NoteCove is currently in beta — expect rough edges.
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Link Unfurling

NoteCove automatically creates rich previews for links you paste into your notes using the oEmbed protocol.

::: info Platform Availability Link unfurling is available on both Desktop and iOS. On iOS, you can also choose between different link display modes (chips, previews, or plain links) in Settings. :::

How It Works

When you paste a URL from a supported site, NoteCove:

  1. Detects the URL - Recognizes links from 300+ content providers
  2. Fetches metadata - Retrieves title, description, thumbnail, and author info
  3. Creates a preview card - Displays a rich, interactive preview inline

Supported Providers

NoteCove supports 300+ content providers including:

Video Platforms

  • YouTube
  • Vimeo
  • TikTok
  • Twitch
  • Dailymotion

Social Media

  • Twitter/X (posts and profiles)
  • Instagram
  • Reddit
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook

Development

  • GitHub (repos, gists, issues)
  • CodePen
  • JSFiddle
  • Replit
  • StackBlitz

Productivity

  • Figma
  • Notion (public pages)
  • Miro
  • Loom
  • Calendly

Media

  • Spotify (tracks, albums, playlists)
  • SoundCloud
  • Giphy
  • Flickr
  • Imgur

Documents

  • Google Docs/Sheets/Slides (public)
  • SlideShare
  • Scribd
  • Speaker Deck

Preview Card Features

Each unfurled link displays:

  • Thumbnail - Visual preview of the content
  • Title - Page or content title
  • Description - Brief summary when available
  • Author - Creator name and avatar
  • Provider - Source website with favicon

Interactive Actions

Hover over a preview card to reveal:

  • Open link - Opens the URL in your browser
  • Copy URL - Copies the link with rich HTML formatting
  • Refresh - Re-fetches the preview metadata

On iOS, you can control how links appear in your notes by choosing a default display mode in Settings > Links:

Unfurl (Default)

  • Single links in paragraphs show as rich preview cards
  • Multiple links in the same paragraph show as compact chips
  • Context-aware: automatically adapts based on surrounding content

Chip

  • All links display as compact chips with favicon and title
  • Consistent, space-efficient appearance
  • Good for notes with many links
  • Links appear as plain text without decoration
  • Minimal visual distraction
  • No network requests for metadata

Long-press any link or chip to show a conversion menu with options to:

  • Show as Chip
  • Show as Preview (only for single links in paragraphs)
  • Show as Plain Link

This lets you override the default mode for specific links.

Settings

Access link unfurling settings from Settings > oEmbed (Desktop) or Settings > Links (iOS):

Enable Discovery

When a URL isn’t recognized by a known provider, NoteCove can attempt to discover oEmbed endpoints directly from the page. This works with many sites that support oEmbed but aren’t in the main registry.

Toggle this setting to control discovery behavior:

  • Enabled (default): Attempts discovery for unknown URLs
  • Disabled: Only unfurls URLs from known providers

Cache Management

Preview data is cached locally to improve performance:

  • Refresh All - Re-fetches all cached previews
  • Clear Cache - Removes all cached preview data

The cache shows size statistics so you can monitor storage usage.

Registry Updates

NoteCove periodically checks for updates to the oEmbed provider registry to support new services. The settings panel shows:

  • Last registry check date
  • Number of known providers
  • Option to manually check for updates

Keyboard Shortcuts (Desktop)

ActionShortcut
Insert linkCmd+K / Ctrl+K
Paste URLCmd+V / Ctrl+V

Touch Gestures (iOS)

ActionGesture
Open linkTap chip or link
Convert linkLong-press chip or link (500ms)
Insert linkType or paste URL

Fallback Behavior

When a URL can’t be unfurled:

  1. Known provider, fetch failed - Shows error state with retry option
  2. Unknown provider, discovery disabled - Shows as regular link
  3. Offline - Shows cached preview if available, or offline indicator

Privacy Considerations

  • Preview fetching happens through your device, not a central server
  • Cached data is stored locally in your application data
  • No tracking or analytics on which links you unfurl
  • Discovery requests go directly to the target website
  • iOS Paranoid Mode: Enable in Settings > Privacy to completely disable all network features including link previews

Performance

Link unfurling is optimized for performance:

  • Parallel fetching - Multiple links unfurl simultaneously
  • Smart caching - Previews cached for 24 hours by default
  • Lazy loading - Thumbnails load on scroll
  • Retry logic - Automatic retry with exponential backoff on failure

Troubleshooting

Preview not showing?

  1. Check that the URL is from a supported provider
  2. Ensure you’re online (previews require network access)
  3. Try clicking the refresh icon on the preview card
  4. Check Settings > oEmbed > Enable Discovery is on

Preview looks outdated?

Click the refresh icon on the preview card to fetch updated metadata.

Too many previews slowing down notes?

Preview cards are lightweight, but for notes with many links you can:

  • Use the Cache Management settings to control storage
  • Convert unfurled links back to regular links by deleting and re-pasting

Next Steps