How-to guides

Install NoteSmith as an app

1. Chrome or Edge on desktop: click the install icon (⊕) in the address bar, then Install.
2. Android (Chrome): tap the ⋮ menu → "Add to Home screen" → Add.
3. iPhone or iPad (Safari): tap Share → "Add to Home Screen" → Add.

The installed app opens in its own window and shows an offline page if your connection drops.

Organize notes with folders and tags

1. Create a folder: in the sidebar, click + next to "Folders", type a name and press Enter. Use a folder's … menu to add subfolders.
2. File a note: drag its card onto a folder in the sidebar, or use ⋯ → "Move to folder".
3. Tag a note: click "+ Tag" in the tag bar under the note, type a name and press Enter.
4. Find tagged notes: click any tag, or type #tagname in the search box.

Folder paths show up as amber tags on every note automatically, and notes with a recording are tagged Audio.

Search with AND / OR

1. Type in the search box at the top of the dashboard. Plain words search note titles, tags and note text.
2. Find notes that contain every word: admin AND sharepointyankee.
3. Find notes that contain any of the words: budget OR invoice.
4. Mix them: admin AND sharepointyankee OR intranet finds notes with both admin and sharepointyankee, plus any note with intranet. AND is applied before OR.
5. Words between operators are searched as one phrase: red apple OR pie. Put a phrase in quotes if it contains AND or OR: "salt OR pepper" AND soup.
6. Search tags only: start the query with #, e.g. #audio.

Write AND and OR in capitals. Lowercase "and" / "or" are treated as ordinary words, so "salt and pepper" still finds that exact phrase. Each word can match the title, a tag or the note text.

Record a voice note

1. Open a note and click the microphone button in the toolbar.
2. Click "Start recording" and speak. Recordings can run up to three hours and are saved in five-minute pieces as you go.
3. Press stop. The audio is added to the note as a playable attachment, with a transcript and summary underneath.
4. Only want the audio? Switch off "Transcribe & summarize" before you start.

For long or important recordings, connect an OpenAI (Whisper) or Gemini key under Settings → Integrations — it is far more accurate than the browser's built-in recognition, and summaries need a connected key.

Record a meeting

1. Use Chrome or Edge on desktop, with the meeting running in a browser tab.
2. In NoteSmith, click the microphone button and turn on "Capture tab audio (for meetings)".
3. Click "Start recording".
4. In the picker, choose the meeting's tab and tick "Also share tab audio".
5. Everyone's audio is mixed with your microphone into one recording. Press stop when the meeting ends.

Transcribing both sides needs an OpenAI or Gemini key — the browser's built-in recognition only hears your microphone. Check your local law before recording, and tell the other participants.

Dictate instead of typing

1. Put your cursor where the text should go.
2. Click the waveform button in the toolbar and start speaking.
3. Click it again to stop.

Works in Chrome, Edge and Safari. Nothing is recorded or uploaded — only the text lands in the note.

Set up a local-only vault

1. Use Chrome or Edge 86 or newer.
2. Open the … menu on a top-level folder and choose "Make this a local-only vault".
3. Pick the folder on your disk NoteSmith should write to.
4. Set a passphrase, then save the backup code somewhere outside the vault — it is the only way back in if you forget the passphrase.
5. Move notes in with … → "Move to vault", or drag them onto the vault folder. The server copy is deleted once the encrypted copy is written.
6. Make a backup under Settings → Vault Backup — the vault is not backed up automatically.

The vault locks when you reload the tab, after 8 hours idle, or after 30 minutes in the background. We cannot recover a vault if you lose both the passphrase and the backup code.

Clip a web page into NoteSmith

1. Download the Web Clipper (button above) and unzip it.
2. In Chrome or Edge, open chrome://extensions, turn on Developer mode, click "Load unpacked" and pick the unzipped folder.
3. In NoteSmith, go to Settings → API Keys and create a key with the "Browser extension (clip only)" access type.
4. Open the extension, paste the key and click Connect.
5. On any page, open the extension, choose a workspace and folder, then click "Clip page" — or select some text first and click "Clip selection".

Chrome Web Store listing coming soon. A clip-only key can create notes and list your folders, but cannot read, edit or delete anything you already have.

Turn on two-factor authentication

1. Go to Settings → Security → Enable two-factor authentication.
2. Scan the QR code with an authenticator app (Google Authenticator, Authy, 1Password…).
3. Enter the 6-digit code to confirm.
4. When you next sign in, tick "Trust this device for 30 days" on a device you own to skip the code there for a month.

Connect NoteSmith to Claude.ai

1. In NoteSmith, go to Settings → API Keys and create a key with the "MCP connector" access type.
2. In Claude.ai, go to Customize → Connectors → Add custom connector.
3. Enter https://notesmith.io/api/mcp?key= followed by the key you just created, and save.

Pro and Business plans. Revoke the key in Settings → API Keys to disconnect Claude at any time.

Import from Quip or Obsidian

1. Quip: Settings → Import → Import from Quip. Paste a personal access token from quip.com/dev/token, select documents and click Import.
2. Obsidian: Settings → Import → Import from Obsidian → "Connect vault", then pick your vault's root folder. Folders and Markdown files are recreated in one step.
3. Not happy with an Obsidian import? Click "Undo import" on the results screen before you navigate away.

Evernote, OneNote and Notion importers live in the same place.