# Getting Started

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

## Articles

### 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