NoteCove is currently in beta — expect rough edges.
NoteCove NoteCove Beta

Basic Usage

This guide covers the essential operations in NoteCove.

Creating Your First Note

  1. Launch NoteCove
  2. Create a note: Click the “New Note” button or press Cmd+N (macOS) / Ctrl+N (Windows/Linux)
  3. Start typing: The editor will auto-save as you type

Editing Notes

Rich Text Formatting

NoteCove uses a TipTap editor with extensive formatting options:

  • Bold: Cmd+B / Ctrl+B
  • Italic: Cmd+I / Ctrl+I
  • Strikethrough: Cmd+Shift+X / Ctrl+Shift+X
  • Code: Cmd+E / Ctrl+E

Lists

  • Bullet List: Cmd+Shift+8 / Ctrl+Shift+8
  • Numbered List: Cmd+Shift+7 / Ctrl+Shift+7
  • Task List: Cmd+Shift+9 / Ctrl+Shift+9

Headings

Use # at the beginning of a line for headings:

  • # Heading 1
  • ## Heading 2
  • ### Heading 3

Code Blocks

Create code blocks with triple backticks:

```javascript function hello() { console.log(‘Hello, NoteCove!’) } ```

Organizing Notes

Folders

  1. Create a folder: Right-click in the sidebar → “New Folder”
  2. Rename a folder: Right-click → “Rename”
  3. Delete a folder: Right-click → “Delete”
  4. Move notes: Drag and drop notes between folders

Tags

Add hashtags to notes for flexible organization:

  • Type #tagname anywhere in your note (must start with a letter)
  • Tags automatically appear in the Tag Panel on the left sidebar
  • Tags show note counts for easy browsing

Autocomplete: When you type #, existing tags appear in a dropdown menu. Use arrow keys to navigate and press Enter to insert.

Filtering Notes by Tags:

  • Click a tag pill in the Tag Panel to filter notes
  • Tags have three states that cycle when clicked:
    • Gray (neutral): Tag is not filtering
    • Blue (include): Show only notes WITH this tag
    • Red (exclude): Show only notes WITHOUT this tag
  • Multiple tag filters use AND logic: notes must match all include tags and have none of the exclude tags
  • Click the “Clear” button to remove all tag filters

Resizable Panel: Drag the divider between the Folder Panel and Tag Panel to adjust their size.

Connect related notes using wiki-style links:

  • Type [[ to start a link
  • Autocomplete shows matching notes as you type
  • Select a note to insert the link
  • Click a link to navigate to that note
  • Double-click to open in a new window

Link to Headings: After selecting a note, continue typing to see its headings and jump directly to a specific section.

Same-Note Headings: Type [[# to link to a heading within the current note - great for building a table of contents or cross-referencing sections.

@Mentions

Reference dates and people in your notes:

Date mentions:

  • Type @today for today’s date
  • Type @yesterday for yesterday
  • Type @tomorrow for tomorrow
  • Type @date to open a date picker

Dates appear as clickable chips. Click any date to edit it.

User mentions:

  • Type @ and start typing a name or @handle
  • Select from the suggestion list
  • Click a mention to view profile and search

Setting up your profile:

  1. Open Settings (Cmd+, / Ctrl+,)
  2. Enter your Name and @handle in User Settings
  3. Others can now @mention you in shared notes

Learn more about @mentions →

Press Cmd+F / Ctrl+F to search across all notes:

  • Full-text search powered by SQLite FTS5
  • Search in note titles, content, and tags
  • Instant results as you type

Find in Note

Press Cmd+Shift+F / Ctrl+Shift+F to search within the current note.

Sync

Setting Up Sync

  1. Open Settings: Press Cmd+, (macOS) or Ctrl+, (Windows/Linux)
  2. Go to Storage Directories tab
  3. Add a storage directory: Choose a folder in your Dropbox, Google Drive, or iCloud Drive
  4. Your notes will sync automatically through your cloud storage

Sync Status

  • Green dot: Synced and up to date
  • Yellow dot: Syncing in progress
  • Red dot: Sync error (check activity log)

Multi-Device Sync

NoteCove uses CRDTs to merge changes from multiple devices:

  • Edit the same note on different devices
  • Changes merge automatically without conflicts
  • Works offline - syncs when connection is restored

Tasks

NoteCove includes full task management alongside your notes.

Creating Tasks

  • From toolbar: Click the task button in the editor toolbar
  • From note: Type [] at the start of a line for inline task checkboxes
  • From CLI: notecove task create "Task title" --project MYPROJ

Reference tasks directly in your notes:

  • Type [[ and search for a task by its ID or title (e.g., PROJ-42)
  • Task links appear as clickable chips showing the task ID, title, and current status
  • Click a task link to open the task details panel
  • Task status updates are reflected in real-time wherever the task is linked

This makes it easy to connect notes and tasks — reference a task in meeting notes, link related tasks from a project brief, or embed task status in a progress report.

Projects & Kanban

Tasks are organized into projects with customizable workflows:

  • Each project has a prefix (e.g., PROJ) and tasks get sequential IDs (PROJ-1, PROJ-2, etc.)
  • Define custom workflow states (e.g., “Backlog”, “In Progress”, “Review”, “Done”)
  • View tasks as a kanban board by opening a project window
  • Tasks support priorities, parent-child relationships, and blocking dependencies

Learn more about tasks & projects →

Tips & Tricks

Multi-Window Support

Open multiple windows to view different notes side-by-side:

  • File → New Window (Cmd+Shift+W / Ctrl+Shift+W)

Auto-Save

All changes are saved automatically as you type. There’s no save button - your work is always protected.

Offline Mode

NoteCove works perfectly offline. All features are available without internet:

  • Create and edit notes
  • Organize folders
  • Search your notes
  • Changes sync automatically when you reconnect

Next Steps