Getting Started

Learn the basics of Brainstream and get up and running quickly.

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Welcome to Brainstream

Your AI-powered second brain for capturing, organizing, and acting on your thoughts.

What is Brainstream?

Brainstream combines simple note-taking with powerful AI to help you:

  • Capture ideas quickly - Write notes, record voice memos, or add images
  • Stay organized - Use tags, labels, and smart search to find anything
  • Get AI summaries - Daily and weekly briefs keep you informed
  • Take action - Create and complete tasks using natural language
  • Track habits - Build streaks and celebrate milestones

Your First Day

Here's what to expect:

  1. Capture a few thoughts - Create 2-3 notes about anything on your mind
  2. Try voice capture - Tap the microphone and speak your thoughts
  3. Explore Brain Chat - Ask it anything about your notes or create a task

Day Two: Your First Brief

The next morning, you'll receive your first Daily Brief - an AI summary of what you captured. This is when Brainstream starts working for you.

The Journey Ahead

Over your first week, you'll:

  • Build your capture streak
  • Receive personalized briefs
  • Discover connections in your notes
  • Complete tasks with AI assistance

The Today Screen

The Today screen is your home base - everything you need to start your day.

What You'll See

The Today screen shows:

  • Daily Brief - AI summary of yesterday's notes and today's priorities
  • Tasks - What's due today and what's overdue
  • Calendar - Today's meetings and events (if connected)
  • Quick Capture - Fast access to create a new note
  • Streak - Your current capture streak

Daily Brief

Your brief appears at the top each morning. It includes:

  • Summary of notes you captured yesterday
  • Tasks that need attention today
  • Upcoming calendar events

Tap the brief to read the full version.

Tasks at a Glance

The Today screen groups your tasks:

  • Overdue - Past due date (shown first)
  • Today - Due today
  • Stuck - Tasks with no recent activity

Complete tasks with one tap or tell Brain Chat "I finished the groceries."

Calendar Events

If you've connected Google Calendar:

  • See today's meetings and events
  • Quickly create notes for meetings
  • Track which meetings have documentation

Creating Notes

Notes are the foundation of your second brain. Here's how to create them.

Quick Capture

Create a new note by:

  • Tapping the + button (bottom right)
  • Using keyboard shortcut Ctrl/Cmd + N
  • From Today screen's quick capture

Don't worry about organization yet - just start capturing.

The Note Editor

The editor supports rich formatting:

  • Bold and italic text
  • Headings (# for H1, ## for H2)
  • Bullet and numbered lists
  • Checkboxes for inline todos

Labels

Quickly categorize notes with labels:

  • Work - Professional notes
  • Personal - Private thoughts
  • Idea - Creative concepts
  • Reading - Book notes and articles

Auto-Save

Notes save automatically as you type. Look for the "Saved" indicator to confirm your changes are synced.

Voice Capture

Capture thoughts by speaking - Brainstream transcribes them automatically.

Recording a Voice Note

  1. Open a new or existing note
  2. Tap the microphone icon
  3. Speak your thoughts
  4. Tap stop when finished

Automatic Transcription

Your voice recording is transcribed using OpenAI Whisper:

  • Transcription appears in the note editor
  • Edit the text as needed
  • Original audio is saved as an attachment
  • Voice transcription does NOT count against your AI quota

Best Practices

  • Speak clearly and at a moderate pace
  • Use a quiet environment when possible
  • Review transcriptions for accuracy
  • Great for capturing ideas on the go!

Voice in Brain Chat

You can also use voice input when chatting with the Brain - just tap the microphone in the chat input.

Organizing with Tags

Tags help you organize notes and make them easy to find later.

Adding Tags

Add tags to a note:

  1. Open the note in the editor
  2. Tap the tag icon
  3. Type a tag name and press Enter
  4. Add multiple tags as needed

AI-Suggested Tags

Brainstream can suggest tags based on your note content:

  • After creating a note, you may see tag suggestions
  • Tap to accept or dismiss suggestions
  • AI learns from your tagging patterns

Finding Tagged Notes

Use tags to filter and find notes:

  • Tags screen - Browse all tags and their notes
  • Search - Type "tag:work" to find work-tagged notes
  • Brain Chat - "Show me my project notes"

Tag Types

Organize with different tag types:

  • Topics - Subject areas (marketing, health, finance)
  • Projects - Group related notes (Project X, Q4 Planning)
  • People - Reference contacts (@john, @team)
  • Contexts - Where/when (home, office, morning)

Using Brain Chat

Brain Chat is your AI assistant that understands your notes and helps you get things done.

Starting a Conversation

Open Brain Chat and start typing:

  • "What did I write about last week?"
  • "Summarize my project notes"
  • "Remind me to call John tomorrow"

Once you have a few notes, Brain Chat becomes powerful - it understands your intent and can search notes, create tasks, and more.

Search vs Chat Mode

Toggle between two modes:

  • Search Mode - Queries your notes, provides citations
  • Chat Mode - General AI conversation, no note context

Use Search Mode for note-related questions, Chat Mode for general help.

Taking Action

Tell Brain Chat what to do:

  • Create tasks - "Add a task to review the proposal"
  • Complete tasks - "I finished the groceries"
  • Schedule events - "Schedule a meeting with Sarah tomorrow at 2pm"
  • Manage tags - "Tag my meeting notes as work"
  • Create notes - "Make a note about this conversation"

When you schedule an event, Brain creates a draft that appears on the Today screen. Tap "Add to Calendar" to open it in Google Calendar where you can review and save it.

Undo Anything

Every action has an undo button:

  • Made a mistake? Tap undo immediately
  • Changed your mind? Undo is always available
  • Destructive actions ask for confirmation first

Tips for Better Results

  • Be specific about what you want
  • Reference time periods ("last week", "yesterday")
  • Ask follow-up questions to refine answers

Managing Tasks

Tasks in Brainstream integrate with your notes and AI for seamless productivity.

Creating Tasks

Create tasks in multiple ways:

  • Brain Chat - "Remind me to call the dentist tomorrow"
  • Note Editor - Add tasks linked to specific notes
  • Tasks Screen - Quick add with the + button

Task Properties

Each task can include:

  • Title (what needs to be done)
  • Due date (when it's due)
  • Priority (low, medium, high)
  • Tags (for categorization)
  • Linked note (for context)

The Tasks Screen

Tasks are automatically organized:

  • Overdue - Past due date
  • Today - Due today
  • This Week - Due within 7 days
  • Later - Due further out

Completing Tasks

Mark tasks done by:

  • Tapping the checkbox
  • Telling Brain Chat ("I finished X")
  • Bulk completing ("Complete all overdue tasks")

Task Stats

Your weekly brief shows:

  • Tasks completed this week
  • Tasks created vs completed
  • Completion rate

Check Your Daily Brief

At the end of each day, your Daily Brief helps you review everything you captured.

What's in Your Brief

The Daily Brief includes:

  • Summary of notes you created or modified
  • Key themes and ideas that emerged
  • Tasks that need attention
  • Upcoming calendar events (if connected)

When to Check

  • Evening - Review your day's work
  • Morning - See yesterday's summary and today's priorities

Set your preferred brief delivery time in Settings.

Building a Brief Streak

Check your brief daily to build a Brief Streak:

  • Open your daily brief each day
  • Consecutive days build your streak
  • Helps you stay consistently informed

Customizing Briefs

In Settings, you can:

  • Enable/disable daily briefs
  • Set your preferred delivery time
  • Enable/disable notifications

Build Your Streak

Keep capturing notes daily to build your streak - consistency is key to making Brainstream your trusted second brain.

How Streaks Work

Brainstream tracks your activity:

  • Capture Streak - Consecutive days creating at least one note
  • Brief Streak - Consecutive days opening your daily brief
  • Combined Streak - Days with either capture or brief activity

Building Your Streak

Even a quick note counts for your streak:

  • Jot down a thought
  • Record a voice memo
  • Capture an idea

The goal is consistency, not volume.

Milestones

Celebrate achievements as your streak grows:

  • 3 days - Getting started
  • 7 days - One week strong
  • 14 days - Two weeks consistent
  • 30 days - One month dedicated
  • 100 days - Century club

Encouragement, Not Guilt

Brainstream's streak messaging encourages without guilting:

  • If you miss a day, you simply start fresh
  • No shame, no pressure
  • Focus on building the habit over time

Tips

  • Set a daily reminder
  • Capture something small each day
  • Check the Today screen to see your current streak

Need more help?

Check out our FAQ or contact us at info@usebrainstream.app