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Notes on writing things down.

How Scratchpad is built, why it works the way it does, and what we've learned about keeping notes along the way.

7 min read Somewhere to land A year ago I wrote that the habit of writing things down matters more than the software. Then I spent the year building a notes app, and this is me working out why. Read the post 3 min read Notes for a whole term, in one place Lecture notes, reading lists, annotated PDFs, and voice memos, all searchable before the exam, and 25% off for as long as you're studying. Read the post 4 min read Moving from Apple Notes, Evernote, or Notion What Scratchpad can bring in, what arrives cleanly, what you'll redo by hand, and a ten-minute way to find out before you move everything. Read the post 3 min read What bringing your own AI key means Add an API key from Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google Gemini and the assistant runs on it, with no message limit, for US$8 a month instead of US$12. Read the post 4 min read Connecting Claude and ChatGPT to your notes Scratchpad is an MCP server, so the AI assistant you already use can search, read, and add to your notes, within limits you choose. Read the post 3 min read Paid for by the people who use it One plan, no ads, and no free tier: how Scratchpad pays for itself, what you get from the first day, and the 30-day money-back guarantee. Read the post 3 min read Voice memos that turn into text Record a thought or a call straight into a note, press one button, and get the words back as text you can edit and search. Read the post 4 min read Publish a note, or a whole folder, as a website One note becomes a page anyone can read, and a folder becomes a small site with its notes down the side, both kept up to date as you write. Read the post 3 min read Tabs inside a note One note for the trip, with the plan, the bookings, and the packing list each behind its own title, instead of three notes that drift apart. Read the post 3 min read Sticky notes, on a note and on a PDF A post-it that sits beside a line instead of in it, for the remark that shouldn't break the sentence, in your notes and on the pages of a PDF. Read the post 3 min read Every version of every note Scratchpad keeps a note's earlier versions as you write, so a bad edit, a careless paste, or a deleted paragraph can be put back. Read the post 4 min read Search reads your PDFs and your pictures One search box covers the words in your notes, inside the files you attach, and in the pictures you take, with the limits stated plainly. Read the post 3 min read The first line is the title There's no title to fill in before you start. Whatever you write first names the note, and you can rename it from the top of the note whenever you like. Read the post 3 min read Why Scratchpad doesn't read your notes Locked notes are stored encrypted with a key made from their password, and the page counter is told as little as it can be told. Read the post

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