MESSAGES + FILE COURIER
Talk beside the source.
Direct and team messages, a visible + file action, uploads up to 200 MB, progress, download records, and automatic file-byte cleanup after 24 hours.
Messaging guide →Features
Write it, shape it,
finish it together.
One source note feeds the editor, hierarchy, map, tasks, schedule and conversation. Jump to the chapter you need.
WRITE THE DETAIL. KEEP THE SOURCE.
A real editor,
not a thin text box.
Start with plain text or Markdown. Add headings, checklists, tables, files, figures, equations, colors, icons, and comments only when the work asks for them.
- Structure that travels.Headings, lists, tables, code, links, collapsible blocks, Markdown import and export.
- Clarity without ceremony.Fonts, text size, highlight, text color, emoji, and three searchable icon libraries.
- Trust in the record.Live cursors, block authors, comments, versions, finalization, acknowledgment, and signatures.
SWITCH VIEWS. KEEP THE CONTEXT.
The work changes shape.
The source does not.
See the same tasks and notes as a hierarchy, a relationship map, action cards, a structured table, or a calendar. Every view points back to where the work began.
Read the whole project at a glance.
Project → notebook → note → task, with live completion, owner, due date, status, filters, and direct source navigation.
Draw why things are connected.
Arrange notes and private memos, then style explicit links with labels, solid or dashed lines, arrows, width, and color.
See the next move—and where it came from.
List, cards, and boards preserve the Source Thread while adding owners, custom status, due dates, repeats, handoffs, and reviews.
Treat the schedule like structured data.
Reorder and resize columns, nest groups, filter, sort, calculate, and add typed properties without detaching the task from its note.
Make the commitment visible.
Month view, range bars that show their end date, D-Day, today and week progress, weather, quick add, and natural-language due dates share one schedule. Apple Calendar events drop straight in.
FROM THE MORNING DIGEST TO THE NOTCH.
Today finds you
before you look for it.
The day starts without opening the calendar. Today's schedule arrives as a push at the time you choose, and on a Mac the notch and a desktop widget show your progress. Click any date and its board opens, split into multi-day and single-day work.
- Morning digest.On work days, at the time you pick: today's schedule, overdue items, and pending handoffs in one push.
- Mac notch and desktop widget.Today's progress sits beside the notch; hover to expand the list. The desktop calendar widget shows a day's work when you hover a date.
- Day board.Multi-day and single-day items as cards with D-Day, end date, and time. Click a card to open its note.
- iPhone.Today's status lives in the Dynamic Island as a Live Activity.
IMPORT, LINK, DELEGATE.
Connect the schedules
and tools you already have.
Drop in an Apple Calendar .ics file or an iCloud subscription link: recurring events are expanded into the calendar note, and re-importing never duplicates them. Reusable phrases become snippets. Scripts and AI agents read and write notes through the Markdown API.
- Apple Calendar import.An .ics file or a webcal link. Weekly and monthly rules and exception occurrences are expanded; pick a range, preview, then import.
- Snippets.Reusable phrases stored on your account. Pick one from the
/menu or type;shortcutand a space to expand it in place. - Markdown API.Personal tokens list and read notes as Markdown, create notes, and append to them, so agents like Claude Code can work with your lab notebook directly.
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer cnk_…" \
-H "Accept: text/markdown" \
https://commonnote.app/api/v1/notes/<note-id>
HAND OFF THE WORK, NOT JUST A MESSAGE.
Context should arrive
before the question does.
CommonNote connects the conversation to the note and the task, so a teammate can act without reconstructing the background.
HANDOFF + REVIEW
Send an actionable brief.
Choose the recipient, deadline, and handoff memo. The teammate gets a high-priority notification, a message thread, and a direct path back to the original task.
Handoff guide →Presence with provenance.
See who is in the note, where they are editing, who wrote each block, and what changed across versions.
DEEP WHEN YOU NEED IT. QUIET WHEN YOU DO NOT.
The fundamentals are not add-ons.
Every layer is there to remove a handoff, a duplicate entry, or an avoidable loss of context.
Notes
- Markdown and rich text
- Tables, files, figures, code, TeX
- Snippets, emoji, icons, fonts
- Templates, tags, covers, locks
Collaboration
- Live cursors and block authors
- Comments and permissions
- Direct and team messages
- File courier and notifications
Execution
- List, cards, boards, and reviews
- Hierarchy and relationship map
- Handoffs and Source Thread
- Repeats and natural-language dates
Planning
- Calendar, day board, schedule table
- Apple Calendar import and weather
- Morning digest, notch, widget
- D-Day, ranges, typed properties
Records
- Version history and restore
- Finalization, acknowledgment, signatures
- MD, HTML, PDF, and ZIP export
- Encrypted backups and a status page
Specialized tools
- Formula and rollup properties
- Equation blocks and subscripts
- Figure frames and reagent calculations
- Markdown API and personal tokens
FIND THE FEATURE. FINISH THE TASK.
A guide organized around
what you are trying to do.
Search every workflow, follow exact menu paths, compare views, learn shortcuts, and troubleshoot without guessing which feature name to look for.