
Yes. All importers (Obsidian file upload, Notion, Evernote, OneNote, Quip) show a folder selector before you start the import. Pick any existing folder from the dropdown, or leave it empty to import into the root. The Obsidian vault-connect importer preserves your vault's full folder hierarchy automatically and ignores the folder selector.
Can I import plain Markdown or text files?
Yes — use the Obsidian importer. It accepts any .md, .markdown, or .txt file, not just Obsidian-specific files.
What gets preserved during import?
Headings (H1–H6), paragraphs, and the document title are preserved for all importers. Bold, italic, links, and lists are stripped to plain text in the current release. Image attachments are not imported. Advanced formatting (tables, code blocks, callouts) is simplified to plain paragraphs.
What is the maximum import size?
Obsidian/OneNote/Notion: up to 200 files per batch. Evernote: up to 500 notes per .enex file (50 MB max). Quip: up to 100 documents per batch. Run multiple imports for larger collections.
Security & Privacy
How is my data encrypted?
All connections use TLS (HTTPS) — both the API and real-time collaboration WebSocket. Passwords are hashed with bcrypt (cost 12). All document content, messages, comments, and API keys are encrypted at rest using AES-256-GCM with a unique per-user derived key. Even if the database were stolen, each user's data requires their specific key to decrypt. See our Security page for full technical details.
Can NoteSmith employees read my documents?
As a matter of policy, no — we do not access customer data without your explicit consent. We want to be precise about what enforces that, though, because it matters. Documents are encrypted with per-user AES-256-GCM keys derived from a master secret combined with your user ID, so anyone who obtained a copy of the database alone could not read them. But the master secret lives on our servers, because the application has to decrypt your notes to show them to you. That means this is a policy and access-control commitment backed by strong encryption at rest — not an architecture in which reading your documents is mathematically impossible for us. Any provider who tells you otherwise while also rendering your documents in a browser is overstating their case.
Is NoteSmith self-hostable?
No. NoteSmith is a cloud-hosted service running on Hetzner servers in the EU. There is no self-hosted option.
How does access control work?
Workspace membership is verified on every API request. Documents are scoped to workspaces — there is no way to access another workspace's data through the API. Document sharing allows granting view or edit access to specific users.
Where is data stored?
All data is stored at rest on Hetzner servers in Frankfurt and Nuremberg, Germany (EU). Some optional features send data elsewhere when you choose to use them, and we list every such service in the Third-Party Services section of our Privacy Policy. Two of them send data outside the EU: the AI assistant, which passes the content of your request to the provider you configured (Anthropic, OpenAI or Google — US-based), and location tagging, which sends a position rounded to roughly 110 metres to OpenStreetMap to look up a place name, carrying no account or device identifier. If you do not use those features, your content stays in the EU.
Can notes record where I was when I wrote them?
Optionally, yes — it is off by default. Turn on "Tag new notes with my location" in Settings and a note will record where you are when you open one you created that is still empty — in practice, the note you just made. Note that reopening an old note you never wrote anything in will also tag it with your current location. Your browser will ask permission the first time. You can also add a location to any note by hand with the "Add location" button, rename the place label to anything you like, or remove it entirely.
Who can see a note's location?
Anyone who can read the note. A location travels with the note it is attached to, so if you share a note the location is shared too, and if you publish a note the location is published with it. People who can edit the note see the exact position; people who can only view it see it rounded to roughly 110 metres. If a note's location is something you would not want a reader to know, remove it before sharing — or leave the setting off and add locations by hand only where you want them.
How is location data protected?
Coordinates are encrypted at rest with your per-user AES-256-GCM key, exactly like your note content, so a database breach alone would not expose them. The only thing stored unencrypted is a timestamp recording that a note has a location — never where. To turn coordinates into a place name, our server (not your browser) sends a position rounded to roughly 110 metres to OpenStreetMap, with no account or device identifier attached.
Local-Only Vault
What is the local-only vault?
A vault is a folder on your own device that NoteSmith stores notes in instead of on our servers. Vault notes are encrypted with a passphrase only you know and are written straight to that folder — they are never uploaded, never synced, and never visible to us. It is for the notes you want the convenience of NoteSmith for without them leaving your machine at all.
How do I set up a vault?
Open the "…" menu on a top-level folder and choose "Make this a local-only vault". The first time, that walks you through setup in three steps: pick the folder on disk you want NoteSmith to write to, set a passphrase, and save the backup code it gives you. This requires Chrome or Edge 86+ — the File System Access API it depends on is not available in Firefox or Safari.
How do I move an existing note into the vault?
Open the "…" menu on any note and choose "Move to vault", or drag the note onto a vault folder. NoteSmith writes an encrypted copy into your vault folder and then deletes the server-side copy. You will be asked to confirm first, because removing the server copy cannot be undone from the app.
What happens if I forget my vault passphrase?
Use the backup code you saved during setup — it unlocks the vault independently of the passphrase. If you have lost both, the notes cannot be recovered. We do not hold your passphrase, your backup code, or any key that could decrypt the files, so there is no reset we could perform even if you asked. Save the backup code somewhere outside the vault.
Why do I have to unlock the vault every time I reload the page?
The key that decrypts your vault is only ever held in your browser's memory, never written to disk or to a cookie. Closing or reloading the tab discards it, which is exactly what makes the vault local-only. Unlocking again takes one passphrase entry.
Are vault notes backed up?
Not automatically — that is the trade-off for keeping them off our servers. You can create one under Settings → Vault Backup. It bundles your vault files and encrypts them under your backup code before anything is sent, so what we store is ciphertext we have no way to read. Restoring needs that same backup code. If you never make a backup, losing the device means losing the notes.
Can I share or collaborate on a vault note?
No. Sharing, public links, comments and real-time collaboration all need a copy on our servers, and a vault note does not have one. Move it out of the vault first if you want to share it.
Spelling
Does NoteSmith check my spelling?
Yes. NoteSmith has its own built-in spellchecker that underlines misspellings as you type. Right-click an underlined word for suggestions, or to add it to your personal dictionary or ignore it for that session. Because the dictionary ships with NoteSmith rather than coming from the browser, the squiggles behave the same way in every browser.
Is my writing sent anywhere to be checked?
No. The dictionary is downloaded once and the checking runs entirely in your browser. Nothing you type is sent to us or to anyone else for spellchecking.
Does spellcheck work inside the local-only vault?
Yes, and it is the only spellchecker that does there. Browser spellcheck is switched off inside the vault deliberately, because the enhanced modes in Chrome and Edge send what you type to their servers — which would defeat the whole point of a local-only vault. NoteSmith's own checker never makes a network request, so vault notes get squiggles with nothing leaving your device. Words you add to your dictionary from a vault note are encrypted and stored in the vault itself.
How do I turn spellcheck off?
Settings → Appearance → Spelling → "Check spelling as you type".
Which languages are supported?
US English only at the moment. Words in other alphabets — Cyrillic, Greek, Japanese and so on — are skipped rather than underlined, so writing in them is not covered in red, but it is not checked either.
Why is a word underlined when it is spelled correctly?
Usually a proper noun, a technical term or a brand name that is not in a standard dictionary. Right-click it and choose "Add to dictionary" and it will not be flagged again. Acronyms, camelCase names like macOS, and words containing digits are skipped automatically.
Attachments
Can I attach files to a document?
Yes. Click the Paperclip (📎) icon in the document header to open the Attachments panel. You can drag and drop files or click to browse. Supported formats: PDF, Word (.doc, .docx), Excel (.xls, .xlsx), plain text (.txt), and Markdown (.md). Maximum file size is 50 MB per file.
How do I download an attachment?
Open the Attachments panel by clicking the paperclip icon in the document header. Hover over any attachment and click the download icon that appears on the right.
How do I delete an attachment?
Open the Attachments panel, hover over the file, and click the trash icon. You must have edit access to the document to delete attachments.
Version History
Does NoteSmith keep a history of changes?
Yes — on Pro and Business plans. NoteSmith automatically saves a version snapshot every 15 minutes while you edit. Click the History (⟲) icon in the document header to open the Version History panel.
How far back does version history go?
Pro plan: up to 50 versions, up to 30 days back. Business plan: unlimited versions, up to 1 year back. Free plan: version history is not available.
Can I restore an older version?
Yes. Open the Version History panel, find the version you want, and click Restore. Before restoring, NoteSmith saves your current content as a new version, so you can always undo the restore.
How often are versions saved?
Versions are saved at most once every 15 minutes while the document is being edited. This prevents filling your history with hundreds of nearly identical snapshots.
Sharing & Collaboration
How do I share a document with someone outside my workspace?
Click the Share button in the document header. Toggle "Public link" on to generate a shareable URL. Anyone with the link can view the document (read-only). You can also grant edit or view access to specific users using the individual share panel.
Can I star (favorite) documents?
Yes. Click the ★ icon in the document header (or on any document card) to star it. Starred documents appear in the "Starred" section in the sidebar for quick access. Click the star again to remove it.
How do I export a document?
Click the Export button in the document header. Options include: Print (opens browser print dialog), Save as PDF (open print dialog → Destination → Save as PDF), Export as HTML (downloads a self-contained .html file with images embedded), Export as Markdown (a .md file preserving headings, lists, tables, and code blocks), Export as plain text, and Export as Word (.docx).
Can I paste Markdown into a document?
Yes. Paste Markdown from anywhere — a terminal, a code editor, a chat window — and NoteSmith converts it to formatted content automatically. Headings, bold, italic, lists, task lists, blockquotes, links, images, tables, code fences, and horizontal rules are all recognised. If you copy already-formatted content from a web page, that formatting is kept as-is instead. Copied code blocks are never reinterpreted as Markdown, so a Python comment stays a comment.
How do links work in the editor?
Clicking a link in the editor selects it for editing (so you can retype the URL). To follow a link, hold Ctrl (Windows/Linux) or ⌘ (Mac) and click it — it opens in a new tab.
How do I see analytics for a document?
Open any document you own and click the Analytics (bar chart) icon in the editor header. The analytics panel shows total views, unique viewers, word count, character count, and a bar chart of daily views over the past 14 days. Analytics are only visible to the document owner.
Account & Security
Does NoteSmith support two-factor authentication (2FA)?
Yes. Go to Settings → Security → Enable two-factor authentication. Scan the QR code with any TOTP app (Google Authenticator, Authy, 1Password, etc.), then enter the 6-digit code to confirm. After enabling 2FA, you will be prompted for a code at every login.
How do I disable 2FA?
Go to Settings → Security → Disable two-factor authentication. You will need to enter your current 6-digit authenticator code to confirm.
Integrations
Can I use NoteSmith from inside Claude.ai?
Yes — NoteSmith has a remote MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that lets Claude read, write, search, and organise your notes directly from a Claude.ai conversation. This is a Pro and Business plan feature.
How do I connect NoteSmith to Claude.ai?
1. In NoteSmith, go to Settings → API Keys and create a key with the "MCP connector" access type. This is required — full-access keys are rejected when passed in a URL, because query strings are recorded in server logs and browser history. 2. In Claude.ai, go to Customize → Connectors → Add custom connector. 3. Enter the URL: https://notesmith.io/api/mcp?key=ns_YOUR_MCP_KEY_HERE (replace with the key you just created). 4. Save. Claude can now create, read, update, search, and delete your notes on request. An MCP connector key works only with /api/mcp — if it leaks, it cannot be used against the REST API. Requires a Pro or Business workspace.
What can Claude do with my NoteSmith notes via MCP?
Claude can: list your workspaces and folders, list or search notes by title, create new notes from any content it generates, read the full content of a note, update a note's title or body, and move a note to a different folder. Deleting a note moves it to Trash (recoverable). Claude never has access to notes outside your own workspaces.
Is the MCP connection secure?
Yes. Every request is authenticated with your NoteSmith API key. The MCP server verifies workspace membership before reading or writing any data — Claude cannot access notes from workspaces you are not a member of. You can revoke your API key at any time from Settings → API Keys to immediately disconnect Claude.
Templates
What are templates?
Templates are pre-structured documents you can use as a starting point when creating new notes. NoteSmith ships with built-in templates for Meeting Notes, Project Brief, Weekly Review, Bug Report, and Brainstorm. You can also save any document as a custom template for your team.
How do I create a document from a template?
Click the "New document" button (+ icon) in the dashboard. A template picker opens where you can choose from built-in or custom templates, or start with a blank document. The new document is pre-populated with the template's structure and placeholder text.
How do I save a document as a template?
Open any document, click the Export / more options menu in the editor header, and choose "Save as template". Give the template a name and optional description. It will appear under the Custom section in the template picker for everyone in your workspace.
How do I manage or delete templates?
Go to the Templates page via the sidebar link (or navigate to /templates). The page lists built-in and custom templates in separate sections. For custom templates you created (or if you are a workspace admin), hover over a template card to see Edit and Delete options. Built-in templates cannot be deleted.
AI Assistant
Which AI providers does NoteSmith support?
NoteSmith supports three AI providers: Anthropic Claude, OpenAI GPT-4o Mini, and Google Gemini 1.5 Flash. You can switch between them at any time from the AI panel inside the editor.
How do I use the AI assistant?
Open any document and click the AI (sparkle) icon in the editor header to open the AI panel. Type a prompt and press Enter. The assistant can summarize, draft content, rewrite sections, answer questions about the doc, or generate text from scratch. You can select text first to give the AI context.
How do I connect my own AI API key?
Go to Settings → Integrations. You will see cards for Claude (Anthropic), OpenAI, and Gemini. Enter your API key for any provider you want to use and click Save. Keys are encrypted per-user and never exposed after saving. Once a key is saved, you can select that provider in the AI panel.
Does NoteSmith store my AI conversations?
AI messages are stored encrypted in the database so you can revisit past conversations within a document. Your AI API keys are encrypted with per-user AES-256-GCM — only you can use them.
Technical
How does real-time collaboration work?
NoteSmith uses CRDTs (Conflict-free Replicated Data Types) via the Yjs library and HocusPocus for WebSocket sync. CRDTs guarantee that concurrent edits from multiple users always converge to the same result — no conflicts, no data loss.
What happens if two people edit the same sentence simultaneously?
CRDTs handle this at the character level. Both edits are preserved and merged correctly — no conflict dialogs, no version forks.
Is there an API?
Yes. NoteSmith has a public REST API at https://notesmith.io/api/v1. Create and manage documents, folders, and workspaces programmatically using an API key from Settings → API Keys. See the full reference at /docs/api.
Does NoteSmith work offline?
NoteSmith is a Progressive Web App (PWA). Install it on your home screen (see "How do I install NoteSmith as an app?" above) and static assets load from cache even without a connection. An offline fallback page is shown when you are fully disconnected. Full document editing while offline with automatic sync on reconnect is planned for a future release.