QuickNote is a smart note-taking app with a rich text editor, kanban board view, interactive knowledge graph, and a built-in AI assistant. This guide covers every feature to help you capture, organize, and connect your ideas.
Getting Started
- Launch QuickNote — you land on the note list with a sidebar for folders and navigation.
- Create a note by tapping the + button or pressing Ctrl + N. Choose a note type or start with a blank document.
- Start writing in the rich text editor. Format with the toolbar or use Markdown shortcuts inline.
- Link notes by typing [[ to insert a wiki-style link to another note. This builds your knowledge graph automatically.
- Explore connections by opening Graph View to see how your notes relate to each other visually.
Press Ctrl + P anytime to open the Command Palette and quickly search notes, run actions, or switch views.
Interface Overview
Sidebar
The collapsible sidebar provides quick access to all areas of the app:
- Notes — browse all notes in a flat list or filtered by folder
- Folders — nested folder hierarchy with drag-and-drop organization
- Board View — switch to the kanban board layout
- Graph View — visualize note connections and backlinks
- Templates — browse and manage reusable note templates
- AI Assistant — open the assistant panel
- Settings — at the bottom of the sidebar
Main Editor Area
The central workspace adapts to your current view:
- Editor Mode — full-featured rich text canvas with formatting toolbar
- Board Mode — kanban columns with draggable note cards
- Graph Mode — interactive node-and-edge visualization of linked notes
Top Bar
The top bar shows the current note title, breadcrumb path, view toggle buttons, and quick actions (search, share, more).
Command Palette — press Ctrl + P for instant access to any action
Editor
Rich Text Formatting
The editor supports full rich text formatting through the toolbar or keyboard shortcuts:
- Text styles — bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, highlight, and inline code
- Headings — H1 through H6 for document structure
- Lists — bullet, numbered, and checkbox/task lists
- Blocks — quotes, code blocks with syntax highlighting, callouts, and dividers
- Tables — insert and edit tables with resizable columns
- Media — embed images, videos, audio files, PDFs, and web bookmarks inline
Markdown Mode
Toggle to Markdown mode for a plain-text editing experience with live preview. Standard Markdown syntax is fully supported, plus extensions:
- Wiki links —
[[Note Title]]to link to other notes - Task lists —
- [ ]and- [x]for checkboxes - Code blocks — fenced blocks with language-specific syntax highlighting
- Math — inline
$...$and block$$...$$LaTeX expressions
Wiki-Style Linking
Type [[ anywhere in the editor to search for and insert a link to another note. Linked notes appear as backlinks in the target note and as connections in Graph View. This is the foundation of your personal knowledge graph.
You can create new notes on the fly — type [[New Note Title]] and QuickNote will create it when you click the link.
Graph View — see all your linked notes as an interactive network
Board View
Board View transforms your notes into a kanban-style layout with draggable columns and cards.
Creating Boards
- Open Board View from the sidebar or press Ctrl + Shift + B.
- Create a new board or assign existing notes to columns.
- Add columns with custom names (e.g., To Do, In Progress, Done).
- Drag notes between columns to update their status.
Board Features
- Drag & drop — move cards between columns and reorder within columns
- Color labels — assign colors to cards for visual categorization
- Card preview — see a snippet of note content on each card
- Filters — filter cards by tag, date, or label
- Multiple boards — create separate boards for different projects
Click any card to open the full note in the editor. Changes sync back to the board instantly.
Graph View
Graph View shows your notes as an interactive network of nodes and connections. Every wiki link creates an edge between two nodes, revealing the structure of your knowledge base.
Navigation
- Pan and zoom — drag the canvas to pan, scroll or pinch to zoom
- Click a node to select it and see its connections highlighted
- Double-click a node to open that note in the editor
- Hover over a node to see a preview of the note content
Graph Controls
- Filter by folder — show only notes from a specific folder
- Filter by tag — highlight notes with a particular tag
- Depth slider — control how many connection levels are displayed from a selected node
- Layout options — choose between force-directed, radial, or hierarchical layouts
- Orphan toggle — show or hide unlinked notes
Backlinks Panel
When viewing any note, the Backlinks Panel shows every other note that links to it. This makes it easy to trace how ideas connect across your knowledge base without manually searching.
Editor — use [[wiki links]] while writing to build graph connections
AI Assistant
The built-in AI assistant helps you write, edit, and organize notes without leaving the app.
Available Actions
- Summarize — condense a long note into key points
- Rewrite — improve clarity, tone, or style of selected text
- Expand — generate additional content from a brief outline or bullet points
- Brainstorm — generate ideas related to the current topic
- Outline — create a structured outline from a topic or title
- Fix grammar — correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation
- Translate — translate selected text into another language
How to Use
- Select text in the editor, then choose an AI action from the context menu.
- Or open the AI panel from the sidebar and type a freeform prompt.
- Review the AI suggestion. Accept, edit, or discard.
AI features require an internet connection for cloud processing. On-device processing is used when available. Your note content is encrypted in transit and never stored on AI servers.
Folders & Organization
Folder Structure
- Create nested folders to organize notes by project, topic, or area
- Drag and drop notes between folders in the sidebar
- Color-code folders for quick visual identification
- Pin frequently used folders to the top of the sidebar
Tags
- Add tags to any note using #tag syntax in the editor or through the note properties panel
- Filter notes by tag across all folders
- Tags appear as visual badges on note cards in Board View
Search & Filter
- Full-text search across all notes, titles, and tags
- Sort by date modified, date created, title, or manual order
- Favorites — star important notes for quick access
Board View — use boards alongside folders for visual project management
Command Palette
The Command Palette is a quick-access launcher for every action in QuickNote. Press Ctrl + P to open it anytime.
What You Can Do
- Search notes — find notes by title or content
- Run commands — access any menu action by typing its name
- Switch views — jump between Editor, Board, and Graph views
- Navigate folders — open any folder without clicking through the tree
- Insert templates — apply a template to the current note
- AI actions — trigger AI assistant actions directly from the palette
- Open settings — jump to any settings section
Type > in the Command Palette to switch from note search to command mode. Type # to filter by tags.
Settings
Editor
- Default editor mode — choose Rich Text or Markdown as default
- Font family and size — customize the editing font
- Line spacing — adjust line height for comfortable reading
- Spell check — enable or disable inline spell checking
- Auto-save interval — set how frequently notes are auto-saved
Appearance
- Theme — Light, Dark, and system-adaptive modes
- Accent color — customize the highlight color throughout the app
- Sidebar position — left or right
- Compact mode — reduce spacing for more content on screen
Cloud Storage
- Provider — connect to iCloud, Google Drive, or Dropbox
- Sync frequency — real-time, on save, or manual
- Conflict resolution — choose how to handle sync conflicts
AI Assistant
- Default AI model — select which model to use for suggestions
- Auto-suggest — enable AI suggestions while typing
- Language — preferred output language for AI responses
Accessibility
- Large touch targets — increase button sizes for easier interaction
- High contrast — bolder visual indicators
- Reduced motion — minimize animations throughout the app
Keyboard Shortcuts
| Shortcut | Action |
|---|---|
| Ctrl + N | New note |
| Ctrl + P | Open Command Palette |
| Ctrl + S | Save note |
| Ctrl + Shift + B | Toggle Board View |
| Ctrl + Shift + G | Toggle Graph View |
| Ctrl + Shift + F | Search all notes |
| Ctrl + B | Bold |
| Ctrl + I | Italic |
| Ctrl + K | Insert link |
| Ctrl + Shift + K | Insert wiki link [[]] |
| Ctrl + E | Toggle Markdown / Rich Text |
| Ctrl + / | Toggle sidebar |
| Ctrl + , | Open Settings |
| F1 | Open Help |
Tips & Tricks
Use [[wiki links]] liberally while writing. The more notes you connect, the more valuable your Graph View becomes. Think of each link as building a path in your knowledge network.
Create a daily journal template with prompts, then use it every morning for a consistent journaling habit. The command palette makes applying templates instant.
Use Board View alongside your regular notes. Drag notes onto a board when they become actionable tasks, and move them across columns as you make progress.
Ask the AI to summarize long research notes, then link the summary to the original. This creates a concise entry point in your graph for dense material.
Use tags for cross-cutting categories that span multiple folders. For example, tag notes with #meeting regardless of which project folder they live in.
The Command Palette remembers your recent actions. Open it and start typing — your most-used commands appear first.
Troubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
|---|---|
| Notes not syncing | Check your internet connection and cloud storage provider status. Open Settings > Cloud Storage and verify your account is connected. |
| Graph View is empty | Graph View only shows linked notes. Use [[wiki links]] in your notes to create connections that appear in the graph. |
| AI Assistant not responding | The AI requires an internet connection. Check connectivity and try again. If the issue persists, restart the app. |
| Board cards disappeared | Cards are tied to notes. If a note was moved to trash, its card is removed from the board. Check the trash folder. |
| Markdown not rendering | Ensure you are in Rich Text mode with Markdown shortcuts enabled, or switch to Markdown mode for full syntax support. |
| Search returns no results | Full-text indexing runs in the background. Wait a moment after creating new notes, then search again. |
| Template not appearing | Templates must be saved in the Templates folder. Open the sidebar Templates section and verify it is listed. |
Privacy
- QuickNote does not require an account or sign-in to use.
- No usage data, analytics, or telemetry is collected.
- Notes are stored locally on your device by default.
- Cloud sync is optional and connects to your own storage provider — your data stays in your account.
- AI requests are encrypted in transit and never stored on external servers.
- The app works fully offline for all features except AI cloud processing and cloud sync.