Setup guide
Set up Notanda in a couple of minutes.
Two short paths — one for iPhones with Apple Intelligence, one for iPhones without — then how to point your notes at your Obsidian or LLM “brain” folder so your own assistant can read and act on them.
Before you start
Install the app. Then pick one of the two paths below.
Notanda is an iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch app. It runs on iOS / iPadOS 26 or later. There’s no account and no sign-up — you install it and start capturing.
Get it from the App Store (or open your TestFlight invitation while it’s in beta), then open Notanda once so it can ask for the microphone and set up your folder.
Step zero
Do I have Apple Intelligence?
Open Settings → Apple Intelligence & Siri. If you see a switch to turn Apple Intelligence on, your device supports it — turn it on (it may download a model in the background, which can take a little while on Wi-Fi). If there’s no such switch, your iPhone doesn’t have it, and Path B is for you.
| Device | Apple Intelligence | Your path |
|---|---|---|
| iPhone 15 Pro & 15 Pro Max | Yes | Path A |
| Every iPhone 16 and iPhone 17 | Yes | Path A |
| iPad & Mac with Apple siliconM1 or later / A17 Pro or later | Yes | Path A |
| iPhone 15 / 15 Plus and earlierand other non-Pro models before iPhone 16 | No | Path B |
Path A
iPhone with Apple Intelligence (15 Pro and up)
The zero-setup path. No account, no key, no cost per note — everything runs on your device.
Turn Apple Intelligence on
In Settings → Apple Intelligence & Siri, switch Apple Intelligence on and let it finish downloading. When it’s ready, the model runs entirely on the phone.
Open Notanda and allow the microphone
On first launch Notanda asks for microphone access so it can record. The mic is live only while you’re recording, and the app shows you so on screen.
Choose where your notes live
Notanda asks you to pick a folder in Files — your iCloud Drive, Dropbox or on-device Files all work. Pick one and it becomes the home for every note. (Not sure yet? Tap Use app Documents for now and change it later.)
Confirm the engine is on-device
Open Settings inside Notanda. Under Generation, the route should read On-device · Apple Intelligence, and On-device model should say Available. That’s it — you’re done.
Capture your first note
Back on Capture, tap the big Voice Note plaque and talk. When you finish, Notanda transcribes on device, writes a title and summary, pulls out the action items, and saves it all as a Markdown file in your folder.
Prefer a higher-quality or speaker-aware model later? You can still add your own key (Path B, Step 4) and switch to it any time — it’s never required on this path.
Path B
iPhone without Apple Intelligence
You still get clean, structured notes — Notanda records and transcribes on your device, and you add your own AI key for the title, summary and action items. You pay the provider directly (usually a fraction of a cent per note); you never pay Notanda for usage.
Open Notanda and allow the microphone
Same first launch as everyone: allow microphone access so Notanda can record. Recording and transcription work on your device with no key at all.
Choose where your notes live
Pick a folder in Files, iCloud Drive or Dropbox when prompted. This is the folder you’ll point your Obsidian vault or assistant at later — worth choosing one you sync.
Get an AI key (Anthropic or OpenAI)
Create a key with one provider — this is your account with them, not with Notanda:
Anthropic (Claude): sign in at console.anthropic.com → Settings → API keys → Create key → copy the key (it starts sk-ant-). Add a payment method under Billing.
OpenAI (GPT): sign in at platform.openai.com → API keys → Create new secret key → copy it (it starts sk-). Add billing under Settings → Billing.
Paste the key into Notanda
In Notanda’s Settings → API keys, paste your key into the matching field (Anthropic or OpenAI). Keys are stored only in your device’s Keychain — never uploaded.
Choose that provider as your engine
Still in Settings, under Generation, set the route to Anthropic · Your API key or OpenAI · Your API key, then tap Save settings. Note text is sent only to the provider you chose, directly over HTTPS, using your key.
Capture your first note
Tap Voice Note and talk. Notanda transcribes on device, then your chosen model writes the title, summary and action items, and the finished Markdown note lands in your folder.
console.deepgram.com → API Keys) in Notanda’s Settings → Transcription and choose it for Voice notes or Meetings.
The real payoff
Point Notanda at your Obsidian or LLM brain folder.
Notanda writes ordinary Markdown — the same format Obsidian uses, and the format every LLM reads best. So the folder you choose in Step 3 doesn’t have to be a lonely note store. Make it part of your second brain, and every thought you speak becomes something your tools can see.
For Obsidian: pick your vault folder (or a subfolder of it) as Notanda’s folder. Notes appear in Obsidian the moment they save — fully linked, with tags, backlinks and Bases working out of the box.
For an AI assistant: choose a folder that syncs to the machine your assistant runs on — an iCloud Drive or Dropbox folder your Mac can see. Anything that can read that folder (Claude Code, an MCP file or Obsidian server, a local search index) can now read, cross-reference and act on every note you capture. Speak on your phone; it’s in front of your assistant seconds later.
Notanda organises the folder for you:
…and every note is structured for machines and people alike:
Why it’s worth it
A note in your brain folder is worth ten in a silo.
Yours forever
Plain Markdown files you can open, search, move, back up or grep on any device — with or without Notanda. If the app ever went away, your notes wouldn’t. No lock-in, ever.
Built for machines
Every note carries structured YAML — type, tags, date, place, and action items as real - [ ] checkboxes. An assistant reads it without guessing at your prose.
Linked, not stranded
In Obsidian the notes join your graph — backlinks, tags, Bases and search all just work. Citations point back to the exact moment in the transcript; audio and photos embed inline.
Your assistant can act
Point Claude or a local agent at the folder and it can answer “what did I promise on the marina call?”, roll your action items into your task list, or draft the follow-up — from a note you spoke in thirty seconds.
Not ready to wire up an assistant? Notanda has a built-in Ask My Notes — ask a question in plain language and get an answer drawn from your own notes, using an index that stays on your device. It’s the same idea, self-contained: your second brain, searchable by conversation. Pointing the folder at a bigger brain just widens what your tools can do with it.
For your business
The note is where it starts. Your systems are where it pays off.
On its own, Notanda is a personal tool. But it began as one piece of the operations layer we build for whole businesses — where a thirty-second voice note lands in the right system, updates the right record, and becomes the follow-up before you’re back at your desk.