CommonNote at a glance
A line you write in a note becomes a task, can be handed to a colleague, and shows up in the calendar, project tree and dashboard. Wherever you see it, the original is that one line.
Applies to Web · Mac · iPhone app
CommonNote is a shared note-taking app. What sets it apart is that a to-do line in a note is the task itself. Without copying it anywhere, that line appears in To-dos, the calendar, the project tree and the dashboard, and you can hand it to a colleague or ask them to review it. To-dos, the calendar and the project tree show that one line rather than a copy, so editing it on any of those screens changes the line itself. The exception is an accepted handoff: the recipient’s daily note gets a separate line linking back to the original, and its text is edited separately.
The basic flow starts with one line
- Write it in a note. Add a checklist line in the middle of meeting notes or an experiment log. Every checklist item counts as a task.
- Give it a date. End the line with something like
@tomorrow 3pm,@9/30or@next friand it gets a due date. - Hand it off or ask for a review. Hand off the line to a colleague with a memo and a due date, or send a review request while keeping it yours. The recipient lands on that line in the original note.
- See it everywhere. The same line shows up in the To-dos list, on its date in the Calendar, in the Project tree and in Dashboard counts. Every one of these screens has a way back to the original line.
| Screen | How the line appears |
|---|---|
| To-dos | As a list, cards or a board grouped by due date. Source on a card opens the line in its note. |
| Calendar | As an item on its due date, or a bar for a date range. You can also block out time for it on the time grid. |
| Project tree | In a project → notebook → note → task hierarchy, or sorted by the nearest due date. |
| Dashboard | Counted with the tasks from every note you can open: overdue, completed over time, progress per person. |
Who it is for
- Labs: tools for experiment records are built in, including chemical subscripts (H2SO4 → H₂SO₄), a reagent calculator, figure frames that add labels and numbering to images, and finalizing records with witness signatures.
- Small teams: share notes and notebooks, use teams and team channels, chat one-to-one in Messenger, and settle “who does what by when” inside the note with handoffs and review requests.
- Individuals: keep personal records and plans in one place with the daily note, templates, tags and favorites, the calendar and the time grid.
Where you can use it
Sign in at commonnote.app in a browser and start right away. There are also Mac and iPhone apps; sign in with the same account to see the same notes. When several people edit a note at once, their changes merge in real time, and everything saves on its own — there is no save button.