User Guide

What is noter

Noter is the AI agent dashboard that keeps you in control.

Noter is a locally-run, browser-based dashboard for developers using AI coding assistants. It watches what your AI agent is doing, summarizes the context, suggests next-step tasks, and generates ready-to-use prompts, all on your machine.

Whether you use Claude Code, OpenCode, Codex, Factory Droid, Pi, or any other agent, Noter sits alongside your terminal and gives you a clear picture of what is happening and what to do next.

Who it is for

Noter is for developers who work with LLM-based coding agents and want:

• A live overview of what their AI agent is doing, without scrolling through terminal output
• Automatic summaries of agent activity, files changed, and current goals
• Task suggestions grounded in the agent's real context
• Generated prompts they can copy and paste into their agent
• A private notes panel to capture their own thinking alongside agent output

If you use an AI coding assistant daily and want better visibility and control, Noter is built for you.

System requirements

• Node.js 20 or later
• Ollama running locally with at least one model pulled (for local LLM features)
• A supported AI agent installed and running (Claude Code, OpenCode, Codex, Factory Droid, Pi, or any agent that can write JSONL events)

Optional:

• An API key for Anthropic, OpenAI, or Google Gemini (for cloud-based prompt generation)
• A Noter account (for Pro features like Blueprint generation)

Internet access is required for cloud LLM providers. All local data stays on your machine.

Installation

Quick start (npm)

npx noterai

This downloads and runs Noter, then opens the dashboard in your browser. The CLI command is noter.

To install globally:

npm install -g noterai
noter

Configure environment

Copy the example configuration and adjust values:

cp .env.example .env

At minimum, set OLLAMA_MODEL to a model you have pulled locally. Run ollama list to see available models.

Getting started

1. Start Ollama if you plan to use local summarization and suggestions:

   ollama serve

2. Launch Noter:

   noter

   The dashboard opens in your browser automatically.
3. Start your AI agent in another terminal. Noter begins receiving events as soon as the agent starts, based on your configured ACTIVE_SOURCE.
4. What you see first: the Mission Control dashboard, a 2×2 grid with four panels:
   • Notes (top-left): a freeform text area for your own thoughts
   • Suggested Tasks (top-right): AI-generated task cards with priority labels
   • Agent Context (bottom-left): a live summary of what the agent is doing, files touched, goals, and blockers
   • Suggested Prompts (bottom-right): generated prompts ready to copy into your agent

Signing in

Click the user icon in the top navigation to open the sign-in modal. You can create an account with email and password. Signing in unlocks Pro features like Blueprint generation.

Connecting your agent

Set the ACTIVE_SOURCE environment variable to match your agent:

The default is generic, which watches a JSONL log file for events from any harness.

Main features

Notes panel

A borderless text area where you write your own observations, decisions, or reminders. Notes auto-save with a 500ms debounce and are fed into the suggestion engine, so the tasks Noter suggests reflect your thinking alongside the agent's activity.

Suggested tasks

Noter generates task cards based on the agent's context and your notes. Each card shows:

• A title and description
• A priority badge (high, medium, or low)
• Conflict warnings when tasks overlap
• A "Build" button to generate a prompt for that task

You can also drag a task card to the Notes panel to remove it.

Agent context

A live summary panel that displays:

• What is happening: a plain-language summary of current agent activity
• Files changed: which files the agent has read or modified
• Current goal: what the agent is working toward
• Blockers: anything preventing progress
• Ollama status: model name, connection state, VRAM usage, and an offload button

The context updates automatically as events flow in.

Suggested prompts

When you click "Build" on a task card, Noter generates a detailed prompt you can copy and paste into your AI agent. Prompts are generated using your configured LLM provider (Ollama, Anthropic, OpenAI, or Gemini) and incorporate the current context and your notes.

Each prompt row expands on click to show the full text, with a copy button in the corner.

Blueprint generator

A Pro feature for structured project planning. Blueprints break down a project into phases with clarification questions and refinement steps. Access Blueprint from the top navigation.

Blueprint supports multiple LLM providers for generation, including Ollama, Anthropic, OpenAI, Google, LM Studio, and custom endpoints.

Session management

When launched inside a git repository, Noter automatically detects the repo root, loads AGENTS.md or AGENT.md as project instructions, and matches active harness sessions by repo path. This context is injected into summarization, suggestions, and prompts.

Settings drawer

Click the settings icon to configure:

• Active source (which agent harness to monitor)
• LLM provider (Ollama, Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini, LM Studio, or custom)
• Model selection and API keys
• Generic log path
• Context window size

How to use noter

Monitor an active agent session

1. Start Noter with noter.
2. Start your AI agent in a separate terminal.
3. Open the dashboard. The Agent Context panel updates in real time as the agent works.
4. Check Suggested Tasks for next steps grounded in the agent's current activity.

Write notes and get task suggestions

1. Type observations, decisions, or priorities in the Notes panel.
2. Notes auto-save. The suggestion engine picks them up.
3. New task cards appear in the Suggested Tasks panel, reflecting both your notes and the agent's context.

Generate and use a prompt

1. Find a task card in the Suggested Tasks panel.
2. Click "Build".
3. Noter generates a prompt using the current context and your notes.
4. The prompt appears in the Suggested Prompts panel. Click to expand.
5. Copy the prompt and paste it into your agent's input.

Summarize manually

1. Click the summarize button in the Agent Context panel.
2. Noter re-summarizes the event history using the configured LLM.
3. The summary replaces the previous one. Concurrent summarize requests are deduplicated to avoid duplicate calls.

Switch agent sources

1. Open the Settings drawer.
2. Choose a different source from the Active Source dropdown.
3. Noter stops the current adapter and starts the new one.
4. Events from the new source begin flowing immediately.

Generate a Blueprint (Pro)

1. Sign in with your Noter account.
2. Switch to the Blueprint page from the top navigation.
3. Describe your project and follow the phase-based flow.
4. Answer clarification questions to refine the plan.

Manage sessions

When running inside a git repo, Noter automatically attaches to matching sessions. To browse sessions manually:

1. Open the Settings drawer.
2. Use the session selector to view available sessions.
3. Select a session to load its event history and context.

Subscription

Noter offers a free tier and a Pro plan.

Free

• Mission Control dashboard (Notes, Tasks, Context, Prompts)
• Local LLM summarization and suggestions via Ollama
• All agent source adapters
• Manual summarization
• Session management

Pro (3 EUR/month)

• Everything in Free
• Blueprint generator for structured project planning
• Cloud LLM providers for Blueprint (Anthropic, OpenAI, Gemini)

To upgrade, sign in and click "Upgrade to Pro" in the dashboard, or visit noterai.tech.

To manage your account, click the user icon in the top navigation to access sign-in and sign-out options.

Troubleshooting

Dashboard shows "Connecting..." or does not load

• Make sure the Noter server is running. Check the terminal for error messages.
• Verify the server port is not in use. Noter tries up to 10 ports starting from the configured PORT (default 3000).
• If you changed the port, make sure the WebSocket URL matches. The client derives the WebSocket URL from window.location.

No events appearing in Agent Context

• Confirm ACTIVE_SOURCE matches your agent. The default is generic.
• For Claude Code or Codex: make sure the MCP server is configured in your agent's settings.
• For OpenCode: ensure OpenCode is running with the --events flag and OPENCODE_PORT matches.
• For Factory Droid or Pi: check that the event log file path is correct and the harness is writing events.

Ollama status shows "Disconnected"

• Make sure Ollama is running: ollama serve.
• Verify OLLAMA_BASE_URL in your .env matches your Ollama endpoint (default http://localhost:11434).
• Check that you have pulled at least one model: ollama list.

Summarization or suggestion generation fails

• Check the terminal for error output from the Noter server.
• If using a cloud provider, verify your API key is set in .env or the Settings drawer.
• If using Ollama, confirm the model specified in OLLAMA_MODEL is pulled locally.

Port already in use

Noter automatically tries the next available port (up to 10 attempts). If all fail:

PORT=8080 noter serve

Generic adapter not picking up events

• Confirm the JSONL log file path exists. Default: /tmp/noter-generic-events.jsonl.
• Each line must be valid JSON with a type field.
• Check the file is being written to by your agent harness.

Browser does not open automatically

Run with the --open flag:

noter serve --open

Or open http://localhost:3000 manually.

FAQ

npm install -g noterai

PORT=8080 noter serve

Support

• Email: reach out through the noterai.tech website
• Documentation: this user guide

For bug reports, include your Node.js version, OS, and the contents of your .env file (redact any API keys).