Help & documentation

ak-notes is a personal notecard archive. Each notecard is a photo or scanned page plus searchable metadata such as content, tags, author, and date.

• Register for an account. New registrations are reviewed before access is granted.
• After approval, sign in from the login page with your email and password.
• If two-factor authentication is enabled on your account, enter the 6-digit code from your authenticator app after your password.
• Use Forgot password if you need to reset your credentials.
• Once signed in, open Upload to add your first notecard.

The home page lists every notecard in your archive. Use search and filters to narrow results.

• Search matches content, tags, author, and date text.
• Author, tag, and collection filters limit results to specific values. Choose Uncollected to find notecards not in any collection.
• Date from / Date to restrict results to a date range.
• Tap Clear all to remove active filters.
• Click any notecard card to open its detail page with the full image and metadata.

On phones, tap Search & filter to expand the filter panel before browsing results.

Upload single images or multi-page PDFs from the Upload page. You can also upload into a specific collection using Add notecard on a collection page.

• Supported files: JPEG, PNG, WebP, GIF, HEIC, and PDF.
• Content: Type or paste the note text. Leave this blank to attempt automatic handwriting recognition when Google Cloud Vision is configured on the server.
• Tags: Enter comma-separated tags (for example history, lecture, chapter-3). Color-based tags from Settings may also be added automatically on upload.
• Collection: Optionally assign the notecard to an existing collection.
• Author and date: Optional metadata fields for filtering later.
• Image rotation: Use the rotate controls on the preview before uploading. EXIF orientation from your camera is also applied automatically.

PDF uploads: Each page becomes a separate notecard in upload order. If you do not choose a collection, a new collection is created using the PDF file name. After processing, you are taken to that collection. Content and tags from the upload form apply to the first page only.

Rotation controls apply to images only, not PDF pages.

Collections group related notecards. Cards inside a collection appear in the order they were uploaded.

• Create collections from the Collections page with a name and optional description.
• Open a collection to view its notecards in order, edit the collection name or description, or delete the collection.
• Deleting a collection keeps its notecards but removes them from the group.
• Use Add notecard on a collection page to upload directly into that collection.
• When deleting a notecard that belongs to a multi-card collection, you can choose to delete only that card or the entire collection.

Tags help organize and filter notecards across your archive.

• Manage tags from the Tags page. Create tags before uploading or add them later on each notecard.
• Each tag shows how many notecards use it. Use Browse on a tag to filter the archive.
• Tags entered during upload are separate from tags applied automatically through color mapping in Settings.

Settings let you map detected colors to tags when notecards are uploaded.

• Notecard colors map paper or background colors to tags using the closest configured match.
• Text colors map ink colors to tags by hue, so multiple ink colors on one card can each receive their own tag.
• Add a color swatch and tag name for each mapping. Existing tags can be picked from the suggestions list.
• When a notecard is uploaded, detected colors add matching tags alongside any tags you entered manually.

Color detection works best with clear, well-lit photos of physical notecards.

Open User settings from your account menu to manage security options.

• Change password: Enter your current password and a new password to update your sign-in credentials.
• Two-factor authentication (2FA): Enable TOTP with an authenticator app. Scan the QR code or enter the manual key, then confirm with a 6-digit code. When 2FA is active, sign in with your password first, then enter the code from your app.
• To disable 2FA, confirm your password and enter a current authenticator code.

ak-notes adapts to screen size.

• Desktop: Use the top navigation bar for Browse, Collections, Tags, Settings, Upload, and your account menu.
• Mobile: A bottom tab bar provides Browse, Collections, Upload, and More. More opens Tags, Settings, User settings, and Sign out.
• On smaller screens, filter panels and create forms collapse until you tap to expand them.

Use the sun/moon toggle in the header (or inside the mobile More menu) to switch between light and dark themes. The app follows your chosen theme across pages.