# Tana Outliner
> Tana Outliner is a knowledge management tool built on an infinite outliner with supertags, views, and AI features for personal and team use.
This file contains the full documentation for **Tana Outliner**, a knowledge management tool built on an infinite outliner.
**Tana** is a separate, newer product — an agentic meeting platform — that lives at https://tana.inc and has its own documentation there. These are distinct products that share a brand name. If you are looking for help with Tana the meeting platform, do not use this documentation.
## Tana Outliner
### other
#### Tana Current Monthly Update (October 2025)
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-current-monthly-update-october-2025
Each month we share what we’re working on, what’s about to ship, and where we’re headed next. These updates represent our current work in motion along with reflections about Tana’s direction. This October brings offline mode, navigation updates, expanded free plan features, and a look at our long-term thinking on the role of AI agents.
## Major Releases Coming Soon
We’re rolling out several major updates in the coming weeks. Here’s what’s on the way:
### 1. Offline support in Tana Desktop
_This was launched on November 7th. \*\*Go to announcement blog post._
After extensive testing, offline mode is in the final stretch and soon ready to launch. We’ve been shaping how Tana works without Wi-Fi in two important ways.
**Better handling of temporary network connection drops**
- Tana now handles temporary network connection drops smoothly (like driving into a tunnel, or WiFi blips).
- Tana Desktop will automatically attempt to reconnect.
- You can keep working, your changes will be synched when the connection is restored.
**Working offline**
- You can now work in Tana during flights or extended periods without network connection.
- _All_ your workspaces are available when offline (no need to pre-select any workspaces or specific notes).
- You can edit any notes in your personal workspaces
- You can view shared workspaces (any workspace with invited collaborators), but won't be able to edit notes in these workspaces
- You can use search and use @ mentions as normal. Tana will build out search indexes when you go offline (_NB: not supported for very large workspaces over 300K nodes_).
- Switching between offline and online requires a reload, which may take a few minutes. You’ll be asked to confirm before going back online to ensure all your changes are synced.
You can enter into offline from the user menu, or from the loading screen if you reload when there is not connection.
This is a significant improvement over other services where you have to decide upfront which documents you want offline access to.
### 2. Tana Free gets AI credits
**Free users will now get monthly AI credits** to test out Tana's AI features.
**What This Means:**
- New users can sign up directly to the free plan (no trial or credit card required).
- Free users can now regularly use core AI features: AI chat, meeting notetaker, live transcription, and mobile voice memos.
- Everyone gets to experience new AI features as they launch
**Updated limitations on the Free plan:**
- Max. 3 additional [workspaces](/learn/features/workspaces) beyond your personal workspace
- Can only use the [default model in AI chat](/learn/features/ai-chat) (GPT-4o at the moment)
- Limits on file uploads remain in place (5MB per file, 0.5GB total file storage)
- Creating new command nodes now requires a paid plan
- Mobile voice memos will save as audio if credits run out (can be transcribed later)
- The existing paid features **Google Calendar sync, password-protected publishing, publishing templates, and Input API integrations (like Readwise)** are still reserved for Plus and Pro.
For a full overview of all the features in plans, see [the pricing page](https://tana.inc/pricing).
The free plan provides real value while paid plans unlock all the power features for advanced users who use Tana daily and want to optimize their workflows.
### 3. New Importers
**Notion Importer** - Currently in testing
- Makes it easier to migrate from Notion
- Brings over content structure (databases convert to Tana tables)
- Some manual work needed for views and field types
- Great for using existing content as AI context
**Looking for Testers:** Check the #import-tools channel in Slack or DM Ingrid to get early access.
### 4. Meeting Notetaker Improvements
Ongoing work to improve reliability:
- Better handling of connection drops
- Improved resilience and stability
- Fallbacks for network or provider issues
**New fallback option in Tana Labs**
- Automatically records audio as backup during meetings
- Retranscribe if needed or change the output language
- To enable: go to User menu → Tana Labs
### 5. Updated Navigation and UI
> The launched functionality will likely differ from what was shown here.
A significant update that simplifies navigation, making Tana more accessible for new users while adding power for experienced ones.
**New Customizable Sidebar:**
- New **home apps** that come preconfigured:
- Recent view showing recently edited notes (auto-sorted)
- Recently edited: Shorcut to the three last edited nodes
- AI chats overview
- All supertags overview
- Published content
You will be able to design your sidebar so it only show what you care about - by hiding sidebar items you don't use.
**Global Create Button:**
- Quick shortcuts: new node, AI chat, checklist, super tag
- Tagged node templates from starter content
- Makes creating super tags less confusing for new users
**New List Navigation View: \***Launched, see *[*Tana Learn documentation \*](/learn/features/views#list-navigation-view)
- Quick browsing with click-to-view panel
- Easy navigation between nodes
- Perfect for dashboards
- Improved fiter/view toolbar
**Note:** The current "list view" is being renamed to "outline view" (this may cause some initial confusion during the transition).
**Focus Mode: fully collapsible sidebar**
- Fully collapsible sidebar for a clean canvas
- Feels like a dedicated app view
- Much more powerful for focused work
**Mobile Updates:**
- Browse tab renamed to Home (mirrors desktop sidebar exactly)
- All sidebar items available as capture destinations
- Long press to capture directly into any item
- Easier navigation throughout the app
All your existing data will remain intact - this changes how you navigate, not your content or workflows. All the power features you love remain exactly as they are.
## Agent Vision
While many platforms rush to add AI features, we’re taking a more deliberate path based on what we have learnt from seeing users use our AI agents. In the latest Tana Current session, Olav shared how we’re rethinking the role of agents as powerful collaborators, not just chatbots.
### The Challenge with AI Agents
We've had agents in Tana for almost two years, but they've been challenging to set up, and we've noticed some patterns based on our experimentation. There's a fantastic feeling seeing an agent get work done in your graph. But we've now seen the opposite too- the hours lost to reconstructing things when the agent makes accumulative decisions. The main challenge we see is being sure that the agent is not going to mess up the information around the task. We're confident on the role of the knowledge graph to solve some challenges, but we also can see that when agents roam around your graph, assessing what they change and why is a big issue. And we are even more convinced that a measure of progress is not tasks done any more particularly by the agent. More words, more tasks, mean you are getting closer to the outcome you want. It's even worse when you put it in the context of collaboration. As Olav put it: "We're destroying teamwork when everyone's using AI to write long emails and everyone else is using AI to summarize those emails so they don't have to read them."
### Tana's Approach
Tana's vision for agents goes back to 2021 when the team committed to building an AI-powered knowledge graph.
We’re not there yet, but we’ve learned more than we expected over the past few years. After a long stretch of experimentation, we understand much better what works, what doesn’t, and what people actually find useful.
Our focus now is to move beyond adding AI for its own sake, to create agents that do real work, making thoughtful decisions and producing content that genuinely helps you make progress, even while you sleep.
This is where the team is exploring and we will have more to say about this soon.
### How the Team Uses AI
The engineering team now requires using AI tools like Claude Code for everyday work. It's getting teams from zero to 80 super fast with the real engineering work happening from 80 to 100. This approach has given the team velocity not seen in the last three years.
## Student Focus
The team has focused on supporting students with new resources and pricing.
**50% Student Discount** - Makes Tana even more affordable for students
**New Templates by Theo:**
- Student Hub with video tutorials
- Lecture recording and automatic summarization
- Course management with linked learning
- Networking template (for tracking who hosts the best parties!)
- Study schedule by Matty from Koi
Find all templates at [**tana.inc/students**](https://tana.inc/students) or in the template store.
## Community Events
The community team has launched a series of events to help users learn Tana, see Tana in action and connect with other Tanarians:
**Regular Sessions:**
- **Time to Learn Live** with Theo (fortnightly)- Deep dives on specific Tana features
- **Live Build Sessions** with Mark (fortnightly) - 60-minute themed builds from scratch
- **Drop in Sessions** **for Beginners** with Ev Chapman (Weekly) - Relaxed opportunity to see Tana demo'd and ask any questions
**In-Person Events:**
- [**Tana Cafe at UC Berkeley**](https://luma.com/tana-berkeley-25) - October 18
- [**Dreamforce Cafe Takeover**](https://luma.com/tana-sf-25) - San Francisco, October 22-24
- Free coffee, Tana conversations, giveaways
- Team members: Brage, Aurora, Theo, Olav
## The story of October 2025
October 2025 will be the month our offline era begins. It's exciting to get one most-requested features out to users.
At the same time, the team is thinking more deeply about where Tana is headed and where we can take the product next. The AI work Olav discussed represents longer-term thinking about how to make AI truly useful in a knowledge workspace, not just another chat interface, but agents that can meaningfully help with your work.
**Next Tana Current:** early November 2025, will be announced in Slack
---
#### “Tana makes me feel dumb”
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-makes-me-feel-dumb
2022 was a huge year for Tana. We doubled the team, and transitioned from a stealth prototype used by a handful of people to an early access release with a vibrant community of 6,000 people around it.
- “It feels quite cluttered and overwhelming”
- “I don't see myself switching to this”
- “Building this UI will be as difficult as cold fusion”
- “Tana makes me feel dumb”
- “Remember, I'm not a nerd”
## The initial feedback was brutally honest
These were only some of the things we heard as we were starting to dip our toes into the market with Tana one year ago, even if it was mostly with selected individuals and friends of friends.
It was sometimes like a punch in the face, but looking back, we shouldn't have been that surprised. After all, it didn't exactly _feel_ like 2022 software:
_In the first version of Tana (codenamed Noteboat), we focused solely on mechanics, and it showed._
## Luckily, some people got it (you!)
Despite the retro look of that screenshot, all the core concepts were there: the supertags, the search nodes, the way you can create structured content in a near-plain-text writing experience, and the everything-is-a-node philosophy that is part of why Tana is so powerful.
The small group of people that _really_ grokked Tana in late 2021 confirmed our belief that we're onto something really good.
## We spent the first half of 2022 doing only this 👇
1. Do a one-on-one onboarding with a person that _should_ find Tana really useful
2. Learn where they stumble
3. Go fix it
4. Do it again
We ran hundreds of these loops, with a goal to open up for a wider audience in Q3. We refined the interface, simplified the terminology, wrote documentation and help content, built some new functionality, and removed features that we saw would be premature to include in the initial release.
On the 30th of September, we pressed the button.
_Look at the timestamp. We did launch in Q3, with hours to spare!_
## Tana is now out there!
…and it feels fantastic! The reception has been overwhelming. Our waiting list immediately exploded, and the interest has not slowed down. We are hugely grateful for each and every one who has helped us get to this point (and we apologise to those of you still waiting for your invite — we're working our asses off to get to you!).
We've seen Tana used by university professors for planning out entire research programs, runners for tracking their progression, podcasters for managing their production schedules, engineering teams for planning tasks and meetings, and tons of interesting personal use cases.
Ourselves, we use it for everything we do, from strategic planning and hiring to project management, usability testing and drafting this very blog post.
## Some highlights from 2022
- We grew the Tana community from 100 to close to 6,000 members, with activity around the clock. You people are awesome!
- We strengthened the team with some excellent people! Welcome Erlend, Odin, Seb, Stian, Kim Joar, Rob, Fei, Matt 🥳
- We saw numerous Tana tutorials pop up, recorded in at least five languages (without any participation from us!).
- We stopped making people feel dumb!
## This is what we're now hearing
- “[Tana feels different. It's so effortless.”](https://twitter.com/_KyleCraven/status/1604980431543095301?s=20&t=seY6dtCIduUriqcL5RZr8Q)
- “[Tana is blowing my mind.”](https://twitter.com/adamgordonbell/status/1604502501583388672?s=20&t=seY6dtCIduUriqcL5RZr8Q)
- “[First day using Tana and I don't know how I survived until now without it 😍❤️”](https://twitter.com/alissonprimo/status/1604993042527956993?s=20&t=seY6dtCIduUriqcL5RZr8Q)
- “[Got my invite to Tana last night. My mind is spinning right now (in a good way).”](https://twitter.com/pentekostos/status/1603381018077310976?s=20&t=seY6dtCIduUriqcL5RZr8Q)
- “[Oh my god, Tana is so beautiful. It works like I think.”](https://twitter.com/jbiswriting/status/1590389906555437056?s=20&t=seY6dtCIduUriqcL5RZr8Q)
## So, we'll be spending 2023 at the beach 🏝
This post might sound like we believe we made it, that we're done here. Not even close! We have been involved in enough software projects to know that — even though we have reached some critical milestones — we still have a looong way to go.
We have proven that Tana can add tremendous value in a wide range of use cases, but our ambitions are sky high, and so are our standards for Tana as a product and a company. We still have a lot in store.
In 2023, we will continue to do exactly what we have been doing: talking to users to learn what works and what doesn't work, go fix it, and try again.
Thanks for being here, and happy new year!
All the best,
Team 🌊 Tana
---
#### A better AI chat experience in Tana: new design, full chat history, and smarter storage
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/a-better-ai-chat-experience-in-tana-new-design-full-chat-history-and-smarter-storage
Tana's AI chat is now faster to use, easier to navigate, and more powerful for long-running work. With a redesigned chat interface, chat history in the sidebar, and improved storage that keeps your graph clean, this update makes AI a more reliable partner in your daily workflow.
Busy managers, project leads, and individual professionals rely on AI inside Tana for meeting prep, decision support, writing, and research. This release makes those workflows smoother, easier to revisit, and better connected to your knowledge graph.
## A new sidebar view for all your AI chats
Finding past conversations is now simple. The new AI chats view appears automatically at the top of your sidebar and shows up to 100 chats per page. You can filter, sort, and search across all chats, making it easy to revisit earlier thinking, find a summary you generated last week, or pick up a long-running research thread.
For users researching productivity apps, networked note-taking tools, or second brain systems, this solves a common problem: AI conversations usually live in isolated chat silos. In Tana, they are part of a connected knowledge graph, searchable and contextualized alongside your meetings, tasks, and documents. You can reference any AI chat in notes where you want to include it as context or reference material. This makes Tana a strong alternative to standalone AI assistants or traditional note-taking tools.
The AI chats view in sidebar is a system view in Tana, similar to Recents. It cannot be edited by users as it may be updated with design changes.
## A cleaner, more focused AI chat interface
Across Tana, the chat interface has been refreshed with a clearer layout and better separation of context and messages. The new UI is shown on all AI chats, whether they are created from the sidebar, inline on nodes, and in expanded views. Long chats are easier to follow, prompts remain visible as context grows, and the overall interaction flow feels faster.
This update supports the way knowledge workers think: moving between quick prompts, deeper analysis, and drafts of real work. Instead of switching to a separate AI tool and losing your context, you stay inside Tana's knowledge graph where everything remains connected.
## Smarter storage for new chats
AI chats created from the sidebar view now live under a single node in your Library called AI chats. This replaces the old behavior where chats appeared on Today, which made it harder to manage or exclude them from searches.
This change gives users more control over their workspace structure. If you regularly filter your graph for tasks, meetings, or research, you no longer have stray chat nodes polluting your results. You can use [the search operator IS CHAT in live search queries](https://tana.inc/docs/search-nodes#node-type) to search in AI chats or exclude them from results.
Inline AI chats still behave exactly as before. When you create a chat inside a node, it remains attached to that node, preserving the full context of your work.
If you want to consolidate older chats into this new structure, you can do so by creating a [search for IS CHAT](https://tana.inc/docs/search-nodes#node-type), dragging it into the Library node, then running Bring referenced node here from the command menu.
## Lower token costs with prompt caching
AI chats with large context now benefit from prompt caching. When you send follow-up messages that reuse earlier parts of the conversation, the model can read from cache instead of recomputing everything from scratch. This reduces token usage significantly for managers who work with long meeting transcripts, research documents, or iterative strategic discussions.
Caching happens automatically in Tana. You can read more about the underlying mechanism in our AI chat documentation.
For users comparing AI workspace tools, this matters. Unlike generic chat UIs, Tana's AI is built to work with your knowledge graph, not a blank prompt. With caching applied to structured, context-rich conversations, Tana delivers both smarter outputs and more efficient token consumption.
## Why this update matters for teams and professionals
Across our user interviews, managers and executives consistently described a familiar challenge: AI chats are valuable in the moment, but unmanageable afterward. They disappear into history, become disconnected from the real work, or can't be retrieved when decisions need context.
This update solves that by making AI chat a first-class part of your workspace:
- Chat becomes a navigable, searchable asset rather than an isolated interaction
- Long-form strategic or research conversations stay easy to revisit
- Your graph stays organized and clean, with AI chats stored in a predictable location
- Token spend decreases for long context discussions
- The UI becomes a smoother environment for thinking, drafting, and decision-making
For anyone researching tools for connected note-taking, second brain apps, AI-powered knowledge management systems, or meeting intelligence platforms, these changes reinforce Tana's differentiator: AI that works inside your knowledge graph, not outside it.
## Start exploring the new AI chat experience
Open Tana today, check the sidebar for AI chats, and try out the redesigned interface. If you want to organize your historical chats, use the IS CHAT search to move them into the new structure.
This update is part of our ongoing work to make Tana the most powerful thinking workspace for individuals and teams. More improvements are already in progress, and we look forward to seeing how the new chat experience supports your meetings, projects, and strategic work.
---
#### A flexible alternative to rigid databases: meet Tana's new view toolbar
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/a-flexible-alternative-to-rigid-databases-meet-the-new-view-toolbar-in-tana
The new view toolbar gives you instant control over how you see and organize information in Tana. Filter, sort, group and change display with a single click or keystroke, so you can shift perspectives quickly and stay focused on the work that matters.
## Why we built a view toolbar
Tana's power comes from the way it combines structured notes, tasks and connected knowledge into one system. Searches update live as your workspace changes, surfacing the information you need in real time. Views then let you choose how to look at that information: lists, tables, boards, calendars or plain outline.
Until now, switching between these options required opening the node options menu each time. For users managing complex projects, tracking many tasks, or exploring search results, this created unnecessary friction.
The new view toolbar makes these controls available exactly where you work, so you can move between different lenses without breaking focus.
## A horizontal toolbar that adapts to your context
When you open a node, expand it inline, or view related content, the view toolbar appears right beneath it. It adapts to the space available, keeping controls within reach without taking over your screen.
The toolbar includes:
- Search on title
- Filter
- Sort
- Group
- Display options (field values shown below the node)
Buttons turn blue when an option is active, so you always know that some options are applied.
Everything you could previously configure through the node options menu is still there, but now with a faster path. The view toolbar makes it easier to change values many times, if you are looking up things or updating something. If you need to add a new field, you can do that directly in the content, and immediately use it for filtering, sorting or grouping. This gives you the flexibility of a database tool without the setup overhead.
## Instantly shift perspective with one click
Tana is designed for users who think fluidly: managers jumping between meetings, knowledge workers switching between themes, and project leads tracking many moving parts.
The view toolbar lets you:
- Sort tasks by priority or due date on the fly
- Filter a research database to see only items that match key fields
- Group meeting notes by date, client or topic
- Adjust display settings to highlight the metadata that matters
- Search within long lists instantly with Search on title, now always visible
You keep the underlying data the same; only the view changes. It is the fastest way to understand what needs your attention in the moment.
## Pin the fields you use the most
If your nodes use supertags with [pinned fields](https://tana.inc/docs/fields#pinned-fields), those fields automatically rise to the top of the filter, group, sort and display menus. This means the attributes most important to your workflow are always within reach.
Pinned fields are configured inside each supertag, making it possible to tailor the toolbar menus to your team's processes or your personal system.
## Show or hide the toolbar whenever you want
The toolbar stays out of the way until you need it. It is hidden by default, and you can toggle it in three ways:
1. Right-click > Show/Hide view toolbar
2. Node options menu (... icon)
3. Cmd/Ctrl+K > Show/Hide view toolbar
This lets you keep a clean writing surface when you want full focus, while still making view controls instantly available when you switch into organizing mode.
## Fully keyboard-driven for fast operators
For users who prefer speed and minimal mouse usage, the toolbar works seamlessly with the command line. You can now type Ctrl/Cmd+K and then:
- Filter by
- Group by
- Sort by
- Display
Each command opens the relevant menu so you can navigate with your keyboard. Press ESC to close and return to the toolbar. You can also use arrow keys to move between the toolbar buttons themselves.
This gives Tana the speed and ergonomics of an outliner combined with the power of a flexible database.
## A unified system for managing tasks, notes and knowledge
The new view toolbar strengthens one of Tana's core differentiators: the ability to move from raw notes to structured knowledge to actionable workflows without switching tools.
Existing users will find it easier to explore their graph, refine dashboards, and shift between detailed and high-level views.
New users coming from tools like Notion will notice the difference immediately: no rigid databases, no heavy setup, no context switching between pages. Views adapt to your thinking, not the other way around.
Combined with Tana's live searches that update automatically as your workspace grows, this creates a more fluid and responsive system for managing everything from daily tasks to long-term research.
## The fastest way to understand what your work is telling you
With the view toolbar, Tana becomes even more effective at helping you see patterns, make decisions and take action. Whether you're managing projects, synthesizing research or running a full knowledge system, you can shift perspective without breaking your flow.
A workspace that adapts to your thinking should feel simple, powerful and fast. The new view toolbar delivers exactly that.
---
#### A more flexible, customizable sidebar with resizing for faster work in Tana
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/a-more-flexible-sidebar-with-resizing-and-customization
The Tana sidebar just got a major upgrade. It is now fully resizable, can be collapsed for complete focus, and gives you more control over what shows up at the top.
This update makes the sidebar a more powerful command center for your day, whether you're managing meetings, tracking tasks, or navigating your knowledge graph.
## Resize the sidebar to fit your workspace
You can now drag the divider between the sidebar and the editor to make the sidebar exactly the width you want. Make it slim when you're writing, or widen it when you need to navigate directly to projects, dashboards, or to view long node titles.
Tana allows you to expand/collapse nodes directly in the sidebar to navigate your tree, and resizing the sidebar makes this even easier.
If you ever want to return to the default width, open **Cmd/Ctrl+K** and select **Reset sidebar width**.
## Collapse the sidebar for full-focus work
Some moments require zero visual noise, especially when writing, reviewing meeting notes, or mapping out a project.
The sidebar can now be fully collapsed:
- Click the sidebar toggle once to minimize it
- Click again to collapse it completely
- Click once more to bring it back
You can also use the command line:
- **Show sidebar** - opens the full sidebar
- **Show mini sidebar** - minimizes the sidebar to only show icons
- **Hide siderbar** - hides the sidebar completely
- **Toggle sidebar** - switches to the next state; Full sidebar -> Minimized sidebar -> Hidden sidebar
This transforms Tana into a clean, distraction-free outliner editor while keeping navigation just one click away.
## Customize the sidebar top items
The top of the sidebar is where your most important places in Tana live; your Daily Page, Supertags, AI chats and the Inbox (optional). Since people have different workflows and preferences, we have now made it possible to control exactly what shows up there.
**Right-click an item in the top section to show, hide, or reorder what's pinned to the top**.
This helps new users get oriented faster, and gives power users a simple way to shape their command center.
## Pin nodes and searches for quick access
Pin anything you return to often: projects, reference material, meeting hubs, or live searches. Pinned searches update automatically, which makes them ideal for dashboards like:
- upcoming meetings
- open tasks
- follow-up lists
- active projects
- research topics or reference material
Expanding nodes in the sidebar also works for search nodes, allowing you to navigate directly to a task from a pinned project task list for example.
## See progress directly in the sidebar
If a pinned item contains a progress bar, the sidebar now shows a circular progress indicator next to it.
You'll see:
- a quick percentage view of task completion
- a tooltip with exact numbers when hovering
- live updates as tasks are completed anywhere in your workspace
This turns the sidebar into a lightweight project tracker, perfect for managers and knowledge workers who want quick insight into what's moving and what needs attention.
## A sidebar that can fit the way you work
The new sidebar makes Tana faster to use and easier to shape around your workflow. It supports quick navigation when you need it and disappears when you want full focus. You decide what shows up, how it's sized, and how you track progress.
Whether you're managing a busy meeting schedule, running complex projects, or building a connected second brain, the new sidebar gives you more control and clarity than ever.
---
#### AI image generation with Gemini Nano Banana Pro in Tana
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/ai-image-generation-in-tana-with-gemini-nano-banana-pro
Forget switching between apps. Generate professional images directly in your notes using Google's latest Gemini model in Tana. From meeting sketches to presentation graphics in seconds. This changes how professionals and teams can create visual documentation forever.
No more tab switching. No more copy-pasting. No more breaking your flow to create visuals. Just type, generate, and keep working where your notes already live.
Go from note-taking or meeting transcripts to sharing whiteboard sketches, infographics, cartoons or napkin drawings in minutes. Tana lets you experiment with finding your style for prompts, and build up your own prompt library for image generation.
[Download the new templates for banner images, infographics and graphic design](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/Image%20generation)
## A faster, more capable image model
Tana's image generation just got a major upgrade. You can now generate sharper, more accurate, and better-fitting images directly inside your workspace using Google's Gemini Nano Banana Pro model. The result is a smoother workflow for creating banner images, visual summaries, and illustrations that can summarizes and actually fit your documents.
When using command nodes, Tana now gives you more control over aspect ratio, resolution and style, so your visuals match the story you're telling, without jumping out to a separate tool. This creates higher-quality images across creative, conceptual, and realistic use cases.
## Generate images instantly where you need them
In Tana, you can generate AI images on the fly while working on your notes, without needing to switch to a different tool like Midjourney or Google Gemini. You can include much more
You can access image generation several places in Tana:
1. Use _Generate banner image_ at the top of any node
1. Type / and select "Image/file", then select "Generate image"
1. Write our your prompt as a normal note and then do **Ctrl/Cmd+K > Generate image with AI**
1. You can also build your own custom command nodes for image generation
## Generate banner images on any note
All banner images are now generated in 21:9 format, ensuring banner images line up cleanly with your notes, guides, and documentation. The image will be cropped on top/bottom to fill the width when you scale the panel up and down.
Right-click on the header of any node, or simply click the "Banner" button and then select "Generate image". This will open a modal where you can write your prompt and select a stryle.
## Flexible style control
You can now include style direction directly in your prompt. Whether you want a photorealistic image, a soft illustration, line-art, or a cinematic still, Gemini 3 Pro responds reliably to stylistic cues.
Example styles:
- Watercolor illustration
- Minimalist line art
- Film still / cinematic composition
- Infographic-style diagram
- Vintage book engraving
Example prompt for the image above: `"Generate an image in aquarel style, of a company christmas party, looking in from the outside where it snows."`
[Download these templates to try creating images ->](https://tana.inc/templates)
## Turn your notes into infographics
**Gemini Nano Banana Pro excels at reading and including text in images.** When plugged into a powerful note-taking app like Tana, this unlocks powerful use cases like visualizing your road map, summarizing a user interview or a brainstorm session, or a map of goals.
How a user interview could look:
Or a feature road map:
Record a team brainstorming session and get a easy-to-read whiteboard diagram:
[**Get started now by download these pre-made templates for infograpics ->**](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/Commands)
## Generate consistent images with Tana's command nodes
If you are a consultant, marketer, content creator or creating images is part of your workflow, Tana lets you set up commands that give you the same style, size, resolution output every time, but makes it easy to edit the content that will feature in the image.
Tana lets you create powerful command nodes, that can be configured to perform structured actions and can also generate or reformat content using AI, with custom prompts. [AI command nodes](https://tana.inc/docs/ai-command-nodes) combine the power of automation with Tana's built-in AI. Tana also offers advanced functionality to build AI commands that reference specific parts of your content as context for AI queries.
This makes it possible to create command nodes that generate images, using a specific prompt every time to give a consistent style. By running a command node on a specific node, AI will use the node's content as context to generate the image.
The built-in command **Generate image(s) with AI** now supports Gemini 3 Pro Nano-banana, and lets you define the aspect ratio and resolution you want.
[Download these image generation packs of command nodes to get started ->](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/Commands)
### 10 aspect ratios supported in command nodes
One of the biggest changes is support for precise aspect ratios. You now have full control over the format of the image you want generate. Tana now supports 10 aspect ratios:
**1:1, 16:9, 9:16, 21:9, 3:2, 2:3, 4:3, 3:4, 5:4, 4:5**
Simply include the desired ratio inside your prompt.
This means no more awkward crops or stretched images, what you ask for is what you get.
### Higher resolution options
You now have three output quality levels for image generation command nodes:
- **1K/Standard**
- **2K (default if nothing is specified)**
- **4K for ultra-crisp detail**
Higher resolution is helpful when creating:
- Banners for presentations or reports
- Visual explanations
- Illustrations for larger screens
- Images for physical printing
## Build your own prompt library in Tana
Compared to using image generation services in Gemini or elsewhere, Tana lets you use your existing notes as input. You can also store and evolve the prompts you use over time, ending up with a comprehensive prompt library that is easy to re-use for consistent style and high-quality output.
- Write out your brand values or style guide and use that as a reference into command nodes for a consistent image style.
- Then pull this in as context for AI simply by typing @ and then searching for the node you want to include.
**Pro-tip:** We recently added support for the latest models GPT-5.1, Gemini 3 Pro and Claude Opus 4.5 in the built-in AI chat in Tana. Use these with AI chat (Opus is particularly good!) to **draft prompts** to put into image generation commands.
## How to generate images in Tana
You can create images from scratch anywhere in your workspace.
### Generate an image from a node:
1. **Write your prompt inside a node**
Include any aspect ratio, style, or resolution in plain text.
Example:
_Generate an image of a 1890s sailboat struggling in the northern sea in storm._
1. **Open the command bar**
Press **Ctrl/Cmd+K > Generate image with AI**.
1. **Wait for the output**
It may take one to two minutes for the image to appear directly below the node.
1. **Use the image however you like**
- Download it
- Move it to another place in your workspace (right-click > Move > Select location)
- Press **Space** to view it fullscreen
- Attach it as a banner image at the top of a node
This keeps your visual assets structured and accessible inside your knowledge graph, perfect for briefs, presentations, and project documentation.
### Create your own command node
Before embarking on this, we recommend learning the basics of command nodes first.
## Why this matters for your workflow
Working with image generation can be tedious and require repeated attempts to get the result you want. The prompt and instructions matter, and most image generation tools aren't designed to handle large amounts of information. Nor is their UI designed to help you store and iterate on prompts that work, evolving them into a prompt library that becomes your superpower. This is where Tana shines, by combing a powerful note-taking app with native image generation.
With Tana's outliner knowledge graph, your notes can be linked together and pulled in where they are needed, so your information stays updated and connected. The same note can be referenced as context in any AI chat or command node, saving the manual work on copy-pasting back and forth. Supertags let you build custom workflows where image generation buttons can be part of the template, allowing you to generate images with one click.
For managers or consultants juggling meetings, tasks, and projects, visuals help make information stick. This upgrade makes it easier to:
- Give notes a consistent visual identity
- Create polished documents for sharing with clients
- Produce quick visual explanations without leaving Tana
- Support AI-generated workflows with accompanying imagery
And because everything sits inside your connected workspace, you keep context intact, no more lost assets across folders and apps.
### Start Creating Today
Gemini Nano Banana Pro is available now for all Tana users.
Sign up for free to try it and explore pre-built templates with image generation prompts:
---
#### AI voice chat on Android and iOS can now search Tana and the web
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/ai-voice-chat-on-android-and-ios-can-now-search-tana-and-the-web
Your ideas deserve a conversation. Today we're making that possible across every mobile device: Tana's AI voice chat on mobile is now fully released and available on both iOS and Android. Instead of just dictating notes, you can talk through problems with an AI coach, capture the outcome as structured data and even turn messy thoughts into polished presentations.
## Supercharged voice conversations
The new AI voice chat on mobile builds on Tana's voice capabilities, which already lets you turn spoken notes into structured content with supertag workflows. Now the AI listens and responds in real time, just like a colleague.
If you're new to Tana, [here's an intro](/blog/talk-through-your-ideas-with-tana-ai-voice-chat-for-ios).
[Download Tana for iOS](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tana-notes-ai-voice-memos/id6499428869?utm_source=blog)
[Download Tana for Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tana.android&hl=en&utm_source=blog)
#### How to start a voice chat
- **Capture tab:** Tap "Voice Chat" for a general conversation
- **Supertag:** Start from a Supertag (via Supertag tab or home screen widgets) to have a conversation tailored to that tag. The AI knows about its fields and any custom instructions you've set, and will autofill fields when the chat ends.
- **Any node:** Long-press a pinned node in Browse, or long-press the + button on any node. The AI will have the context of that node immediately. Send to save the transcript under that node.
Supertags still do the heavy lifting, their fields and AI instructions inform the assistant, and when you finish chatting Tana auto-fills fields with the transcript and any extracted tasks. On iOS you even get a review screen with an AI summary and charts before saving (coming soon to Android).
During the conversation the agent can now pull more information on the fly. Ask it to search your workspace, zoom into pinned nodes, fetch details from referenced nodes or even look up external facts. It's like having your entire knowledge graph and the web on speed dial, with voice-only interactions.
#### Key features
- Two-way AI conversation that asks questions and helps you refine your ideas.
- Easy to start from multiple entry points: from the Capture tab for general chat, via a supertag, or from any node to discuss its context.
- Home screen widgets: Tana lets you add home screen widgets customized with a selected supertag, allowing you to start a voice chat in one click.
- Structured outcomes: transcripts become notes with fields filled in automatically; tasks and items are extracted and linked to projects.
- Context on demand: the agent can search your workspace, zoom into pinned nodes or find information from references and the web.
- Voice chat currently only supports English language (mobile voice memos support 60+ languages).
## Build presentations in Tana with voice chat and AI image generation
To showcase what voice chat can do, we're launching two new templates that together turn voice chat into a presentation engine.
### Plan presentations with voice chat
The **[presentation workshop template](https://tana.inc/templates/speech-to-presentation)** helps you shape a story from a messy brain dump. Start a voice chat using the `#Presentation workshop` supertag, talk through your topic, audience, and key messages, and let the AI guide you through the narrative. When you return to the page you'll see an organised outline instead of raw notes, ready to refine. This approach follows presentation principles: make the audience the hero, contrast "what is" with "what could be", and craft strong openings and closings. You can revisit the supertag any time to continue the conversation and iterate your story.
### Generate slides in one click
To turn your outline into visuals, we've added an **[image generation slides extension template](https://tana.inc/templates/image-generation-slides)**.
You can then create presentation-ready images for your narrative beats and export them for your deck. Use these slides separately or pair them with the workshop template for a complete storytelling workflow.
For repeated use, extend a supertag (such as `#Presentation workshop`) with the slides extension; this adds a _Slides_ dropdown on all nodes with that tag.
- Right-click on a supertag you use to plan presentations (e.g. #Presentation workshop from this template)
This will give you a slides button on nodes tagged with this tag, to easily select styles:
## Use cases for busy managers
Try these things with voice chat:
- **Plan a presentation from scratch:** brainstorm your message with voice chat, let the presentation workshop template organise it into a narrative, then generate slides for each section.
- **Debrief a meeting:** talk through your notes with voice chat, have tasks and decisions extracted automatically, and save the transcript under the meeting node for follow-up.
- **Brainstorm product features:** discuss ideas with AI, ask it to search your workspace for relevant references and create tasks or research notes as you go.
- **Prepare a project update:** voice chat with the AI to outline the update, auto-fill fields like status and priority, then generate slides to present to stakeholders.
- **Reflect on your day:** use voice chat as a journaling partner, summarise wins and challenges, and capture insights that feed into tomorrow's tasks.
## Getting started
1. **Pick an entry point:** open the Capture tab and tap _Voice Chat_ for a generic conversation, choose a supertag in the Supertag tab or widget for a tailored chat, or long-press a pinned node or the plus button on any node to start chatting in context.
2. **Set up your supertag:** add fields and AI instructions so the assistant knows what to capture and how to format the output.
3. **Speak freely:** let the AI guide you through the process, whether you're planning a deck, extracting tasks or just thinking out loud.
4. **Review and save:** on iOS, review the AI summary and graphs before saving; on Android, the transcript and filled fields are saved immediately.
5. **Try the templates:** open the `#Presentation workshop` supertag to start shaping your story, and use the slides extension to create visuals.
Voice chat has matured from early access into a fully supported feature. With deeper context and new templates, it's the most human way to capture ideas and act on them. Update your Tana app, start talking and watch your messy thoughts turn into polished presentations.
---
#### Capture to tomorrow: a faster way to unload your mind in Tana mobile
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/capture-to-tomorrow-a-faster-way-to-unload-your-mind-in-tana-mobile-ios-android
Sometimes your best ideas do not arrive during work hours. And the tasks you remember at 22:37 rarely survive until morning. Tana mobile now lets you capture to Tomorrow, giving you a simple, reliable way to offload thoughts the moment they come up and have them waiting for you in tomorrow's daily note when you start your day.
Tana's mobile apps for iOS and Android are designed for fast, structured capture from anywhere, and now takes one more step in helping you stay on top of your tasks, ideas and knowledge.
## Capture to tomorrow: start your mornings already prepared
Daily notes in Tana give you a clean notepad for each day. With **capture to tomorrow** in the mobile apps, you can now send ideas, tasks, reminders, or voice memos directly to _tomorrow's_ daily note with a single action.
It's designed for the moments where you suddenly remember something important after work, but don't have time to start navigating to add it in the right place. Capture it, close the app, and Tana will have it ready for you in the morning.
This small change has a big effect on cognitive load. Instead of juggling loose thoughts, you get them out of your head immediately and return to your evening with peace of mind. This is one of the core principles of the Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology. Tomorrow, your daily note opens with everything already laid out, so you can plan your day and avoid dropping any balls.
## Supercharged mobile capture with widgets
Tana's mobile widgets for iOS and Android let you start capturing instantly from your home screen or lock screen. Whether you prefer text, voice, or images, you can create widgets tuned to your workflows.
You can configure widgets to:
- Capture a **voice memo** into a specific supertag
- Add a **quick written note** to a project or pinned node
- Snap a **photo** and and add a supertag
- Capture directly into **today or tomorrow's daily note** using the new option
For managers juggling many roles and responsibilities, this gives you "one-tap capture" for the workflows that matter most.
## A better way to manage tomorrow's tasks
When your tasks land directly in tomorrow's daily note tagged with a supertag, they instantly connect into your wider system. They become:
- Searchable
- Filterable
- Linkable to people, meetings, or projects
- Ready for AI-powered summarization or follow-up
This fits perfectly with how Tana is designed to support thinking and execution:
a connected workspace where tasks sit in the right context, instead of scattered across apps.
For busy professionals, this means fewer loose threads and a smoother start to the day. Use the daily notes page to map out tasks you want to get done today, and check off things as you completed the. Tana support checkboxes and dynamic progress bars to help you keep track of progress.
## Longer voice memos for real thinking
We've also increased the voice memo duration limit from **1 hour to 2 hours**, giving you more room to capture lectures, brainstorm sessions, long-form thinking, walking meetings, and deep reflections. Voice memos remain one of the most powerful features of Tana mobile, thanks to their structured capture capabilities.
When you record a voice memo in Tana:
- You can apply **supertags** to categorize it.
- [**Fields auto-fill**](/learn/features/mobile-voice-memos#custom-autofill-behavior) based on your transcript
- [Customize fields to link to existing notes, people and projects](https://tana.inc/docs/mobile-voice-memos#ai-instructions)
- The memo becomes **structured data** in your graph, not a dead-end audio file.
Combined with the new option to capture to tomorrow, this means you can record a long voice memo after a client meeting, tag it with the right supertag, and have it waiting in tomorrow's daily note ready for action or review.
If you want to set Tomorrow as the default for captured content, open the capture tab, tap voice or write, open the destination option and then long press of the option you want to set as default:
## A calmer way to end the day, and a smarter way to begin the next
Capture to tomorrow makes end-of-day capture frictionless. Instead of holding mental to-dos overnight or scattering them into multiple apps, Tana becomes a single place to unload everything confidently.
In the morning, you open Tana and everything you captured is already organized, tagged, and waiting in tomorrow's daily note.
It's simple, but transformative for users who rely on Tana as their second brain.
[Check out ready-made templates for voice memos in Tana ->](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/Mobile%20voice)
---
#### Custom colors for your Supertags
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/custom-colors-for-your-supertags
Many users have asked for it, and now it is here. Set any custom color on your supertags. Choose from the full color spectrum to make Tana feel more like yours.
Whether you want to add personality to your workspace, align your tags with brand colors, or make structures visually easier to parse, the color picker for supertags now gives you the freedom to design a system that feels natural to you.
## What's new in the supertag color picker
The new picker gives you full control while ensuring colors stay accessible and look great across Tana's light and dark themes.
- **Choose any hue from the full color spectrum**, then fine-tune the shade using the color canvas to adjust brightness, saturation and contrast.
- **Work with precise HEX, RGB or HSV values,** whether you want to match brand colors or build a consistent visual system across your workspace.
- **Preview how your color adapts** in light and dark mode, ensuring it remains readable in all contexts. Tana automatically applies subtle adjustments so **colors remain readable** no matter where they appear.
- **Or generate a random color** for fast experimentation.
The supertag color will be applied on the supertags shown on content, set as a gradient on the supertag home page (click the tag to see all tagged content), and in the node bullet of tagged items, so they're instantly recognizable.
## What makes supertags so powerful
Supertags already sit at the heart of how Tana works. They turn raw notes into structured knowledge, allow patterns to emerge over time, and make your information findable and actionable.
Colors add a new layer of meaning to those structures, helping your brain skim, group and recall information faster. The ability to shape your system visually is a small but powerful step in making Tana a workspace that thinks with you and adapts to how _you_ process information.
If you are just getting started, supertags are one of the biggest reasons people choose Tana over traditional note-taking or database tools. They:
- Evolve structure as your thinking evolves rather than locking you into rigid templates
- Let you view the same information in different contexts
- Make tasks, meetings, projects, people and ideas instantly searchable and connected (with the [options from supertag field type](https://tana.inc/docs/fields#options-from-supertag-field-type))
- Configure custom workflows and processing of information with AI instructions for voice memos, meeting summaries, tasks and more.
This flexibility aligns with how your brain actually works. You capture first, then shape structure later. Supertags become your personal scaffolding for thinking, acting and deciding.
This is part of Tana's larger philosophy: a workspace that adapts to you, not the other way around.
## Why color matters for thinking
Color is one of the fastest ways the brain encodes meaning. When used intentionally, it reduces effort, speeds up scanning and lowers the mental load of navigating complex information.
Here are creative ways users can use color to make Tana calmer, clearer and more supportive of different cognitive styles:
### 1. Reduce overwhelm by signaling category at a glance
Assign consistent colors to your core supertags: #Meeting, #Task, #Person, #Project, #Idea, etc.
Create a predictable mental map so your eyes find what they need before you consciously think about it.
### 2. Ease transitions between contexts
Executives, managers and neurodivergent users often struggle with rapid context switching. Color can act as a visual anchor so your brain instantly knows "what mode" you're in.
For example:
- Warm colors for action-oriented tags (tasks, priorities)
- Cool colors for thinking-oriented tags (ideas, research)
- Neutral colors for reference information
### 3. Surface urgency and status
Even without reading text, you can communicate state:
- High-priority tasks in a saturated color
- Upcoming meetings in a softer tone
- Completed or dormant items in more muted shades
### 4. Create a brand-aligned workspace
For consultants, creators and teams, matching brand colors can make your workspace feel cohesive and professional. If you run a client workspace, their color palette can become a cue that you're in the right place.
### 5. Support neurodivergent workflows
Many neurodivergent users rely on color to regulate attention and reduce cognitive friction. They've told us Tana's structure already helps them capture fast-moving thoughts and think more clearly. Color builds on that by:
- Improving scannability
- Creating strong memory associations
- Reducing the need to re-evaluate every line
- Making large outlines less visually dense
Color becomes not decoration, but a subtle guide rail for staying oriented.
## How to start using custom colors
Open the supertag configuration, select the color picker, and choose any color that fits your system. You can adjust easily as your workflows evolve.
---
#### Easier context switching with a new Recents view in Tana
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/easier-context-switching-with-a-new-recents-view-in-tana
Your fastest path back to the work that matters
Finding your way back to something you just worked on should be effortless. With Recents, now available at the top of the sidebar for all users, Tana automatically surfaces the 100 most recently edited entities across all your workspaces. It's the quickest way to resume work, switch context, or recover important notes without digging or searching.
This update reflects a simple idea: when your knowledge lives in a connected system, you shouldn't need to remember where anything is. Tana should remember for you.
## What Recents shows you
Recents displays the 100 most recently edited notes you've created or edited. It updates whenever you or a collaborator changes something in the note:
- Editing content
- Updating or setting a field value
- Checking/unchecking checkboxes
- Adding new or editing notes in the mobile app
This makes Recents especially powerful for users who work across many projects, collaborate in shared workspaces, or use Tana for meetings and fast-moving decision cycles.
To keep the list focused and useful, Recents only includes top-level nodes ("[entities](https://tana.inc/docs/node-types#entity-nodes)"), not every nested bullet or child node inside your documents.
A node will be treated as an entity if it:
- Has a supertag
- Lives at the top level of your Library (direct child)
- Was created from the Capture tab in the mobile apps
There is now also a dedicated search operator, **`IS ENTITY`**, making it easy to build your own live searches that filter down to entities only. If some nodes are not treated as an entity, but you would like them to be, you can do Ctrl/Cmd+K > Set entity override to entity
## A smarter way to track your recent work
Recents groups items by date and sorts them by **Last edited time**, with the newest activity at the top. It surfaces changes across all the workspaces you have added in the sidebar, so you can see movement in shared documents as soon as teammates update them.
**Changing field values now updates the system field `Last edited time`, not just content changes like it has been before.**
- If the note has a Supertag with pinned fields, they will be automatically displayed on the note in Recents
- Calendar nodes are excluded so your daily notes don't flood the list
This gives you a clean, high-signal feed of what actually changed in your world.
## Easy access in the sidebar
Recents is a system view, designed to be consistent and predictable for everyone, and can't be customized. But you _can_ hide it, reorder items in the top of the sidebar, and restore them at any time.
- Right-click Recents to hide it
- Bring it back via _Settings > Preferences_ or **Cmd/Ctrl+K > Toggle Recents in sidebar**
If you want your _own_ customized version of Recents, you can always [recreate it as a search and pin it to the sidebar](/help/search-and-finding#can-i-customize-sidebar-search-recents-or-supertags).
## Why this matters for users managing meetings, projects, and fast-changing work
Recents gives you instant recall of where your attention has been, without relying on memory or search queries. For users who run many meetings or switch between clients and projects, this means:
- Faster context switching
- No more losing track of important nodes after a long day
- A way to stay up to date on what others have changed
- A lighter cognitive load because Tana handles the remembering
It reflects what Tana is uniquely good at: bringing structure and intelligence to your knowledge without requiring extra effort from you.
---
#### From voice memo to slide deck: introducing the Tana API and MCP
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-api-mcp-voice-ai-workflows
Most AI workflows still start with a blank text box. You paste something in, hope the model understands the context, and then move on. With Tana's new Local API and Model Context Protocol (MCP) support, we are taking a significant step toward a future where AI tools work inside your thinking system, not outside it.
## A long-standing request becomes reality
For a long time, users have wanted a way to _read from_ Tana programmatically, not just write into it. People have asked for an API that lets them query, search, and build on their data from outside the app. They have built their own MCP-like tools in the community to fill the gap, and they have asked why integrations were so limited.
This launch answers that directly: your Tana workspace is now accessible via a local API and the Model Context Protocol so that AI tools, agents, and your own code can interact with the _real structured knowledge_ you have in Tana.
[Set up Tana's local API and MCP](/learn/guides/ai-assistants-mcp)
## The workflow starts with how humans actually think
A lot of valuable work happens away from the keyboard: in meetings, on a walk, or between calls. That is why voice is such a powerful input.
In Tana, you can capture a voice memo or [have a voice chat directly in the mobile app](https://tana.inc/articles/ai-voice-chat-on-android-and-ios-can-now-search-tana-and-the-web). That raw input is immediately part of your workspace, and can transformed and connected to everything else you have already captured.
From there, the most important step is not "asking the AI." It is _structuring your thinking._
Tana's outline editor is built for this. Instead of forcing you into a long plain text document or a chat-style input field, you work in bullets. You can reorder ideas, break them down, collapse and expand sections, and shape your thoughts as they evolve. This is closer to how people actually reason and plan.
AI then works on top of that structure. It helps you summarize, rephrase, extract key points, or turn rough notes into a clean outline, all while keeping control in your hands and applying your style and intentional structure to it.
## From structured notes to real output
Once your thinking is structured, entirely new workflows become possible.
One example that shows this clearly is turning voice notes into presentation slides.
Here is how it works:
- Capture a voice memo in Tana.
- Use the built-in AI in Tana to extract a summary or key points.
- Edit it to shape the key ideas into a clear, connected bullet-point structure.
- Use an MCP-connected tool like Claude Code to generate a slide deck directly from that structured content.
The slide deck is just one example. What matters is that AI is working from _your real notes, your real structure, and your real context._ There is no copy-pasting, no re-explaining, and no loss of intent in the process.
## Why structure matters more than prompts
Most web-based AI tools assume the prompt/response _is the work._ You type a request, get a response, and the content is not re-usable across sessions.
Tana takes the opposite approach.
Your notes are the work. The structure you build over time is the context. Prompts are just one way of interacting with that system.
Because everything lives in an outline-first workspace, AI can operate on meaningful units of thought instead of raw text blobs. This leads to better results and far less friction. You are not fighting interfaces or retyping the same ideas. You are refining and reusing the structure you have already built.
## A permanent knowledge base that compounds
Another key difference is where knowledge lives.
In many AI workflows, inputs and outputs are temporary. You paste something in, get something out, and then move on. When you need something similar later, you start from scratch.
Tana is designed as a _permanent knowledge repository._ Voice notes, meeting takeaways, outlines, prompts, and AI outputs all live in the same connected system. Over time, this builds a knowledge base that _compounds instead of decays._
This also unlocks a powerful use case: treating prompts and workflows as reusable assets.
Instead of keeping complex prompts in text files, chat histories, or your head, you can store them in Tana as structured notes. You can improve them over time, pull them in when you need them, see the contexts where they are used, and reuse them across workflows. With the Local API and MCP, tools like Claude Code can access and use these prompts directly.
## Extending Tana into AI-native tools with MCP
With support for the Model Context Protocol, Tana now acts as a _native context provider_ for AI tools.
This means tools like Claude Code can:
- Understand what is in your Tana workspace.
- Read structured notes, not just plain text.
- Use your outlines, prompts, and knowledge as input.
- Write results back into Tana as structured content.
You are not exporting your data or flattening it into a prompt. AI tools are working directly with your real system of record.
If you are new to Claude Code, we recommend [learning the basics from the Claude Code docs](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/overview) or [this great intro article by Teresa Torres](https://www.producttalk.org/claude-code-what-it-is-and-how-its-different/?srsltid=AfmBOoqxnS9w6vei6EXh-4TU6sUEGX8QDWFA1i5nkWYXqkXOfRE-D6A6).
[Read the full documentation for Tana Local API/MCP](https://tana.inc/docs/local-api-mcp)
## Tana skills
We are also shipping a set of optional skills for Claude Code that make this easy to get started:
- A workspace understanding skill that helps the AI see what is in your Tana.
- A schema visualization skill that shows how your supertags relate.
- A natural language search builder for creating Tana searches.
- A slide deck skill that turns Tana content into presentations.
[You can get the Tana skill pack by joining our community on Slack](https://tanacommunity.slack.com/archives/C02DAHZAM9R/p1769781902432199?thread_ts=1769778754.053889&cid=C02DAHZAM9R)
These are early examples of what becomes possible when AI tools can operate inside your knowledge base instead of around it.
## This is just the beginning
This launch is not about a new API for its own sake. It is about moving toward a different model of work.
One where:
- Capture is fast and natural, often through voice.
- Thinking happens in structure, not long documents.
- Knowledge accumulates in one place instead of being scattered.
- AI tools plug into your system and amplify it over time.
The more you use Tana, the more context there is for both you and the AI to build on. This release is an early but important step toward that future. We look forward to seeing what you build with it.
[Set up Tana's local API and MCP](/learn/guides/ai-assistants-mcp)
---
#### Global Clipper: Capture to Tana from anywhere on your desktop
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/global-clipper-capture-to-tana-from-anywhere-on-your-desktop
You should not have to switch apps to save a thought. With Global Clipper, you can capture ideas, tasks, and links into Tana without leaving what you are working on. This is one of our most requested features, and it is finally here.
If you have ever had a great idea while writing an email, reviewing a doc, or sitting in a meeting, you know the cost of context switching. You either ignore the idea or break your flow.
Global Clipper fixes that.
## Capture without breaking focus
With the Tana desktop app running, press:
**Shift + Cmd + Space**
A small capture modal appears on top of any app. Type your thought, paste a link, add a task, and continue your work.
(video coming here)
You can customize the shortcut under:
Tana desktop > OS menu > Options > Customize keybindings
Options"}
/>
This makes Tana your always-available inbox for ideas, commitments, and insights.
## Structured from the first keystroke
Global Clipper is not just a quick text box. It understands your system.
You can:
- Apply supertags
- Use @mentions
- Expand and set fields (tab through fields)
- Use basic extended tags and inherited fields
- Paste links and other content directly from your clipboard
That means you are not just capturing raw notes. You are capturing structured, actionable information that flows directly into your existing workflows.
For example:
- Add a new task with a deadline and owner while reading Slack
- Capture a client insight from an email and tag it with the right project
- Save an article link and immediately apply your Research supertag with relevant fields
Your graph becomes richer with every capture.
## Built for managers and operators who move fast
If you run back to back meetings, juggle multiple projects, or manage a team, the real bottleneck is not thinking. It is friction.
Global Clipper reduces the friction between noticing something important and saving it in the right place.
No more sticky notes.
No more temporary docs.
No more promising yourself you will "add it later."
You capture once. Tana handles the structure.
## Known limitations
This is the first version, and there are a few things to be aware of:
- Not all field option variants are supported yet
- Some issues may occur with extended tags
- Tana desktop must be running for the clipper to work
We will continue improving support for more advanced field types and edge cases.
## From long standing request to reality
Global Clipper has been one of the [most upvoted and discussed feature requests in our community](https://ideas.tana.inc/posts/16-tana-web-clipper).
Thank you to everyone who pushed for this.
Tana is designed to be your second brain. With Global Clipper, it becomes available wherever you think.
Download the latest desktop version, try the shortcut, and start capturing from anywhere.
---
#### GPT-5 models now available in Tana
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/gpt-5-available-in-tana-ai
The next generation of AI is here. Tana now supports GPT-5, GPT-5 Mini, and GPT-5 Nano , bringing faster, more accurate, and more structured AI assistance directly into your knowledge workflows. Whether you're transcribing meetings, working on ideas, or building complex automations, these new models make it easier to think, act, and stay in flow. Tana lets you use 20 models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, directly where your notes live.
We’re excited to bring the full GPT‑5 family to Tana AI tools: **GPT‑5**, **GPT‑5 Mini**, and **GPT‑5 Nano**.
These new models power up your workspace with:
- 💬 **Better conversations**
GPT‑5 is more reliable, less prone to hallucinations, and comes with “safe completions” that explain gently when a task can’t be completed.
- ⚡ **Performance that fits your flow**
Choose GPT‑5 for high-stakes thinking, _Mini_ for agile drafting, or _Nano_ for speed and scale.
_“GPT‑5 just works. It rarely screws up and generally feels competent.”_
— [Platformer](https://www.platformer.news/gpt-5-launch-release-reviews-impressions/)
## What are the differences between the new GPT-5 models?
Tana now gives you access to three GPT-5 models, each optimized for different needs:
- **GPT-5**
The most powerful and context-aware model in the lineup. Ideal for complex tasks like multi-step reasoning, transforming raw notes into structured knowledge, and drafting polished long-form content. GPT-5 is deeply integrated with your structured data in Tana, meaning it doesn’t just respond, it understands how your work is connected.
- **GPT-5 Mini**
A balanced model for everyday AI tasks. It's fast, affordable, and capable of summarizing meetings, rephrasing content, or generating checklists without sacrificing coherence or accuracy. Perfect for daily productivity use.
- **GPT-5 Nano**
Lightweight and ultra-fast. Use it for quick queries, simple formatting, or templated responses. It’s great when you want instant results inside a note, without waiting.
The models have different prices, and we recommend starting out with Mini or Nano, reserving use of GPT-5 for tasks that require reasoning or complex work. Be aware of the amount of references you include as context, to avoid triggering excessive charges. [View prices for the models](https://platform.openai.com/docs/pricing).
## How can I use GPT-5 in Tana?
Tana offers a toolbox to help you use AI in your workflows and systems to make your knowledge work for you.
### Chat with your notes directly
[Tana AI chat](/learn/features/ai-chat) is a fast way to use different AI models inside Tana to help you brainstorm, summarize, rewrite, or query your content in natural language.
Press space below any node to start an AI chat with that note as context. Type @ and pull in other nodes to include them in the context. Tana lets you select which model to use amongst 20 models from OpenAI/ChatGPT, Anthropic/Claude and Google/Gemini.
Instead of switching tools or tabs, you can interact with your notes using AI right where your knowledge lives. It speeds up thinking, helps distill complexity, and turns scattered notes into clear next steps.
### Collaborate with custom AI chat agents
Tana lets you build [AI chat agents](/learn/features/ai-agents) tailored to certain use cases or trained on specific content, to give you more relevant results in AI chat. Agents in Tana are built on AI command nodes, but can also be explored by downloading a [Tana Template](https://tana.inc/templates).
An example of an agent that can be built in Tana would be a "User research interview agent" that is trained on best practices for how to process interviews, and will analyze a transcript from a user interview and extract suggested action items for the product team. Try this with the [User research interview template](https://tana.inc/templates/user-interviews).
\*A lot of work is going on to take agents in Tana to the next step - stay tuned!
-
### Command nodes: Your personal automation buttons
Think of command nodes as smart shortcuts that handle your routine work for you. Instead of doing the same steps over and over, you create a custom button that does it all automatically with one click.
**Here's what makes them powerful:**
Command nodes can chain together multiple actions in sequence. For example, you could create a "Process Meeting Notes" button that automatically organizes your notes, extracts action items, assigns them to team members, and adds everything to your project tracker - all in seconds.
You can trigger these automations in three ways: through Tana's command line, as clickable buttons on your notes, or automatically when certain conditions are met (like when you add a specific tag).
**Real-world examples:**
- A "Weekly Review" button that gathers all your completed tasks, upcoming deadlines, and creates a summary report
- A "New Project Setup" button that creates all the folders, templates, and tracking systems you need
- A "Voice Memo Processor" that transcribes recordings, identifies tasks, and files everything in the right places
The magic is that once you build these automations, anyone on your team can use them - turning your best practices into one-click workflows that save hours of repetitive work.
Command nodes can be built with different models, and we'd love to see what you can build with GPT-5! [Read more about command nodes](/learn/features/command-nodes)
## What's unique about AI in Tana?
Tana isn’t just a canvas for notes - it’s a system that helps you take action and _stay on top of everything_. While most apps bolt AI on top of your content, Tana is different. It’s built on a knowledge graph, so AI knows what your notes mean, how they’re connected, and you can build custom AI commands to tailor your workflows. That means smarter outputs with less effort from you.
Tana offers access to more than **20 AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google**, and allows your to include your notes as context with a simple @ mention - no need for export and copy-paste!
These new GPT-5 models can be wired into your workflows, not bolted on. That means:
- **Collaborate with AI on your notes.** AI chat agents in Tana can review or build on your note to create derived works or new ideas. In Tana you can use AI directly on your existing notes, and save AI responses into your structure - without need to copy things back and forth.
- **Semantic Intelligence that compounds.** AI in Tana understands your graph, what information means, and structures outputs accordingly. You can add supertags directly in AI responses, to build on it in the future.
- **Voice memos become knowledge.** Turn voice notes and meeting recordings into structured notes, with decisions, tasks, and insights extracted automatically.
With GPT-5, you can move faster whether you're drafting a doc, processing meeting notes, or turning scattered thoughts into a plan. It’s now easier to:
- Use AI commands on structured content.
- Create tasks, ideas, and dashboards automatically from AI outputs.
- Ask questions of your own data, and get accurate, structured answers.
No need to pre-define structure. Just start typing, and let GPT-5 + Tana’s Supertags do the rest.
## How can I try GPT-5 in Tana?
You can try AI in Tana by [signing up for a free trial](https://app.tana.inc/create-account?utm_medium=blog&utm_source=Tana_blog&utm_campaign=gpt-5) of all the AI features in Tana. To get started, just select a GPT-5 model in any AI chat. You can test different models to see which works best for your needs, or build agents that use different models depending on context.
You don’t have to choose between speed and quality anymore. With GPT-5, GPT-5 Mini, and GPT-5 Nano, you get both right where you work.
---
#### Importing your Notion workspace into Tana: how to move your knowledge into a more flexible, connected system
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/importing-your-notion-workspace-into-tana-how-to-move-your-knowledge-into-a-more-flexible-connected-system
If you have been managing projects, meeting notes or documentation in Notion and are ready for a more flexible, AI-native system, you can now import your content directly into Tana.
Switching from Notion to Tana is now simple with the new Notion import feature. You can export selected Notion pages or databases as Markdown or CSV, upload the zipped file, and Tana will recreate your content in a new workspace. This guide walks you through the process and explains the key differences between Notion and Tana so you can get the most out of your imported material.
## Why people move from Notion to Tana
Notion is excellent for structured documents and databases, but many use cases eventually outgrow the rigidity of its setup. When your work spans multiple projects, clients, tasks and meetings, maintaining templates and database connections becomes time-consuming. Often you end up adopting separate tools for project or task management, leading to disruption and manual work when switching between tools. It's easy to lose context and hard to keep information connected over time.
Tana offers a different approach. Instead of rigid databases, everything becomes part of a flexible knowledge graph. Instead of having to organize your notes in pages, and having to navigate to a certain place to add something, in Tana you can simply write on your Daily notes page or in any note, and add a Supertag to make the content searchable.
### Some of the core features in Tana that Notion doesn't offer:
Supertags add structure when you need it, and lets you classify a note as a task, meeting, person or any other category you want to track.
Live searches are widgets that let you pull in a list of e.g. tagged notes, and apply filters, sorting, grouping and view it in different ways (as a table, calendar, cards etc.)
References are mirrored/linked notes that make it easy to connect tasks, meetings, people and projects, to avoid duplicating information by simply doing @ mention to pull in an existing note. Doing this build out connections between your content, so it becomes a knowledge graph that you can navigate to find related content.
Powerful AI features like AI chat and command nodes allows you to customize workflows with advanced prompts. Include your notes as context for AI simply by doing @ mention.
Importing from Notion into Tana lets you start that transition without losing your previous work, so you can use it for context in your work or for AI.
## Key differences between Notion and Tana to understand before you migrate
Migrating content is one step. Adopting Tana's way of thinking is where the real shift happens. Below are the most important conceptual differences, framed so your transition feels smooth rather than confusing.
### Pages vs connected nodes
Notion organizes content into nested pages, and you have to place that page somewhere for it to be easy to find and navigate to.
Tana organizes everything as nodes in a **knowledge graph**, allowing items to appear in multiple contexts without duplicating data. This makes recall easier and keeps related material connected automatically. There are two ways you can store your notes in Tana:
1. **On Daily notes** - every day, Tana gives you a fresh notepad to work on that day. Use it to make a plan with task you want to complete, write a journal, or simply draft the things you are working on. The Daily note page can be customized as a dashboard, to show you meetings, tasks or other relevant content. When you create a new note in Tana, it will default be stored on your Daily note page for Today.
1. **In a "Wiki-style" hierarchy** - Tana supports building out a "wiki-like" structure where you place notes in a hierarchy. This is useful for e.g. company wikis, client portals, project pages or when you want to structure complex information in one place.
Where you store something in Tana doesn't matter as much, since you can find it again with supertags and live searches.
### Capture first, organize later
Notion encourages you to design your schema early.
Tana encourages fast capture followed by light, gradual structuring. This is especially useful for users with busy meeting schedules who need to take notes quickly and refine later.
Tana's mobile apps also let you [quickly capture](/learn/features/tana-mobile#capture-directly-into-tana-outliner) ideas, links, notes or images with a dedicated tab that sends things directly to your daily note for today or tomorrow. If you want to process captured things manually, Tana also has a built-in Inbox.
### Databases vs supertags and live search widgets
Notion databases are fixed containers with set properties and predefined views.
Tana uses **supertags** to define types (Meeting, Task, Person, Project) and fields to store structured attributes. You can then build **Live searches** anywhere you need them that pulls out e.g. tagged notes with filters, sort or grouping. You can create live search widgets anywhere in your notes, and they can appear seamlessly in between text content, images or videos.
Instead of maintaining multiple databases, the same set of nodes can appear in multiple views depending on context.
### Properties vs fields
In Notion, database rows are structured by **properties** you define upfront.
In Tana, structure comes from **fields**, which appear when you apply a **supertag** to a node. You can also structure nodes without supertags using fields, for example in a table.
A key difference is that Tana doesn't require you to set up a database to view notes as a table, you can seamlessly switch back and forth between table view and other views.
Tana has two types of option fields; plain **Options** and **Options from Supertag**. Plain options lets you simply write the values you want. Tana doesn't restrict you to select between single select and multi-select like Notion does. Another difference is that Tana always allows you to write manual text in field values, even if it's an option field. So you can select an option, but also write a note below it with additional information. You can also set an options field to auto-collect values you write into a field as values, and they will be displayed as options automatically. Learn more about fields in Tana.
This means you can capture information quickly, then add structure later. It reduces friction during fast-paced work like meetings or project planning.
### Voice-first
Tana has integrated live transcription on desktop and voice memo recording on mobile. Supertags let you turn rambling voice memos into tasks, articles, memos, emails and more.
The Tana mobile apps lets you set up home screen widgets for capturing voice memos with custom supertags. [Check out templates for voice memos](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/Mobile%20voice)
## How workspaces differ in Tana vs Notion
When you move from Notion, one of the most helpful mindset shifts is understanding how Tana handles workspaces.
### You always have a personal workspace
Every Tana user starts with a **personal workspace** that is private and always available. It's your home environment, regardless of how many shared or team workspaces you participate in.
### You can pull in content from any workspace
Instead of jumping back and forth between workspaces, Tana lets your personal workspace **pull in content** from other workspaces using the **Allow content from** setting. This means:
- you can draft content in your personal workspace before moving it into a shared one
- you can reference shared nodes in your private notes
- you can build views that combine personal and shared information
- you stay in one uninterrupted surface rather than switching contexts
For managers working across clients, teams or projects, this dramatically reduces friction.
## Command nodes and AI workflows: a capability you won't find in Notion
One of the biggest shifts when moving to Tana is discovering that your workspace can **run workflows designed by you**, not just store information.
### Command nodes
Command nodes let you build custom workflows inside your graph. Command nodes can be set up to show as buttons or menus on nodes with Supertags. They can help you do things like:
- generate images, summaries or reports
- create new tagged items
- set/change status with one click
- transform nodes
- set due dates
- move notes to a specific location
- run multi-step operations
These workflows operate directly on your content, not outside it.
### AI command nodes
AI command nodes take this further. They let AI read a node, understand its surrounding context, and take action based on your instructions. Examples include:
- preparing a meeting brief from related documents and past decisions
- extracting tasks from transcripts, voice memos or raw notes
- generating follow-ups based on recent activity
- analyze meeting transcripts with specific instructions (e.g. user interview, investor meeting)
This is a fundamental difference from Notion's automations or third-party integrations. In Tana, **your knowledge graph is the workspace and the data source**, giving AI the context to work intelligently
[Check out AI-powered templates to see what's possible](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/AI)
## Why this matters for your Notion import
Your imported Notion content goes into a new workspace, but you don't have to "switch" into it to work with it. You can:
- surface its content inside your personal workspace
- reorganize imported material privately
- gradually move items into your main system
- work continuously without breaking flow
This is one of Tana's core strengths: separating data boundaries from your personal working surface.
## How to prepare your content in Notion
Tana supports Notion exports in **Markdown (.md)** and **CSV**, up to **1500 markdown files** per import (or ca. 500 MB). For best results, we recommend exporting only the sections you plan to continue using rather than your entire workspace.
### How to export correctly from Notion
1. Open the page you want to export.
1. Click the options menu in the top right corner.
1. Select **Export**.
1. Choose **Markdown and CSV**.
1. Turn on **Include subpages** and **Create folders for sub-pages**.
1. Download the zipped file.
These toggles are required for Tana to rebuild your hierarchy and preserve relationships between pages.
### How to import a Notion export file into Tana
1. In Tana, open the user menu in the top right corner.
1. Select **Import content**, then choose **Notion import**.
1. Review the import limitations in the dialog.
1. Upload your zipped Notion export.
1. Keep your computer awake until the process completes.
If you later want to move items into your personal or shared workspace, use **Move with finder** to place them where they belong.
[Full tutorial for Notion import](https://tana.inc/articles/tutorial-import-content-into-tana-from-notion)
## What to expect after importing
Your imported content appears in a **new Tana workspace**, giving you a clean environment to explore and reorganize it without impacting your main system.
Tana recreates as much of your Notion structure as possible, but because the systems work differently, a few adjustments are normal:
- **Page structures** is replicated with hierarchical outliner structure, but you can re-organize as you want.
- **Database relationships** won't be recreated automatically; replacing them with supertags and fields often simplifies things
- **Custom Notion views** like galleries or timelines will appear as outline lists; you can switch to boards, tables or other views manually
For many users, this cleanup step is where Tana starts to feel powerful, because structure becomes something you refine naturally, not something you maintain rigidly.
## Start your migration
You can import your first Notion export in minutes. Once your material is in Tana, you'll be able to explore faster workflows, richer connections and AI-powered systems that help your knowledge compound instead of scatter.
[See full tutorial for importing your Notion content](https://tana.inc/articles/tutorial-import-content-into-tana-from-notion)
---
#### Introducing AI credits in Tana Free
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/introducing-ai-credits-in-tana-free
We’re excited to share that all Free plan users now get 500 AI credits every month - enough for around 100 minutes of meeting transcription. With this change, every Tana user can experience the power of AI in their daily workflows, from transcribing meetings to turning rough notes into structured insights.
## What’s new for Free users?
Users on Tana Free will now have **500 monthly AI credits included.** We’re continuously improving the AI features in Tana, and we want everyone to have a chance to test them regularly.
This quota will renew every month. If you use up the credits, you will have to upgrade to a paid plan to continue using AI features.
New users signing up from the website and mobile apps, will now start on Tana Free without having to add a credit card. When you are ready, you can choose to start a trial of Plus or Pro.
Alongside this, we’re also adding a few new limitations on the Free plan:
- Max. 3 additional workspaces beyond your personal workspace
- Can only use the default model in AI chat (GPT-4o at the moment)
- Limits on file uploads remain in place (5MB per file, 0.5GB total file storage)
- Creating new command nodes now requires a paid plan
- Mobile voice memos will save as audio if credits run out (can be transcribed later)
- The existing paid features **Google Calendar sync, password-protected publishing, publishing templates, and Input API integrations (like Readwise)** are still reserved for Plus and Pro
## What can I do with AI in Tana as a user on Free?
With this change, Free users can now try AI features like real-time transcription, AI chat, and mobile voice memos. Usage of these features will required AI credits.
Let's say your managing one or more teams; use real-time voice transcription to record your feedback, use AI chat to reformat it for easy sharing in slack or elsewhere, then transcribe the review meeting with the team, so you have the full context of what was discussed. All of this will live in your notes, you can easily go back to it later.
You can also try recording voice memos on mobile while on the go, to have them ready transcribed when you get to your desk. If you apply a supertag to a mobile voice memos, Tana will try to auto-fill the fields.
## What does upgrading to a paid plan in Tana give me?
The Free plan is the easiest way to start using Tana with AI, but the **real power of Tana lives in Plus and Pro**. Paid plans give you unlimited room to grow and connect your workflows:
Get all your meetings imported with **Google Calendar sync.**
Start transcribing meetings with one click from **desktop notifications**.
Protect and share with **password-protected publishing.**
Automate with **command nodes** and advanced AI workflows
Choose your AI model for **tailored results**, from leading providers like OpenAI (GPT), Anthropic (Claude) and Google (Gemini).
Connect external tools like **Readwise and custom APIs.**
Higher monthly AI credit quota (2000 on Plus, 5000 on Pro) with option to buy top-ups if you run out.
These are the features that make Tana not just a note-taking app, but a **thinking environment where humans and AI work side by side**.
## Getting started
New users will automatically begin on the Free plan and can upgrade anytime from the pricing page to unlock Plus or Pro. If you’d like to try the full experience right away, you can also start a trial directly from [tana.inc/pricing](https://tana.inc/pricing) (credit card required).
We can’t wait to see what you build with AI in Tana.
---
#### Launching: Tana for Desktop!
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/launching-tana-for-desktop
Experience Tana at a new level of focus, clarity and speed. Available on Windows, Mac and Linux, scroll for downloads 👇
### Download here:
[Download for Windows](https://desktop-update.tana.inc/download/exe)
[Download for Mac](https://desktop-update.tana.inc/download/dmg)
[Download for Ubuntu/Debian](https://desktop-update.tana.inc/download/deb)
[Download for Fedora/Redhat](https://desktop-update.tana.inc/download/rpm)
> _We are looking for feedback on the new desktop apps._
>
> This feedback will be considered by the product team for our first round of updates in the coming weeks.
>
> [Leave your feedback here](https://ideas.tana.inc/posts/388-request-for-feedback-on-tana-desktop)
### Elevate Tana to the _top_ of your desk
**🤫 Work in a distraction-free environment**, away from tabs, pop-ups, and other distractions.
⏩ **Experience faster performance than ever**, because it's running independently from your browser and tabs.
🧹 **Enjoy a cleaner, more integrated interface** that gives you the purest and simplest Tana experience yet.
### `✨NEW!` Desktop voice recording
Record audio straight into the app using your desktop setup. Use the shortcut Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+E to start and stop recording. Like voice recordings from Tana Capture, recordings end up in the Inbox, transcribed and ready to be actioned.
---
#### Launching: Text selection toolbar!
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/launching-text-selection-toolbar
Supertags, References, Formatting and more - within a click.
## A new toolbar is in town!
To improve mouse interactions, we're rolling out a toolbar for whenever you interact with text in Tana.
1. Select plain text to make it appear.
2. Select an inline reference for different options.
For further documentation on the text selection toolbar, [go here](/learn/features/nodes-and-references#text-selection-toolbar).
Got feedback? [Contribute to improving the feature here](https://ideas.tana.inc/posts/398-request-for-feedback-on-text-selections-toolbar)!
---
#### Loom videos and X posts, embedded directly in Tana
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/loom-videos-and-x-posts-embedded-directly-in-tana
Links are useful. Context you can act on is better. With native embeds for Loom videos and X posts, Tana now lets you view, play, and interact with external content without leaving your workspace.
If your team relies on async video, social signals, or shared references to make decisions, this removes one more layer of friction from everyday work.
#### From feature request to feature shipped
Many of our users have shared a simple frustration: Loom videos are central to how their team communicates, but in Tana they showed up as plain links. YouTube embeds worked beautifully. Loom did not. That extra step of context switching broke flow and slowed teams down.
That request stuck with us. And today, we've solved it.
Paste a Loom or x.com link into Tana, and it now renders as a rich, interactive embed automatically.
#### What works out of the box
**For both Loom and X**
- Paste a link and it instantly expands into an embedded view
- Remove the embed at any time using the X in the top right if you prefer a clean link
- Keeps the original URL intact, just with more context when you want it
**Loom embeds**
- Play videos directly inside Tana
- Full playback controls including speed, captions, quality, and skip forward or back
- Leave emoji reactions
- View and write comments without leaving Tana
This is especially powerful for teams using Loom for documentation, SOPs, client projects, onboarding processes, or decision tracking. The video lives right next to the tasks, notes, and follow-ups it relates to.
**X post embeds**
- See the post inline, without opening a new tab
- Click reply to continue the conversation directly in your browser
Perfect for tracking inspiration, industry conversations, saving customer feedback, or anchoring internal discussions to public context.
#### Why this matters for knowledge work
Most teams already communicate across tools. Videos live in Loom. Signals live on X. Decisions live somewhere else entirely.
By embedding this content directly into your notes, projects, and meeting records, you reduce context switching and preserve intent. A Loom walkthrough is no longer just a link, it's part of the system your team builds knowledge in. An X post is no longer a bookmark, it's a reference you can think and act from.
This is another small but important step toward a workspace where information doesn't just get stored, but stays usable.
#### Try it now
Just paste a Loom or x.com link into Tana and see it expand. No settings to toggle, no setup required.
And if there's another workflow that feels one click more annoying than it should be, keep telling us. This improvement started exactly that way.
---
#### Our Ideas Philosophy
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/our-ideas-philosophy
Feature requests are common in software development. Our process instead has a particular emphasis on problems.
## 💡 The philosophy
### **Community, not audience**
You, the Tana community, are an invaluable part in helping us build and improve Tana. We value every bit of feedback we receive. We believe that any time you spend sharing ideas and feedback about Tana with us is an effort to improve it, and we truly appreciate it.
### **We want** ***problem*** **requests, not feature requests**
Feature requests are super common in software development. Our process instead has a particular emphasis on problems.
The most reliable way we have found to improve Tana, as well as unlock new things Tana can do, is to focus on the detail of _ideas as problems_. Problems help us see surprising connections and helps us apply Tana's unique technical structure to solve them.
Great solutions come from seeing a problem in a new or different way, and it's why we get so much value out of users explaining the reasoning of their ideas as much as the idea itself. Why a particular feature would be useful, what is the mission critical problem it solve help us see more paths towards solutions. Even if an idea is common, an unusual description of the problem can lead to breakthroughs.
We have built this into our process. We want _problems_ to have a prominent role in how we ask for new ideas from the community.
### **The path from problem to idea to feature is complex**
A great idea travels a difficult path in the design process at Tana. It's assessed against a range of criteria such as technical feasibility, resources and time of the team, alignment with vision for Tana, potential impact for users.
This process means that even great ideas for how to improve Tana may end with no, or not right now, or look so different by the end of this process that it's hard to see the idea that they started as.
Your ideas have a larger range of possible outcomes than yes or no, and they will influence Tana in ways that sometimes aren't obvious.
### **Some features won't be built anytime soon, or at all**
We are an opinionated team who are trying to reinvent how humans, teams, and computers work together. We are early on our path, but have strong views and are pushing hard towards making them a reality.
Some ideas don't fit. We will try to communicate clearly why a particular feature is not in our thinking, and why we select the paths we do.
### **Strong opinions, quarterly held**
We work in 3 month quarters. Each quarter has a specific objective set by the Tana founders and leadership team, driven by feedback, data, and our teams collective thinking in our Tana workspace.
This objective converts into projects across the entire team, and we spend the next three months trying complete those projects documenting all our exploration out outcomes in Tana.
At the end of the quarter, we start the process again, with an updated focus and set of objectives driven by feedback and our learning.
## ✅ The Process
### Submitting ideas
1. Go to [ideas.tana.inc](https://ideas.tana.inc/channels/ideas). To submit, vote and comment, and log in via google (more options coming soon)
2. You can submit requests by selecting 'Submit an Idea'.
3. Submitting an idea is built around five steps:
4. Idea title (describe your idea in one sentence)
5. Feature category (what category best describes the idea you are submitting)
6. Explain the problem as you see it (what is the problem that is at the heart of your idea)
7. Why is this a problem for you? (This is a push from us to see if can get more insights into motives, and behaviours)
8. Suggest a solution (Describe a way to solve the problem)
### Browsing and voting
You can browse other ideas, and filter by things such as category, popularity and recently submitted.
You can comment on other ideas, giving extra context to the problem or solution.
You can upvote other ideas. We are experimenting with limited votes per user. We are giving each user 2 votes per month (6 per quarter). The goal of the limit is to help us see clearer prioritization with different ideas.
### Review submissions
Your submission will be available for other community members to vote and comment on.
The team will review submissions and categorise them. We will do this regularly but without a dedicated schedule.
We will also let you know if we need more information for any specific request, by tagging it with the category 'needs more information'.
### Connection to the team
The Tana team work in Tana, and every idea we decide to tackle is sent to the Tana team workspace, and the status gets changed to 'transferred to team workspace'.
If the request has been transferred into the Tana Team Workspace, it means that it's actively in the design conversations, but it doesn't mean we will necessarily release it. The design process is hard, see our Idea Philosophy for more information.
### Communicating ongoing status
We will explore new ways to communicate our thinking on submitted requests. To start we are going to have a quarterly communication, where the team review and discuss particular ideas. The format for this will either be live event, or an AMA style with the product team.
### Expectations
We are early stages in this process and we will continue to iterate to find better ways to use community ideas, and will make changes as we go. We value all effort applied to making Tana better, and we are excited to explore with you all.
---
#### Reorder tabs in Tana desktop for faster focus
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/reorder-native-tabs-in-tana-desktop-for-faster-focus
Reorder tabs in Tana desktop using drag and drop or keyboard shortcuts to shape your workspace and move faster without losing focus.
Small improvements in navigation can have an outsized impact on how focused and fluent your work feels. With this update, tabs in Tana desktop gets even more support for keyboard shortcuts. You can now reorder tabs freely, using drag and drop or precise keyboard shortcuts, to move fluently while you work.
## Tabs in Tana are part of your thinking surface
[Tabs and panels](https://tana.inc/docs/navigation#tabs-and-panels) in Tana are designed to let you work in parallel without losing context. You might have a daily note open next to a project, a meeting note, or a reference you keep coming back to. For many users, especially those doing deep or complex work, tabs are not temporary. They are part of an intentional layout that supports focus and flow.
This update builds on that philosophy by letting you decide not just which tabs are open, but also the order they appear in.
## Drag and drop to shape your workspace
You can now reorder tabs directly by dragging them left or right in the tab bar. This is ideal when you want to quickly group related work, bring the most important tab closer, or visually mirror the structure of what you are working on.
For example:
- Keep your daily note as the first tab, followed by the projects you are actively working on today.
- Group meeting notes next to the project they belong to.
- Move a reference tab out of the way without closing it.
This makes tabs feel less like browser history and more like a flexible workspace.
If you need to close a tab, you can always find it again by opening the global search with `Ctrl/Cmd+S` - this will show you recently viewed notes. You can also find the 100 most recently edited notes that you have created or edited in the Recents view in the sidebar.
## New keyboard shortcuts for power users
For users who prefer staying on the keyboard, we have added shortcuts for both navigating between tabs and reordering them. This means you can adjust your workspace without breaking your flow.
### Jump to tabs
- Tab 1-8
- Mac: Cmd + 1 ... Cmd + 8
- Windows/Linux: Ctrl + 1 ... Ctrl + 8
- Last tab
- Mac: Cmd + 9
- Windows/Linux: Ctrl + 9
### Move between tabs
- Next tab
- Mac: Cmd + ] or Ctrl + Tab
- Windows/Linux: Ctrl + Tab
- Previous tab
- Mac: Cmd + [ or Ctrl + Shift + Tab
- Windows/Linux: Ctrl + Shift + Tab
### Reorder tabs with the keyboard
- Windows/Linux
- Move tab left: Ctrl + Shift + Page Up
- Move tab right: Ctrl + Shift + Page Down
- macOS (including laptops where Fn is required for Page Up/Down)
- Move tab left: Ctrl + Shift + Fn + Up
- Move tab right: Ctrl + Shift + Fn + Down
If you rely heavily on keyboard navigation, this gives you full control over both where you are and how your workspace is arranged.
## Why this matters if you are evaluating Tana
If you are comparing tools, tab behavior often sounds like a minor detail. In practice, it says a lot about how a tool treats focus and context.
In Tana, tabs are not just a way to open multiple documents. Combined with [in-tab panels](https://tana.inc/docs/navigation#how-to-use-panels), structured content, and [keyboard-first navigation](https://tana.inc/docs/navigation#navigating-with-keyboard), they support working across tasks, notes, and knowledge without constant context switching. Being able to reorder tabs reinforces that model. Your workspace adapts to your priorities, not the other way around.
Tana Desktop loads your whole knowledge graph, making it fast to open notes in tabs or panels, search and mention existing notes. Tana Desktop also supports offline for longer periods of work without WiFi.
This is especially relevant if you:
- Work with multiple projects in parallel.
- Take frequent meeting notes and need to move between context quickly.
- Prefer tools that reward keyboard fluency and speed.
- Want a desktop app that feels like a thinking environment, not just a document list.
## A small change that supports long-term flow
Reordering tabs is a small feature on the surface, but it supports a deeper goal. Tana aims to reduce friction between what you are thinking about and what you see on screen. When your tabs are ordered the way your mind is working, you spend less time navigating and more time actually doing the work.
This update is available now in the Tana desktop app.
---
#### Share your thinking, not just your documents, with Tana Publish
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/share-your-thinking-not-just-your-documents-with-tana-publish
Tana Publish now lets viewers interact with your shared content exactly as it appears in your workspace, seeing supertags and fields, expanding bullets, zooming into details, and navigating hierarchical structures, all without needing a Tana account. This transforms static knowledge sharing into dynamic thought exploration, allowing the reader to explore the relationship between notes.
## What is Tana Publish and how does it work?
Publish is the simplest way to share your Tana content with the outside world. With just a few clicks, you can make a part of your workspace accessible through a public link.
Tana Publish preserves your thought structure in two powerful ways:
- **Tana view**: Your content exactly as it appears in your workspace, complete with outliner navigation, supertags and fields, tables, lists, and card views. Viewers can expand and collapse bullets to control information density, zoom into any node to read it as a full page, navigate through breadcrumbs to understand context, and follow links to explore the content.
- **Article view**: A clean, reading-focused layout, perfect for long-form text content like essays, articles or prose. Your nested thoughts become headings, fields transform into formatted sections, and everything flows naturally for readers expecting traditional documents.
Readers don’t need a Tana account — they can open your link in any web browser and explore right away.
## Tana view: A new way to interact with content
With the new release of Tana view, your readers can:
- Expand and collapse bullets to see the level of detail they want
- Zoom into a bullet to view it as its own page
- Navigate hierarchies using breadcrumbs
- Explore dynamic structures like tables, lists, and cards
- View embedded Youtube, Vimeo, Spotify or Figma links.
Instead of just reading your notes, people can step into your thinking and working environment. Think of it as inviting someone into a piece of your actual workspace, where they can explore your organizational system and discover insights through the same structures you use daily - while you are in control of what you want them to see.
## The sharing paradox
Traditional document sharing forces linear consumption — readers start at the top and scroll down, missing connections and losing context. As digital tools have been evolving through the last 30 years, there's always been an uncomfortable gap between how we organize information for ourselves and how we present it to others. We've accepted a strange reality: our personal knowledge systems look nothing like what we share.
We take our carefully crafted notes, our thoughtfully structured outlines, our interconnected ideas — and then we flatten them into static documents, presentations, or simplified exports that lose all the richness and context that made them valuable to us in the first place.
When building a publish feature for Tana, we faced a unique challenge: Tana is a knowledge graph, not a document store with folders and pages. Every node can be viewed as it's own page, and can reference other nodes, creating a rich web of interconnected information. When you want to share one piece of this graph, where do you draw the line? Share too little, and viewers miss critical context. Share too much, and you might expose information you didn't intend to make public.
#### Control what you want to share
Tana Publish solves this with the new **"Make content visible"** button on references in Tana View. This gives you precise control over your knowledge graph boundaries. When you publish a node, referenced content appears as linked titles. Viewers can see the connections, but not the content — until you explicitly choose to reveal it.
Here's how it works: When preparing your published page, you can click "Make visible" on any reference. This shares the content inside that specific node, but maintains privacy for any references within it. It's like opening specific rooms in your house to visitors while keeping other doors closed—you control exactly how deep into your knowledge graph viewers can explore.
For complete security, you can set a password (paid feature).
## What makes Tana Publish different from Google Docs or Notion sharing?
### The Knowledge Graph advantage
Tana isn't built on documents or pages — it's built on a knowledge graph where every piece of information connects to others through references and relationships.
Traditional tools sidestep this by forcing you to copy and flatten content into standalone documents. You lose the connections, context, and ability to navigate between related ideas. **It's like photocopying one page from a wiki and losing all the hyperlinks.**
Tana Publish maintains your knowledge graph structure while giving you surgical precision over what's shared. Viewers see the connections and can explore what you've chosen to share, but your private knowledge remains protected.
When sharing meeting notes, stakeholders can zoom directly into their action items while maintaining visibility of strategic context. Project documentation lets team members drill into technical specifications without losing sight of business objectives. Research findings preserve the web of connections between insights, allowing readers to discover patterns you might not have explicitly documented.
### Zero friction for viewers
The biggest barrier to knowledge sharing isn't creating content—it's the friction of access. Tana Publish removes every obstacle:
- No account creation required
- No access requests
- No app downloads
- No permission management
Anyone with the link can immediately explore your content, whether they're a client reviewing a proposal, a community member accessing documentation, or a colleague catching up on project status.
Tana Publish offers the ability to** set a password** if you want to limit who can view a published page (_paid feature_).
## How Tana Publish fits your workflow
### For knowledge workers: From scattered to structured
Knowledge workers spend a lot of their time searching for information and rebuilding context. Tana can transforms personal knowledge management into team knowledge assets. Your meeting notes and transcripts become referenceable context documents for decisions. Your user interviews becomes actionable tasks or insights. Your plans become living documentation that updates as you refine your thinking.
👉 Try Tana's meeting notetaker to get the full context of your meetings preserved and available to use as context in the future.
### For Team leaders/Project managers: Alignment without overload
Be the superhero that keeps your team focused and on track with deliverables, and keeps stakeholders aligned. Tana's interactive format lets you easily share up-to-date information while allowing each team member to explore what's relevant to them.
Leaders can publish strategic plans where the CEO sees metrics and vision, managers explore departmental objectives, and individual contributors drill into specific tasks—all from the same published document.
👉 **Build a Tana dashboard that shows progress on your OKRs or projects**, share a link to stakeholders. Try Tana's [Project](https://tana.inc/templates/project) or [OKR template](https://tana.inc/templates/okr-template) or [see an example of a published project board](https://app.tana.inc/shared/current-sprint/NW8xcFNXcEZlMi8yZmlzQTV0OXlTaGU=?wsid=4LriGC8qOLD2).
### For consultants and creators: Showcase your process and thinking
Your value isn't just in your conclusions—it's in your process and the way you manage clients. Allow lets clients and audiences explore your frameworks, methodologies, and mental models interactively. They discover insights at their own pace, understanding not just what you recommend but why.
This transforms static deliverables into dynamic knowledge products that clients can reference, explore, and build upon long after the engagement ends.
👉 Build a client portal to share with clients, showing them updated tasks lists, documentation and invoices. Try Tana's [Project template](https://tana.inc/templates/project) or [see a live example of a published client portal. ](https://app.tana.inc/shared/client-portal/NW8xcFNXcEZlMi9rN1VjQWljTnBuQXo=?wsid=4gpYJubVGHjL)
### For Product managers or designers: make PRDs from a voice memo
Take a walk while you're thinking through a new product idea, and have a ready Product Requirement Doc on your laptop when you come back. Build it out with numbers, customer insight, documentation from testing and Figma sketches, before sharing with developers or stakeholders.
👉 Try the [PRD template in Tana](https://tana.inc/templates/product-requirement-doc-prd) now (optimized for mobile!) or [see a live PRD example.](https://app.tana.inc/shared/smart-notifications-for-mobile-app/NW8xcFNXcEZlMi9wYkVCVXh2SzJ1Y1g=?wsid=w37bDx8YGymw)
### For Operations, Business support or Admin roles: Share information about events, procedures or information
Whether you're organizing an offsite, a panel debate or trying to get people to follow a process, Tana let's you structure various types of information the way that makes sense for you, and share it with a simple link that people can access without having to log in.
👉Try Tana's [Project template](https://tana.inc/templates/project) or see a live example of an [offsite information pack](https://app.tana.inc/shared/acme-inc-2025-fall-offsite/NW8xcFNXcEZlMi9Ua3pwNUI2d1plZnM=?wsid=1dLTOfDmE7mW).
## Easy publishing in 3 clicks
Publishing from Tana takes less than 60 seconds:
1. Find the node you wan to publish, right-click it and select "Publish", or press Cmd/Ctrl+K, the type "Publish (open preview)
2. Preview your content in the right panel to ensure formatting looks right
3. Click the "Publish" button in the bottom of the page to go live instantly
You can copy the sharing URL to your clipboard, the paste it wherever you want to share. When you update the source content, simply click "Publish changes" to sync updates live—no need to reshare links or notify viewers of new versions.
#### What can I add in a published node?
- You can publish up to 3000 nodes at a time
- Embed Youtube, Vimeo, Figma or Spotify links
- AI-generate images in Tana (for banner or in text)
- Multiple view formats (tables for data, cards for projects, tabs for categories)
- Video files (.mp4, .mov)
### Publish vs. Workspace sharing
It’s helpful to understand how Publish compares with **workspace sharing** in Tana:
- **Publish** is for public sharing. Anyone with the link can view your content, no login required. Great for publishing resources, documentation, or external collaboration.
- **Workspace sharing** is for private collaboration. You can invite teammates into your workspace with specific roles and permissions. Shared workspaces let you co-create in real time, with full editing rights and structured collaboration. Learn more about workspace sharing.
Together, Publish and workspace sharing give you full control: you decide what stays private, what’s shared with your team, and what’s open to the world.
## Common questions about Tana Publish
### How secure is published content?
Published content is accessible to anyone with the link. Paid subscribers can set a password on pages published with Article view (_coming soon to Tana view as well_!). This makes Publish perfect for public documentation, marketing content, knowledge bases, and non-sensitive project information.
In the interactive Tana view, you have the ability to control which references you want to be visible in the published page, as references to nodes that live outside the node you're sharing will have a "**Make content visible**" button. This ensures that you don't accidentally share information you didn't mean to share.
For sensitive internal collaboration, Tana offers a completely different solution: **Workspaces**. These provide encrypted, member-only environments where teams collaborate in real-time with full access control. You can create separate workspaces for different security levels—a company-wide workspace for general collaboration and management-only workspaces for sensitive strategic planning. Content in private workspaces remains completely invisible to non-members, even when referenced elsewhere.
### Can I update published content after sharing?
Yes — and this is where Tana Publish shines. Changes to your source content can go live instantly with one click. The URL never changes, so bookmarks, shared links, and embedded references all automatically show the latest version. No more "v2_final_FINAL_actually-final.docx" confusion.
### What content types excel with Tana Publish?
**Dashboards and collaborative portals: **Give clients an updated view of project progress, access to meeting notes, documentation and even invoices in one place. This example shows [a client portal](https://be.tana.inc/shared/client-portal/NW8xcFNXcEZlMi9rN1VjQWljTnBuQXo=?wsid=GoBWYAJX3Nra) with full interactive navigation.
**Meeting notes and decisions**: Share collaborative outcomes where readers can explore from high-level decisions down to implementation details.
**Project documentation**: Layer strategic vision with tactical execution. Stakeholders see the big picture while implementers drill into specifications—all from the same published page.
**Knowledge bases and wikis**: Create explorable reference materials where users find answers through natural navigation rather than search. Perfect for customer documentation, onboarding materials, and best practices.
**Research and analysis**: Preserve the connections between data points, insights, and conclusions. Readers can follow your analytical journey or jump directly to findings.
**Strategic plans**: Present vision and strategy with progressive disclosure—executives see key objectives while teams explore implementation paths relevant to their work.
### Is published content indexed by search engines and AI?
Currently, Tana Publish pages not indexed by search engines, though they can be discovered if shared on public forums or social media. This gives you control over distribution while maintaining shareability.
For AI answer engines, Tana's structured format is inherently parseable—the hierarchical node structure, clear field definitions, and semantic organization make published content ideal for AI consumption when discovered.
---
#### Stop duct-taping your workflows: the Tana Template store is here
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-template-store
Tired of piecing together tools just to get a decent workflow? Workflows don’t need to start from scratch every time. The Template Store is a new way to install live, composable workflows inside your Tana workspace.
## **The problem with structure in tools**
Many of our users process enormous amounts of information during their work day, and their work revolves around managing people, projects, tasks and outcomes. Things we frequently hear from users we talk to:
> “Nothing really fits.”
> “I’m duct-taping tools together.”
> “I need workflows I can run without hiring a dev.”
If you’ve ever tried to build a workflow, whether it’s tracking OKRs, managing hiring, or running weekly team rituals, you’ve probably hit the same wall:
- Tools that do too little
- Templates that don’t evolve
- Endless configuration just to tweak a small part of a process
- Rigid systems you can’t customize how you want
**We built Tana to change that.**
In Tana, you build the system around your work - not the other way around.
## **What are Tana Templates?**
Templates is a new way to install **live, composable workflows** inside your Tana workspace. Each template is a fully functional system that can come with:
- **Supertags and fields** designed for real-world use cases
- **Pre-configured views and filters** to help you make sense of your data
- **Custom AI agents** that can help summarize, clean up, or transform your notes
- **Example content** that shows you how to use it effectively
Templates in Tana give you **a good starting point**, but with the power to evolve as your process matures.
With this first set of templates you can:
✅ [Draft and track OKRs](https://tana.inc/templates/okr-template)
🪞[ Reflect on your week ](https://tana.inc/templates/weekly-reflection)(and get smarter doing it)
📝 [Go from voice memo → email, slack post, exec summary ](https://tana.inc/templates/memo)
📲 Draft [a PRD](https://tana.inc/templates/product-requirement-doc-prd) or [investor update](https://tana.inc/templates/investor-update) on the go
🧠 [Extract ideas and questions from your brainstorm](https://tana.inc/templates/brainstorm)
.. and much more!
## **Meet your new AI agent team**
Many of the new templates include **custom AI agents **(but they also work without).
These agents are tuned to the template use case, so they can offer really targeted advice or review the content you make from a relevant perspective.
[**The investor update agent**](https://tana.inc/templates/investor-update) will critically examine if your update is easy to digest and highlighting the things investors care about.
[**The OKR agent**](https://tana.inc/templates/okr-template) will coach you to make your OKRs more specific and measurable, and help you come up with key results.
[**The AI Decision Agent**](https://tana.inc/templates/decision-making) helps you systematically reflect on your decisions and identify key learnings.
It’s the start of your new assistant team. All pre-built. All ready to run.
## Work on the go
Tana isn’t just for your desktop. Templates work on mobile too.
And if you work on the go, **Tana’s mobile voice features are a game changer**.
- Native app for [iOS](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tana-notes-ai-voice-memos/id6499428869) and [Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tana.android&hl=en&pli=1), with lock screen widgets for voice recording.
- Record voice memos in **91 languages** (auto-detect available if you're switching between multiple language)
- Instantly structure them with **Supertags,** see which fields to talk about while recording (iOS, coming on Android).
- Get supertag fields **auto-filled **from the voice memo, so you get a ready-to-review article, decision doc or investor update when you open your computer.
Several templates in the store are built **specifically for mobile and voice workflows**. They come with predefined instructions, formatting, and agent configuration - so all you have to do is **talk**. Tana handles the rest.
_You can install templates from the template store on web on mobile, but will not be able to select workspace, they will be installed in your primary workspace._
Read more about mobile voice memos in Tana .
## **Build systems that \*\*\***evolve**\*** with your thinking\*\*
Tana’s secret weapon is **composability**. You’re not copying static pages. You’re installing a system you can tweak, extend, and reuse - without writing a single line of code.
Most tools give you rigid templates or throw you into a blank canvas. Tana gives you:
- **Structure when you want it**
- **Freedom when you need it**
- **AI that works inside your system, not outside it**
Templates make it easier to get started, but they never box you in. They’re built on the same primitives (Supertags, Views, Commands) that power everything in Tana, meaning you can customize them deeply or evolve them over time.
On each template page, you can see what building blocks are included with the template, to get a sense of how it works and how you can use it.
## **How to get started**
You can read all about how to use templates on our Learn page.
To browse templates inside the app, open the **sidebar in Tana**, click **Supertags**, and select **“Browse templates.”**
You can also explore all available templates here: [https://tana.inc/templates](https://tana.inc/templates)
### **Help us build what you need**
We’re launching with a small, focused set of templates that help with planning, strategy, tracking, and decisions. But we’re adding more every week, and we’d love your input.
💬 Got a workflow you'd love to see? [Let us know](https://tanainc.typeform.com/to/HPlg11Pz)!
**No more duct tape.**
**No more blank pages.**
Just powerful, evolving systems - **built around how you think.**
[Browse all templates](https://tana.inc/templates)
---
#### Tabs and panels in Tana Desktop: stay in the flow and find what you need
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tabs-and-panels-in-tana-desktop
Tabs are now enabled by default in the Tana Desktop app, giving you a more flexible, focused way to navigate your work without breaking your flow.
## What are tabs in Tana?
Tabs work just like they do in your browser:
You can open multiple notes, searches, people pages, or projects - each in its own tab, all within a single window.
This makes it easy to:
- Keep your **daily journal, meeting notes, and project board** open together.
- Stay in the flow by keeping your view with panels in one tab, while switching to a meeting in another tab.
- Work across multiple teams, spaces, or workflows in parallel.
**Tabs are available now** in the [Tana Desktop app](https://tana.inc/desktop).
## How panels work within tabs
Tana already supported **panels** (split views), and these will continue to work as before inside a tab.
Here's how the two interact:
- **Tabs**: Let you keep multiple views open in a single window and switch between them.
- **Panels**: Let you view notes side-by-side within a tab
- You can open one or more **new panels** inside a tab
This means you can:
- Keep a transcription open while taking manual notes in a meeting
- Compare two meeting notes side-by-side
- Write while referencing another node
- Revise a project plan while making notes in a meeting
## Keyboard shortcuts
We've aligned tab behavior with familiar patterns used in browsers and IDEs, so it just works:
- `Cmd/Ctrl + Click`: Open in new tab
- `Shift + Click`: Open in new panel
- `Cmd/Ctrl + T`: Open a new tab
- `Cmd/Ctrl + W`: Close current tab
- `Ctrl + Tab`: Switch between tabs
Updated Dec 12th, 2025: Now Tana Desktop also supports jumping to specific tabs, moving between tabs and re-ordering tabs with mouse and keyboard.
[See the full list of keyboard shortcuts](https://tana.inc/docs/navigation#navigating-with-keyboard) ->
## Switch without losing your views
The biggest benefit of tabs? **You can stay in flow.**
No more:
- Opening the same search over and over
- Losing your place during meeting notes
- Jumping between views with a single back button
With tabs and panels, your context stays put - so you can work how your brain works.
## Use cases we love
- **Daily plan:** Plan your day on the Today page, and keep it open to check items off and find the next task during the day.
- **People leads**: Prep for 1:1s in one panel while viewing the previous meeting or someone's profile in another
- **Project managers**: Open team notes, tasks, and strategy docs across tabs
- **Content managers:** Review multiple drafts quickly by opening them in tabs
- **Researchers and writers**: Write in one tab, reference sources in another, search in a third
## Try it now
**Tabs are enabled by default** in the Tana Desktop app (no action needed).
If you haven't yet, [download the app](https://tana.inc/desktop) and start working across tabs like a pro.
---
#### Talk through your ideas with Tana: AI voice chat for iOS (Early Access)
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/talk-through-your-ideas-with-tana-ai-voice-chat-for-ios
Tana's new voice chat for iOS lets you talk directly to an AI assistant, tailoring the conversation using custom supertags while instantly capturing your ideas and tasks via home screen widgets.
Have you ever wished your notes could talk back? Tana is an all-in-one workspace built for thinking and collaborating with AI. It combines note-taking, tasks, daily planning and AI into a connected knowledge graph so your ideas, projects and people stay linked.
The mobile app already lets you quickly capture thoughts as voice memos, text or photos. With the new **voice chat for iOS**, you can go one step further, have a two-way conversation with AI and steer the discussion toward what you need.
[Download Tana for iOS](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tana-notes-ai-voice-memos/id6499428869?utm_source=blog)
[Download Tana for Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tana.android&hl=en&utm_source=blog)
## What is Tana and how does it work?
Tana is a collaborative text editor that lets you take connected notes in a knowledge graph, rather than having to place them in pages or folders. It lets you build out structure as you need it to organize notes, rather than having to define a structure upfront. Simply start writing and then apply a Supertag to make the note searchable, add structured info with fields. You can add live search widgets that pull in tagged notes, and filter these to get an excerpt of notes accessible where you need them.
Supertags can turns a notes into a structured object, like a `#Task`, `#Idea` or `#Project`. You can configure Supertags to have fields for structure information, like "Due date", "Topic" or "Priority". You can then view the tagged notes in different Views like a table, board, calendar or outline.
In the mobile app you can **capture notes or voice memos on the go** and have them automatically structured using these supertags. Supertags also let you set AI instructions for how AI should process something that you tag, and settings for how it should auto-fill content in fields on the Supertag - for example a voice memo for #ideas should fill in a field for which area it's related to, and make a short summary in the title or description.
With the Tana mobile apps, you can even start your favourite workflows with one tap using home screen widgets configured with a custom supertag and destination. Voice memos are instantly transcribed, auto-detect the spoken language and can auto-fill fields based on what you said.
## Meet voice chat: your personal AI conversation
Voice memos are great for capturing a stream of thought, but sometimes you need a coach, brainstorm partner or challenger. **Voice chat** enables real-time, two-way conversation with an AI assistant.
Instead of just transcribing your recording, the assistant listens and **asks questions, challenges your thinking and shapes your ideas**. The AI adapts based on _voice instructions_ you add to a supertag, so your chat feels like talking to a supportive colleague, writing partner or quiet listener. Without voice instructions, the assistant behaves like a generic chat bot, so the magic lies in customizing your tags.
### Customize voice chat with supertags
Each supertag in Tana can include **AI instructions and post-processing commands**. [For voice memos and voice chat you can add instructions](https://tana.inc/docs/mobile-voice-memos#adjust-mobile-voice-processing) that tell the AI what the content is about, how you want the output formatted and any specific guidance. For example:
- Give your `#WritingPartner` tag instructions like: _"Ask follow-up questions to clarify my argument and suggest angles I haven't considered."_
- Create a `#MeetingDebrief` tag that tells the assistant to summarise key action items as bullet points.
- Use a `#Brainstorm` tag with instructions to generate three creative options and their pros/cons.
You can also enable [**custom autofill behaviour**](https://tana.inc/docs/mobile-voice-memos#custom-autofill-behavior), specifying how the AI should fill the title, description or body of a note or extract multiple items from a single recording. This makes voice chat not only conversational but actionable: the output is structured so you can link it to projects, people or follow-up tasks.
## One-tap capture with home-screen widgets
Voice chat becomes even more powerful when combined with Tana's **configurable home screen widgets**. [See how to set up widgets](https://tana.inc/docs/tana-mobile#widgets-and-native-os-integrations).
- The widgets let you capture notes, photos or voice memos directly from your home screen without opening the app.
- You can set up multiple widgets for different supertags or destinations, for example a widget for `#task` to record action items, `#idea` for creative sparks, and `#memo` for voice notes.
- You can add both voice chat and voice memo in a widget, and will then have two buttons.
- **Long-press the widget to edit** its supertag, destination and **input type**. Selecting **"voice chat"** as the input type gives you a one-click button to start talking with your customised AI coach.
## Getting started with voice chat (Early Access)
Voice chat is launching in **Early Access** on iOS, so you'll need to enable it in the mobile app settings.
**Here's a step-by-step guide to get started:**
1. [Download one of the voice-enabled templates](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/Mobile%20voice)
2. **Enable voice chat** in the iOS app: Go to the **Manage tab**, then select **Early Access** and enable it.
3. **Add a widget**: long-press your home screen, choose _Add Widget_, pick Tana and select your customised supertag. For iOS, deep system integration means you can also start Tana capture from Siri, Shortcuts or Control Centre.
4. **Tap to talk**: tap your voice chat widget or open the Capture tab and choose Voice. As you speak, the assistant listens and responds according to your supertag instructions.
### Voice chat with supertags
A supertag can have a description and fields for structuring data. Voice chat will know how a supertag is set up, and can ask you about or refer to fields for filling them in.
#### Tailor your supertags for voice chat
1. [Read this tutorial for how to set up your own supertags for voice chat](https://tana.inc/articles/set-up-mobile-voice-chat-for-a-supertag)
2. **Create or choose a supertag** that will power your conversation.
3. Go to the supertag's configuration on desktop and add voice instructions under **AI and Commands**.
4. Set any custom autofill or post-process commands you want.
[Download one of the voice-enabled templates for inspiration](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/Mobile%20voice)
## Why voice chat? A few use cases
- **Writing partner:** talk through an outline and have the assistant ask clarifying questions, suggest angles and produce a structured outline.
- **Meeting debrief:** summarise a client call by chatting it through; the assistant extracts tasks and notes, ready in your daily note.
- **Daily reflection:** at the end of the day, have a conversation about what went well and what needs work; the assistant captures your insights as structured notes.
These are just examples. Because the AI follows the instructions on your supertag, you can design **custom voice agents** for any workflow, product design, coaching, project planning or creative brainstorming.
## FAQ and known limitations
- **Where is it available?** Voice chat is in early access for **iOS**. Android support will follow; until then you can use voice memos and other capture modes on Android.
- **Do I need to configure anything?** Yes. Voice chat only works as expected if your supertag has voice instructions. Without them the chat behaves like a generic AI conversation. [Check out these voice chat-enabled templates for inspiration or to try it.](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/Mobile%20voice)
- **Which languages are supported?** Voice chat currently only supports English.
- **Are there known issues?** Voice chat does not yet have access to any of your existing data in Tana, nor is it able to read your supertags if you haven't configured them for voice chat. [Here is the full list of known issues and limitations.](https://be.tana.inc/shared/voice-chat-limitations-and-known-issues/NUwyTEhJRmFMM2pxL2EtSW5qUWVicWthMw==)
Ready to talk to your ideas? **Sign up for Tana or update your app** and start designing voice agents that work the way you think. Your notes deserve a conversation.
---
#### Tana Advent Calendar December 2025
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-advent-calendar-december-2025
A complete recap of every episode in the Tana Advent Calendar 2025, covering new features, product improvements, and templates released throughout December.
Every workday from Dec 1st to 19th in 2025, we released a new video with letters from Tanarians, a template, thought of the day and not least: gift of the day.
In [this Youtube playlist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvCHO3dkfnE&list=PLJRltYlxkjN7vw00RUHfnY452k0AuYrv7&index=14) you'll find all the episodes, or read on below for links to all templates and blog posts/documentation pages.
---
#### Tana Current April 2026
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-current-april-2026
The Outliner team is focused on improving the day-to-day experience. The community continues to push the boundaries of what's possible with the Tana MCP. And Theo gave a first live walkthrough of the new Tana, showing meetings where AI captures and creates work during the conversation itself.
## Improving the core, building what's next
The April Tana Current covered a lot of ground. Ingrid walked through what's shipping and what's next for Tana Outliner. Olav shared an update on timing, pricing, and the two-product strategy. Theo gave the community a walkthrough of where the new Tana is heading. And navigator David Delgado showed how he's combining the Tana MCP with Claude Code, NotebookLM, and Linear into a daily workflow.
If you missed [the stream,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heP8kFHsABs) here's what matters.
## Tana Outliner: What's shipping
The theme for Q2 is improving the day-to-day experience. Core reliability, long-standing paper cuts, and the features people use most. Ingrid and the Outliner team have been working through the community's feedback lists. Some fixes are quick, others take disproportionate time because of how connected Outliner is, but the focus is steady.
### Recently launched
- [MCP and local API](/learn/guides/ai-assistants-mcp) fixes and improvements, shipped continuously since launch
- [Global web clipper](/blog/global-clipper-capture-to-tana-from-anywhere-on-your-desktop) in the desktop app (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Space to capture from any app)
- New AI models available: Claude Sonnet 4.6, Claude Opus 4.6, OpenAI GPT 5.4, Gemini 3.1 Pro
- Default AI chat model upgraded to GPT-5.4 (cheaper, faster, large context window)
- Option to set the default AI chat model across all chats
- Reference section can now default to collapsed
- `parent.field` search expression now works with multiple values, a significant fix for anyone using it with meetings and attendees
- Alphabetical sorting no longer affected by formatting
- Undo now tracks only content changes
[See full release notes](/changelog)
### Shipping now and next
- **Transcription reliability.** We'll soon roll out the option to save backup audio for transcription (both live transcriptions and meeting notetaker), so you can always recover the original audio if needed.
- **New Copy node ID command.** For MCP users who need to reference specific nodes.
- **Drag and drop in grouped views.** A long-requested improvement.
- **MCP concurrency fixes.** Addressing issues found as usage scales.
- Continued work on paper cuts and bug fixes from community feedback.
### Coming next
- Grouping improvements (collapsible groups, hide empty, relative dates, better drag behavior)
- Trash restore to original location, which is especially important now that MCP usage can lead to accidental deletions
- Desktop startup speed improvements
- Search improvements
- MCP access to full transcript with speaker and timestamps. Exposing the source material as requested by the community.
The Outliner has a dedicated team and [its own roadmap](/blog/tana-current-march-2026). If there's something you want to see prioritized, share it in the community.
## Community MCP workflows
The recently released new Tana MCP is a big idea and unlocks a lot of possibility. We think it still remains an under-explored feature for building dramatically new and different workflows with your Tana setup, and the April session featured two standout workflows in the community.
**David's three-layer context system.** David, one of the longest-standing community members, showed a daily workflow built around Claude Code with the Tana MCP, the SuperTag CLI, Linear, and Google's NotebookLM. He organizes context into three layers: an operating layer (global instructions and skills), a project layer (Tana as structured task and knowledge management via MCP), and an execution layer (Linear for code work, NotebookLM for research). The result is a system where each tool does what it's best at, with Tana as the connective tissue.
**Yasuhisa's semantic map.** The final MCP competition winner built a tool that creates a 2D map of your Tana nodes based on semantic similarity. Not just a visualization of your notes, but a meaningful spatial layout of ideas by how they relate. Built entirely through the MCP and Claude Code.
We'll also be sharing Mark's video on five levels of MCP usage in the community, from initial setup through to advanced workflow composition.
## A first look at the new Tana
Theo gave the community a walkthrough of where the new product is heading. It's still very much in flight, moving fast and changing daily, but the session gave a sense of the direction.
The focus is on meetings as a place where work actually happens. In the walkthrough, Theo joined a live call, ran an AI skill that looked at what was shared on screen and what was said, and produced an annotated storyboard, all during the conversation. Team members captured issues mid-meeting using a simple capture button, each with context pulled from the discussion and any screen shares. After the meeting, an AI skill summarized decisions, generated follow-up tasks, and updated existing context documents based on what was discussed.
A few things stood out from the walkthrough:
**Knowledge that stays current.** The AI didn't just create new items. It also went through existing context documents and updated them based on what was discussed. That's an interesting pattern: meetings keeping your knowledge base current as a side effect of the conversation.
**Structuring output.** The core idea from Supertags has been carried through in the new Tana as "types", making it easy to create and configure them in natural language in the AI chat or directly inside a meeting. Meetings let you capture types with one click, AI will create a proposal based on what was said and shared in the last minutes of the meeting, and you can review or edit before saving.
**Deeper context.** When you share your screen, the AI sees it and can reason about what's shown in combination with what's being discussed. In the demo, an issue captured during a screen share included an AI-annotated screenshot with relevant context, useful for handing off to a coding agent later.
**Collaboration throughout.** Documents, canvas, meetings, and AI chats are all collaborative with live cursors and presence. Access control works at the level of individual documents and spaces, not just the workspace. External guests can join via a link. External meeting platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams can also be captured.
**Skills and artifacts.** Skills are reusable workflows that tell AI how to process specific types of work, from generating storyboards to filing bugs to running research templates. You can create your own skills, import from other tools (like Claude Code) and they can be triggered during a meeting or anytime in the workspace.
**Mobile.** The new product is being designed for mobile from the start, with the goal of full feature parity.
All of this is still being built. Things are changing rapidly, and what Theo showed won't look the same by the time people get access. But the direction is clear.
## Timing, pricing, and naming
Olav addressed the three things the community has been asking about most.
**Timing.** The team has taken extra time to get the experience right. Access will begin rolling out in the coming weeks, with group onboarding sessions across time zones. No one will be pushed to move. If you like to test early, you can opt in. If you prefer to wait, that's fine. The product is expected to change rapidly during the early phase, as user feedback comes in.
**Pricing.** The new product will have a free plan. The full experience is planned at around $20 a month for early access. If you're already a paying Tana subscriber, you'll get access to the new product as part of your existing subscription for the rest of the year. Before the year ends, we'll share a clear path forward. No surprises.
**The name.** Some in the community had strong reactions to the Outliner rename, and Olav acknowledged the rollout could have been handled better. The new product is aimed at a broader audience (teams, collaboration, ease of getting started) so it carries the main Tana brand. **Tana Outliner** reflects what makes the current product distinctive.
**Compliance.** The new Tana is launching with SOC 2 and GDPR compliance. HIPAA is expected within a couple of months.
## What's Ahead
The Outliner team is focused on making the product you use every day better. Faster, more reliable, with fewer rough edges. That work is already underway and shipping.
The new Tana is taking shape and getting closer. We'll share more as it firms up.
- Tana Outliner has a dedicated team with a clear roadmap focused on reliability, paper cuts, and long-requested improvements
- The MCP is opening up workflows we didn't anticipate, and the community is leading the way
- The new product is still being built, with access coming in the next few weeks for those who want to try it early
- Existing subscribers get access to both products for the rest of the year
Keep sharing feedback and ideas in the community, it's where everything starts.
_Next Tana Current: to be announced in Slack_
---
#### Tana Current March 2026
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-current-march-2026
This March the team revealed a new knowledge graph product built for collaboration and agentic work, and announced continued investment in Tana Outliner for existing users. Two products, two audiences, one mission.
## Introducing the new Tana
We're excited to share something we've been working on: a new Tana product built from the ground up for collaboration, agentic work, and a more familiar text editing experience.
At the same time, the product you know today is staying and evolving as **Tana Outliner**. We're not replacing the outliner. We're expanding Tana into two products, each built to serve a different job well. Both products have an important place in Tana's future.
If you love the outliner, keep using it. It's not going anywhere and will continue improving. The new Tana opens up a different way of working, one that's easier to get started with, better for teams, and rethinks what meetings can be.
If you're new to this news, we've written a longer piece about why we're building a new Tana and what it means for the product.
### Two products, one vision
From day one, our mission has been to reinvent how humans, teams, and computers work together.
Tana Outliner proved that unstructured information can become a structured, living knowledge graph. For many people, it is already the best way to think, organize, and build a personal system around notes, tasks, and knowledge.
But we also learned something important: the same qualities that make the outliner powerful can make it harder to get started, and harder to use as a shared workspace for teams.
We learned that every time we simplified for new users, we risked taking away the power existing users rely on. So instead of forcing one product to do both jobs imperfectly, we made a clearer choice:
- **Tana Outliner** will continue as the powerful, flexible tool for people who love working in an outliner and building a deep personal knowledge graph.
- **The new Tana** is designed to be easier to get started with, better for teams, and built around meetings and conversations that produce output.
Two products, each serving their audience well, rather than one product that compromises for both.
### Meetings as work, not just coordination
The new Tana is also a knowledge graph, built from our expertise over the last 6 years, but with a new approach to how knowledge gets captured. It uses meetings and conversations as a way to build and update your knowledge.
Knowledge workers spend **tens of thousands of hours** in meetings over the course of their careers. Too often, those meetings produce discussion but not momentum. Notes get buried, transcripts go unread, and the actual work happens later, if it happens at all.
We want meetings to become a place where work moves forward immediately.
In the new Tana, meetings are not just something you summarize afterward. They are a place where you can:
- **capture bugs, decisions, action items, and follow-ups** into your knowledge graph during the conversation, send them directly to tools like Github where Copilot can start work on them
- **generate rich artifacts** such as storyboards, customer journeys, mind maps, and documentation from the discussion itself
- **collaborate with teammates and AI agents in real time**, with the meeting becoming part of the work rather than a detached record of it
- **use skills** to process meetings and work on notes, with a simpler UI that enables real collaboration in teams.
The new Tana includes its own video meeting experience, and it is also being built to capture context from external meeting platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams.
This is not a meeting bot layered on top of another tool. It is a new kind of workspace that brings together voice, structured knowledge, graph actions, skills, and agents in one system.
## Built for collaboration from the foundation
Starting from a blank page also allowed us to build the new product in a way that delivers several features that the community has long requested, built into the foundation this time:
**Canvas**
A real-time collaborative canvas for diagrams, drawing, and visual thinking, with live cursors and linked graph content. It also opens the door to AI-generated visualizations from conversations and documents. This was challenging to deliver well in the outliner architecture, so we designed for it from scratch.
**Fine-Grained Access Control**
Control access at the level of spaces, documents, and shared work, not just the workspace as a whole. Teams will be able to share information with specific collaborators or external viewers with much more precision. Enterprise customers will be able to select which SSO provider team members can log in with.
**A more familiar editor**
Clearer boundaries around documents and entities, with support for outline-style work inside documents without forcing every interaction into bullet mode. LaTeX, math blocks, and richer block types are available out of the box.
**Full revision history and version control**
Every meaningful change can be understood semantically, not just as lines added or removed. That makes it easier to review edits, collaborate with AI, and work with suggested changes in a more deliberate way, closer to lightweight version control, without the overhead of Git. Instead of "removed 10 lines and added 5," you'll see "removed two requirements, rephrased the introduction, and changed the due date". This is critical for AI collaboration: agents commit suggested changes rather than editing directly.
**Powerful agentic AI Chat**
A general-purpose AI chat modelled after best-in-class tools. It supports custom skills, can create, update, move, and research content across your graph, and replaces many ad hoc search node use cases with natural language queries, while still supporting structured, persistent views of your data.
**Integrations and API/MCP support**
GitHub, Slack, Linear, coding agents (Claude Code, Codex), and MCP connectors for anything else. The new architecture makes thoughtful integrations much easier to build.
**Mobile from the start**
Designed for mobile from the very beginning, addressing the challenges that made the current mobile experience difficult to evolve. Join meetings from mobile, use the full AI chat and editor on mobile with fast loading time.
### What Stays the Same
Even as the product surface changes, the core ideas remain intact.
The new Tana is still grounded in the principles that made Tana valuable in the first place:
- a knowledge graph at the core
- structured content through types
- domain-agnostic flexibility rather than a single fixed workflow
- outline-style editing where it makes sense
- creating and finding things in context across the graph
## Tana Outliner: Continued Development
While we are excited about our new ideas, we also want to express that we still love the Tana you currently know and love.
We are renaming the current product to reflect what it already does uniquely well, and we will continue developing it actively. That includes both new capabilities and continued polish, especially around performance, reliability, and everyday friction points.
### Focus for Q2 2026
- MCP API fixes and improvements
- Desktop performance improvements (loading, navigation, rendering)
- Grouping improvements (collapsible grouping, hide empty, relative dates, better dragging)
- Core editor bug fixes (cursor jumping, merge behaviors, keyboard shortcuts)
- Better export (building on export as markdown)
- AI chat improvements and updated text processing agent for meeting summaries
- Mobile app improvements (write note option, voice memo improvements, voice chat capture)
### On the horizon
These are things we want to explore, but still have unknown complexity. They are candidates for next quarter's roadmap:
- Support for local AI models
- Canvas exploration
- Better notifications
- Presentation mode
- Search improvements (global search, @mentions, autocomplete, inline references)
- LaTeX and math blocks
- Recurring tasks
- Date field reminders and overdue task support
- Calendar sync improvements (source calendar fields, default duration)
- Transcription custom vocabulary
- NOT filter in searches
- Build title from field improvements
- URL and web previews
Tana Outliner has a dedicated team and will continue to be actively developed with new features. It's been our heart and soul over the last 6 years, and that's not changing. If you love Tana Outliner for its distinct set of features, there's no reason to switch. Lots of the journey still to come.
### How the two products fit together
We're working toward one-click migration from Tana Outliner to the new product, hopefully before summer.
The two products will also be able to talk to each other, so you can use Tana Outliner as your private PKM tool and the new Tana for meetings and collaboration. Use one or both, whatever fits your workflow. Both products will offer an MCP too, so it will be possible to develop custom ways to work with data from both products.
Our goal is for the new Tana to eventually offer everything Outliner can do and more. Until it does, Outliner remains the right choice for users who need those capabilities. We will not force a migration.
We'll share pricing details for the new product before public launch, but existing Outliner subscriptions are not changing. What we can also say, is that we will offer existing subscribers a way to try the new Tana without additional cost.
We know many people also have questions about **timeline, pricing, and the data model between the two products**. Those details matter, and we plan to share more as we get closer to launch, but our goal is that there should be no disruptive, surprising changes.
**How can we develop two products with the same team?**
In the recent months, the quality of AI for development processes have made strides, and unlocked what can be done with a small team. Our team have long explored who to leverage AI to move faster and build with high quality and security, and we are now at a point where AI augments our engineering workflow, letting us move faster without sacrificing quality. We're also hiring senior engineers, including frontend and deep systems roles.
## The next chapter for Tana
This is a big moment for Tana.
We are preserving what makes Tana Outliner special while creating a new product that opens Tana up to collaboration, agentic workflows, and a fundamentally better meeting experience.
- Tana Outliner is here to stay with active development and exciting features ahead
- The new Tana is built for collaboration and ease of use, extending what Tana can do without taking anything away
- You don't have to switch. Use either product, or both, depending on what works for you
- We'll have more to share soon as the new product gets closer to launch
Keep sharing feedback and ideas in the community, it's where everything starts.
_Next Tana Current: to be announced in Slack_
---
#### Tana Current May 2026
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-current-may-2026
The new Tana is now in the hands of the community. This month, a first look at building agents, voice-driven meetings, and a new identity, plus continued improvements to Tana Outliner.
## The new Tana opens to the community
The new Tana is live for community members. Not a public launch. A community launch. The product is still moving fast, changing daily, and not yet where we want it to be. But you can feel the magic now, and we wanted you to be the first to try it.
We've always built Tana with the community. When we started, there were four people in the community and we met with them every other week. That hasn't changed. This is a feedback round: use it for a few days, do your meetings there, build your first agent, and tell us what works and what doesn't.
We've deliberately launched early so we can start exploring and refining the product. That means you'll encounter rough edges. We know. Some parts of the product haven't received focused attention yet, and others are actively being rebuilt. Bugs and feedback on the current state are welcome and expected. The T2 channel in Slack is the place for it.
## For users coming from Tana Outliner
Three key differences:
1. **Block editor, not outliner.** A modern block-based editor with headings, tables, embeds, and rich content, better for long-form writing.
2. **AI configures things for you.** Instead of manually setting up supertags, fields, and views, describe your workflow and the AI builds the structure.
3. **Types replace Supertags.** The concept is preserved. Supertags are now called Types, and Fields are called Attributes. The mental model carries over, now with AI doing the heavy lifting.
## Meetings as work sessions
Meetings are the most information-dense place in a company. That's where decisions are made, where context is shared, and where the most important discussions happen. The new Tana treats meetings as a working surface, not just something to record and summarise.
The meeting experience has been a major focus of the Tana 2 team. The tile system, the navigation, the overall experience of being in a meeting have been where much of the effort has gone. It's the place where you get the most distinctive sense of Tana 2's new identity and what the product is becoming.
In practice, this means the AI is present during the conversation. It listens, captures, and acts. You can ask Tana to find a document and pin it to the meeting, surface your open tasks related to a client, or pull up notes from the last time you met with someone. All by voice, mid-conversation. No searching, no tab-switching.
### The live meeting digest
The live meeting digest has a status line from the first second of a call: "Waiting for conversation…" before audio, "Following Along" once words arrive, and "Thinking…" while extracting a new topic section. Status is broadcast to every participant. Topic sections start appearing after roughly thirty seconds of transcript. Every call ends with a structured summary (Key Takeaways, Topics Discussed, and Next Steps) written and pinned automatically.
A few things you can do inside a meeting:
- **Voice-driven context.** Ask Tana to find and pin documents, tasks, or notes to the current session. It searches your workspace and brings what's relevant in, so the information is there when you need it.
- **Storyboards and capture.** The AI watches what's being said and, optionally, what's on screen. You can ask it to create a storyboard from an anecdote, capture a quote for later use, or generate a summary of a specific segment of the conversation. You decide what gets pulled out and how.
- **Screen sharing as context.** When you share your screen, Tana sees it. The AI can reason about what's shown alongside what's being discussed. Useful for handing off issues to a coding agent or capturing annotated screenshots with relevant context attached.
- **Canvas.** A fully collaborative infinite canvas, available inside any meeting. Draw, write, map out strategy together in real time. The AI has access to it too, and can base its outputs on what's been drawn or written.
- **Solo sessions.** These don't have to be group meetings. A solo session with Tana is just as powerful: talk through a slide deck before a board meeting, wake up on Monday and ask what happened last week, or reflect on your day with a personal agent. Olav uses a daily reflection agent that reviews what he planned, what he did, and where things stand. The first time feels like magic. The third time, it's just how you start your day.
### Voice agent and "Hey Tana"
Tana has a voice agent activated by saying "Hey Tana" in any meeting, with wake words in nine languages. No new interface to learn, just talk. The voice agent control lives in the meeting toolbar action pill. When two participants say "Hey Tana" simultaneously, whoever starts first keeps the agent; the other must explicitly unmute to take over. The voice agent tile uses a shader-based animation that reacts to speech with motion across three brand colors.
### Guest experience
Guests who open a meeting link see the full meeting experience (live digest, pinned docs, and approved outcomes) right from the link. Before the host starts, guests wait in a lobby and join automatically when a Tana user begins the call. Cross-org guests see a "Join meeting as guest?" prompt instead of a dead end.
### Capturing external meetings
Tana captures meetings from Google Meet, Teams, and Zoom. From the Today page, calendar event cards show a "Capture Meet", "Capture Teams", or "Capture Zoom" button when Tana detects a matching meeting on the user's computer. Captured external meetings auto-generate a tagline, summary, and outcome proposals when the recording ends, with no manual step needed. A live screen-share tile updates in real time during capture. Transcript, screen shares, and action items all flow into the Tana workspace automatically.
### Hand off to coding tools
Context from a meeting or chat can be sent directly to Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Lovable, or v0. Discuss a feature in the meeting; the work starts moving in your engineering tool of choice.
### Shareable artifacts
Storyboards, customer journeys, and slides can be shared via public link with all images and layout intact. These are fully rendered artifacts produced by the AI from meeting content, not ephemeral chat messages, but lasting knowledge artifacts you can share and act on.
### Default content language
Set it once, and the AI writes in your language regardless of what's spoken on the call. Non-English organizations get AI output in the configured content language across all surfaces: live meeting digest headings, post-meeting tagline, summary, Key Takeaways, Topics, Next Steps, screenshot alt-text, annotation labels, and auto-titles on uploaded files. Meeting transcription itself stays multilingual.
### AI-managed workflows and types
Ask the AI to add a workflow to a type, rename or reorder states, add new states like "Blocked", or remove a workflow entirely. Each change goes through the standard proposal-approval flow. Renames preserve a state's identity so existing items keep their progress. When the AI proposes creating a typed item in one space but the type is scoped to a different space, the proposal shows a yellow Location callout and approval places the item in the type's home space. Post-meeting outcomes route to the right type: a user observation can be classified as Feedback, Friction, or Pain Point instead of defaulting to Bug.
Over the weeks and months ahead, more effort will expand to other parts of the Tana 2 feature set. Tasks, people, hierarchy and overview, navigation, and more will start to become more aligned with the vision that meetings have established. The meeting experience is the leading edge, and the rest of the product will follow.
## Building agents
Agents in the new Tana let you automate repeatable work by describing what you need in natural language. They can use skills and tools, run on a schedule, and operate across your meetings, documents, and workspace.
In May's Tana Current, Brage gave a demo of his meeting prep agent that runs every morning at 8 a.m. It goes through his calendar, checks who he's meeting with, reviews his past meeting history with each person, pulls their HubSpot record if they're a client, and generates a prep document with talking points, key context, and relevant pinned documents, all attached to the meeting before it starts.
Creating an agent like this takes minutes. You describe what you need to the AI in the agent creator, review the proposed workflow, and set it to run on a schedule. Adjusting how it works is the same process: talk to the AI again and tell it what to change.
If you have repeatable tasks, whether that's prepping for meetings, updating project tracks after a call, or running a weekly review, you can build an agent to handle it. You can create them in the general AI chat or through a dedicated agent creator, and they can be triggered manually or scheduled to run automatically.
The team are actively working on the final stages of our first MCP connection tool that will allow you to bring in other tools and connect to them during your meetings. This is going to be a dramatic shift in the potential and use of T2.
## The collaborative knowledge graph
Apart from a new meeting experience, what makes the new Tana different from a meeting recorder is the knowledge graph, or context graph, as some are calling it.
Every meeting, every document, every captured item feeds into a shared graph that the AI can traverse. This is what allows it to answer questions like "what are we working on today?" or "what did we discuss with this client last time?" with real answers drawn from your actual history.
The key innovation is branching: like git for knowledge workers. When the AI proposes changes based on a meeting (updating a project status, filing a new issue, revising a strategy doc), those proposals go through review before they enter the graph. You see what the AI wants to commit, and you approve, edit, or reject it.
You may not feel the importance of this with a handful of documents. But at scale, with a million docs, it becomes essential that the graph contains things you actually need and that the AI isn't traversing noise. The review step keeps the graph clean. Directing the AI to specific spaces and points in the graph also keeps token costs manageable.
## A new identity
Tana Outliner and the new Tana are separate products that are both important to the team. Each has its own team, its own roadmap, and its own future. We wanted to keep the Tana name for the new product largely because it represents our team and everything we are. But we recognise that sharing a name introduces overlap with the existing Outliner.
The way the team planned to address this was by creating a distinctive visual identity for the new Tana, while keeping the original Tana branding with the Outliner. Tana Outliner retains the existing logo and identity it's always had. The new product gets something new.
Mathias Hovet, a Norwegian designer, was brought in to lead the new identity. He got an introduction to the product, tried it, and landed on the metaphor immediately: a prism. Everything you need is already in your conversations. The decisions, the context, the next steps. The new Tana pulls them out, separating the clear light into colors. That's the role it plays, and the prism captures it.
The new logo, colour palette, and visual language will carry across the app, marketing, and content. When you see the prism, it's the new Tana. When you see the original logo, it's the Outliner. Two products, two identities, clearly separated: in the app, in content, on YouTube. You'll start to see this reflected across our channels in the coming weeks.
### The brand story: ending meeting debt
The core brand narrative centers on "meeting debt", the gap between the meeting and the work. Work went remote, then hybrid, then async. Organizations added Zoom, Slack, Notion, Linear, dozens of tools to stay connected. But the fundamental problem got worse: the meeting and the work became two separate things. Teams meet to decide, then scramble to document the decision. They meet to plan, then rush to write the plan. The meeting ends, the work begins, except there's no time left to do it. Decisions get re-litigated, action items forgotten, context lost across tools and time zones.
The tagline: Tana is the prism for your work. It joins meetings the way teams already work, through video calls and natural conversation, with no new interface to learn. While you talk, AI listens, understands, and acts. What comes out isn't added complexity. It's the same conversation, separated into its true colors: the insight buried in the discussion, the action nobody wrote down, the decision that would have saved three follow-up meetings. Tana reveals what was always there, separated into clarity.
The vision statement: we're entering an era where talking about the work equals doing it. Your team discusses the feature, the PRD writes itself. The call ends, the follow-up is drafted, the CRM updated, the tasks filed. Intelligence refracts from conversation to finished work without the scramble in between.
### Domain and product separation
On March 16, 2026, the team decided to claim tana.inc for the meetings product and move the outliner to outliner.tana.inc. The meetings product owns the original Tana brand and app icon. The outliner gets a white icon with "Outliner" branding. This was timed for GTC week in San Francisco, so visitors to tana.inc see the new meetings-focused messaging. Two products, two identities, one company.
## What's coming next
The product is still early. The editor needs more work. Task management is being rethought. The external MCP server is ready but being optimized so users don't burn through credits in ten minutes. When it ships, it will bridge the two products. You'll be able to connect your own Claude agent or any external tool.
Updates are shipping daily. The pace from here only accelerates.
## Tana Outliner
The Outliner team has its own roadmap and its own momentum. Q2 remains focused on improving the everyday experience: core reliability, paper cuts, and long-requested features.
### Recently shipped
- Set fields by dragging in grouped outline view
- Backup audio recording for the meeting notetaker. Retranscribe from audio files or in different languages after network drops
- Copy node ID command for MCP workflows
- Formatting preserved when pasting code
- Improved autocomplete for fields with thousands of options
- Several MCP fixes, shipped continuously
### New documentation site
A major overhaul of the docs and help center, led by Theo. The new site is built closer to the codebase, so documentation updates more automatically when features ship. It includes better search, feedback buttons, and a related content section. The site is also built for agents as well as humans: asking Claude or the built-in Tana helper about Tana should now return better, more accurate results.
### Semantic field breadcrumbs
A big one for power users. The semantic function lets you map relationships between nodes, for example: Oslo is a city in Norway, which is a country in Europe. The first half of this feature (the underlying function) shipped earlier. The second half, the visualization, is now landing. Navigate to any node and see breadcrumbs showing its place in the semantic hierarchy. Useful for topic maps, feature hierarchies, geographic relationships, and more. Set it up in the field config under the advanced section.
### Mermaid diagrams from AI chat
You can now ask for mermaid diagram output from the AI chat and get rendered diagrams directly in Tana. This has been in internal testing and is shipping to the community in the next few days. Feedback welcome.
### Coming next
- Collapsible fields. Much requested, tricky to get right, but close
- Continued grouping improvements
- Startup speed improvements for the desktop app
- MCP improvements, a long list of smaller fixes
- Quality of life improvements from community feedback
- Option to opt out of in-app popup guides
- Ability to hide empty related content
## Hiring
The Outliner team is adding a senior software engineer, ideally based in Sydney, Oslo, or Trondheim, for proximity to existing team hubs. If you know someone or are interested, the role will be posted soon.
## Community events
Mark's MCP Workshop continues every two weeks. The focus is on thinking in terms of processes and objects, which lets you build workflows with the MCP that can route things and give you real power. It's not just the techniques of Tana in these workshops, it's how to build systems and how to do them well. Always recorded and shared in the community.
MCP Help Sessions run every second week: unscripted, hands-on help with setup, troubleshooting, and workflow design. Two sessions are scheduled for next week. Check Luma for details. The MCP setup is straightforward once you've done it once. If you haven't, these sessions are the fastest way in.
## What's ahead
The new Tana is in the community's hands. It's early, it's changing fast, and it's not finished. But the direction is clear, and we're building it together.
- The new Tana is live for community members. Use it, break it, tell us what works
- Agents, voice commands, and the knowledge graph are the core of the new product
- The external MCP is soon ready and will bridge the two products when it ships
- Tana Outliner has a dedicated team shipping improvements every week: semantic breadcrumbs, mermaid diagrams, a new docs site, and more on the way
- We're hiring on both products
Keep sharing feedback and ideas in the community, it's where everything starts.
[Watch the live recording on Youtube](https://youtube.com/live/6K7W1poXb2A)
_Next Tana Current: to be announced in Slack_
---
#### Tana Current Monthly Update (November 2025)
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-current-monthly-update-november-2025
These monthly updates give you a window into what is happening at Tana, features we are building, improvements we are making, and the thinking behind where we are taking the product. This November we are delivering on navigation improvements, shipping a game-changing image generation capability, and continuing our work to make Tana the best place to work with AI.
## Major Releases Coming
Several major updates are ready to ship in the next few weeks:
### 1. Recents
A new sidebar item that automatically shows your 100 most recently edited nodes.
No more hunting for that thing you were working on. Recents gives you quick access to work in progress without building search nodes or trying to remember where you left things.
This uses a new "entity" concept. Tana now distinguishes between important objects and nodes that are simply parts of larger entities. Entities include tagged nodes, direct library children, and anything captured from mobile. The result is that you see meaningful items in Recents instead of 100 small nodes nested inside a single note.
Behind the scenes, this represents a meaningful shift in how Tana understands and organizes your content.
### 2. Sidebar Upgrades
The sidebar improvements we previewed last month are now live.
**Fully collapsible sidebar**
Click one more time to completely hide the sidebar (beyond the mini bar) for distraction-free work. One click brings it back. This gives you a clean canvas when you need to focus.
**Resizable sidebar**
Drag the sidebar edge to make it wider or narrower. Your preferred width saves automatically and persists when you reload. Use Command: "reset sidebar width" to return to the default. Useful when you want to see deeper into your tree structure without leaving the sidebar.
**Hide hard-coded items**
Remove items you don't use from the sidebar (AI chats, super tags, etc.). Restore them anytime with Command+K > `Toggle (item)` in sidebar or find them in Settings > Preferences. Customize your sidebar to show only what matters to you.
### 3. UI Facelift
The whole Tana UI has gotten a facelift with a more modern and elegant color palette. We've improved the contrast on buttons, menus and tabs.
- Dark mode now has a darker shade on the background for content, for better readability. The sidebar and buttons is now slight lighter.
- Light mode has a lighter shade on the sidbar/background, and better contrast on menus and buttons.
### 4. Filter Toolbar Improvements
A streamlined one-line toolbar that puts filtering controls right where you need them.
- Search and filter by title always visible
- Changing search is now straightforward (previously required menu navigation)
- Dedicated buttons for group, sort, and display options
- Applied filters shown in a separate button
- Active filters highlighted in blue
- Toggle visibility from the context menu
- Filters are now accessible without diving into menus
Small changes like this add up to a noticeably smoother daily experience.
### 5. Nano Banana Pro Image Generation
We've upgraded image generation in Tana to use Nano Banana Pro, the best image generation model on the market.
**What You Can Do:**
Set banner images for projects and notes
Create infographics and visual summaries
Generate whiteboard explanations
Make comics and visual explanations
Create napkin sketches and hand-drawn style visuals
Generate meeting summaries as images
Visualize complex knowledge instantly
**Why This Is Powerful:**
Nano Banana works with Tana's context system, so you can send entire meeting transcripts, book notes, or complex knowledge structures. It understands information deeply and turns it into accurate visualizations while also writing text with minimal mistakes. It is cost-effective because sending large context is cheap and the difference between a short sentence and a long transcript is small. You can generate images in 1K for in-app use or 4K for external use, and then download them for use anywhere or in Tana Publish.
**Custom Commands:**
Build your own image generation commands
String together different models (use Opus to generate prompts, then send to Nano Banana)
Create prompt libraries that improve over time
Template pack coming with pre-built commands for infographics, banners, and graphic design
Easy to edit prompts- just edit the command like any other Tana command
**Use Cases:**
Meeting summaries as visual infographics
Book notes turned into personalized visual summaries
Marketing assets generated from launch content
Project banners that make your workspace beautiful
Complex concepts explained visually
This feature represents the power of having AI models integrated into Tana's context system rather than as separate tools. It's transformative for how you can visualize and work with your knowledge.
### Where We're Headed
We're working on two parallel tracks: refining what Tana does today, and building toward a future where AI works seamlessly with your knowledge.
**Refining Today's Experience**
After a period focused on new user experience, we're shifting attention back to power users and the day-to-day experience of using Tana. That means addressing paper cuts, fixing bugs, and making small improvements that add up.
Some recent fixes that have shipped:
- Checkbox state visible in search results
- Select multiple nodes and pin them all at once
- Tana credits now visible in GPT log monitor (see exactly how many credits each prompt uses)
We're systematically tracking and triaging bugs reported by the community. Because Tana is a complex system, some fixes require careful work - changing one thing can affect many others. But we're identifying quick wins that can ship fast, and you'll see more of these rolling out regularly.
**Building the Best AI Experience**
Our above improving day to day useability in Tana is straightforward with AI: make Tana the best place to work with AI while keeping everything in context. No copy-pasting, no switching between tools.
**Areas we're exploring:**
Making context easier to use - Better ways to pull your notes into AI conversations and get exactly the context you need
- Smarter token usage - More efficient handling of large context nodes and multi-message conversations
- Prompt engineering workflows - Leverage Tana's structure to build reusable prompts and prompt libraries
- Model selection - We're adding new models (like the three that just shipped) and improving how you choose between them (reasoning levels are now visible)
- Media support - Exploring ways to support more media types in AI workflows
- Voice features - Continuing to invest heavily in voice capabilities
- AI for your workspace - This is the big one everyone's waiting for. We're taking our time because we want to get it right, avoiding the trap of creating something that burns tokens without delivering real value. We're choosing the harder path that leads to something genuinely useful.
The vision of AI that understands everything and can build anything is compelling, and we're building toward it. You can already see glimpses of this future in features like Nano Banana Pro, where your full context connects directly to AI capabilities, not as a separate tool, but as an integrated part of how you work.
### The story of November 2025
This month we delivered some long-awaited features- offline mode finally shipped, new AI models are available, and mobile workflows are getting more powerful. But more importantly, we're starting to see how the pieces fit together.
And as a recap, these are all the things that went out the door in November:
### What's Shipped in November
#### 1. Offline Mode
Offline mode is now live and working. Most users may not need it daily (connectivity keeps improving), but it's there when you need it; on flights, in remote areas, or during network outages. Delivering this long-requested feature was great!
#### 2. New AI Models from Google, OpenAI and Anthropic
Three new models are now available in Tana:
GPT 5.1 - OpenAI's latest
Gemini 3 - Google's newest release
Opus 4.5 - Anthropic's latest Claude model (shipped yesterday)
All three are available in the model picker, grouped by cost tier. We've also added reasoning level controls (low to high) so you can adjust how deeply each model processes your queries.
To use: Press space anywhere in Tana to start a chat with context from that part of your knowledge, or click the model picker to choose your model. Since everything in Tana is a node, you can chat about specific nodes or start a general AI conversation.
#### 3. Customizable mobile widgets for home screen
New mobile widgets enable quick capture, including a one-tap meeting super tag widget for starting meetings instantly.
iOS Shortcuts and Automations - Create shortcuts and automations that trigger Tana actions based on location, time, or actions in other apps. For example: automatically prompt Friday questions at 3 PM to ensure they get answered on time. Capture directly to specific super tags based on context, tasks during work hours, ideas when you're out walking, book notes when reading.
This unlocks automation workflows: start Tana actions when you arrive at a location, complete tasks in other apps, or at scheduled times throughout your day.
#### 4. Checkbox state in Global Search
Global search (Command+S or sidebar search) now shows checkbox states in results. You can quickly see which tasks are done and which aren't across your entire workspace. (Direct checkbox interaction in search is coming soon.)
#### 5. Progress Wheel in Sidebar
A visual progress indicator you can pin to your sidebar:
- Displays completion status for any node containing checkboxes
- Progress bar and wheel update as you check off subtasks
- A checkmark icon appears when everything is complete
- Pin multiple progress wheels to track different areas at once
Beyond tasks, use this to monitor bug reports, track launch checklists, or visualize any checkbox-based workflow. Multiple progress wheels give you a dashboard view of what's happening across different parts of your workspace.
## Upcoming events
In December we will have our annual Founder AMA which will cover roadmap items. Tana Current will return in January.
We are currently weekly free events for both beginngers and advanced users:
- [**Weekly beginners drop-in session**](https://luma.com/tanadropin?k=c) with Ev Chapman
- [**Tana Learn Live**](https://tana.inc/articles/tana-learn-live) - deep dive introductions into core feature
- [**Tana Live Build Sessions**](https://tana.inc/articles/tana-live-build) - we build out complete systems to solve use cases
Learn live and Live build sessions are recorded and the recordings are made available after the event:
[See all upcoming and past events](https://tana.inc/community)
---
#### Tana for students: transcribe lectures, take smarter notes, and stay organized
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-for-students-transcribe-lectures-take-smarter-notes-and-stay-organized
Most student tools capture information but don't help you connect it or make it useful when you need it. That's where Tana comes in. It's a free workspace designed to be your study hub, where AI helps you transcribe lectures, organize research, and keep deadlines on track.
## Why students choose Tana
Being a student today means managing a flood of lectures, readings, projects, and deadlines. Traditional note-taking tools capture information, but they don't help you connect it, act on it, or keep track of everything across courses. Tana is built to solve this. It's more than a note-taking app, it's a connected workspace where you can transcribe lectures, capture ideas, manage assignments, and let AI help you study smarter.
- **Transcribe lectures instantly**: Turn spoken content into searchable, structured notes.
- **Organize assignments and deadlines**: Track every task with due dates and reminders.
- **Connect your knowledge**: Link readings, concepts, and projects across subjects.
- **Study with AI support**: Summarize readings, generate flashcards, and create study guides.
- **Work better in groups**: Share workspaces for team projects while keeping personal notes private.
- **Free to get started**: Students can use the free version of Tana at no cost, or optionally upgrade to the student plan with 50% discount with included AI credits.
## Start fast with the Tana student hub template
You don't need to spend hours setting up your workspace. The [Student hub template](https://tana.inc/templates/student-hub?utm_source=blog) gives you a complete out-of-the-box system for tracking courses, assignments, and reading resources.
- Add your courses, lectures and assignments automatically organized by course and due date.
- Record and transcribe lectures directly into your workspace, so you never miss key details.
- Get help from AI to ask questions or extract info from transcribed lecture notes, and get help from the Lecture agent to prepare for exams.
With the template, you get structure from day one, and you can still customize it as your semester evolves. [Try Student hub in Tana now for free](https://tana.inc/templates/student-hub).
## Take better notes with lecture transcription and AI support
Typing fast enough to keep up with lectures is nearly impossible. With Tana, you can record and **transcribe lectures in realtime**. Every word becomes searchable and editable, so you can focus on listening and engaging in class. You can take your own notes on the side, and link to quotes from the transcript while it's running!
AI goes beyond transcription: it can summarize readings, extract key concepts, and even generate exam or practice questions. Messy notes turn into structured study guides, saving you hours of prep time and making your knowledge compound.
## Organize your assignments and deadlines in one place
As a student, you have to juggle multiple courses, each with its own assignments, exams, and readings. Instead of using separate apps, Tana lets you manage it all inside one connected system.
With **Supertags in Tana**, you can add fields like due date, course name, and priority to any note. This means your assignments automatically flow into dashboards, weekly planners, exam calendars, or project trackers, without extra effort. Draft your assignments directly in the list - Tana's outline editor is perfect for starting with high level structure, then filling in details as you work deeper. Get help from AI by triggering an AI chat with any note simply by pressing Space beneath it, or hitting the AI chat button.
## Move beyond traditional note-taking apps
Students often ask: _How is Tana different from tools like Notion or Obsidian?_
Unlike apps that rely on folders or databases, Tana is powered by a **knowledge graph**. Notes, readings, and tasks are connected automatically. For example, a lecture transcription tagged with "History 201" can be added directly in the course, any exam questions derived from the lectures in the course can easily be aggregated for the whole semester. In Tana, you can tag notes anywhere, and make live searches that automatically updates with newly tagged items. To pull inn existing notes, resources or link notes together, you can simply type @ and select the note you want to link to.
This flexibility means you can shape your study system around the way you think, rather than bending your workflow to fit rigid templates.
## Collaborate better on group projects
Group projects often suffer from scattered information across email threads, chat apps, and documents. In Tana, you can create a shared workspace, install the Student hub template into it, and build a shared hub with classmates, keeping everyone on the same page in real time.
Collaboration happens directly in your connected knowledge system, so updates, resources, and tasks are always in context.
## Study anywhere, securely
Tana works across desktop and mobile. Use the Tana mobile app [for iOS](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tana-notes-ai-voice-memos/id6499428869) or [for Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tana.android&hl=en&pli=1), to capture ideas, record voice memos or review upcoming assignments on the go. Tana's Supertags let you go from rambling voice memo to shareable article or summary in minutes. [Explore templates for mobile voice memos.](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/Mobile%20voice)
All your data stays private to your workspace unless you choose to share it, and you can publish any notes you want to share, either in a reader-friendly Article view, or full interactive Tana view. With Tana Publish, you can let others browse your connected notes
## Get started for free
The best part? **Tana has a free version, and a generous discount for students.** You can sign up today, apply the [Student Hub template](https://tana.inc/templates/student-hub?utm_source=chatgpt.com), and have your entire semester organized in minutes. To test all the paid features, you get a 14 day free trial with no committment or credit card required.
As you grow into more advanced features, you can upgrade for deeper AI support and collaboration, with student discounts available on premium plans. To get the student discount, email student@tana.inc from your student email or attach a copy of your student ID.
## The student's second brain
Tana is more than a note-taking app. With the Student Hub template and built-in AI, it's your **second brain for studying**, a place where lectures, readings, assignments, and group work all come together in one connected system.
---
#### Tana iOS and Android gets native widgets for instant capture and voice memos
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-ios-and-android-gets-native-home-screen-widgets-for-instant-capture-and-voice-memos
Tana for iOS and Android now lets you add widgets to the home screen for instant capture of voice memos, notes and images - with the supertags you use the most. In addition, the iOS app now includes deep integrations with Siri, Shortcuts, Spotlight search, and Control Centre, letting you record, write, and organize thoughts instantly from anywhere on your phone. Turn quick notes, voice memos, or tasks into connected knowledge with zero friction.
[Download iOS app](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tana-notes-ai-voice-memos/id6499428869)
[Download Android app](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tana.android&hl=en)
### Quick capture on the go with the Tana mobile apps
The new **Tana mobile apps for iOS and Android** is built for people who want to capture important thoughts, ideas or notes, and organize them in their knowledge graph. You can now **capture tasks, ideas, or voice memos** directly from your phone’s native tools, no app switching required.
Whether you’re between meetings or walking to the train, capture tagged items to Tana with** one click from the home screen**, use **Siri**, or tap an **iOS Shortcut** to capture instantly.
Each tagged capture automatically syncs and structures itself in your Tana knowledge graph, where you can organize and reformat it. So you’re not just taking notes, you’re building a system of lasting knowledge.
## Configurable Home screen widgets for iOS and Android apps
Add Tana capture widgets to your iPhone or Android home screen for one-tap access to your favorite capture modes; write, speak, or snap a photo.
You can set up multiple widgets for different supertags or destinations, for example:
- **#task** – capture your next action item
- **#idea** – jot down creative sparks
- **#memo** – record voice notes hands-free
### How to add home screen widgets on iOS
On the home screen, long press, tap "Edit" in the top left corner, then select Add widget. Long press each widget and select "Edit", to configure it.
### **How to add home screen widgets on Android**
To add an Android home screen widget, touch and hold an empty spot on your home screen, or pinch the screen. Then tap **Widgets**, find Tana, and then drag the widget to your desired location.
Once the widget is added, you can tap the Settings icon to configure the destination and supertag:
On newer Android versions you can even add multiple widgets in the same spot on the home screen and scroll sideways between them.
## **iOS native integrations**
#### Siri integration
Use **Siri** to capture notes, photos, or voice memos in Tana hands-free.
Make sure Siri is enabled on your device ([setup guide](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204389)). Then try:
- “Tana write note” — open text capture.
- “Tana camera” — take and save a photo in Tana.
- “Tana voice memo” — start recording an audio note.
See the full list of supported voice commands [here](/learn/features/tana-mobile).
### Lock screen widgets
On your lock screen, you can add widgets for one-tap access:
- Write a note
- Record voice memo
- Take photo with camera
To add lock screen widgets, long press on the lock screen, tap Customize select the lock screen and then tap the widget area, find the Tana widgets and tap to add them into the widget area.
### Control Center widget
Access Tana in one swipe; add it to your **Control Center** (iOS) for instant recording and note capture, even while your phone is locked.
Swipe down from the top-right of your iPhone, long press, tap "Add a Control", search for Tana, and select between these options:
- Write a note
- Voice memo
- Camera (to take and upload images)
Perfect for when you want to capture a thought mid-conversation or note an idea during a walk.
### Spotlight search
Spotlight on iOS is the system-wide search you open by swiping down on the Home Screen. With this update, typing “Tana” in Spotlight now shows **quick actions** like _Write Note_, _Camera_, or _Voice Memo_.
Tap one to open that capture mode instantly, without even launching the full app.
### Shortcuts integration
You can now create multi-step **Tana shortcuts** in Apple’s [Shortcuts app](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/shortcuts/apdfea15680b/ios).
A shortcut is a series of actions, and for Tana, these actions can include:
- Write note
- Record voice memo
- Open camera
Use these shortcuts in automations, widgets, or even assign them to your iPhone’s **Action Button** (available on iPhone 15 Pro and later).
#### Action Button integration
On supported models (iPhone 15 Pro or later), you can map the **Action Button** to run a Tana shortcut, for example, start recording a voice memo with a single press.
To set it up:
1. Go to _Settings > Action Button_.
2. Swipe to _Shortcut_ → _Choose a Shortcut_ → select a Tana action (Voice memo, Write Note or Camera).
## Capture ideas with purpose: use cases and templates
You’re walking between meetings, and tap a home app button for #task voice memo:
> “Follow up with Alex about the Q4 launch deck.”
Tana records your voice, **transcribes the memo**, applies the `#task` supertag, and saves it to your workspace. By the time you open your laptop, it’s already waiting in your daily note so you can remember it.
Here are a few other ideas for how you can use Tana’s new mobile voice capture system, along with **ready-to-use templates** you can open right now:
- **Draft memos:** Draft emails, feedback to share, or reporting updates using the [**#Memo supertag**](https://tana.inc/templates/memo). Use the _rewrite command_ button on desktop to instantly reformat your transcript, before it can be shared with the Tana publish feature.
- **Reflect on your week of or plan your day:** Record reflections while walking using the [**#Weekly reflection template**](https://tana.inc/templates/weekly-reflection).
- **Draft blog posts or articles:** Dictate ideas with the [**#Article template**](https://tana.inc/templates/article). Tana transcribes and structures your thoughts automatically.
- **Investor updates on the go:** Record updates using the [**#Investor update template**](https://tana.inc/templates/investor-update) while heading to the kitesurfing beach.
- **Brainstorm new ideas:** Use the [**#Brainstorm template**](https://tana.inc/templates/brainstorm) to team sessions or your own ramblings and have AI break it down in ideas or questions you can follow up on.
- **Record lectures or study sessions:** The [**Student hub template**](https://tana.inc/templates/student-hub) helps students capture lectures and automatically transcribe and tag them for later review.
All templates use **Tana’s supertags** to give instant structure and context to what you capture.
### From talk to action
Instead of juggling multiple apps for voice recording, formatting, organizing your notes and managing tasks, Tana lets you **capture, organize, and manage tasks in the same place**.
- Record voice notes and get customized** transcription workflows with different supertags**.
- Use **Tana iOS widgets** and **Shortcuts** for lightning-fast capture.
- Turn fleeting thoughts into structured, searchable knowledge.
- Build a living knowledge system where your knowledge compounds over time, and your tasks have context from meetings or notes.
With capturing in **Tana mobile apps**, every idea, voice memo, and task becomes part of a connected network, one that helps you think faster, act smarter, and stay in flow.
### Share your captured thoughts with Tana Publish
Once you’ve rewritten or refined your recordings, share them directly with **Tana Publish**. Add passwords for extra security (_requires paid plan_). Publish your memos, reflections, or ideas as public pages in one click.
[Watch how it works →](https://tana.inc/articles/share-your-thinking-not-just-your-documents-with-tana-publish?utm_source=tana.inc&utm_medium=blog)
### Ready to try it?
Download the latest **Tana app for iOS and Android**, add your widgets, and try capturing your next idea by voice. Check out Tana Mobile documentation to learn more.
Your phone just became the fastest way to build lasting knowledge.
[Download iOS app](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tana-notes-ai-voice-memos/id6499428869)
[Download Android app](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tana.android&hl=en)
---
#### Tana is Product of the Year on Product Hunt. Thank you.
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-product-of-the-year-producthunt
Tana was awarded Product of the Year on Product Hunt after hundreds of users shared how it has changed the way they work and think. From better meetings to lasting clarity, the stories behind the votes matter more to us than the ranking itself.
## Community at the core
This recognition belongs to our community. Hundreds of you showed up, shared stories, left thoughtful comments, and explained in your own words why Tana matters in your work and lives. We are deeply grateful.
When we launched Tana on Product Hunt, we did not know what to expect. We knew we were building something opinionated and different, and we knew it would resonate strongly with some people. What we did not anticipate was the depth of the conversations that followed.
Hundreds of comments and reviews came in, not just about features, but about how people think, work, and live with Tana. Many shared stories about finally feeling on top of their work, about finding calm in complexity, and about building systems that actually grow with them instead of breaking.
A few moments that stayed with us:
"Every meeting I take in Tana makes the next one easier. I am no longer starting from scratch."
"Tana is the first tool that matches how my brain works instead of forcing me into someone else's structure."
"I stopped worrying about losing important ideas. They are all there, connected, when I need them."
These are not outcomes you can fake with a launch or manufacture with marketing. They only happen when people invest time, curiosity, and trust into a product and help shape it through feedback, critique, and shared experiments.
What made this Product Hunt launch special was not just the votes. It was the quality of discussion. People compared setups, shared workflows, challenged our decisions, and pushed us to explain why we believe in structured knowledge, connected thinking, and AI that works inside your own system rather than replacing it.
In my post-launch reflections, I wrote that this award feels less like a finish line and more like a signal. A signal that there is a growing group of people who want tools that respect their thinking, protect their agency, and compound their knowledge over time. Tools that are built for real work, not just polished demos.
Tana is still early. There is a lot we want to improve, simplify, and unlock next. But this moment matters, because it confirms that we are working on an important problem, together with a community that cares deeply about doing better work.
To everyone who commented, reviewed, voted, shared feedback, or simply followed along: thank you. This one is yours as much as it is ours.
Olav Sindre Kriken
Co-founder of Tana
---
#### Tana now supports Gemini 3 Pro, GPT-5.1 and Claude Opus 4.5: faster reasoning, web search in all models
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-now-supports-gemini-3-pro-and-gpt-5-1-faster-reasoning-web-search-in-all-models
Tana now supports the newest frontier AI models from Google, Anthropic and OpenAI, and makes them available across commands, chats, agents, and your knowledge graph workflows. You can choose the exact model and reasoning level you want, compare models side by side, and use web search in every model for fresh, reliable information.
> Updated November 29th with Claude Opus 4.5 added.
## The latest frontier models inside your outliner and knowledge graph
Working in a knowledge graph is perfect for AI, letting it explore relations between content. This release brings the latest models to Tana:
You now have:
- **Gemini 3 Pro** in both low-reasoning and high-reasoning modes
- **GPT-5.1** with no-reasoning, low-reasoning, medium-reasoning, and high-reasoning modes
- **Claude Opus 4.5** with low-reasoning, medium-reasoning, and high-reasoning modes
- **Unified support for web search across all models** (OpenAI GPT, Anthropic Claude and Google Gemini models)
These are available in core AI features inside Tana: AI chats, prompt workbench, AI commands, agents, and custom supertag workflows.
If you want creative ideation, structured analysis, deep reasoning, or rapid transcription, you can now select the model that matches the task, directly within your workspace.
## Web search now available for every model
Every AI model in Tana can now use real-time web search.
This upgrade is designed for users who manage fast-moving information: product leaders processing user interviews or feedback, managers preparing for upcoming meetings, and researchers synthesizing new content into their knowledge graph.
With web search enabled, Tana's AI can:
- Look up recent facts or data points
- Answer questions about things not covered in your notes
- Pull in external context for decision-making
- Write or summarize with current information
- Support workflows that depend on fresh inputs
Because search works across all models, you don't have to choose between "best model" and "most up-to-date answer." You get both.
NB: web _fetch_ for URLs is not yet supported in Tana. This means that you can instruct AI to read/summarize a particular URL. Web search will just search the internet for answers to a question, and summarize the information into a response.
## Smarter model selector with reasoning controls
Reasoning models consume more tokens upfront but handle complex tasks significantly better. To make this easier to understand, the Tana model selector now shows:
- Whether a model supports reasoning
- What levels are available
- An indicative level of cost
This helps you choose the right tool for the job. For example:
- **Low reasoning**: fast brainstorming, rewriting, lightweight tasks
- **Medium reasoning**: summaries, meeting notes, multi-step transformations
- **High reasoning**: long-form analysis, complex logic, strategic tasks across your knowledge graph
For users building custom AI commands or workflows using supertags, this clarity makes it much easier to pick the right model and reasoning level.
## Cleaner model list: older models removed
To ensure consistency, reliability, and performance, we removed several older models that no longer meet our bar for quality.
If you have commands or AI workflows that reference deprecated models, Tana automatically redirects them to the closest fallback model, ensuring nothing breaks. You can update them at your own pace, or continue using the fallback for now. [See full list of which models are deprecated and which ones are now supported](/help/ai-and-automation#what-ai-models-are-supported).
## Why this matters for users researching AI-native outliners and knowledge-graph tools
Tana offers an integrated workspace where you can combine manual note-taking with voice and meeting transcription, and integrated AI functionality:
1. Your notes, tasks, meetings, and knowledge graph relations (references) give AI rich context, without needing to copy-paste.
2. You can choose from the strongest models across OpenAI and Google.
3. You can enable reasoning only when the task genuinely needs it.
4. You can use web search on every model.
5. You can build out powerful custom workflows with AI, that processes content in the way you need.
For users evaluating tools like Notion, Obsidian, Logseq, or Roam, this kind of model-level flexibility plus structured data is unique to Tana.
## Practical examples for users managing complex work
If you're struggling with juggling projects, meetings, and information overload this is how Tana can help you:
- Use **GPT-5.1 high reasoning** to synthesize patterns in complex information
- Use **Gemini 3 Pro low reasoning** to draft quick ideas or restructure documents.
- Use **Claude Opus 4.5** for writing or analysis
- Use web search within any model to research or brainstorm topics.
- Use reasoning-enabled models to create better action items from transcripts.
- Build supertag-specific workflows where different models handle different steps.
Tana becomes a flexible AI operating system for your thinking, not just a place to store notes.
---
#### Tana raises $14m Series A to unlock the power of human-AI collaboration
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-raises-usd14m-series-a
We're excited to announce our $14M Series A led by Tola Capital, with follow on from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Northzone, Alliance VC, and firstminute capital, bringing our total funding to $25M.
Computers were supposed to be bicycles for our minds. Instead, they've become hamster wheels.
Today, we're excited to announce our $14M Series A led by Tola Capital, with follow on from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Northzone, Alliance VC, and firstminute capital, bringing our total funding to $25M. The funding will further our goal to reinvent how humans, teams, and computers work together, building AI agents and voice-powered workflows to redefine productivity for savvy professionals worldwide.
#### Why Now?
The way we work is broken.
We're drowning in meta-work—endless context switching between documents, spreadsheets, and chat apps. All too often the **knowledge gets stuck**. In heads, in projects, and departments. In legal pads, slide decks and memories we fail to recall when relevant. Information is fragmented across dozens of tools, making it harder than ever to find what we need when we need it.
For humans, information overload its a huge problem. For your AI coworkers its a showstopper. The information they find, the structure they see, and the knowledge they obtain is the foundation for their execution.
This is why we built Tana.
#### Introducing Tana: The AI-Native Workspace
Tana is a new kind of workspace that makes interacting with computers feel natural. We've spent years developing three breakthrough technologies:
**A Knowledge Graph That Thinks Like You Do**
Most tools force you to organize information in rigid hierarchies. Tana's knowledge graph mirrors how your brain works—making connections fluid and natural, helping you and AI discover insights you might have missed.
It's the only way to ensure AI truly functions as an extension of your own intellect and that of your company.
**Proactive Information Surfacing**
Instead of manually hunting for information, our live feeds brings relevant information to you in context, automatically. It's like having a brilliant assistant who always knows exactly what you need, before you need it.
**Supertags: From Chaos to Structure in Seconds**
Our most-loved innovation transforms unstructured information into structured data instantly. Inspired by object-oriented programming, Supertags let you build powerful workflows and AI agents that actually understand your information. It's the foundation for AI moving for copilots to coworkers.
#### The Response Has Been Overwhelming
During our stealth phase, over 160,000 people joined our waitlist—including employees from over 80% of Fortune 500 companies. Our community of 24,000+ Tanarians (thank you!) has helped shape a product that's already transforming how people work.
"_Tana is like having a superpower at work. It is the best tool we currently have to prepare our organization for the inevitable: The increasing rate of change, the need for collaboration, and the information flow that comes with the advent of AI._" Andre Foeken, CTO of Nedap
#### Backed by the Best
“This team's obsession with transforming productivity for our AI-native world sets them apart. They deeply understand that the future of work will be dynamic and personalized, and their voice-first product represents a bold vision for reshaping how teams collaborate globally,” Sheila Gulati, founder and managing director of Tola Capital.
We're honored to have the support of exceptional investors and founders who share our vision. Tola Capital, Lightspeed Ventures, Northzone, Alliance VC, and first minute capital. Lars Rasmussen, founder of Google Maps and Google Wave, was one of our believers, along with Olivier Pomel (Founder Datadog), Holly Branson (Virgin) and more. In our Series A, we welcomed Arash Ferdowsi (Dropbox co-founder), Siqi Chen (Founder Runway), Ali Abdaal (Productiviy Guru), and Phil Morle (Internet OG).
“I’ve loved being an early adopter of Tana and I’m a believer in the team’s incredible vision to revolutionize knowledge work for high-speed organizations. They’ve built one of the most impressive AI agents I’ve ever seen and infused it into every part of the product,” Nnamdi Iregbulem, Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners.
#### What's Next
This funding will help us deliver on our mission: reinventing how humans, teams, and computers work together.
We will continue to build on our belief in voice-first workflows, Customizable AI Agents, and a new paradigm for sharing and accessing proprietary knowledge in the age of AI.
**Join Us in Shaping the Future**
The computer was supposed to be a bicycle for the mind. With Tana, we're finally delivering on that promise. We're building a world where technology adapts to you—not the other way around.
A special note from us founders: _We're deeply grateful to our Tanarians, investors, and the incredible team that's helped us reach this milestone. This is just the beginning of our journey to transform how humans, teams, and computers work together. - Grim, Tarjei, Olav_
---
#### Tana's next chapter - our roadmap
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/Tana-roadmap-Q4-2024
Tana's 2024 development focus: Our plans to enhance user experience, develop mobile apps for iOS and Android, improve performance, and expand AI integration.
At Tana, we're on a mission to reinvent how humans, teams, and computers work together. Our vision is to make knowledge-work fast and effortless in an age of AI, remote and async teams, and fast-changing workflows. This vision has been clear since we started building the platform four years ago, and it continues to guide us today.
Many of our users have asked why we don't publish a traditional roadmap.
The truth is, as a startup operating in a dynamic environment, we've found that the classic fixed roadmap doesn't accurately reflect the iterative nature of our work. We know where we want to go, but the route to getting there is rarely a straight line. Some of our experiments don't pan out, and often we need to take a few steps back and try alternative routes as we fill in the white spaces on our map.
We hear that you want to better understand where we're going, and we want you to be part of our journey. So, instead of a traditional roadmap, we've decided to share our next "Chapter" with you. This approach allows us to remain flexible and responsive to the evolving needs of our users and the technological landscape while giving you insight into our current focus and priorities.
## The next chapter: Our focus for the rest of 2024
Our primary goal for the remainder of 2024 is to make Tana smooth, fast, and easy for new users. This involves developing a useful and delightful mobile app (for both iOS and Android), enhancing the core experience of Tana to make it faster, and making the powerful Tana AI accessible to non-power users.
## We're dividing our work into a set of priority tracks:
### Making it easier to get into Tana for new users
**Goal:** Lower the learning curve for Tana and iterate tirelessly on improving the onboarding experience for new users.
**Concrete Areas of Effort:**
- Improved in-context guidance
- Better initial workspace setups
- Enhanced navigation views (side-menu and tabs) to allow more familiar website-like structures in the node tree
- Simplified UX for search nodes and filters
### Providing a delightful mobile experience
**Goal:** Make Tana available on mobile phones with a UX tailored for mobile use cases.
**Efforts**: Develop improved caching solutions and use of server platform for features that require different implementations on mobile compared to the desktop app
### Making Tana faster and more accessible
**Goal:** Improve loading times and overall UX speed.
**Efforts: **Implement support for some offline use (not fully local-first, but a step in that direction)
### Strengthening the core aspects of Tana with focus on workflows
**Fields: **Introduce status fields for workflow definitions
**Search and Search Nodes:**
- Make search faster and easier to set up and use for navigating information in Tana
- Improve understanding of different node types: content, items, spaces
- Implement semantic indexing
**Iterate and Improve: **Enhance existing features, focusing on maximizing impact driven by workflow use cases
### Unlocking AI use in Tana:
**Goal:** Focus on voice interaction from mobile.
**Efforts:**
- Refine our AI offerings to make simple tasks easier
- Develop AI-assisted capturing and structuring of information directly into Tana's structure and processes
- Enable all users to leverage AI in Tana to produce useful derived artifacts
We're excited about this next chapter in Tana's story. While we can't predict everything we'll release for the rest of the year, this overview should give you a good idea of our current focus areas. It also indicates what we probably won't get around to until future chapters.
We appreciate your continued support and feedback as we work towards making Tana the ultimate tool for knowledge work. Together, we're building a platform that adapts to your needs, enabling you to capture, understand, organize, and act on information more efficiently than ever before.
Stay tuned for updates as we progress through this chapter, and thank you for being part of the Tana community.
---
#### The next chapter for Tana
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/the-next-chapter-for-tana
We built Tana to reinvent how humans, teams and computers work together. Now we are launching a new product designed for teams to work better together with AI, while keeping the current product under a new name, Tana Outliner.
## Introducing a new Tana
For the past four years, Tana users have helped prove something important: when information is structured well, work gets better. You showed us how powerful a living knowledge graph can be.
You also showed us something else. The version of Tana many of you use today can be incredibly powerful, but it can also be hard to learn, hard to roll out across a team, and hard to bend toward the next generation of AI-powered work.
**To bring the power of Tana to teams, we'll soon be launching a new Tana, designed for real-time collaboration.**
**The current version of Tana will continue as one of two products and will from now on be called Tana Outliner.**
## Tana in its current form worked. But not for enough people.
If you're reading this, you've probably felt what makes Tana different.
It helps you connect ideas. It lets your knowledge compound over time. It turns scattered notes into something you can actually use. Users said that it "works like my brain".
It also showed us that the same flexibility that power users love can become friction for everyone else. Too much setup. Too much manual configuration. Too much that had to be understood before a team could get value.
It's powerful, but hard to get into. It works best solo, not across a team. And it takes time to really "get it" and keep it maintained.
That's on us. We attempted to redesign Tana several times, but were then faced with the risk of also reducing core features that many power users love and rely on.
That tradeoff became impossible to ignore. We could keep stretching the existing product, or we could build a new foundation that makes Tana more natural for more people.
## The real problem isn't note-taking
Over the past year, something else became clear.
The problem isn't how we take notes. It's how work itself is structured.
Today, your work is split across:
- meetings where decisions are made
- documents where ideas are written
- chats where context is isolated
- AI tools where collaboration requires technical skills
Even with AI, most of your work is still fragmented. And adding AI on top of that doesn't fix it.
We've always been on a mission to reinvent how humans, teams, and computers work together. And the most important word in that sentence is **together**.
**We believe real innovation should happen in the way people and AI work together.** People will keep working together. Increasingly, they'll work together with AI. And that has to feel natural.
That is why we built a new Tana.
## Why we didn't just keep adding on to the existing product
The way people work with information is changing fast. Old problems are now easily solved, and new problems arise daily.
AI is getting better at turning messy input into useful structure. That creates a new opportunity, but it also changes what the product needs to do well. It is no longer enough to help people capture and organize notes after the fact. Increasingly, people want AI to help while the work is happening.
We also learned that collaboration is not a layer you can simply bolt on at the end. Shared work needs a stronger foundation: better real-time collaboration, an integrated way to work with AI, clearer guardrails, a more natural editing experience, and a product that does not ask every teammate to learn an internal system before they can contribute.
Starting over was the fastest way to build that foundation well.
## So we decided to rebuild Tana.
Not as a better note-taking app. But as a different kind of workspace.
One where meetings, documents, and AI share the same context, and work gets done in the conversation, not after it.
In the new Tana, your graph is the context and conversations are your prompts. You don't start from a clean slate every time. The system already understands what you're working on.
### Why meetings became such an important part of the new product
Most work doesn't start in documents. It starts in conversations.
That might be a team meeting, a customer call, a planning session, a review, or even a solo session where you talk through an idea. This is where context appears for the first time. It is where decisions get made, tradeoffs are discussed, and next steps start to take shape.
But today, meetings are where work gets lost:
- decisions are forgotten
- action items are missed
- context disappears
In most tools, that context disappears as soon as the conversation ends. Then the real work begins somewhere else: writing the spec, filing the bug, updating the project, sharing the decision, assigning the task.
We wanted to fix that at the root. So we built meetings directly into Tana.
Not as recordings. But as part of your knowledge system.
That means:
- your meetings produce finished work, not notes
- having a conversation is all the prompting AI needs
- your knowledge graph builds itself every time you talk
- agents act during the meeting, not after it ends
The goal is simple: Meetings that don't just capture work. They finish it.
The new Tana is built around the idea that conversations should turn into finished work more directly. Instead of simply recording what happened, Tana can help turn it into something useful while you are still in the flow. And for the first time, all of this works on mobile from day one.
## What stays the same
The original Tana was built for people who love thinking tools.
The new Tana is built so your whole team can use it.
That means:
- less setup
- less need to understand structure
- more happening automatically
AI helps with the complexity, so more people can benefit from the system.
Or put simply:
We're taking what made Tana powerful, and making it usable.
This is not a rejection of what made Tana valuable.
The new Tana still builds on the same core belief: unstructured information becomes much more useful when it can turn into structured knowledge. Types (Supertags) still matter. Links still matter. Context still matters.
What changes is how much of that structure needs to be built and maintained manually. In the new Tana, more of that work can happen with AI, inside the product, with review and approval built in.
## What this means for current users
Tana Outliner is staying. Nothing is being taken away.
The Tana you use today will continue as **Tana Outliner**.
- It will still be supported
- It will still improve
- Your workflows will keep working
If it works for you, you can keep using it.
At the same time, we are building a new Tana for a different job: making the power of Tana easier to access, easier to share with a team, and better suited to a world where humans and AI work side by side.
There will be a period when the new Tana does not yet do everything Tana Outliner can do. That gap will be real. But we believe this foundation will let us move faster, build more naturally for teams, and bring more of Tana's power to more people over time.
## Why we are making this change now
This is a bigger shift than a product update. Because we do not think the future of work will be built around more disconnected tools.
We're moving toward something we've believed in from the start:
A shared system where:
- knowledge is structured
- context is always available
- AI helps you act, not just think
A system where your team doesn't just store information. It builds intelligence over time.
Or as we think about it internally:
From a second brain...to a company brain.
We think the next generation of knowledge work will happen in a shared context, with AI close to the conversation, close to the documents, and close to the decisions that matter. We think the best tools will not just store information. They will help turn it into action.
That is the product we are building.
Not because the old Tana was wrong, but because it taught us what had to come next.
## A new chapter
Tana Outliner showed what was possible.
The new Tana is our attempt to make that power more collaborative, more natural, and more useful in the flow of real work.
If you love Tana Outliner, keep using it. If you want a simpler, more collaborative Tana built for the way teams and AI now work together, we are excited to show you what comes next.
We recently showed the new product to our community in a live demo and AMA. The response helped us understand what excites people and where questions remain. We'll continue sharing progress through live events, early access, and our [community Slack](https://outliner.tana.inc/community).
[**Sign up now**](https://tana.inc?utm_source=blog&utm_content=new_chapter_blog) to try the new Tana for yourself.
---
#### The Tana AI Meeting Notetaker is here
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/bot-less-ai-meeting-notetaker-in-tana
Looking for the best meeting notetaking AI app that helps you stay focused, follow up effectively, and doesn’t clutter your meetings with bots? Meet the Tana Meeting Notetaker - a smarter, faster way to take notes that actually fit into your workflow. Whether you’re a project manager, a team lead, or running interviews, Tana makes meeting notetaking effortless - with AI transcription that works in real time, without needing a bot to join your call.
We've all been there. You're in an important meeting, trying to juggle between taking notes, staying engaged in the conversation, and hoping you don't miss that crucial detail. Or worse, dealing with clunky meeting bots that announce themselves to everyone, create privacy concerns, and still somehow miss half the conversation. Today, we're changing how you capture and act on your meetings forever.
Tana now offers a fully integrated **AI meeting notetaker** as part of the desktop experience. You can use it to transcribe meetings, generate summaries, and link notes directly to your work - without needing to install a plugin or add a bot.
## Meetings are the start of workflows
In Tana, we believe meetings are more than just conversations – they're the start of workflows. Every meeting usually ends with some kind of task that needs to be followed up on, and these easily get lost when juggling multiple systems for meeting recordings and task management. In Tana, you can tailor task management and other workflows so they fit your unique style and needs.
That's why we have now built **botless meeting transcription** directly into Tana Desktop. No more awkward bot announcements. No more missed insights.
## What is the Tana meeting notetaker?
The **Tana meeting notetaker** is an AI-powered tool built into the Tana Desktop app (for both Mac and Windows) that records system audio and generates **live, timestamped transcripts**. You’ll never have to scramble to keep up with the conversation again.
### Key features:
- **AI notetaker that doesn't join meetings** – no bots, no guest links, no disruption
- **Works with any meeting tool** – Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack calls, or even livestreams and videos
- **Works with in-person meetings **- captures audio from all participants in the room, or from lectures, conferences etc.
- **Effective meeting note taking in real time** – follow the live transcript as people speak
- **61 languages supported** – with auto-detect and seamless switching during the conversation
- **Ready-made templates** – for **hiring**, **user interviews**, **investor meetings**, and more
- **Support on both Windows** **and Mac **(Tana Desktop App)
- **One-click on notification** - starts transcription, join the call, and open your Tana meeting note.
- **Speaker separation** - Tana will try to separate speakers (based on voice, best effort).
- **Pause button** - for privacy on sensitive topics or meeting breaks.
- **Summary auto-generated** after the meeting.
- **Suggestion for action items,** so you can easily tag to have them flow into your task system.
- **Integrates with your tasks, people, and projects** – turn tasks from meetings into action instantly.
## One click to start meeting note taking
If you have synched your Google calendar to Tana, [the Desktop app](https://tana.inc/desktop) will send notifications that makes it effortless to start transcribing your meetings:
- **One click on notification: **starts transcription, join the meeting and open Tana, directly from your desktop notifications.
- **Meeting detection**: On Mac, Tana detects when you’re opening a meeting link and offers to start transcribing immediately, so you never miss a moment.
- **Tag any node:** If you have not synched your calendar, you can simply add #meeting to any node, fill in the start time and this will also trigger a notification.
Everything flows directly into your Tana workspace, where AI can help you **summarize, extract action items**, or **link** the meeting content to relevant people and projects.
## Meeting note taking for easy follow-up
Tana isn’t just another transcript tool. It’s designed for people who actually need to **do something** after the meeting. If you have back-to-back meetings all day, the list of follow-ups can become long.
The meeting notetaker will suggest action items from the transcript, that you can easily tag as Tasks to make them flow into your task dashboard.
That’s why the Tana meeting notetaker is especially useful for:
- **Project managers** – Keep a record of decisions, assign tasks, and track follow-ups. [Try the Project template](https://tana.inc/templates/project).
- **Product managers and user researchers** – Record customer calls or product discovery interviews, then analyze the meeting notes and transript to convert insights to impactful product changes. Try the User interview template.
- **Investor meetings** - Stay focused while the meeting notetaker captures all the feedback and signals, so you can follow up like a million dollars. Try the investor meeting template.
- **Busy managers and team leads** – Let AI handle the details while you stay engaged or lead meetings. Tag the action items to get them all in your task dashboard.
- **Consultants** - Capture all the client's needs and instructions, and link them to the project.
Every meeting becomes part of your **structured knowledge base**, not a one-off doc buried in your drive or in a siloed meeting note-taking app.
Tana makes it possible to build AI chat agents (like custom GPTs) that lets you explore and extract information from the meeting note transcript.
## AI transcription that works with headphones
Forget clunky bots or third-party apps. Meeting transcription in the Tana Desktop app uses **system audio recording **to capture everything you hear in real time, even if you’re wearing headphones.
- **Transcribes system audio**, so every voice and shared audio in your meeting is transcribed.
- **Timestamped transcripts **with speaker separation (based on best effort, for highly accurate speaker separation you'll need to use the [Tana Meeting Agent](/learn/features/meeting-agent)).
It’s part of Tana’s core philosophy: making structured information feel as natural as conversation itself.
## Support for 60+ languages
No matter where your team is or what language you’re speaking, the meeting transcription adapts:
- **Supports over 60 languages **from English to Japanese to Spanish
- **Auto-detect mode** - No manual switching needed
- **Dynamic switching** lets the AI flow with your conversation, even when you change language during conversation
### Which languages are supported?
The Tana meeting notetaker supports live transcription in over 60 languages, including Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hindi, Bengali, Turkish, Vietnamese, Polish, Ukrainian, Romanian, Czech, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Danish, Greek, Hebrew, Thai, Indonesian, Malay, Filipino (Tagalog), Swahili, Hungarian, Slovak, Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian, Albanian, Icelandic, Macedonian, Georgian, Armenian, Persian (Farsi), Urdu, Pashto, Nepali, Sinhala, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Burmese, Khmer, Lao, Mongolian, Kazakh, Uzbek, Turkmen, Tajik, Azerbaijani, Basque, Galician, Catalan, Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Amharic, Tigrinya, Somali, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Maori, Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, Hawaiian, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Taiwanese.
## Use your meetings as context for AI
Most transcription tools just spit out words. In Tana, your meeting transcripts will be valuable input that can be used to start workflows, or compound your existing knowledge:
- **Link meetings to people, companies, projects**
- **Chat with meeting transcripts:** press `Space` below the meeting notes to start an AI chat with the meeting notes as context.
- Use AI agents to re-format, process or extract information from the meeting
By combining real-time transcription with AI that that understands the data and can be adapted to your workflow, Tana transforms raw meeting data into **readable, understandable information **ready for you to act on. [Explore templates with AI agents](https://tana.inc/templates).
## Try it now
Tana’s **AI meeting notetaker **is now available in the Tana Desktop app for Mac and Windows.
Whether you're looking for **note taking for meetings as a project manager**, want a better way to capture **meeting notes without a bot**, or just want **AI that doesn’t feel generic**, the Tana meeting notetaker is waiting for you.
[Try it free for 14 days.](https://app.tana.inc/create-account)
No bots. No fluff. Just structured, useful meeting notes.
Start every meeting with the confidence that no detail is lost - and let Tana help you turn those conversations into action.
---
#### Thinking and doing
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/thinking-and-doing
Our vision and background for building Tana, as presentated during the Founder's AMA live stream.
## Manual computing
My journey to Tana began with the dual experiences of being both a programmer and a manager, as I worked at Google and other companies. Over the years, I've observed what I call "manual computing" in corporate environments - the inefficient process where information gets trapped in static documents and presentations and humans are the ones moving data around - instead of the computers.
This led me to realize the following: We need a tool that bridges unstructured and structured knowledge. Something that allows users to start with unstructured data and gradually add structure as needed, without the upfront cost of building a full application.
For computers to do more of our work, we have to include them from the messy origin of information, starting from simple notes or voice recordings, all the way to complex workflows with well understood data flows.
## The Thinking and Doing Cycle
At Tana, our core philosophy revolves around a cycle that connects thinking and doing:
- Capture: Input information quickly and easily.
- Understand: Structure and organize information to gain insights.
- Decide: Make informed decisions based on the organized information.
- Plan: Create actionable plans from these decisions.
- Execute: Perform the required actions and track progress.
- Evaluate: Assess the outcomes and feed back into the cycle.
This cycle exist at all scales, from small personal tasks to large organizational processes. It also exist at all time resolutions, from small decisions in the moment to year long projects.
Our goal is to take users from input to outcome with minimal effort and maximum delight.
## Bridging Unstructured and Structured Information
A key aspect of our vision is the ability to start with unstructured data and gradually add structure as needed. This approach allows our users to begin working immediately without the overhead of setting up complex systems.
As users interact with their information over time, they can incrementally add structure to improve functionality and insights.
## Enhancing Collaboration
My experience working on Google Wave, one of the earliest web-based real-time collaboration tools, greatly influenced Tana's vision.
We aim to unleash the potential of team productivity by creating a shared information space where team members can contribute rapidly and in parallel, while also providing tools to organize and make sense of the resulting information flood.
## Reducing Manual Computing
A primary mission of Tana is to move people away from "manual computing."
We envision a unified information space where all actors can access and view information from different angles, eliminating grunt work and enhancing productivity. We want to stop the endless cycle of copying and pasting between different tools and documents.
## The AI Integration
Looking to the future, we see AI as a key component in enhancing the thinking and doing cycle. Our vision includes using AI for tasks like capturing and structuring information, especially through voice interactions on mobile devices. We're working towards making it effortless to input unstructured information and have useful, structured data emerge automatically.
The automation possible with AI isn't limited to performing operations on data, but as important, the AI can watch the meta-data layer. Monitor and suggest improvements to both workflows and information templates. Just like robotic vacuum cleaners can keep your floors dust free, we can get constantly fine-tuned setups for the work we do.
## Bringing it all together
At Tana, we're creating a tool that seamlessly connects capturing information, understanding it, making decisions, and taking action.
Our aim is to revolutionize how individuals and teams manage their knowledge and workflows. As we continue to evolve and materialize this vision, we hope to bring new levels of efficiency and insight to knowledge workers across various fields.
We're not just building another productivity tool. We're on a mission to fundamentally change how people interact with information, making the journey from thought to action smoother and more intuitive than ever before.
---
#### Track progress at a glance with sidebar progress bars
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/track-progress-at-a-glance-with-sidebar-progress-bars
Tana now shows progress bars directly in your sidebar, giving you a fast visual signal of how your work is moving forward. This update builds on Tana’s core task management model, where every checkbox lives inside a connected outliner and progress bars automatically will update for sub-tasks.
It’s a lightweight feature with a big impact: whether you’re managing multiple projects, planning your week across meetings, or building a second-brain system, progress bars make it easier to stay oriented and act on what matters next.
## How task management works in Tana
Tana handles tasks in a unique way compared to traditional apps. Instead of creating a special “task database” or rigid table, **any node can instantly become a task**.
You simply hit Ctrl or Cmd + Enter to turn a node into a checkbox. Toggling a checkbox updates the node’s system fields (Done and Done time), which gives you clean, structured data without any setup.
Because Tana is an outliner with a knowledge graph underneath, tasks naturally stack into larger structures. When you add checkboxes under a node, **the parent node above automatically becomes a progress bar**, showing how many of its subtasks are complete. No configuration. No formulas. No database schema. You just outline your work and Tana turns it into structure.
This system is what enables the new sidebar indicators.
## Smarter progress bars that reflect real work
Progress bars in Tana aren’t static counts. They reflect the structure of your work in real time.
Here’s how they work:
• **Any node with checkbox children gets a progress bar**, showing a completion ratio.
• **Progress rolls up through the hierarchy.** A project with sub-projects will show a single, accurate progress bar for the entire tree.
• **Nested bars always contribute upward.** If a task list sits several levels deep, its state still affects your top-level project.
• **Search results are included.** If a search node returns items containing checkboxes, those also contribute to the progress. This makes dynamic lists feel alive.
• **Everything updates the moment you check something off.**
This design allows Tana to express progress the same way you think about work: nested, contextual, interconnected.
## Now visible in your sidebar
With the new update, any node with a progress bar can be dragged into your sidebar. Tana will show a circular indicator next to it, updating instantly as subtasks are completed.
Hover over the indicator to see a breakdown of completed items, or expand the node in place to work through your outline without losing your place.
You can also pin search nodes to the sidebar. Because Tana counts progress inside search results, you get an always-up-to-date indicator for things like:
• tasks due this week
• meetings missing summaries
• content pieces still in draft
• action items assigned to you
• tasks created in the last 24 hours
This makes the sidebar a powerful command center, especially if your work spans many projects and meetings.
## Why this matters for people choosing a productivity app
Most productivity tools force you to choose between two extremes:
• list-based task apps that separate tasks from context
• database tools that require upfront structure, templates, or formulas
Tana takes a different approach: **structure emerges from the outline you’re already writing**.
This means:
• You can take notes freely during meetings and mark tasks inline.
• Tasks automatically roll up into progress bars without extra setup.
• You can organize later without losing context.
• You can build powerful dashboards simply by pinning nodes or searches.
For managers juggling multiple projects and back-to-back meetings, this creates a workflow that stays fast while still giving you clarity across everything you're responsible for.
## Try it out
1. Turn any node into a checkbox with Ctrl or Cmd + Enter.
2. Add subtasks under a project node.
3. Watch the parent turn into a progress bar automatically.
4. Drag that node into the sidebar to see a real-time progress indicator.
5. Pin any saved search to track dynamic sets of tasks as they appear.
This system grows with you: start with a simple outline, and the structure becomes richer as your notes, tasks, and projects evolve.
## Task management that reflects how you think
Tana’s progress bars aren’t just another UI convenience. They’re a natural extension of the outliner and knowledge graph underneath the workspace. They help you see progress where it really exists: inside your notes, inside your projects, and across all the dynamically generated lists that shape your work.
For anyone comparing productivity apps or researching tools for structured note taking, task tracking, or networked thinking, this feature shows what makes Tana different. You capture your work in the moment, and Tana turns it into meaningful structure you can rely on.
---
#### Use multiple AI models integrated in Tana
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/ai-models-in-tana
At Tana, we believe great tools should bend to your brain, not the other way around. By expanding your model options, you can now tailor the AI's behavior to fit the exact kind of thinking, writing, or problem-solving you need , whether it's deep reasoning, rapid idea generation, lightweight drafting, or high-stakes execution. Each model has its own strengths, and now you’re in charge of choosing the right one for the moment.
## Custom AI workflows
In Tana you can build custom workflows that works exactly how you want it.
This is a game-changer for how you'll work with AI in your daily Tana experience, giving you the freedom to pick the perfect AI brain for whatever you're working on.
Tana now offers the ability to select which AI model to use for AI Chat, AI Command nodes and Agents (beta).
## Here are the new models now available:
**Gemini 2.5** **Flash** - Optimized for rapid responses while maintaining high quality outputs
**Gemini 2.5 Flash with max. reasoning** - Reasoning model with good price-performance and well-rounded capabilities (~25k tokens)
**GPT o3** - Reliable model known for consistent performance across diverse use cases
**GPT o4-Mini** - Fast, affordable model for focused tasks
**GPT 4.1** - The newest generation of GPT, offering even stronger performance on complex tasks.
**GPT 4.1-Mini** - A lightweight, but powerful option that balances efficiency with sophisticated outputs
**GPT 4.1-Nano** - Ultra-light and efficient — ideal for fast, simple operations without sacrificing quality.
In the model selector you can see the price of models, to help you pick the one that matches your budget and needs for the task:
## AI Chat
Tana has an integrated AI chat that you can use in two ways:
- With your notes in Tana as context
- As a normal AI chat, asking general questions (notes not used as context)
You can select AI models for both of these.
#### General AI chat
Start an AI chat directly from the sidebar, by writing a question or prompt. The AI chat will not use any of your notes as context, unless you explicitly include them (type @ and select the note you want). This allows you to test and use different AI models from different vendors - all within Tana (subscriptions starting at $8/mo).
#### Chat with your notes
When viewing a note in Tana, just press SPACE below the note to start an AI chat with that note as context. Write your prompt and then select a model to use.
#### Edit AI responses
Unlike most other AI tools, in Tana you can make edits right in the AI responses. You can also **apply Supertags**, to add parts of the result into your notes.
You can create a `New thread` based on the conversation up until that point, if you want to take the conversation in a new direction. This puts the full chat up to that point into the chat context.
Hover over an AI response, and you can `Insert` the latest response to the parent of the chat (the place you initiated the chat from), `Copy` the response to your clipboard, or continue chatting to it.
You can `Stop/rerun` an AI job if you want to tweak the prompt. This will delete the AI response up to that point. Hold Alt+click to create a branched path of conversation that keeps the history of the previous response(s).
You can also ask for have the results formatted as a table.
## AI Agents in Tana
[AI chat agents](/learn/features/ai-agents) allows you to make AI chat in Tana much more powerful, by letting you customize look and feel, “personality”, how conversations start, and what the user can do with chat content. This feature is still in beta and being developed - join our community to see what people are building!
## AI Command nodes
Command nodes help you get one or more tasks done in Tana. You can create your own command nodes with multiple commands, or steps, within them. For example, build a “Draft email” command node that grabs a voice recording and creates an email draft from it.
Command nodes can be run via the command line, as buttons on a supertag, or via node events. You can also select specific AI models to use for each command node.
Learn more about commands here.
---
#### What's new in Tana: 2025 wrapped
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/whats-new-in-tana-2025-product-updates
It has been a big year with public launch and lots of new features in Tana. Here is a rundown of the most important updates you might have missed.
---
#### What's new in Tana: Every new feature you might have missed from 2024
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/what-new-in-tana-2024-2025
2024 was a transformative year for Tana. If you’ve stepped away for a while , or even if you’ve just missed a few updates , now’s the perfect time to dive back in. From deep mobile capabilities to game-changing AI workflows, we’ve shipped dozens of new features to help you think better, move faster, and stay in flow. Here’s a comprehensive look at everything that’s new in Tana.
---
#### Work anywhere with Tana Desktop: Offline now available
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-desktop-now-works-offline-your-knowledge-graph-anywhere
Yes, Tana now works offline. You can now use Tana even when you’re completely offline. Whether you’re traveling, in a meeting with poor coverage, or just want to stay focused without Wi-Fi, your knowledge graph is always with you.
Tana is an collaborative outliner text editor that lets you build out a knowledge graph from all your knowledge. A system where meeting notes become tasks, tasks link to projects, insights connect across time, and your knowledge compounds instead of scattering.
With Tana Desktop’s new offline support you can now keep capturing ideas, updating notes, and working in your personal workspaces without interruption. When you reconnect, everything syncs seamlessly.
This feature has been months in the making; our most-requested addition to Tana Desktop. Tana Desktop's new offline mode automatically downloads all your sidebar workspaces so you can access your entire knowledge graph without internet.
## Keep working, even when the network drops
If you lose connection briefly, Tana keeps working in the background. You’ll see a notification that we’re attempting to reconnect. Once you’re back online, your changes sync automatically. No data lost, no interruptions.
If you reload with no connection you can enter into offline mode. As long as you have loaded the Tana Desktop app before, you're data is already available.
## How does Tana's offline mode work?
Unlike other tools that require pre-selecting specific pages, Tana gives you full access to your interconnected notes, tasks, and projects offline.
For longer offline sessions, you can now manually switch to **working** **offline**. The offline experience is built for longer sessions of work.
Tana will reload and build local indexes of your workspaces so that features like **inline references and search** still work, even without a connection.
### What you can do offline
- **Write and edit** everything in your **personal and non-shared workspaces**
- **Read shared workspaces**
- **Search** across your workspace (for workspaces up to ~750k nodes)
- Use **inline references** and navigate your graph
- Capture ideas, notes, and tasks exactly as you would online
### What you can't do offline
- Use AI features or transcription
- Use commands that require AI
- Publish is disabled
## Good to know before you go offline
When working in shared workspaces offline, you’ll have **read-only access**. You can still browse and review content, but to avoid conflicts, we disable editing shared nodes while offline.
Going in and out of offline mode **require reloading** of Tana. If you have made many changes offline, reloading to go online may take a few minutes. You'll see a loading screen while your changes are being synched. You'll have to actively choose to go back online:
Offline mode can last as long as you need, whether for a flight, a long commute, or days without internet. Just note that very large workspaces or workflows that create thousands of nodes may give longer reload times when going back online, as everything has to be synched.
You’ll see an indicator in the top menu showing when you’re working offline.
## How to start working offline
1. Make sure you’re on **Tana Desktop app version 1.0.49 or later**
2. In the user menu, click **Work offline**
3. Confirm and reload: the first reload may take a few minutes while Tana builds your local index
4. You’re now offline!
When you’re ready to reconnect, click the indicator in the top bar to go back online, Tana will reload and sync all your changes.
## Why offline matters
For many users, being tethered to a network was the one thing holding them back from using Tana as their central workspace. That changes today.
Now, Tana is your **always-available second brain:** ready whenever inspiration strikes, no matter where you are.
Offline mode brings us closer to our long-term vision: a workspace that helps you focus and do your best work.
## Download it now:
---
#### Yes, you can export from Tana: export workspaces, node downloads and copy options
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/export-data-download-copy-options
One of the most common questions we hear from new users evaluating Tana is: "Can I get my data out if I ever leave?" It’s a fair, and important, question. Whether you’re backing up your notes, migrating to another system, or just want peace of mind, you should never feel locked in to a tool. We’re excited to say: Tana now fully supports exporting your content. With flexible options for exporting, downloading, and copying, you can move your data however you need - on your terms.
## Export a workspace as markdown or JSON
Tana now lets you **export your entire workspace** in just a few clicks.
You can choose between:
- **Markdown** – human-readable files, great for use in other tools
- **JSON** – for technical exports or preserving full Tana metadata
When you export as Markdown, Tana gives you:
- A `.zip` file containing all your nodes as individual `.md` files
- Clean formatting, with links and references preserved as markdown links
- Navigable folder structure so you can browse locally or import elsewhere
[How to export your workspace →](/learn/features/workspaces#export-workspace)
## Download a subset of nodes
Don’t need everything? You can also export **specific parts of your Tana graph**—like all items with a certain tag, or the results of a search.
To download selected nodes:
1. Run a search or select the items you want
2. Use **Download as…** from the command menu
3. Choose whether to include or exclude fields and supertags
This is perfect for:
- Sharing content externally (without internal metadata)
- Exporting specific projects, teams, or topics
- Archiving search results or filtered views
[Learn how to download selected nodes →](/learn/features/workspaces)
## Copy Tana content into other tools
Need to paste content from Tana into an email, another editor or tool?
You can always do Ctrl/Cmd+C/V, but the **new Copy options** gives you more optionsl:
- Copy as **Markdown**, with or without supertags and fields
- Copy multiple nodes at once
- For more advanced use cases, you can also "Copy as [Tana Paste](/learn/features/tana-paste)", which can be useful if you want to include Tana-specific formats e.g. for AI use.
Just hit `Cmd/Ctrl + K` and search for “Copy as” to get started.
This makes it easier than ever to:
- Paste clean content into other tools
- Share a structured outline via Slack or email
- Move parts of your knowledge base between systems
[See all copy options →](/learn/features/copy-paste-and-export)
## You own your data
We know that trust is earned. That’s why we’ve taken the time to build export right:
- Structured, reliable Markdown export
- Portable, human-readable formats
- Technical options for advanced use cases
If you’re considering going all-in with Tana:
**You can. And you can always take your data with you.**
---
### Guides
#### 100 Tana Outliner tips
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/100-tana-tips
Marc Koenig and Andrea Grasso here with the ultimate rapid-fire coverage of all the basic features of Tana Outliner and more! The video is great for people who are just beginning their Tana Outliner journey.
The video provides over 100 tips delivered in 46 minutes on how to use all the basic features such how to create, edit, and organize nodes efficiently using keyboard shortcuts and mouse actions.
This is part of an initiative from Marc and Andrea called App Notes – with the ambition to create the ultimate set of Tana Outliner resources, for those who are using the app to run a business or generate serious creative work.
---
#### Community resources: Importing from Roam
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/importing-from-roam
A collection of tips and tricks for importing from Roam to Tana Outliner
### Here are some tips gathered from actual Roam users who made the transition to Tana Outliner and made guides to help others follow their footsteps:
1. [Ness Labs](https://nesslabs.com/) wrote a [comprehensive article for anyone considering making the switch from Roam to Tana Outliner](https://nesslabs.com/roam-to-tana), and offers basic instructions as well.
1. Lukas aka CortexFutura made [a video clearly explaining the process of migrating from Roam to Tana Outliner](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0gtD1dgxV8), addressing the few differences and incompatibilities to take into consideration.
1. Roam graphs are highly customized to the individual's work and may not map 1:1 with Tana Outliner, so community member Shashank outlined [tips on how to do some very helpful preprocessing of your Roam graph](#preprocessing-by-shashank) before exporting.
1. The [original video by Tana team member Stian Haklev](https://vimeo.com/752544510) that demonstrated importing Roam graphs to Tana Outliner
### Preprocessing by Shashank
Depending on whether you used attributes/tags/pages/nested pages, I can think of the following formats [[page]] , #page , #[[page]] , [[[[page]] [[page1]]]] , #[[[[page]] [[page1]]]] , page:: (are there more?!)
All of these are perfectly handled by Tana Outliner. eg: #page and #[[page]] will be converted to an alias #page which points to the node page. In Tana Outliner you can remove this alias to turn #page into page by taking the cursor into #page, pressing Ctrl+K, typing "Remove alias for reference". However, I don't know if this can be done in bulk.
Solution: do this in bulk within Roam using Fabrice Gallet's Find and Replace extension in Roam Depot. In this extension's settings there's a simple "Allow 'Whole Graph' Find and Replace" toggle, switch it on.
Now, go back to your graph, press Ctrl+P, type "Find &.." you'll see the "Find and Replace in Whole graph option".
Choose that, click, you'll see a blue pop-up. Now do your thing. turn #[[page]], #page into [[page]].
This was a simple example. There's regex support too.
---
#### Conduct a schema audit
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/conduct-a-schema-audit
Whether you're drowning in duplicate tags or struggling with inconsistent naming conventions and template structures, learn how to assess what you have, design your updated schema, and implement changes that you can catalog and keep track of, all while keeping your valuable data intact and accessible.
When your digital workspace becomes cluttered with redundant tags, inconsistent structures, and scattered information, it's time for a thoughtful cleanup. This guide will walk you through the process, step by step, of transforming chaos into clarity while preserving your valuable data.
## Create a Complete Inventory of Your System
### List Every Component of Your Workspace
Before diving into cleanup, take time to understand your current state. Create a place where you list out all your supertags, fields, and how they're currently being used. Don't worry about organizing them yet -- this is just an inventory.
- Use this search query to find all supertags: `IS TAG`
- Use this search query to find all fields: `IS FIELD`
- Tip: Use workspace nodes to limit your search to only a specific workspace.
### Identify Patterns of Redundancy
Pay special attention to areas where you have multiple tags serving similar purposes or fields that appear in multiple places with slight variations.
- having both a task and todo supertag
## Design Your Ideal Structure
### Group Similar Items Together
With your inventory in hand, start grouping similar items together. Think of this like sorting through a messy closet -- first, you group similar items, then decide which ones to keep.
### Map Out Your Core Categories
Look for natural hierarchies in your data. For instance, you might notice that "book notes," "podcast notes," and "article highlights" could all fall under a parent category of "content notes."
### Establish Your Foundation
The key is to identify your core categories -- the fundamental building blocks of your system. These will become your "proto-tags" that other, more specific tags can inherit from.
## Execute the Cleanup
### Merge Duplicate Fields First
Start with the easiest wins: merging duplicate fields. If you have multiple date fields or status fields serving the same purpose, consolidate these first. This creates immediate clarity without risking data loss.
### Consolidate Similar Tags
Next, tackle your tags. Begin with obvious duplicates or near-duplicates, merging them carefully. When merging, ensure that both tags have similar field structures before combining them.
### Document Your New Structure
As you work through this process, document your decisions. Create a simple schema page that shows how your tags relate to each other and what fields they should contain. This becomes your reference point for future organization.
## Resolve Complex Situations
### Ask Key Questions for Each Decision
Some cleanup decisions aren't straightforward. For complex cases, ask yourself:
- What's the primary purpose of this tag?
- How does it fit into my typical workflows?
- Could this be handled by a combination of other tags?
- Would merging this create more problems than it solves?
### Maintain Useful Distinctions
Sometimes, the best decision is to keep things separate but document why they're different.
## Maintain Your Clean Workspace
### Set Clear Guidelines
Once you've cleaned up your existing structure, prevent future clutter by establishing some basic rules:
- New tags should either extend from existing proto-tags or have a clear, documented reason for being independent
- Keep a "stray tag" search that helps you identify when new, uncategorized tags are created
### Review Regularly
Regularly review your schema page to ensure it reflects your current system.
Remember, the goal isn't perfection -- it's clarity and usability. Your system should help you work more effectively, not create additional overhead. Start with the most impactful changes and iterate as needed.
Your workspace will continue to evolve, but with these foundations in place, future changes will be intentional rather than chaotic. The key is to maintain enough structure to stay organized while remaining flexible enough to adapt to your changing needs.
---
#### Create your first Tana Outliner template
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/create-your-first-tana-template
This guide walks you through how to create your first Tana Outliner template, with detailed steps and best practices.
## Overview
Tana Outliner templates are designed for sharing Tana content at scale, one to many. Examples include useful snippets, processes, and setups in Tana. They can range from sharing a single node of information to a full system of supertags, live searches, and commands. For more on templates, see [Tana Outliner templates](/learn/features/tana-templates).
In this guide we'll walk you through how to share your first Tana Outliner template.
> Sharing Tana Outliner templates is only available for [Tana Pro](https://tana.inc/pricing) subscribers.
### When should you share a template?
Templates are great for sharing pre-designed structures, information, or processes that you have built in Tana to help others save time. A good question to ask is: "Can I easily explain this process to someone else?"
If the answer is yes, you have the beginnings of something shareable.
### What types of templates can you build and share?
There are lots of things you can share as a Tana Outliner template, but the three most common kinds are:
#### Quick snippets
A quick snippet template is static rather than process-driven. These templates deliver information rather than processes, and they are great for sharing useful nodes with others.
Examples might include a guide or informational database like the Navigators Help Centre, which includes a list of useful searches. The template is designed to deliver information rather than be installed as a process in your workspace.
Another example is Sarah Bentley's math formulas, where she shares a set of AI commands to show you how to do math with Tana AI.
#### Base or starter templates
Base templates are process-driven. They are designed to give people a starter process made of a set of supertags, field configurations, and commands.
Typically they deliver a single process, for example a project management template, a CRM template, or a marketing calendar template.
Think of these templates as a starter kit that lets others get your process into their workspace without doing the technical setup themselves. Example: a collaborative meetings template.
#### Complete systems
Complete systems build on the base template idea but are usually bundled together and contain an element of your IP and expertise. They combine multiple processes in a certain area to achieve an outcome.
For instance, _Tanarian Brain_ from CortexFutura is a complete system for organizing everything in your Tana workspace.
You should only consider building a complete system once you are confident sharing snippets and base templates.
## 🍱 Section 1: Map out your template
Before you start building, it helps to take a step back and create a quick plan. Spending five minutes here actually speeds up how quickly you can make a template.
We've created a quick _template mapping canvas_ that you can use to plan your template:
### The template mapping canvas
To get started, 👉 [click here to install the template mapping canvas](https://app.tana.inc/?bundle=6vXZMoA8yc.gqyhYl9wGZMM) (opens a new tab with Tana).
Then answer each of the questions in the canvas:
- Who are you building this for?
- What problem or challenge are you trying to solve for them?
- What supertags will you need?
- What live searches will you need to build?
- Will you include any commands?
- Where would a user install the template?
## 🛠️ Section 2: Build your template
Now that you're clear on what you're building, let's get into actually building your template in Tana.
> **Where should you build your template?**
>
> We recommend creating _two_ additional workspaces if you are going to create and distribute templates:
>
> - **Publish workspace.** This is where you build the template. Make sure content from this workspace is not shared into any of your other workspaces, otherwise you might accidentally change your template.
> - **Test workspace.** A separate workspace where you can test installation and usage before you distribute your template.
>
> Templates should be built for the express purpose of sharing with others, so we encourage you to build a template from scratch rather than sharing something existing from your own workspace.
See [Creating a new workspace](/learn/features/workspaces#creating-a-new-workspace) for more on additional workspaces.
### Step 1: Create your publish workspace
Create a new workspace in your Tana account and call it "My Tana templates".
Publish the workspace by going to the top-level node, clicking the three-dot menu, and selecting **Publish workspace (read-only)**.
> You only need to create and publish a new workspace one time, for your first template. Once you have your publish workspace, you can publish any number of templates from it.
### Step 2: Create a template node
Create a new node in your template workspace and give it a name (the name of your template is always a good idea).
This node will house all the template components and is exactly what people receive when they install your template.
Everything that makes your template run should live in this node, including the supertags, live searches, and commands you listed in your template map.
### Step 3a: Build your supertags
Create a nested node under your main template node and call it `Supertags`.
Create each of the supertags you listed in the template map.
Move the supertags into the template by @-referencing them in the node, then pressing `Cmd K` (macOS) or `Ctrl K` (Windows/Linux) on the node and selecting **Bring referenced node here**.
The node should have a solid line rather than a dotted line when done right.
### Step 3b: Configure your supertags
Configure each of your supertags with fields and options in the supertag configuration window.
For more on the configuration panel, see [Supertags](/learn/features/supertags).
> When creating fields in your supertags, opt for new fields instead of reusing fields from other supertags in your workspace. This avoids reference warnings later when sharing your template.
### Step 3c: Build your search nodes
If your template doesn't include any search nodes, skip to the next section.
Create a new node in your template called _Live searches_.
Build out any searches that make it easier for users to find all items for each supertag.
For more on search nodes, see [Search nodes](/learn/features/search-nodes).
> People install templates because they want an easy way to get started with Tana, so pre-building the live searches they'll need is an easy win for them and for you.
### Step 4: Create your template package to publish
Packaging up your template makes it easier for people to install and start using it fast.
- Create a new node and call it "[Your template name] package".
- Press `Cmd K` (macOS) or `Ctrl K` (Windows/Linux) and select **View as tab**.
- Create three tabs: _Get started_, _Building blocks_, and _Get help_.
- Move your template node into the _Get started_ tab.
- Add instructions for installing the template.
- For simple templates, try to include an example node with a supertag applied so users can see how it will look.
- Add additional instructions for how to use the template, or for connecting it with base types or existing tags through extension.
> A video is a quick way to show people both how to install and how to use your template.
- In the _Building blocks_ tab, place or reference all the supertags, fields, and commands so it's easy to get an overview of what's included.
- In the _Get help_ tab, include instructions for getting in contact with you.
You can add as many additional tabs as you like to help your users understand and use the template. Some ideas:
- **A quickstart guide** that can be used as a handy reference.
- **Under the hood** for more advanced users to understand how the template works.
- **Settings and customization** options for people who want to customize your template.
- **Sample data** to help people visualize what they can use the template for.
### Step 5: Create a template link
Once you have finished creating and packaging your template, you'll want to create a template link so you can share it.
If you didn't **publish your workspace** in Step 1, go back and do that now.
Once your workspace is published, go to your template package node and press `Cmd K` (macOS) or `Ctrl K` (Windows/Linux), then select **Publish as template**.
**Copy the URL and store it somewhere safe.** This is the URL you give to people so they can install your template.
### Step 6: Troubleshoot your template
If your template preview contains errors, you'll need to fix those before distributing your template.
The most common error is references outside this template. This means you have referenced a supertag or field that doesn't live in the template itself.
You can fix these by clicking **Bring node into your template**.
### Step 7: Test your template
It's important to test your template before you start distributing it.
First, test installing the template yourself to make sure everything works as intended.
Create a new workspace called `Template tester`, then paste your shareable template link into your browser and wait until the template installer screen loads.
Choose your template tester workspace and press **Add to home**.
Test out all the elements of your template to make sure everything is working as expected.
Once you're confident everything is working, send it to a trusted Tana friend who can test it with a second pair of eyes.
### Congratulations 💐
You've just set up your first Tana Outliner template. Now you can use the shareable template link to share it with other Tana users.
For further reading, see the documentation on [Tana Outliner templates](/learn/features/tana-templates).
---
#### Custom AI processing for meetings
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/custom-ai-processing-meetings
When you click to stop transcription, Tana Outliner can run a post processing command. The post processing command is set up under the audio-enabled toggle in the supertag configuration.
The default command is the Text processing agent, which is adapted to work well for meeting transcripts. You can also set up your own custom post processing using command nodes.
By default the Text processing agent gives you a summary based on the full meeting transcript. You can further customize its behavior, below are some of the customization you can do.
#### Extract action items
To automatically extract action items from your meeting.
1. Edit the Text processing agent in the meeting tag configuration.
2. Add the `Action items target` parameter, and reference the field where the items should be placed.
3. Add the `Tag to use for action items` parameter and reference the supertag to use for extraction.
4. Optional: Add the `Action items prompt` parameter to specify what should be extracted in more detail.
Action items will be extracted from the transcript and created as individual nodes with a tag suggestion. You can simply click the tag suggestion to apply the tag.
If you want extracted action items to be tagged directly, not just suggested, then you can use the `Add tags directly` parameter.
#### Custom summary notes
You can add a notes field to your meeting to include your own meeting notes as context to the summary that the Text processing agent creates. This allows you to highlighting key points during the meeting or add additional context to be included in the summary.
- Add a field to your audio-enabled supertag (ex. Notes).
- Add the `Meeting notes field` parameter to the Text processing agent and reference the field.
Any notes written in the field will be included as context to the summary when the live transcription is stopped.
#### Other item extraction
In addition to action items, you can extract other kinds of information from your meeting transcripts.
Item extraction is better suited for extracting things that are not directly actionable like tasks, follow-ups, etc. This functions well as a more general extraction, for example user observations, learnings, insights, etc. There are no restrictions to what you can extract.
1. Edit the Text processing agent in the meeting tag configuration.
2. Add the `Extracted items target` parameter, and reference the field where the items should be placed.
3. Add the `Tags to use for item extraction` parameter and reference the supertag to use for extraction.
4. Optional: Add the `Extracted items user prompt` parameter to specify what should be extracted in more detail.
You can also extract entities with using the same method and the parameters: `New entities target`, `Tags to use for entities`, and optionally `Entities prompt`. Entities can be things like companies, people, cities, countries, etc.
#### Custom prompts
You can add a custom prompt to the Text processing agent to tailor the generated summary or extracted items. All functions have system prompts that are tailor made for the task, but you can override these by using the different prompt parameters if you want to customize the output.
1. In the supertag configuration, edit the Text processing agent.
2. Add the prompt parameter that you want to override: `Summary prompt`, `Action items prompt`, `Extracted items user prompt`, `Entities prompt`, `Augment prompt`.
3. Write your custom instructions.
---
#### Customize Tana Outliner with custom CSS
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/custom-css
Tana Outliner for desktop can load a custom.css file at startup. This is an unsupported power-user feature: here's how to set it up, test it safely, and roll it back.
Custom CSS is a power-user escape hatch, not a supported feature. It reaches into Tana Outliner's internal markup,
which changes without notice as the app is developed. A stylesheet that works today can silently stop working, or
visibly break the interface, after any update. Before you report a bug, always [turn custom CSS
off](#turn-it-off-and-roll-back) and confirm the problem still happens.
Tana Outliner for desktop reads a file called `custom.css` from its application data folder every time a window finishes loading, and injects it at the end of the page. Because it lands last, your rules win over the app's own styles without needing `!important` everywhere.
This is desktop only. The browser version of Tana Outliner and the mobile apps do not read `custom.css`, so any changes you make here follow the desktop app and nothing else. In a browser, third-party extensions that inject user stylesheets can apply similar CSS to the web app, though they are outside Tana's control and equally unsupported.
## What you can reasonably change
There are two very different levels here, and the difference matters a lot for how long your work survives.
**Theme variables** are the stable-ish level. Tana Outliner builds its interface out of CSS custom properties like `--colorCanvasBackground` and `--colorEditorText`, set on the `` element under `html.isDarkMode` or `html.isLightMode`. Overriding these is the closest thing to an intended use: you are re-tinting the app through the same knobs it uses on itself. Variables do get renamed and retired, but far less often than markup changes.
**Internal selectors** are the fragile level. Class names like `.bulletSide` and data attributes like `data-tag-name` are implementation details. They are not a public API, nobody keeps them stable for you, and they can disappear in a routine refactor. Everything in the [advanced patterns](#advanced-tag-scoped-styling) section is at this level.
If you can do what you want with variables, do it with variables.
## Set it up
### Find your application data folder
Tana Outliner stores `custom.css` alongside its other settings:
| Platform | Folder |
| -------- | ---------------------------------------------- |
| macOS | `~/Library/Application Support/Tana Outliner/` |
| Windows | `%APPDATA%\Tana Outliner\` |
| Linux | `~/.config/tana-outliner/` |
On macOS, `~/Library` is hidden in Finder. Use **Go → Go to Folder** (⇧ ⌘ G) and paste the path.
Upgraded from an older build? The folder used to be named `Tana` (or `tana` on Linux). Tana Outliner moves the
contents across once, automatically, so an existing `custom.css` comes with you. If you still have a stale `Tana`
folder, the live one is `Tana Outliner`.
### Start from the example file
The first time Tana Outliner starts without a `custom.css`, it drops a `custom.css.example` into that folder for you. It is a working stylesheet that restores the app's older color scheme, and it doubles as a reference for how theme variables are meant to be overridden.
If you do not see it, quit Tana Outliner fully and reopen it. The example is only written when no `custom.css` is present.
### Rename it to custom.css
Copy `custom.css.example` to `custom.css` in the same folder. Keep the original `.example` file: it is your known-good starting point and your fastest way back if something goes wrong.
Nothing happens yet. The file is only read when a window loads.
### Reload Tana Outliner
Press ⌘ R (macOS) or Ctrl R (Windows and Linux), or use **View → Reload**.
A reload is enough. You do not need to quit and reopen the app. This is what makes iterating bearable: edit the file in your editor, switch to Tana Outliner, reload, look. If a reload does not seem to pick up your changes, a full restart is the next thing to try.
## Work safely
Custom CSS can hide things you need, including the controls you would use to fix the problem. A few habits keep that from becoming a bad afternoon.
**Keep a backup.** Before a big edit, copy your working file to `custom.css.backup` in the same folder. Tana Outliner ignores any filename that is not exactly `custom.css`, so backups sit harmlessly next to it.
**Change one thing at a time.** Add a single rule, reload, look at the result. A stylesheet built in small verified steps is one you can debug. Forty rules pasted in at once is not.
**Comment as you go.** Six months from now you will not remember why a rule exists, and internal selectors give you no clue on their own.
```css
/* Dim bullets on document-style pages. Uses internal class names -
recheck after each Tana Outliner update. Added 2026-08-27. */
```
**Test in a scratch area first.** Try new rules on a throwaway node or workspace before pointing them at content you rely on.
### Turn it off and roll back
Custom CSS is only active while a file named exactly `custom.css` exists. So the off switch is a rename:
1. Rename `custom.css` to `custom.css.off` (any other name works)
2. Reload Tana Outliner
You are back to stock. Nothing about your workspace, data, or settings is touched, because custom CSS only ever affects how the app is drawn on your machine.
Two other ways to get back to a clean state:
- **Empty the file.** Tana Outliner ignores a `custom.css` that is blank or only whitespace, so deleting its contents also disables it.
- **Comment out the suspect rule.** Wrap it in `/* … */`, reload, and see if the problem goes away. This is how you find which of forty rules is the culprit.
Hit something you cannot undo from inside the app, like a stylesheet that hides the menu bar? Quit Tana Outliner,
rename `custom.css` in Finder or Explorer, and start the app again. The file lives outside the app, so you can always
disable it without the app's help.
## Recolor the interface with theme variables
This is the approach to reach for first. Set variables on `html.isDarkMode` and `html.isLightMode` and the whole interface follows, because those are the same variables the app's own stylesheets read.
```css
html.isDarkMode {
--colorCanvasBackground: #16181d;
--colorPanelBackground: #1d2027;
--colorEditorText: #d6d9de;
}
html.isLightMode {
--colorCanvasBackground: #f2f1ed;
--colorPanelBackground: #ffffff;
--colorEditorText: #2b2b2b;
}
```
Color variables worth knowing. These belong under `html.isDarkMode` and `html.isLightMode`, because each theme sets its own value:
| Variable | Controls |
| ------------------------------------- | -------------------------- |
| `--colorCanvasBackground` | The backdrop behind panels |
| `--colorPanelBackground` | Panel and page surfaces |
| `--colorPanelBackgroundDimmed` | Secondary panel surfaces |
| `--colorEditorText` | Body text in the outline |
| `--colorLink` | Link color |
| `--colorSelectionSecondaryBackground` | Selected node highlight |
| `--colorBulletDefaultFill` | Bullet fill |
| `--colorBulletDefaultOutline` | Bullet outline |
Sizing variables are a separate family. They are not theme-specific, so set them on plain `html` and they apply in both light and dark:
| Variable | Controls | Default |
| ----------------------------- | ------------------------ | ------- |
| `--baseFontSize` | Base interface font size | `15px` |
| `--defaultOutlineIndentation` | Indent per outline level | `1rem` |
| `--sideBarWidth` | Sidebar width | `15rem` |
| `--bulletDiameterOuter` | Bullet hit area size | `15px` |
| `--bulletDiameterInner` | Visible bullet dot size | `5px` |
```css
html {
--defaultOutlineIndentation: 1.4rem;
--sideBarWidth: 18rem;
}
```
Tana Outliner defines several hundred of these. To find the one behind a specific piece of interface, use the [element inspector](#find-the-right-selector) and read the computed styles: the variable names appear directly in the rules.
Two rules of thumb. Set variables at the `html.isDarkMode` / `html.isLightMode` level rather than on individual components, so the change stays consistent everywhere. And define both themes, or your styling will look broken to you the first time you switch.
### Adjust typography and spacing
```css
html {
--baseFontSize: 16px;
--defaultOutlineIndentation: 1.4rem;
}
/* Roomier lines in the outline */
[data-is-node-container] {
line-height: 1.6;
}
```
`--baseFontSize` is the honest way to scale the interface. Setting a `font-size` on `html` directly fights the app's
own sizing and tends to produce misaligned bullets and clipped menus.
### Restyle the progress bar
Nodes with checkboxes beneath them grow a [progress bar](/learn/features/checkboxes-and-progress-bars). Its width and colors are variables, so you can slim it down or recolor it without touching a selector:
```css
html {
/* default is 7em */
--progressBarWidth: 4em;
}
html.isDarkMode {
--colorProgressTrack: #26272f;
--colorProgressFreshness1: #284c82;
--colorProgressFreshness2: #2b64ac;
--colorProgressFreshness3: #297dd9;
--colorProgressFreshness4: #5c97e5;
}
```
The four `Freshness` variables are the bar's fill, banded by how recently each chunk of work was completed. `Freshness4` also colors the count next to the bar.
To **remove** a progress bar rather than restyle it, use the built-in control: right-click the node and choose
Show/hide progress bar, or run the `Toggle progress bar` command. That is per-node, and it is the supported route. The
bar's own class names are generated at build time, so reaching it from CSS means [matching a generated class
name](#matching-generated-class-names) and taking on every caveat that comes with it. Restyle with the variables
above; remove with the built-in toggle.
## Advanced: tag-scoped styling
Everything below depends on markup Tana Outliner does not treat as public. These selectors are accurate as of August
2026 and are the sort of thing that breaks quietly in an update. Treat this section as a worked example of the
technique, not a spec you can build on.
Tana Outliner puts the node's supertag on its container element, which lets you style nodes by tag:
```css
/* Every node tagged #book */
[data-tag-name="book"] {
border-left: 2px solid var(--colorLink);
padding-left: 0.5rem;
}
```
Three things to know before you lean on this:
- **The name must match exactly**, including case, and it changes when you rename the supertag.
- **`data-tag-id` is more durable.** The same element also carries the supertag's internal ID, which survives renames. It is unreadable, but it does not break when someone tidies up a tag name.
- **Only one tag shows up.** A node with several supertags exposes just the first one here, so `[data-tag-name="book"]` will miss a node where `#book` is not the first tag.
### Approximate a document view with a #Document tag
A document view, where a page reads as flowing prose instead of a bulleted outline, is something people have asked Tana Outliner for repeatedly, and it does not exist as a built-in feature. What follows is not that feature. It is a workaround that gets you a good part of the way there using nothing but CSS, and it is worth understanding as an illustration of the technique rather than as something to depend on.
The idea: tag a node `#Document`, then fade the bullets on everything nested under it. The content, the indentation, and every outline behavior stay exactly as they were. Only the bullet visuals change, so what you get is an outline that _reads_ like a document while still working like an outline.
`#Document` here is just a supertag you create yourself, with any name you like. It carries no special meaning to Tana
Outliner and switches nothing on inside the app. The CSS below is the entire mechanism.
```css
/* Fade bullets for everything inside a #Document node.
Internal class names - recheck after Tana Outliner updates. */
[data-tag-name="Document"] [data-is-node-container] .bulletSide > .bullet,
[data-tag-name="Document"] [data-is-node-container] .placeHolderEmptyBullet {
opacity: 0;
transition: opacity 200ms ease-out;
}
/* Bring them back on hover so the outline is still usable */
[data-tag-name="Document"] [data-is-node-container]:hover .bulletSide > .bullet,
[data-tag-name="Document"] [data-is-node-container]:hover .placeHolderEmptyBullet {
opacity: 1;
}
```
Why it is written this way:
- **Scoped to descendants.** `[data-tag-name="Document"] [data-is-node-container]` reaches the nodes _inside_ a Document-tagged node, so child content keeps rendering normally and only the bullet visuals change.
- **`opacity`, not `display: none`.** The bullet keeps its box, so indentation, alignment, and the click target for zooming and expanding all still work. Removing the element instead collapses the layout and takes the click target with it.
- **Both bullet elements.** `.bulletSide > .bullet` is the bullet on a normal node; `.placeHolderEmptyBullet` is the placeholder dot on an empty one. Style one and not the other and empty lines will still show a dot.
- **Hover restores them.** This mirrors what Tana Outliner already does elsewhere when it dims bullets, and it means you have not actually lost any functionality.
What it does not give you is worth being clear about. This changes appearance and nothing else. You do not get document-style typography, paragraph spacing, a page width, or any change to how the content is stored, exported, or published. Nodes are still nodes. If you want more of the look, you can keep layering rules onto the same `[data-tag-name="Document"]` scope, but every rule you add is another thing to recheck after an update.
### Find the right selector
Tana Outliner for desktop ships with the standard element inspector:
1. Open **View → Toggle Developer Tools**, or press ⌥ ⌘ I on macOS, Ctrl ⇧ I on Windows and Linux
2. Click the inspect-element arrow, then click the thing you want to change
3. Read the class names and data attributes on the highlighted element
4. Edit styles live in the inspector until it looks right
5. Move the rules that worked into `custom.css` and reload
Working in the inspector first is much faster than the edit-reload loop, and it costs you nothing when an experiment fails.
Prefer data attributes over class names where you have the choice. Attributes like `data-is-node-container` describe what an element _is_ and tend to outlive class names, which get renamed during styling work.
### Matching generated class names
Not every class name in the inspector is one you can type into a stylesheet. Much of the interface is styled with CSS Modules, which produce two-part class names: a readable prefix taken from the file and the local class, then a short generated hash.
```
NodeProgressBar_progress__aB3dE
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ prefix, stable
^^^^^ hash, changes when the file changes
```
Copying the whole thing is the fragile move. The hash is derived from the file's contents, so it changes the next time anyone edits that file's styles, and your rule quietly stops applying. The prefix is the durable half, so match on that instead:
```css
/* ^= means "starts with" */
[class^="NodeProgressBar_progress__"] {
opacity: 0.6;
}
```
Keep the trailing `__` in the fragment. It marks the boundary between prefix and hash, and without it you risk matching a longer class that merely starts the same way.
**When `^=` will not match.** `^=` tests the class attribute from its very first character, so it only works when your target class is the first one on the element. Plenty of components put it last. The progress bar is one: its inner element comes from a shared layout component that emits its own utility classes before passing yours through, so the real attribute looks like this, and `^=` misses it entirely:
```
class="tw-flex tw-flex-row tw-items-center NodeProgressBar_progress__aB3dE"
```
For those, use `*=`, which looks anywhere in the attribute:
```css
/* *= means "contains anywhere" */
[class*="NodeProgressBar_progress__"] {
opacity: 0.6;
}
```
Reach for `*=` only when the fragment can appear somewhere other than the start, because it is the broader tool: it matches _any_ element whose class attribute contains that substring, including ones you never intended. Keep the fragment long and specific, and scope it to an ancestor you trust when you can:
```css
[data-is-node-container] [class*="NodeProgressBar_progress__"] {
opacity: 0.6;
}
```
Prefix matching is more durable than a copied hash, not a promise. This is still internal markup with no stability
guarantee. We try not to churn prefixes that people clearly depend on, but they have changed before and they can
change again: a prefix breaks the moment a component file is renamed or its local class name changes. Expect to
recheck these rules after updates, and keep them few enough that rechecking is quick.
## Troubleshooting
**Nothing happens after a reload.** Check the filename is exactly `custom.css`, with no `.txt` or `.example` extension hiding behind your operating system's "hide known file types" setting. Check it is in the folder from step one, not next to the application itself. Confirm the file is not empty, and that you are in the desktop app rather than a browser tab.
**Some rules apply and others do not.** Almost always specificity. Your stylesheet is injected last, so it wins ties, but a more specific app rule still beats a less specific one of yours. Inspect the element, find the rule that is winning, and match its specificity. Reach for `!important` last: it makes the next problem harder to debug.
**The interface looks broken.** Rename `custom.css` to `custom.css.off`, reload, and confirm it is your stylesheet. Then bisect: comment out half the file, reload, and keep halving until you find the rule.
**It worked before an update.** Expected, unfortunately, if you are using internal selectors. Inspect the element again and see what the markup is now. This is the maintenance cost of this feature.
**It works on my desktop but not on mobile or in the browser.** Working as intended. `custom.css` is read by the desktop app only.
## Before you report a bug
Rename `custom.css` to `custom.css.off`, reload Tana Outliner, and check whether the problem is still there. Custom CSS can produce symptoms that look exactly like app bugs, and support cannot tell the difference from the outside. If the problem survives with custom CSS disabled, it is a real bug and worth reporting.
## Related
---
#### Get started with Tana Outliner's local MCP
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/ai-assistants-mcp
Connect tools like Claude Code to your Tana Outliner. Search your graph, read your content, and create structured nodes through conversation.
Tana Outliner has a local MCP server that runs on your computer inside the desktop app. MCP (Model Context Protocol) is a standard that lets external tools access your data and perform actions on your behalf. Because this is a local server, only MCP clients that can connect to servers on your machine will work. Once connected, an MCP client can search your workspace, read nodes, understand your supertag schemas, and create or modify content.
## What this enables
Claude Code, Codex CLI, and Gemini CLI are built for complex, multi-step work. Unlike a simple chat interface, they can chain together multiple operations: searching, reading, reasoning about what they find, then taking action.
When connected to Tana Outliner, this means they can:
- Run multiple searches to gather information, then synthesize what they find
- Look up how your supertags are structured, then create content that matches
- Read through nodes, identify patterns, and suggest changes
- Build searches and dashboards based on your actual tag system
- Process batches of items, applying tags or updating fields
The key thing to understand: the agent doesn't automatically know what's in your workspace. It uses MCP tools to actively fetch information, read content, and learn your schema. You'll see each tool call as it happens, so you always know what it's doing.
## Getting started
This tutorial walks through setup with Claude Code, but the concepts apply to any MCP client that supports local servers over HTTP. See the [Local API/MCP documentation](/learn/features/local-api-mcp) for setup instructions for other tools.
[Download the desktop app](/learn/features/tana-for-desktop) to get started.
### Make sure Tana Outliner is running
The local MCP server is enabled by default and runs whenever the Tana Outliner desktop app is open, so there's nothing to switch on.
1. Open the Tana Outliner desktop app
The server listens for MCP connections while Tana Outliner is running. It lives inside the app, so the connection only works while Tana Outliner is open.
### Install an MCP client
MCP clients connect to MCP servers to access their tools. These terminal-based clients support Tana Outliner's local MCP:
- [Claude Code](https://claude.ai/code) (Anthropic)
- [Codex CLI](https://developers.openai.com/codex/quickstart/) (OpenAI)
- [Gemini CLI](https://github.com/google-gemini/gemini-cli) (Google)
This tutorial uses Claude Code. The commands below download and install it on your computer.
If you're new to terminal: on Mac, open the Terminal app (in Applications → Utilities). On Windows, open PowerShell. Paste the command for your system and press Enter.
**Mac or Linux:**
```bash
curl -fsSL https://claude.ai/install.sh | bash
```
**Windows (PowerShell):**
```powershell
irm https://claude.ai/install.ps1 | iex
```
Once installed, you'll have a `claude` command you can run from any terminal window.
### Connect to Tana Outliner
Now we need to tell Claude Code where to find Tana Outliner's MCP server. Tana Outliner can configure this automatically:
1. In Tana Outliner, go to Menu → Options → Local API settings
2. Enable the Claude Code option
This writes the server address to Claude Code's configuration file. The connection uses HTTP on localhost, which is why Tana Outliner needs to be running for it to work.
Using a different MCP client? See the [Local API/MCP documentation](/learn/features/local-api-mcp) for connection instructions.
### Verify everything works
Open a new terminal window (important: use a new window so it picks up the config changes) and start Claude Code:
```bash
claude
```
Once it loads, ask:
```
What Tana Outliner MCP tools do you have access to?
```
Claude should list tools like `search_nodes`, `read_node`, `import_tana_paste`, `list_tags`, and others. If you see these, the connection is working. Each of these tools lets Claude interact with your Tana Outliner in a specific way.
You can also ask Claude to explain what each tool does, or just start working and watch which tools it chooses for different tasks.
## Examples
These examples show what becomes possible when an MCP client can work with your Tana Outliner. Each prompt leads to Claude making tool calls, and you can watch it work through the problem.
### Review your week
Have Claude gather information from across your workspace and synthesize it.
```
Search for all meetings I had this week. For each one, read its contents and show me any action items.
```
Watch what happens: Claude first uses `search_nodes` to find nodes with your meeting supertag from this week. Then it loops through them, using `read_node` on each to get the full content. Finally, it extracts the action items and presents them together.
```
Now find all tasks that are overdue. Show me what they are and when they were due.
```
```
Create a weekly review under today's date summarizing what I accomplished and what's still pending.
```
For this last one, Claude uses `get_or_create_calendar_node` to find today's date node, then `import_tana_paste` to create structured content under it.
### Process quick captures
You've been capturing ideas throughout the day, maybe using [Tana Outliner mobile's voice chat](/learn/features/mobile-voice-memos) while on the go. Now sit down and process them.
```
Show me everything I created today that doesn't have a supertag yet.
```
Claude uses `search_nodes` with a date filter and checks for nodes missing tags.
```
Look at my existing supertags and suggest which ones would fit each of these items. Don't apply anything yet.
```
This is where the multi-step capability shines. Claude calls `list_tags` to see your supertags, then `get_tag_schema` on relevant ones to understand their fields and purpose. It reasons about each capture and suggests appropriate tags.
```
Apply the #idea tag to the first three items.
```
Claude uses the `tag` tool to add supertags to specific nodes.
### Build a dashboard
```
What supertags do I have for tasks? Show me their fields and how they work.
```
Claude uses `list_tags` to find task-related supertags, then `get_tag_schema` to understand their structure.
```
Create a dashboard with three sections: overdue tasks, meetings this week, and things I created in the last 7 days. Use a sidemenu view.
```
Claude uses `import_tana_paste` to create search nodes with the right queries and views, based on your actual tag structure. It knows what fields to filter on because it just looked them up.
### Build a slide deck from your notes
```
Find my notes about our product strategy. Read through them and show me what's there.
```
Claude uses `search_nodes` to find relevant notes, then `read_node` to get the full content of each one.
```
Create a slide deck from this content. Focus on the key points and make it suitable for a team presentation.
```
Claude takes what it learned from your Tana Outliner and generates an HTML presentation. It maps your note structure to slides: the main node becomes the title, children become individual slides, nested content becomes bullet points. The result is a standalone file you can open in any browser.
## Extend with skills
Skills are reusable instructions that teach MCP clients how to do specific tasks. They follow an [open standard](https://agentskills.io) that works across multiple tools. When you install a skill, your MCP client gains new capabilities it can use when relevant, or you can invoke them directly with `/skill-name`.
We provide ready-made skills for things like creating presentations from your notes, building search nodes from
natural language, and visualizing your supertag structure. [Download from our public skills
folder](https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/11n-Bf_cZuip3BA95tWeiIDDsxUJ8Pu7e?usp=sharing).
To install, copy the skill folder to your MCP client's skills directory. For Claude Code:
```bash
# Personal skills (available in all projects)
~/.claude/skills/
# Project skills (available in one project)
.claude/skills/
```
Each skill is a folder containing a `SKILL.md` file with instructions. Once installed, your MCP client knows when to use them based on what you're asking for.
## Troubleshooting
**Cannot connect to Tana Outliner**: Make sure the Tana Outliner desktop app is open. The server only runs while Tana Outliner is running.
**Claude doesn't see Tana Outliner tools**: Open a new terminal window and run `claude mcp list` to see connected servers. If Tana Outliner isn't listed, go back to Tana Outliner's Local API settings and re-enable the Claude Code option.
**Tools fail with errors**: Check that the workspace you're trying to access is open in Tana Outliner. Some operations require the workspace to be loaded.
If something doesn't work as expected, check the [Tana Outliner community](https://tana.inc/community) or reach out to
support.
## Next steps
You now have an MCP client connected to your Tana Outliner. Start by exploring what's in your workspace: ask about your supertags, search for recent content, or have it read through a specific node. The more you use it, the more you'll discover what's possible.
For reference material on all available MCP tools and configuration options, see the [Local API/MCP documentation](/learn/features/local-api-mcp).
---
#### How to factory reset a Tana Outliner account
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/factory-reset-account
This is a guide on how to safely "factory reset" your Tana Outliner, so you can relive that brand new account feeling again ✨
**`✨NEW`** **There is now an easy option to reset your primary workspace to a state identical to what new users will see when they join Tana Outliner.** [Read here for more](/learn/features/workspaces).
Or if you want a truly empty workspace with no new user default content, follow the instructions below.
> **This process will give you a totally _blank slate_ private workspace.** If your Tana Outliner account came with preset content like the task supertag, related content sections on the daily notes page, and automation commands, these are not reinstated.
Sometimes, it's just easier to restart with a clean slate. At a high level, the steps to achieve a factory reset are the following:
- Create a new workspace
- Set up day tags in the new workspace
- Switch to the new workspace
- Optional: Bring over selective stuff from the old workspace
Please note: when switching the root workspace, you'll also lose access to the following things:
- Capture inbox nodes
- Pinned nodes
- Workspaces on sidebar
- User settings (including API keys)
- Any leftover quick add content
- Saved layouts
They won't be deleted, but it is data that is associated with the root workspace. Swap out the root workspace, and the above goes along with it.
Below are the steps to do so without losing access to or accidentally deleting your account!
## 1. Create new workspace
Go to `Manage workspaces` at the very bottom of the sidebar. Click it, and at the top of the pop-up menu, press "Create workspace". Give your new workspace a title, then hit "Create workspace"
## 2. Set up the Calendar nodes in the new workspace
In your brand new workspace, put the caret in the title of the workspace and run the command Set up calendar for workspace. This will automatically create the Tana Outliner calendar system with the year/month/week/day nodes.
New calendar nodes do not come with year/week/day supertags by default.
Only if you plan on applying a template to these nodes do we recommend you create them.
To create them, either:
- Right-click on the calendar node > `Create default __ tag`
- On the calendar node, run the command `Create default __ tag`
## 3. Switch to the new workspace
Now to make the big switch: Put your cursor in the Workspace name, and run the command `Set [name of workspace] as new primary workspace`. This will prompt Tana Outliner to make the change and reload.
Once done, the new workspace is now your primary workspace, and should appear on the very top of your list of workspaces.
**That's it!** You can stop here and savour that new workspace feeling for as long as you want...
> Tip: You can add the old workspace from the _Manage workspaces_ menu if you still want access to that content.
---
#### Import content into Tana Outliner from Notion
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/import-from-notion
This tutorial explains how the Notion import works, what carries over, and how to prepare your Notion export for the best results.
New to Tana Outliner or haven't signed up yet? Here's an intro to how Tana Outliner is different from Notion.
## What you can import from notion
Tana Outliner supports [Notion exports](https://www.notion.com/help/export-your-content) in **Markdown (.md) or CSV**, **up to 1500 Markdown files in one import**. This gives you room to bring over substantial project documentation, research pages or operational material.
Included in the import:
- Page content and subpages in Markdown
- Linked databases exported as CSV
- Images will be included and shown inline
- Attachments such as PDFs and videos will
- Links between Notion pages, converted to Tana Outliner references
- Links to Notion pages that are not included in the export will retain the Notion URL
Not included:
- Relational links between Notion databases (can be re-created with fields and supertags)
- Custom Notion views such as cards or galleries (these doesn't exist in Tana Outliner)
- Workspace-wide structures or automations
We recommend to import some sections or databases at a time, instead of your entire workspace. This keeps the migration clean and easier to reorganize.
> There are a variety of formats that may be included in a Notion export and the importer will not support all of them. If your import gets stuck for several minutes, your export file is either too large or contains data structures that cause the import to time out. **Do not retry the import with the same file.** Try exporting a smaller sample of content. If you experience this and are willing to share your export file with us, this will help us add support for all corner cases. Submit a bug report in app or to hey@tana.inc.
## How to export correctly from notion
To ensure your hierarchy and file structure carry over, it's important to export pages with subpages included.
1. Open the Notion page you want to export.
1. Click the options menu in the top right corner.
1. Select **Export**
1. Choose **Markdown and CSV**
1. Toggle on **Include subpages** and **Create folders for sub-pages**
1. Download the zipped file.
These two toggles must be enabled for Tana Outliner to understand the structure of your content and link the content (unless you are importing a single page):
## How to import your Notion export into tana
1. Go to the user menu in the top right corner of Tana Outliner.
1. Select **Import content** and choose **Notion import**.
1. Review the import limitations shown in the dialog.
1. Upload your zipped Notion export.
1. Keep your computer awake until processing is complete.
### Content will be imported in a new workspace
The imported content appears in a **new workspace**. This ensures nothing overwrites your existing setup and gives you a safe space to clean things up before merging them into your main or shared workspace.
If you want to move imported materials into a different workspace, use **Move with finder** to select the exact destination (see below).
## What to expect after importing
Notion and Tana Outliner have different mental/data models, so a few adjustments typically follow your first import:
- **Views such as cards, galleries or timelines** will appear as outline lists. You can switch to tables, boards or other Tana Outliner views manually.
- **Database relations** will not be automatically reconstructed. You can apply supertags and fields in a table to rebuild the meaningful relationships you want, in a more flexible way.
- E.g. if you have a table with assigned people, tag the people nodes with the supertag you use for people, such as #person
- If you had a task board, add the entries with #task to bring them into
For many users, this cleanup is the moment they reshape their information in a way that matches how they actually work, not how they had to structure things before.
Example of how database content from Notion can look after the import in Tana Outliner:
To re-create database content as a table:
1. Move all the nodes under ONE node
1. Set this node to Table view (Ctrl/Cmd+K > View as table)
### Allow content from your main workspaces to convert the content
If you want to process and convert the content to your Tana Outliner structure before moving it into your workspace, the app allows you to use supertags from other workspaces, by setting Allow content from on the new workspace.
Click the new import workspace in the sidebar:
1. Open the options menu
1. Go to Allow content from
1. Select the workspace you want to allow content from.
If you want to keep your imported content in a separate workspace, Tana Outliner allows you to still work with it in your other workspaces through references and search. You then need to set Allow content from the other way:
1. Go into the home node of your primary/personal workspace
1. Open the options menu
1. Go to Allow content from
1. Select the workspace you want to allow content from
You can now use info from your imported Notion content, by doing [@ mentions](/learn/features/nodes-and-references#creating-and-editing-references) to pull in content!
### Moving your content
If you are happy with the imported content and want to move all or parts of it over to your main or a shared workspace, you can use the move menu.
Either zoom into the node you want to move (all the content below it will be included), open the node options menu, then select move.
You can also use Ctrl/Cmd+K > `Move with finder` to open the same move menu, or use the pre-defined move targets with the `Move to` command.
## Tips for a smooth transition
**Start with the essentials**
Bring over the content you rely on daily: meeting notes, project documentation, key databases or client materials. This reduces noise and speeds up onboarding.
**Re-use your existing supertags**
Supertags are the foundation of how structure emerges in Tana Outliner. Tag your meetings, projects, tasks or contacts and watch your graph become more useful instantly.
**Use the outline to find gaps**
Once your content is in Tana Outliner, it is easier to spot duplicates, missing links or areas that deserve clearer structure. This helps you replace scattered documentation with connected knowledge.
**Take advantage of AI**
With your content in Tana Outliner, AI can help summarize notes, extract tasks, create documentation and compare information across pages.
---
#### Navigation deep dive
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/navigation-deep-dive
How do you move around in your Tana Outliner? Learn to master Tana Outliner navigation, how to find your keyboard shortcuts when you need them, and your sidebar!
---
#### Publishing in Tana Outliner View
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/publishing-in-tana-view
Publish a node from your workspace as an interactive web page that anyone can view and navigate without a Tana Outliner account.
### You will learn
- How to use the publish preview to see exactly what viewers will experience
- How to control which references are visible to viewers
- How to review and share your published page
### 1. Select node to publish
Navigate to the content you want to share in your workspace. This node and everything beneath it becomes your published view.
With Tana Outliner View you can share your content exactly as it appears in the app. Viewers can explore without needing a Tana Outliner account.
### 2. Open the publish preview
Right-click the node, the select `Publish -> Open publish preview`, or use the command line: `Cmd+K -> Publish (open preview)`.
The preview shows a live, updating version of what viewers will see. Changes in your workspace appear instantly in the preview.
> The preview opens with "Tana Outliner View" selected by default (you'll see tabs at the top). This preserves the formatting you have in Tana Outliner like expandable nodes and zoom navigation.
### 3. Review and control what's visible
The preview shows exactly what viewers will see. References to content outside your published node appear as locked items by default (showing only titles).
Click `Make all content visible` at the top to include all referenced items at once.
After making content visible, you can navigate into each item to review how viewers will see it:
- Click into items to explore their content
- Check if everything looks as expected
- If you find more locked references inside, decide whether to make those visible too
- Use breadcrumbs to navigate back and review other items
- Simply click the hide button on a reference that you have made visible to hide it's content again
### 4. Publish your view
Make any adjustments to your content in Tana Outliner and the preview updates live as you work. Once you're satisfied with what's visible in the preview, click the blue `Publish` button at the bottom.
- Your link is automatically copied
- Your content is now live
- Anyone with the link can access it
Tana Outliner's paid plans also offer optional [password protection for published pages](https://tana.inc/docs/tana-publish#password-protection).
> When you edit your content later, you can republish to update the shared link with the changes.
**Success!** You've published your Tana Outliner View.
Your published page:
- Looks exactly like your workspace
- Allows viewers to navigate and explore interactively
- Keeps all content read-only and safe from changes
- Works without requiring viewers to sign in
---
#### Roam user's guide to Tana Outliner
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/roam-users-guide-to-tana
If you're new to Tana Outliner and familiar with Roam Research, this guide will help you understand the similarities and differences between the two.
On the surface, Roam and Tana Outliner look quite similar. Both are outliners, with the ability to link content easily from one context to another. In this guide we walk you through the main similarities and differences between the two.
Let's start with key differences.
## Key differences
---
#### Set up mobile voice chat for a supertag
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/mobile-voice-chat-supertag
Enable voice chat on iOS and configure voice greetings, instructions, and autofill behavior for a supertag.
**What we'll do:** Enable voice chat on iOS and configure voice greetings and instructions for a supertag.
## 1. Enable Voice chat (iOS)
- Open the Tana Outliner app on iOS
- Go to Manage tab > Early Access
- Enable Voice chat
You can now start voice chats from the Capture tab, or directly with a specific supertag from the Supertags tab.
## 2. Configure voice chat for a supertag (Desktop)
Voice chat works without any configuration, but you can customize how the AI behaves for specific supertags. Configuration is done on desktop, then syncs to mobile.
1. Open the supertag configuration. Right-click -> Configure supertag.
1. Go to the **Voice chat** section
1. Set a **Voice greeting.** The first thing the AI says when the conversation starts. Keep it short and natural. Match the tone to the use case.
1. Set **Voice instructions** -- how the AI should behave during the conversation. Consider the role it should play: quick capturer, thinking partner, guide, or creative collaborator. Write as one paragraph. Ask one question at a time. Cover relevant fields conversationally, not like a checklist.
Tip: Use the `Improve prompt` button to get help from AI to write and enhance your voice instruction prompt.
## 3. Optional: Configure custom autofill behavior
When the voice chat ends, the AI automatically fills in the node based on the conversation. Without custom instructions, it will do its best based on context. You can customize this behavior:
#### Custom autofill behavior for the supertag
Toggle `Custom autofill behavior` in the Supertag configuration under the Commands and AI section.
- **Autofill title instructions** -- how to generate a title for the node.
- **Autofill description instructions** -- how to generate a short description.
- **Autofill content instructions** -- how to summarize the conversation into the node's content. Consider the supertag's purpose and what output would be most useful.
#### AI instructions for autofilling fields
- **Autofill field instructions** -- for each field, open the field configuration and set custom instructions for how to populate it from the conversation.
## 4. Test it
- Open the Supertags tab on iOS
- Start a voice chat with your supertag
- The AI will use your greeting and follow your instructions
- When you send the voice chat, the node is created on Today and is processed using the autofill AI instructions
## Tips for great voice instructions
- **Quick capture** (Task, Idea): Keep it fast and frictionless. Don't over-ask.
- **Guided reflection** (Weekly reflection, Daily prep): Warm tone, one question at a time, cover each field naturally.
- **Thinking partner** (PRD, Decision): Challenge assumptions, push for clarity, contribute ideas.
- **Creative collaborator** (Article, Brainstorm): Follow their lead, adapt to their energy, offer input when helpful.
For inspiration, check out the voice-enabled templates in the starter content and template store.
---
#### Supertags
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/supertags-video
Tana Outliner's Supertags turn your notes into Projects, People, Tasks – they make digital notes powerful and simple.
---
#### Tana Outliner Learn Live: commands and AI
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/tana-learn-live-commands-and-ai
Command nodes let you build custom automations to enhance your workflows in Tana Outliner. Process information and extract insights, move nodes, set fields and tags automatically. Create custom AI functionality for voice workflows, AI chat with custom context, autofilling fields, running commands on events and build custom meeting notetakers.
**In this session, you'll learn to:**
- Create and configure command nodes with parameters
- Build multi-step automations triggered by buttons or the command line
- Use AI commands and the prompt workbench to customize AI processing
- Set up AI agents for meeting notes and content extraction
- Apply practical patterns you can use immediately
**We'll tackle common questions like:**
- "How do I make commands that do multiple things?"
- "What's the difference between regular commands and AI commands?"
- "How can I use AI agents to process meeting transcripts?"
- "When should I use commands vs. manual work?"
---
#### Tana Outliner Learn Live: exploring the outliner
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/tana-learn-live-exploring-the-outliner
Most tools force you into rigid folders or endless note streams where ideas get lost. Tana Outliner's outliner and node structure work differently: they let you capture ideas quickly, structure them naturally, and connect them across contexts without duplication. We'll cover these essential features and dive into the underlying concepts that make them powerful.
**In this session, you'll learn to:**
- Write and organize your notes in Tana Outliner's flexible outline
- Understand how you navigate the editor
- Create and use references so information can be resurfaced without duplication
**We'll tackle common questions like:**
- "Where should I write in Tana Outliner, and where does that note go?"
- "Is there a difference between a node and a page?"
- "Why are references in Tana Outliner more powerful than links in other tools?"
---
#### Tana Outliner Learn Live: live search and views
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/tana-learn-live-live-search-and-views
Once your notes have structure with supertags and fields, something powerful becomes possible: information surfaces exactly when and where you need it. Live search finds what you're looking for across your entire workspace. Views transform those results instantly into the format that fits. Together, they enable contextual retrieval that updates as your work evolves.
**In this session, you'll learn to:**
- Build live searches anywhere to surface information
- Create contextual searches with field values and operators
- Transform results with views and use related content areas
- Master the query builder to make your own contextual searches
**We'll tackle common questions like:**
- "How do I find all meetings with a specific person?"
- "How do I create searches that work everywhere, like tasks for any daily note?"
- "When and how should I use different views?"
---
#### Tana Outliner Learn Live: live search lab
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/tana-learn-live-live-search-lab
Come along to see us build some of the most useful live searches. We'll build 10 of the most common and valuable live searches so you can follow along and see exactly how to build them. Then we'll take requests!
**What to expect:**
- Build 10 of the most common and valuable live searches
- Follow along and see exactly how they're constructed
- Submit your own search challenges for us to solve live
- Learn practical patterns you can use immediately
---
#### Tana Outliner Learn Live: supertags and fields
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/tana-learn-live-supertags-and-fields
Supertags and fields help you define what your notes represent. This note is a task. That one is a person. This is a book you're reading. Once you tag them, you can instantly find all your tasks, all your meeting notes, or all your project ideas, no matter where they live in your workspace.
**In this session, you'll learn to:**
- Know when and how to create a supertag
- Configure supertags for your needs
- Choose what fields and field types to add
- Set up common supertags: tasks, projects, books, meetings, and more
**We'll tackle common questions like:**
- "What's the difference between supertags in Tana Outliner and tags in other tools?"
- "When should something be a supertag vs. a field?"
- "How do I see all my tasks/projects/books in one place?"
- "Can supertags work for different workflows and use cases?"
---
#### Tana Outliner meeting notetaker
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/tana-meeting-notetaker-video
Tana Outliner now lets you transcribe meetings, generate summaries, and link notes directly to your work - without needing to add a bot in the call.
Tana Outliner now offers a fully integrated AI meeting notetaker as part of the desktop experience.
You can use it to transcribe meetings, generate summaries, and link notes directly to your work - without needing to add a bot in the call.
The meeting notetaker works for both calls and in-person meetings by recording system audio, and can also be used for lectures, interviews, and other audio sources.
The feature is available on both Mac and Windows through the Tana Outliner desktop app and supports over [60 languages](/learn/features/live-voice-transcription#languages-supported-for-live-transcription) with automatic language detection.
[Read more and set it up now](https://tana.inc/docs/tana-meeting-notetaker)
---
#### Top 50 commands
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/top-50-commands
Beginner's guide to Tana Outliner Commands – powerful pre-built Tana Outliner features.
---
#### When to use Extend in supertags
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/guides/when-to-use-extend-in-supertags
If you have many supertags with the same properties, it's worth considering if the Extend feature is the right fit. Extending supertags is very similar to inheritance in object-oriented programming.
## Overview
Extend allows you to use a basic supertag as a "base" of another supertag, making it a sub-tag so to speak. This allows the makes the two tags permanently associated with each other, both in their template content and when searching for them.
## Example of using Extend
From the Tana team
- In our internal workspace, we have a base `#todo` tag which only contains `>Assignee`, `>Due date` and `>Status`.
- We then have `#design task`, `#dev task` and so on, which extend `#todo` -- so they get those base fields -- but add new, specific fields such as `>Github PR` , `>Spec` and `>Related feature`.
- It is also convenient to be able to add a new field to `#todo`, and know that any extension of `#todo` will get the same field.
- This setup lets us query for any `#todo` assigned to a certain person or with a certain status. This will return all hits to `#todo`, and any other supertags that extend it.
- We use a lot of extended tags internally in our Tana Outliner workspace:
- `#todo` is extended by `#dev task`, `#design task`, `#bug`, etc.
- `#meeting` is extended by `#onboarding session`, `#followup`, `#investor meeting`, `#interview`, etc.
- `#person` is extended by `#candidate`, `#alphauser`, `#investor`, `#employee`, etc.
- `#user observation` is extended by `#wtf moment`, `#aha moment`, etc.
And we regularly rework this, as our needs evolve. Handy for this job is the command to [merge nodes, fields and supertags](/learn/features/nodes-and-references#merging-duplicate-nodes).
---
### Tutorials
#### A habit tracker that keeps you consistent
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/habit-tracker
Most habit trackers fail because they live outside your normal workflow. Tana Outliner's habit tracking template changes the game by embedding powerful tracking functionality directly into your daily notes. Stop switching between apps and start building consistent habits.
## Why use the Tana Outliner Habit tracker?
**One-Click Tracking** - Update your progress directly from your daily notes with a single click, eliminating friction that kills consistency.
**Complete Habit Flexibility** - Create custom trackers for any habit—fitness, learning, wellness, productivity—whatever drives your success
**Motivational Streak Tracking** - Stay consistent with a handy habit log and calendar overview of your streak to harness the power of "don't break the chain" psychology.
## Fit for any habit
Tweak the habit template to fit any habit by adjusting the amount, units, and frequency you want to track. Run 10 miles each week, meditate for 5 minutes\* _a_ \*day, do 30 pushups every morning ++ You do you.
## The simplest way to keep your streak
The Tana Outliner Habit Tracker gives you a simple, yet effective log of your habit so you can keep that streak going. Because with habits, consistency is everything.
## This template contains
The template lets you create habits, and then log every time you do something related to the habit.
**#Habit **
The activity you want to perform (e.g. "Walk 30 mins per day")
- Status
- Amount - How much to complete
- Unit - What you're measuring (min/steps/miles/m/km/cal/glass/oz/g/mg+add your own)
- Frequency
One-click button to log habit activity (command)
**#Habit log **
Track every activity related to the habit ("Walked 30 mins Thu, 1 May")
- Habit - links it to the habit you're tracking activity for
- Log date - date and time you completed the activity
- Amount
- Unit
- Feeling - how you felt while completing it (Effortless/Smooth/Challenging/Struggle)
**#Habits extension**
- A building block that allows you to add "Active habits" in related content widget on your Today page
- Extend this from #day supertag
This template contains:
- 3 Supertags
- 17 fields
- 8 search nodes
- 1 command
---
#### Better decisions
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/decision-making
The secret to making better decisions? Add a feedback loop so you actually review and reflect on the outcome. With the Tana Outliner Decision Template you can effortlessly capture the reasoning behind a decision, and create a systematic feedback loop to continuously improve your decision-making.
## How it elevates your decision making:
**Frictionless Capture** - Record your thoughts on the go using voice memos, then find the reasoning behind your decision when you need it.
**AI Decision Coach** - Reflect like a pro with an AI assistant that prompts you to thoroughly and objectively assess the quality of your decisions.
**Decision Library** - Build a structured repository of decisions so you can discover patterns and build upon past choices.
**Review Reminders** - Use the Tana Outliner Remind me feature to ensure you follow up on decisions and create a continuous improvement loop.
## Automate your decision feedback loop
With Tana Outliner Remind Me you can schedule a decision review—so you remember to check in on that super important decision you made 6 months ago. Choose when you want to conduct the interview and a link to the decision will appear on your daily notes page on that date.
## Review decisions like a Pro
Whether future you is high-fiving or face-palming—use the AI Decision Agent to systematically reflect on your decisions and identify key learnings.
## This template contains
1 supertag
6 fields
2 search nodes
1 AI agent
---
#### Brainstorm ideas on the go
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/brainstorm
Supercharge your creative thinking with the Tana Outliner Brainstorming Template. Simply talk aloud and it will automatically extract and organize ideas and questions from your voice recording.
## Never lose a thought
**Frictionless Capture with Voice ** - Turn spoken thoughts into neatly organized questions and ideas without interrupting your train of thought. Supports capturing and tagging multiple different ideas in the same recording.
**Seamless Integration** - Connect brainstorms directly to projects, tasks, and notes within your Tana Outliner workspace.
**Idea Library** - Build a searchable repository of your ideas and questions, so future you can leverage all your best thinking.
## Unlock a new level of creativity—no keyboard required
With this template you can unleash your creativity in a whole new way. Go for a walk and simply talk aloud, the template will identify, tag, and structure the ideas for you.
## How to use it
Use the Tana Outliner mobile app to record a voice memo with the #Brainstorm tag.
Speak freely – share rough ideas, open questions, or anything you're exploring. Tana Outliner will automatically extract #Ideas and #Questions.
Click #Brainstorm to view all brainstorm sessions, and #Idea or #Question to see all extracted items in one place.
You can also use #Brainstorm on desktop and write out ideas and questions manually.
## This template contains
#brainstorm
Use this supertag when recording voice memos on mobile, and Tana Outliner will automatically extract and tag things with #idea and #Question.
#Idea
Takeaways from the brainstorm recording that are likely ideas
#Questions
Takeaways from the brainstorm recording that are questions to explore.
This template contains:
- 3 supertags
- 2 fields
- 4 search nodes
- Uses "Extract items" option for autofill of mobile voice memos on the #Brainstorm tag
---
#### Build your network
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/networking
Your relationships are your net worth, so make sure to nurture them. The Networking template turns good intentions into real connections, with smart reminders and organized contact tracking that keeps relationships alive.
## Relationship dashboard
See who needs attention at a glance. Overdue connections bubble up automatically. Track when you last connected, what you talked about, and when to follow up next.
## Smart connection tracking
Set custom reconnect intervals for each person. Weekly coffee with your mentor, monthly check-ins with clients, quarterly catch-ups with old friends. The system remembers so you don't have to.
## Contact intelligence
## This template contains
A dashboard with pre-built views that brings everything together!
#### #Contact
- **Last connected:** Date of the last recorded connection
- **Reconnect every:** Frequency you want to stay in touch
- **Next connection: **Suggested date for your next outreach calculated from last connected + reconnect interval
- **Connections:** A history of all your interactions with this person, including date, method, and location
- **Group:** The category this contact belongs to (Friends, Family, Mentors, School, Faculty, Colleagues). Can modify and add your own!
- **Location:** The city where this person is currently based
- **Company:** Their current workplace or organization
- **Role:** Their job title or position
- **Birthdate:** Their date of birth for birthday overview
- **Photo:** Profile picture to help you quickly identify contacts visually
Commands:
- **⇄ Record connection:** Quickly record new connections and have the date, with and method fields be set automatically.
#### #Connection
- **Connection date:** When this interaction took place
- **With:** The person you connected with (linked to their #Contact entry)
- **Method:** How you interacted - In-person, Event, Social media, Email, Text message, Video call, or Phone call
- **Location (optional):** Where the connection happened
Commands:
- **🎙️ Record summary of connection:** Seamlessly capture any details about the connection made that will be automatically transcribed and used to autofill the details.
---
#### Command: Meeting to comms
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/meeting-rewrites
The Meeting rewrites template helps you turn meeting notes into tailored updates for different audiences, making it easy to communicate the right details to the right people - whether they need a quick Slack summary or a detailed executive brief.
## Meeting content to tailored updates
Attach rewrite commands to your meeting Supertags. Click the dropdown and select your format – Slack update, Email summary, or Executive brief. The AI adapts tone and details for each audience automatically.
## Fine-tune your prompts
First draft not quite right? Adjust the prompt settings and rerun the AI to get better tone, structure, or emphasis. Your adjustments carry over to future rewrites, so the system learns your preferences.
## Polish and share
Review your update in the draft panel where you can make final edits. Copy the text to paste elsewhere, move it to your workspace, or just close to keep it as a draft attached to the meeting.
---
#### Cortex Futura's getting started with Tana Outliner
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/getting-started-cortex-futura
An excellent introduction to getting value from Tana Outliner quickly from one of the original Tana Outliner ambassadors.
---
#### Focus mode
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/focus-mode
Enter focus mode on any node. Your workspace transforms to help you concentrate. When you're done, exit focus mode and see exactly how long you focused. Build a record of deep work across all your projects.
## One command to eliminate distractions
Press cmd+k and run "Start focus" on any node. Your sidebar disappears, theme switches to dark, and the page zooms to full screen. Everything is configured to help you focus. When you're done, run "End focus" and your workspace returns to normal, with your focus time automatically logged.
## Attach to your existing workflow
Add Focus mode as an extension to any supertag you already use. Now every project, task, or note has one-click focus buttons built in. No need to change how you work. Just add focus mode where you need it.
## See your focus patterns
Click the Focus mode tag to view your focus time overview. Filter by this week, this month, or any time frame. See total hours, averages, and session lengths. Switch to calendar view to see all your focus sessions across different projects and contexts in one place.
## Configure once, use everywhere
Set your focus preference once, choose sidebar visibility, theme, zoom level, and whether to log sessions on your daily note. Every time you enter focus mode, your settings apply automatically. Exit focus mode and everything returns exactly how you want it.
## How to use
- Run "Start focus" on any node via `cmd+k` to enter focus mode
- Run "End focus" via `cmd+k` when you're done—focus time is tracked automatically
- Or add `#Focus mode` extension to any supertag for one-click buttons
- Configure your workspace preferences in Focus start/end settings
- View your focus time overview filtered by any time frame
- Check the calendar view to see all focus sessions across projects
## This template contains
- `#Focus mode` extension supertag with Focus time and Focus status fields
- Start, End and Reset commands
- Customizable settings for your focus mode
---
#### Focus on the investor pitch, not the notes
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/investor-meetings
Great investor relationships are built on details - remembering their portfolio focus, specific concerns, and promised follow-ups. This Investor Meeting Template ensures you never lose track of what matters to each investor, helping you build stronger, more personalized relationships.
## Remember the details that matters
This template will automatically identify key insights and takeaways from your investor meetings, so you can revisit the important things in no time — like when there's two minutes left before the meeting and you desperately want to check Sequoia and A16Z feedback ;)
## Level Up Your Investor Relations
Get expert fundraising guidance in every conversation. This AI agent knows what investors look for and coaches you through each meeting. It's like having a seasoned venture advisor whispering the right moves in your ear.
---
#### Get started with tasks and habit tracking
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tasks-and-habit-tracking
How to customize your Tana Outliner and set up habit tracking in your daily notes!
---
#### Get the most out of your OKRs
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/okrs-in-tana
Explore the benefits of OKRs and their role in aligning organizational efforts, providing clarity, and fostering commitment.
## Basics of OKRs
### What are OKRs?
OKR stands for "Objectives and Key Results" -- a management methodology invented by Andy Grove at Intel in the 1970s and popularized by John Doerr through is book "Measure what Matters" in which he tells the stories of how OKRs helped organizations like Google to become the dominant players that they are today.
The idea behind OKRs is to align everyone in an organization to work towards the same goal and prevent "random work" that looks and feels productive but does not contribute to achieving a company's or team's mission.
If you want to test using OKRs in Tana Outliner, check out the [OKR template.](https://tana.inc/templates/okr-template)
### Benefits of OKRs for High-Expectation Leaders
Why use OKRs? What's the benefit of adopting this approach?
What makes OKRs great is that they allow you to create focus and alignment in your organization. They also give you a way to really show and elicit commitment to the work being done, as well as tracking what everyone is working on, what their highest impact areas are, and providing an incentive for stretching what everyone is trying to do.
### When OKRs Might Not Be the Best Fit
OKRs aren't a silver bullet that will deliver exceptional results in every single circumstance:
**Clue 1: Insufficient buy-in**
As with any process or tool that you're introducing to your team or wider organization, you'll need sufficient buy-in so that people take it seriously and actually do what's required to make it work. There's no fix for half-hearted attempts to write OKRs, or using other tools for that matter.
**Clue 2: Fitting OKRs in project management**
One common question is "what is OKR in project management" -- and the answer is that OKRs aren't the right tool for project management in the first place. Why is that? The idea behind OKRs is to set, communicate and monitor organizational goals in regular intervals. In essence, OKRs generate projects (called "initiatives" in this context) with the purpose of achieving a specific key result. But you would not generate OKRs within a project or initiative.
**Clue 3: OKRs for measuring continuous indicators**
Another common question is what the difference between OKRs and KPIs is. In short, OKRs are actionable, ambitious and time-bound -- whereas KPIs are continuous indicators for the ongoing performance of a particular function or process. KPIs ask the question "how are we doing?" while OKRs ask "what do we want to achieve and how do we get there?"
**Clue 4: OKRs for performance reviews**
Finally, OKRs aren't the best fit when you are looking for a tool to feed performance reviews of your team. For a time it was common to set OKRs not just on the organizational level but to create objectives and key results for every individual team member. This turned out to be not a good idea, because it turned key results more into task lists than into ambitious targets that would inspire exceptional performance.
One key idea for OKRs in general is to make them so ambitious that you achieve them only 70% of the time -- which in turn means you and your team can work really, really hard and still not "succeed". But that's by design and should not negatively impact the performance review. Because if it does, it will lead to one thing: the next rounds of key results will be made more and more conservative until 100% success is always achieved, snuffing out any ambition and making OKRs virtually useless.
## OKR prep and planning
### How to write a good OKR
The key to writing good objectives and key results is to make them actionable, ambitious and time-bound. What does that look like?
#### OKRs are about alignment across all levels
Before we dive into the specifics of writing good objectives and good key results, remember that the idea behind OKRs is to align everyone in what they are working towards, achieving the company vision and mission. Good OKRs make it clear to everyone involved how their work contributes to this, and every team and team member can track their work all the way up the chain to the goals of the company.
#### 3 to 5 OKRs per team -- not more
Another important question is "how many OKRs should a team have?" and the anwer is: about three to five. Anything more than that diffuses your energy too much and becomes hard to actually make progress on.
### How to write good Objectives
#### Objectives are for the "What"
A good objective gives the "what" and does so in a tangible and unambiguous way. When you write your objectives, one good question to ask yourself is "Could a competent outsider come in at the end and judge whether this has been accomplished or not?"
#### Go for ambition AND realism
In addition, make sure that your objectives are ambitious and realistic at the same time. This can take a bit of practice to get right. There is a natural tension between being ambitious and realistic and it is fine to occasionally have objectives that have to be met with 100% certainty.
#### Choose between "committed" and "aspirational" OKRs
Some organizations therefore distinguish between "committed" and "aspirational" OKRs. Committed OKRs will be hit, even if that means adjusting the schedule or increasing the available resources substantially. Aspirational OKRs on the other hand will get hit only with 70% certainty -- most will be met, but there's high variance between them over time.
#### Now what's a good objective look like compared to a bad one?
Here's a bad objective: "Make our company the best place to work"
Sure, this is aspirational, but it's too vague to be useful. A better objective would be "Become recognized as a leader in employee satisfaction and retention" -- still aspirational, but much more concrete in that we're explicitly focusing on "employee satisfaction" and "retention." Note that we're _not_ specifying more than that though: we're giving direction without fixating on a specific metric. That's what we'll do in the Key Results section.
Let's look at another example: "Improve our social media presence"
Again aspirational, but again too vague. Better: "Significantly expand our engagement and reach on social media to drive customer acquisition". We're giving direction, we're aspirational, and we're also connecting the objective to a larger _Why_. This is important both for overall alignment and for motivation.
Once you have a "what", the question is how you get it, and that's when you start designing your Key Results.
If you want some help in reviewing your OKRs, test the OKR AI agent in the [OKR template](https://tana.inc/templates/okr-template).
### Designing Measurable Key Results
#### Key Results are quantifiable
The defining characteristic of key results is that they are quantifiable. What does that mean?
Let's look at our example objective from above: "Become recognized as a leader in employee satisfaction and retention." How do you quantify this?
From the objective we have three hints that we now need to _operationalize_.
1. "Become recognized as a leader"
2. employee satisfaction
3. retention
What does "become recognized as a leader" mean precisely? Maybe there's an industry association that surveys and recognizes the top 10 "best places to work" in the industry.
A first key result for our objective could then be "Get included in SurveyCorp's 'Top 10 Places to Work' list".
#### Beware of "lagging indicators"
The problem is that being included in this list is what's called a "lagging indicator" that we only have limited control over. Being on the list is a _result_ of actions we're taking, and whether we actually get included is out of our hands. Instead, when writing your key results, focus on writing concrete "leading indicators", things that you have more direct control over.
Better key results would look like this:
- KR1: Increase average employee satisfaction by 8%
- KR2: Increase employee retention rate from 90% to 95%
#### Choose "outcome key results" over "input key results"
Now, you could quibble here and say "well, employee satisfaction is a lagging indicator too!" -- and you'd be right. It is, however, a lagging indicator that you can directly influence. This is an "outcome key result" and these can be really useful in allowing a team to dynamically come up with the best solutions for achieving them. One of the most common pitfalls of OKRs is actually focusing on "input key results" that read more like concrete task lists that don't allow dynamic adjustment during the work.
#### Calibrate for a 70% success rate
As mentioned previously, ambition in setting objectives and key results is one of the key factors for getting the most out of them. But calibrating ambition is a skill that needs to be developed by everyone responsible for setting OKRs. A general rule of thumb for calibration is that you want to succeed (achieve your key results) around 70% of the time. If you succeed more than that, you aren't ambitious enough and if you achieve significantly less, you're overly ambitious.
### Implementing OKRs
#### Prevent "goal drift" by having one responsible person per Key Result
When implementing OKRs, one issue that often comes up is that they are hard to connect to the initiatives that are supposed to achieve them. It's all too easy to experience _goal drift_ where in the course of making things happen the goal drifts away from what was originally set out in the objectives and key results.
The reason for this is two-fold: one mistake is to not make a single individual responsible for the Key Result -- without a directly responsible individual, veering off course is all but guaranteed. The second reason is harder to spot because it depends on the _way we work_ and in particular the reliance on files and folders.
#### OKRs _die_ in silos -- connect them to everything
That sounds like an unusual thing to blame, so let's zoom in a little. Most often OKRs are written down in a document that is then (occasionally) referenced. This document, however, is not connected to the places where the work happens. That work is happening in code bases, issue trackers, Excel sheets, project management apps and a hundred other places -- all separate from the document where the OKRs are written up.
This in turn means that people see the OKRs only when they consult the document, for which they have little reason in the normal course of the work that they are doing. That means that unless someone makes it a habit to pull up the OKR document in every single meeting, it's likely only consulted in the meetings that are explicitly _about_ the OKRs, or in short: not often enough.
### Implementing OKRs with Tana Outliner
This is where an app like Tana Outliner can fundamentally transform the way we work and get things done. Because in the app, you can connect your OKRs to the actual work at every level. OKRs are never siloed away in some folder nested in a deep dark place that no-one ever visits. Instead, OKRs can be visibly connected to every single initiative going on, every meeting you hold and _stay visible_ during the work and all the meetings surrounding it.
#### See every Key Result during every 1:1
Without going into the weeds here, consider the example from above: we have the objective "Become recognized as a leader in employee satisfaction and retention" and we have the key result "Increase average employee satisfaction by 8%". Julia is one member of our team that is directly responsible for this key result. If you have a 1:1 with Julia, Tana Outliner can pull in _every Key Result and its connected Objective_ automatically -- no need to reference some document that you don't know where you saved it exactly.
#### Every project shows it purpose
We also have a project/initiative "Implement flexible work scheduling" that is supposed to work towards achieving the key result. In Tana Outliner it is trivial to connect this project/initiative to the key result _and by extension_ the objective. That means wherever we're looking at the project/initiative, we always have the key result in sight, we see who the directly responsible individual for the key result is, and what objective the key result is part of. Our work therefore never experiences _goal drift_ because we always have the overarching objective right in front of us.
### Conclusion
OKRs are a powerful tool for organizational focus, alignment, and commitment. Following OKRs prevent aimless work, and are important for ambitious goal-setting. Tana Outliner is a practical solution to integrate OKRs seamlessly with your projects, tasks and more.
[Start now with the Tana Outliner OKR template](https://tana.inc/templates/okr-template)
---
#### Goals that stick
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/goals
The Goals template helps you define meaningful goals and stay connected to them over time. Voice-enabled for natural goal capture, with an AI agent to check in on progress, refine obstacle plans, and find your next action.
## Inspired by science
This template is lightly inspired by WOOP, a research-backed framework developed by psychologist Gabriele Oettingen. The key insight: imagining success alone doesn't drive action. Pairing a vivid outcome with obstacles and concrete if-then plans does. [Learn more](https://woopmylife.org)
## Why most goals fail
Positive thinking feels good but creates no urgency to act. Goals written as vague intentions ("get healthier," "be more productive") have nothing to push against. This template asks you to picture success vividly, then immediately confront what might get in the way. That contrast creates the energy to move.
## Obstacles become plans
The difference between a wish and a goal is knowing what will get in the way and having a response ready. For each obstacle, you create a simple if-then plan: "If I feel too tired to run, then I'll do a 10-minute walk instead." These aren't backup plans. They're how you stay in motion when reality hits.
## Stay in relationship with your goals
Goals aren't set-and-forget. The built-in Goal agent lets you check in anytime: reflect on progress, work through new obstacles, refine your plans, or find a concrete next action. Your goals become living documents you return to, not entries collecting dust.
## How to use
1. Create a new node and apply the #Goal supertag.
1. Voice capture: Talk through your goal via voice. And use voice chat to have AI guide you through what you want to achieve, what success looks like, and what might get in the way.
1. AI will autofill title, description, outcome, and obstacles based on your conversation.
1. Or, write directly into the fields if you prefer.
1. To _check in, refine or reflect_ on a goal, start a voice chat with the goal, or AI chat with the Goal agent. The AI knows your goal, outcome, and obstacle plans. You can of course also reflect by writing directly within the goal node over time.
1. Click the #Goal supertag to see all your goals in one place.
## This template contains
**Goal supertag** With fields for Outcome, Obstacles (if-then plans), and optional Timeframe.
**Goal agent** A thinking partner to help you check in, refine obstacle plans, and find concrete next actions.
**Voice capture** Talk through your goal naturally. AI guides the conversation and fills in the fields.
---
#### Gratitude log
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/gratitude-log
Voice-record gratitudes in seconds or write freely. AI helps you explore patterns, write thank you messages, and rediscover forgotten moments. Build a practice that feels natural, not forced.
## Capture what matters before you forget it
Someone made your day better? A moment felt unexpectedly good? Capture it in seconds with voice or text. Build a living record of what brings you joy. Then explore patterns, write thank you messages, and rediscover forgotten moments.
## Voice-first capture that actually works
Record a voice memo with the `#Gratitude` tag on mobile or desktop. AI cleans up the transcript, removes "um"s and false starts, while keeping your authentic voice. Title, description, and category fill automatically.
Or just write. Whatever feels natural in the moment.
## Turn gratitude into connection
Grateful for someone? Use "Write gratitude message" to draft a sincere thank you that references specific moments. The AI pulls from your gratitude history to make it personal and concrete. Not generic appreciation, but "remember when you did this specific thing."
## How to use
- Create a node with _#Gratitude_ tag, or record a voice memo with the tag for instant capture
- Let AI autofill title, description, and category, or write them yourself
- Run custom AI agent chats to explore patterns, write messages, or have fun with roasts
- Click _#Gratitude_ tag to see all entries filtered by category or time
## This template contains
- _#Gratitude_ supertag
- Category field
- AI autofill for voice workflows
- Gratitude agent
- Start gratitude chat (AI chat command)
- Explore patterns (AI chat command)
- Write gratitude message (AI chat command)
- Gratitude roast (AI chat command)
---
#### Habit tracking in Tana Outliner
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/habit-tracking
Learn how to enhance your habit tracking system in Tana Outliner by integrating command nodes. This video guides you through the process of setting up command nodes for daily habit tracking, offering a step-by-step tutorial to optimize your Tana Outliner workspace.
---
#### Hire with confidence
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/hiring-interviews
This Hiring Interview Template helps you prepare interview questions, transcribes your conversations, captures key insights, and organizes everything so you can focus on the interview.
## Get help with preparing great questions
The Hiring interview agent can help you prepare questions tailored to the role, based on the description of the role and the _interview focus_ field. Work with the agent in chat and make your own edits to develop an interview guide that covers what you need.
## Stay focused on listening
Let the Tana Outliner meeting notetaker take care of the note taking, so you can focus on what's being said and ask follow up questions. Keep the live transcript open and go back if you missed something that was said. Edit, reference or tag things directly in the transcript if there are important points you want to highlight.
## Stop forgetting why you liked them
Get neatly structured summaries so you can instantly refresh your memory if there are details you forgot. Want to delve deeper? Easily view (or AI chat with) the full transcript.
## All your hiring insights in one place
Compare notes (and candidates) with neatly tagged insights from each interview. Filter, sort, view as a table and build a dashboard for your assessment criteria.
---
#### How Tana Outliner helps you through the day
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/how-tana-helps-you-through-the-day
Tana Outliner can help you through every workday. From planning your day and capturing ideas with voice memos on mobile during your commute, to creative writing and deep work, sharing notes and getting help from AI when you need it.
---
#### Image generation - Banners
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/image-generation-banners
Generate banner images in six distinct artistic styles with one-click commands. Perfect for creating visuals without design software.
## Make your workspace feel yours
Add visual identity to your nodes, projects, and live searches. Generated banners transform plain text workspaces into visually rich environments that feel personal and polished, making your daily workspace something you always enjoy working in.
## Six styles, instant results
Choose from six artistic styles to match your content. Run any command on any node in Tana Outliner and get an instant banner image. Each command smartly processes the full context of that node to generate relevant visuals automatically in the style you choose.
**Engraving** – Classic line art style for formal, timeless content
**Watercolor** – Soft, warm, flowing aesthetics
Collage – Layered mixed-media with vibrant colors
ASCII – Dark mode text-based pixel art
Minimal – Clean, simplified designs
Nostalgia – Vintage-inspired aesthetics
## Polish your published work
Generated banners work perfectly as hero images for articles you share via Tana Outliner Publish. Create a visual header that matches your content's tone, then publish your page with professional polish. No separate design step required.
## Evolve your own visual style
Build on these six commands to create your own signature aesthetics. Duplicate any command, adjust the prompt to match your brand, and save it for repeated use. Each command becomes a starting point to make it your own. Learn how
## How to use
1. Open any node where you want a banner image
1. Press `cmd+k` to open the command line and type the name of any style command
1. The command processes the node's context and generates a banner image given the prompt and parameters in the style commands
1. Run again for a new generation, or try different styles
1. Optional: Add any command as a button on a supertag for one-click access
## This template contains
6 AI banner image generation commands:
- Generate banner image: Engraving
- Generate banner image: Watercolor
- Generate banner image: Collage
- Generate banner image: ASCII
- Generate banner image: Minimal
- Generate banner image: Nostalgia
- _Example output for each of the commands_
---
#### Image generation - Graphic design
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/image-generation-graphic-design
Generate professional graphic design in six polished formats with one-click commands. From editorial posters to cinematic thumbnails. Publication-ready visuals without design software.
## Six formats for different platforms
**Editorial poster** – Magazine-style layouts with bold typography and striking composition
**Neon slide** – Vibrant presentation slides with neon aesthetics
**City billboard** – Large-format advertising designs with high-impact visuals
Nature quote – Inspirational quote graphics with natural landscape backgrounds
**Book cover** – Publication-ready book and ebook cover designs
**Cinematic thumbnail** – Video thumbnail designs with cinematic style
## Generate visuals as you create, evolve your own style
Custom image generation commands
Duplicate any command, adjust the prompt to match your brand, save it for repeated use. Each command becomes a starting point you can refine over time. Start with these templates, evolve them into your unique visual language.
## From concept to finished design
Each format matches specific use cases: editorial posters for blog headers, neon slides for presentations, city billboards for high-impact ads, nature quotes for social sharing, book covers for publications, cinematic thumbnails for video content. Platform-optimized formats that understand each medium's constraints.
## How to use
1. Open any node where you want graphic design
1. Press `cmd+k` to open the command line and type the name of any format command
1. The command processes the node's context and generates a design
1. Run again for different variations, or try different formats
1. Optional: Add any command as a button on a supertag for one-click access
## This template contains
6 AI graphic design generation commands:
- Generate graphic design: Editorial poster
- Generate graphic design: Neon slide
- Generate graphic design: City billboard
- Generate graphic design: Nature quote
- Generate graphic design: Book cover
- Generate graphic design: Cinematic thumbnail
- _Example output for each of the commands_
---
#### Image generation - Infographics
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/image-generation-infographics
Turn any node into a visual explanation with one-click infographic generation. Seven specialized formats help you visualize rough ideas, share knowledge with your team, study complex topics, and develop your thinking progressively.
## Instantly shareable assets
Your team doesn't need access to your full workspace to understand your thinking. Generate visual explanations from research notes, project plans, or meeting summaries instantly.
**Bento overview** – Grid-based layout showing info at a glance
## From notes to visuals
Your notes, fields, supertags, and nested information automatically inform the infographic generation. Tana Outliner's structured context becomes the input. No manual data entry or design work.
**System diagram** – Technical visualizations for processes and systems
## Visualize ideas early
Run these commands on rough notes, half-developed thoughts, or messy brainstorms. The visual output often reveals structure and connections you hadn't seen in text form.
**Napkin sketch** – Casual, informal sketches for quick idea communication
## Develop ideas visually
Generate infographics at different stages of your work. Early napkin sketches from initial ideas, system diagrams as structure emerges, polished overviews when refined. Watch your thinking evolve visually.
**Whiteboard explainer** – Hand-drawn style diagrams
## Turn large contexts to condensed cheatsheets
Compress sprawling notes, documentation, or research into scannable reference guides. Perfect for creating quick-reference materials from extensive source content without manual summarization.
**Cheatsheet** – Dense reference guide organizing key information
## See information from new angles
Turn sequential information into narrative panels. Processes, workflows, or step-by-step concepts become visual stories that reveal flow and relationships in ways linear text can't.
**Cartoon strip** – Sequential storytelling panels for explaining workflows or narratives
## How to use it
1. Open any node with information you want to visualize (polished or rough)
1. Press `cmd+k` to open the command line and type the name of any format command
1. The command processes the node's context and generates an infographic
1. Run again for a new generation, or try different formats
1. Optional: Add any command as a button on a supertag for one-click access
## This template contains
6 AI infographic generation commands
- Generate infographic: Bento overview
- Generate infographic: Whiteboard explainer
- Generate infographic: System diagram
- Generate infographic: Napkin sketch
- Generate infographic: Cheatsheet
- Generate infographic: Cartoon strip
- _Example output for each of the commands_
---
#### Image generation - Slides
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/image-generation-slides
Six slide formats for presentations, decks, and visual communication. Run a command on any node and get a beautifully designed slide image, ready to use.
## From thinking to presenting
You have the content. The thinking is done. But turning it into a presentation means switching tools, fighting with layouts, choosing fonts. The work after the work.
What if your nodes could become slides directly?
## Keynote quality without the designer
Every slide is generated with the sensibility of a beautifully designed presentation – bold typography, confident composition, generous white space. The kind of slides that look like someone spent hours on them.
You just wrote a node.
## Six slides for six jobs
Statement slides for big ideas. Comparison slides for decisions. Stats slides for numbers that need to land. Timeline slides for sequences and roadmaps. Process slides for how things work. Illustrated list slides for key points that need visual support.
Pick the format, run the command. The AI interprets your content and designs something that belongs in a beautifully crafted keynote deck.
## How to use
1. Navigate to any node with content you want to visualize.
1. Open the command line (Cmd/Ctrl + K) and choose your slide type.
1. AI generates a presentation-ready slide image based on your content.
1. Use the image in your deck, document, or published page.
## This template contains
**Six slide generation commands** Statement, Comparison, Stats, Timeline, Process, and Illustrated List — each tuned for its purpose.
**Extension supertag** Attach to any supertag for one-click slide generation on tagged nodes.
---
#### Land your next role
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/application-tracker
Stop losing track of applications and wondering who to follow up with. The Application tracker template transforms chaos into a clear pipeline. Every opportunity organized, every deadline tracked, every connection managed.
## Opportunity intelligence
Link similar roles, spot patterns in rejections, identify what's working. Every application teaches you something. Your system remembers so you improve faster.
## Application pipeline
Track every opportunity from wishlist to offer. See exactly where each application stands, what's next, who to follow up with. Nothing falls through the cracks.
## Mock interview agent
AI-powered interview prep that actually helps. Practice answers, get feedback, refine your pitch. Walk into every interview ready to nail it.
## This template contains
A dashboard with pre-built views that brings everything together!
#### Mock interview agent
An AI assistant that helps you practice for interviews by asking relevant questions based on the job description and providing feedback.
#### #Job opportunity
- **Application date:** The date you submitted your application for this position
- **Stage:** Current status of your application (Watchlist, Applied, In interviews, Offered, or Closed)
- **Type:** Employment type (Full time, Part time, Internship, Summer job, or Co-op)
- **Location:** Where you'll work (Remote, On-site, Hybrid, or specific city name)
- **Company:** The organization you're applying to
- **Contact:** Name of recruiter, hiring manager, or your main point of contact
- **Link:** URL to the job posting or application portal
- **Job description:** Brief summary of role responsibilities and requirements
- **Salary (optional):** Compensation offered (hourly rate or annual salary)
Commands:
- **📤 (Mark application sent):** Quick action to change the application stage to "Applied" and automatically set today's date as the application date.
- **🗓️ (Set application date to today):** Quick action to timestamp when you submitted the application with today's date. Shows when application date is not set while application is not in watchlist or closed.
---
#### Level up your OKRs
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/okr-template
This Tana Outliner OKR template connects objectives, key results, and initiatives - kind of like an OKR operating system. It helps you craft best-practice OKRs with an embedded AI agent that can refine your objectives, suggest key results, and highlight relevant monitoring metrics.
## OKRs you'll actually use
Objectives and Key Results is an excellent framework to clarify goals and help you stay on track, but all too often they get stuck in slide decks and documents never to be seen again. The Tana Outliner OKR template seamlessly blends OKRs with your notes, tasks, and projects—so you have them easily available at all times.
## AI-assisted OKRs
The Tana Outliner OKR agent can help refine your objectives and key results, so your OKRs become more effective and actionable. Click on the OKR agent and select what type of input you want.
## How to use the Tana Outliner OKR template
1. Write down your goal and tag it with #Objective.
2. Add key results directly to that objective, or get suggestions from the OKR agent.
3. Add initiatives, projects, and tasks to the objective from anywhere in Tana Outliner by using the #Objective field.
**Pro tip** - You can add a feed with objectives to your daily page, so you can keep your most important goals front and centre.
## This template contains
**Objective supertag**
With a key result feed, and overview of relevant initiatives.
**Key result supertag**
That can easily be connected to different objectives.
**Optional tag extension
**You can add objectives to your task and project supertags so they appear in the Initiatives overview.
**OKR agent
**Trained on OKR best practices and embedded in the supertags.
You can use this template with the Free Plan, everything will work except the OKR agent.
---
#### Make epic PRDs
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/product-requirement-doc-prd
From product idea to an impeccable PRD in minutes, this Tana Outliner template turns fuzzy thoughts into structured, easy to review product requirement docs - so you can spend less time documenting and more time doing.
## Say hello to the future of productivity
Want to spend less time in front of a screen AND get more sh\*t done? This PRD template is for you. Download the template and when you have a great idea simply select #PRD in the mobile app and talk aloud about it. You'll see useful prompts and questions to guide your thinking, and once your done it will be automatically be transcribed, summarized, and organized. Walk and work anyone?
## Share your product idea in style
Effortlessly share your PRDs as gorgeous, password protected webpages. It takes seconds to create, you can adjust the style, add an author byline, and easily update the content—even after you've shared the link.
## AI-assisted PRDs
Level up your PRDs before you share them with anyone else using the Tana Outliner PRD AI agent. Trained on best-practice product requirement docs this embedded AI agent will ask you thoughtful questions and give tips on how to improve your PRD.
## How to use the Tana Outliner PRD template
1. Start a voice memo on the mobile app and select the PRD supertag
2. Talk through your idea, you'll get an overview of useful questions to answer
3. Once done the voice memo will get the necessary fields and structure of a PRD, and be ready to share with the Tana Outliner Publish feature.
Pro tip - You can select password protection if you're sharing confidential or proprietary information.
---
#### Meeting note taking in Tana Outliner
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/meeting-note-taking
With Tana Outliner's meeting notetaker, you can capture everything said in your meetings - no bots needed. It's the fastest, most seamless way to record conversations and build your knowledge base from meetings in Tana Outliner.
## Overview
If you have back-to-back meetings all day, it can be a pain to take notes and follow up on all the action items. This is where Tana Outliner can help.
The app now offers a fully integrated **AI meeting notetaker** as part of the desktop experience. You can use it to transcribe meetings, generate summaries, and link notes directly to your work - without needing to install a plugin or add a bot.
- If you set up the Google Calendar integration, the Today page in Tana Outliner will be updated with all your meetings.
- Tana Outliner Desktop will also remind you with meeting notifications when the meeting starts, so you can simply click to capture audio and get an auto-generated summary directly in the app.
- After the meeting you can go through suggested action items and tag the ones you want to flow to your Task dashboard.
## Basics
Tana Outliner offers several features designed to make it easy to take meeting notes:
**The Google Calendar integration:**
- Automatically imports your calendar events to your Today page.
- Applies supertags to the events classified as meetings, so they're ready to record and take notes.
- Will show a daily agenda calendar with your meetings on Today.
- Tana Outliner Desktop can send you meeting notifications.
**Tana Outliner meeting notetaker:**
- Lets you record and transcribe your meetings in real time, directly from Tana Outliner Desktop - no bot required.
- It captures **system audio**, meaning it records not just your voice, but also everyone else's - perfect for virtual calls, live streams, and shared audio. The transcription will try separate speakers with best effort, but since it does not have access to each speakers's audio, it may not give perfect results where there is similar voices or poor audio quality.
- This feature is ideal for situations where inviting a bot isn't possible or preferred, and you still want to capture everything in one place.
**The meeting agent (in-call bot):**
- If you are not able to join a meeting in person, or need to join from mobile, Tana Outliner offers a meeting agent that you can add to your calls.
- It will show up in the meeting as a bot, provide a transcript of what each participant is said, create a summary and suggest action items.
- This is recommended in situations where it's important with high accuracy in speaker detection.
**Task management:**
- Tana Outliner offers a great way to take meeting notes and follow up on action items from meetings, since you can build a workflow for task management that works for you.
- Tag any action item from a meeting with #Task (or the task tag you use), and it will flow to your task dashboard.
- Click the #Task tag to see all your tasks, and customize views that make it easy for you to stay on top of things.
## Detail
### Get your meetings into Tana Outliner
The Calendar integration and meeting transcriptions are two intertwined features that are meant to work together, to enable you to capture meeting notes with one click.
The calendar integration is not just a convenient way to see your events on the day node. It is an opportunity for AI to help build out your knowledge graph:
- It syncs your meetings to Tana Outliner so you have a place to prepare for meetings, write notes and agenda points beforehand
- The [Tana Outliner Desktop app](https://tana.inc/docs/tana-for-desktop) can send you notifications about upcoming meetings, allowing you transcribe meetings and get an auto-generated summary.
- All notes are saved in the meeting, and you can use AI chat with the meeting notes, asking questions about what was said in the meeting or extracting information with custom prompts and commands.
Instructions for setting up the Google Calendar integration.
### Tana Outliner meeting notetaker
This feature is ideal for situations where inviting a bot isn't possible or preferred, and you still want to capture everything in one place.
**No bots to manage:** No external participants to add to your calls, just seamless recording.
**Effortless:** Start transcription with a click from your meeting notification.
**Tool agnostic:** Works with any tool or platform you're using: Zoom, Meet, Teams, and beyond.
**Cross-platform:** Available on **Mac** and **Windows** with the [Tana Outliner Desktop app](https://tana.inc/desktop).
**Supports 61 languages:** Tana Outliner auto-detects what's being spoken and can dynamically switch between languages during the conversation. [Full list of languages](/learn/features/live-voice-transcription#languages-supported-for-live-transcription).
#### How it works
If you signed up as a new user after June 6th, you should have the meeting notetaker set up on the #meeting supertag, no further setup required!
1. **Install [Tana Outliner Desktop](https://tana.inc/desktop)**
2. Find the meeting supertag you want to use
3. Open "Configure tag
4. Enable "audio-enabled tag"
5. **Start transcription in Tana Outliner Desktop:**
- Click the **Tana Outliner meeting notification** for any scheduled calendar event.
- Create a new meeting manually by tagging a node with you #Meeting tag - then **click the audio icon**.
- On **Mac**, Tana Outliner can detect when you open a meeting link and will offer to start transcription in a notification.
Set up meeting transcription on an existing supertag (detailed instructions).
## During the meeting: Watch the live transcription
- Tana Outliner captures everything you hear from system audio, including other people speaking and shared audio like videos.
- It will capture audio from others, even if you're wearing headphones.
- See the transcript appear in real time as the meeting happens, Shift+click on the "Transcript" button to open the live transcript in a panel next to the meeting notes.
- Scroll back if you missed something that was said.
- The transcription will try separate speakers with best effort, but since it does not have access to each speakers's audio, it may not give perfect results where there is similar voices or poor audio quality.
- Take your own notes in the main node if you want to. These will be included as context if you use AI chat on the node afterwards.
**After the meeting: automatic summary and timestamped transcript**
- Stop the transcription when the meeting is done, and Tana Outliner will automatically create a summary, and suggest action items.
- Review and tag action items, assign them to yourself or others.
- Create references to the transcript or tag things directly in the transcript.
If you are an existing user who want to set up live transcription on one or more existing supertags, **see the full documentation here**.
### The meeting agent (in-call bot)
Tana Outliner also offers an in-call bot that you can add to scheduled calls. This requires more setup for each call than the Meeting notetaker, so is only recommended for situations where:
- You want high accuracy on speaker separation in the transcript - the meeting agent will identify speakers based on the audio streams in the call, while the Meeting notetaker will make a best effort based on differences in voice (but does not have access to separate audio streams).
- If you need to join the meeting on mobile, and still want automatic meeting notes and a summary.
When the Meeting agent creates notes, it does the following:
**Writes a concise, interconnected meeting summary**: Your meeting summaries are no longer siloed on a different AI transcription platform just for meeting notes. They now live in Tana Outliner with the rest of your knowledge, connected to things in the transcript and in your graph.
**Creates action items based on the conversation:** It identifies tasks that come out of a meeting, so you can tag them with #Task with one click.
Read more about the meeting agent.
---
#### Simple projects
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/project
Stay on top of your projects with this simple, yet powerful, Tana Outliner template. Effortlessly connect tasks, meetings, and notes to your project - so you have all the information you need in one place.
## Clarity across all your projects
**Out-of-the-box project management**. Get a project overview table, a kanban board, and a calendar view automatically. No setup needed. These views live on the #Project supertag page and update as you add new projects.
**Lightweight linking**. Connect tasks and meetings to any project. They’ll automatically flow to the relevant project, no matter where you create them.
**Clear status tracking**. See which projects are active, on hold, or completed. Filter and sort based on what matters right now.
## How to use
1. Tag any note with #Project to turn it into a project hub
1. Add details like Status, Duration, and Definition of done
1. View all your projects on the Project supertag homepage, organized into different views
1. Meetings and tasks linked to the project will automatically appear in their designated sections
**Pro tip** - create a shared workspace to use this template to collaborate with others.
## This template contains
**Project supertag**
With structured fields for status, duration, and definition of done, plus automatic views for all projects—overview table, kanban board, and calendar.
**Project extension**
You can add projects to your tasks and meetings supertags so they appear in the related project.
---
#### Stress-free investor updates
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/investor-update
Level up your investor communications with Tana Outliner's investor update template. Designed for founders who know consistent, high-quality updates are the backbone of investor relations. Our template takes the headache out of the entire process, helping you consistently deliver professional updates that showcase your progress and keep investors excited about your journey.
## Why founders choose Tana Outliner for investor updates:
**Professional Structure** - Pre-built sections for traction metrics, team updates, and funding needs that investors actually want to see.
**Super-fast with voice** - This voice-to-update workflow lets you talk through the update and transforms it into a ready-to-send update.
**AI-Powered Refinement** - Our built-in AI assistant reviews your language and content, suggesting improvements that strike the perfect tone with investors.
**Security First** - Password protection for sensitive updates, ensuring your business data reaches only intended recipients.
**Ready-to-Send Format** - Generate polished, investor-ready updates directly from your Tana Outliner workspace with just a few clicks.
## Get feedback from your own Investor AI-Agent
With the Investor Update Agent you can quickly get an investor's point of view on your update—improving clarity and ensuring you're answering the right questions, the right way.
## Ready-to-send Investor Update
As a founder you're super busy and rarely have enough time to sit down and write a proper investor update. We get it. With the Tana Outliner Investor Update Template you just talk through your update — and get a structured ready-to-send version when you're back at your desk.
---
#### Student hub
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/student-hub
The secret to academic success? It's building better systems, not working harder. With the Student hub template, you create a workspace that handles the logistics while you focus on what matters - actually learning.
## AI lecture agent
AI-powered note enhancement helps you capture key concepts and generate study materials on demand. Turn rambling lectures into structured knowledge.
## Everything connected
Lectures link to assignments link to resources. No more hunting through folders or forgotten Google Docs. Watch connections between courses emerge automatically.
## Resource library
Save once, find forever. Your research stays organized and searchable across every course. Build a knowledge base that grows with you.
## This template contains
A dashboard with pre-built views that brings everything together!
#### #Course
- **Instructor:** The professor or lecturer teaching the course
- **Semester:** Which semester you're taking the course
- **Course code:** Official course number for registration
- **Credits:** Number of credit hours or units the course counts toward your degree
- **Curriculum:** Reading list, resources, and materials required for the course
- **Grade achieved (optional):** Your final grade once the course is complete
- **Email (optional):** Instructor's contact email for office hours or questions
#### #Lecture
- **Date:** When the lecture takes place
- **Course:** Which course this lecture belongs to
- **Guest instructor:** Special speaker or substitute teacher for this session
- **Notes:** Your lecture notes, key concepts, and important points
With AI-powered commands for lecture transcription and a specialized agent for collaborative note-taking and learning.
#### #Study session
- **Date:** When you're planning to study
- **Course:** Which course you're studying for
- **Assignment (optional):** Specific assignment or exam you're preparing for
With commands for simple time tracking!
#### #Assignment
- **Date:** Due date for submission
- **Course:** Which course assigned this work
- **Type:** Category of assignment
- **Weight (%) (optional):** How much this counts toward your final grade
- **Grade achieved (optional):** Your score once graded and returned
#### #Resource
- **Author:** Who created this resource
- **Category:** Type of resource
- **Course:** Which course uses or recommends this resource
#### #Exam question
- **Course:** Which course this question could appear in
- **Lecture:** Which lecture covered this topic
---
#### Study scheduler
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/study-scheduler
Know what to study today. Trust that you will be ready. Study Scheduler turns your semester into a rhythm you can keep. You set up courses once. Each day you open one place that shows what to learn, what to review, and what is due. It stays simple while you move toward mastery.
_In collaboration with _[_Matty from Koi_](https://www.youtube.com/@Koi)_. Designed for real students._
Traditional studying treats learning like a one-time transaction. You encounter material in class, review it once or twice, then hope it shows up when you need it. This approach has a fatal flaw: it ignores how memory actually works.
Study Scheduler is a focused space in Tana Outliner for courses, lectures, assignments, and exams. A schedule for planning. A review feed that helps you decide what needs another pass. Topic pages that hold your notes, links, and quick lecture recordings with automatic summaries. Course dashboards that mirror the main one, so you can zoom in without losing the big picture.
## The mastery-based study system
The Study Scheduler operates on progressive mastery: every topic gets classified by how well you understand it, and the system surfaces what needs attention based on your actual knowledge gaps, not just what's newest or most urgent.
Here's how it transforms your study routine: topics you're uncertain about appear first for review, material you've mastered gets lighter maintenance, and nothing falls through the cracks. You always know exactly where you stand with each concept.
### Map your domains and topics
Start by adding your courses in the main dashboard. Each one becomes a `#domain` with fields for professor, course code, and status. Plus email and website for quick lookups.
Click into any course and you'll see the overview with tabs for topics, review, assignments, and exams. This structure allows everything to flow where it belongs.
Create a `#topic` for anything you learn or deliver. Each topic has a **Type** field set to lecture, assignment, or exam. Add a topic from the dashboard and the type is set for you. Or add a topic anywhere in Tana Outliner and tag it `#topic`, then set its domain. Either way, it flows to the right views automatically.
### A schedule you can trust
The schedule view pulls everything across domains into one calendar. Switch between day, week, or month to plan your load. Move a date once and it updates everywhere. You see what matters now, what is coming next, and how to pace your week.
The schedule has three views, day/week/month, that you can switch between. It shows all your lectures, assignments and exams across domains.
You can simply drag and drop any topic into the calendar and adjust date and time. A perfect setup to stay ahead on time and commitments.
### Notes that compound
Each topic page is where learning sticks. Press the `🎙️` microphone button to start lecture transcription (Tana Outliner automatically summarizes). Capture own thoughts as short bullets during class. Type `@` any time to link concepts across domains so ideas reinforce each other. When exams approach, your graph is ready. You are not hunting for context. You are building on it.
Let AI transcribe your lectures so you can stay focused and engaged. When something catches your interest, or when you spot a connection, note it down!
Your topics feed the schedule, the review page, and the assignment and exam views. One capture, many surfaces. No duplication. No table wrangling.
### Review that turns exposure into mastery
This is the heart of your study system. Every `#topic` lives in one of four stages:
- not defined → material you have not seen or started to review
- rookie → material that you have studied but **not** mastered
- ranger → material that you have studied and **mastered**
- retire → material that will **not be tested** or is not needed
Open a course and review the specific topics that relates to it.
You review, then set the mastery stage by feel. The **Last reviewed** field updates automatically. The feed sorts by oldest first within each stage, so you clear what is most at risk before it fades. Mot defined needs to be picked up. Rookie gets more reps. Ranger gets light maintenance. Retired is out of scope.
During study sessions, open the review page, start at the top of each group. Move topics forward when they feel solid. Nothing slips. You always know where you stand.
---
Hope you enjoy,
Tana Outliner x Koi
---
#### Tana MCP showcase
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-mcp-showcase
A five-level tour of the Tana MCP: read your workspace from a coding agent, write and edit nodes, make your agent repeatable, delegate research, and automate across your other tools.
MCP, the model context protocol, lets a coding agent like Claude Code or Codex talk to your tools. With the [Tana MCP](/learn/features/local-api-mcp) connected, that agent can read and write your Tana workspace. This walkthrough goes through five levels, from reading a single node to automating work across Gmail, Slack, and more.
## What MCP is and how to set it up [[0:00](https://youtu.be/J15JSqgVmMQ?t=0)]
The [local API and MCP docs](/learn/features/local-api-mcp) walk through setup, and you can paste that page straight into your coding agent to have it do the configuration for you. Two quick checks once you're running: open `localhost` health to confirm the status is okay, and `localhost/docs` to see the available local API functions and tools. If you get stuck, Tana runs drop-in MCP help sessions, unrecorded, no set agenda, listed on [tana.inc/community](https://tana.inc/community).
## Level one: read [[1:50](https://youtu.be/J15JSqgVmMQ?t=110)]
The simplest starting point is reading. Run `command + K` then copy node link, paste it to your agent, and ask what the node says. Because the link carries the node ID, the agent knows exactly where to look. You can also find nodes by natural language, then walk the structure, the parent of a node, its siblings, and read from there.
## Level two: write [[2:33](https://youtu.be/J15JSqgVmMQ?t=153)]
The MCP also writes. Point the agent at a node and tell it what to add, for example add a task underneath, apply a tag, and fill in some fields. If it gets something wrong, like tagging the item instead of adding a child, just tell it what you meant and it edits and cleans up the earlier mistake.
## Level three: repeat [[3:35](https://youtu.be/J15JSqgVmMQ?t=215)]
To make this repeatable, lean on the foundations agents use outside Tana: an `agents.md` or `claude.md` file plus skills. These are the external equivalent of system prompts and [command nodes](/learn/features/command-nodes) inside Tana. Capture how your workspace is set up in that file, and every new thread already knows your Tana system. OpenAI and Anthropic both publish best practices for writing these, and the agent can even draft its own file for you. For a deeper dive, see the [self-driving Tana systems lab](/learn/tutorials/tana-systems-lab-self-driving-tana) on driving Tana with an external agent.
## Level four: delegate [[4:37](https://youtu.be/J15JSqgVmMQ?t=277)]
Now have the agent do real work. Put context on a task, for example a shopping task that should only pull links from Amazon, and add more context in an area the task belongs to. Then ask the agent to run the research, taking the task and area context into account, and it comes back with results that respect those constraints.
## Level five: integrate and automate [[6:24](https://youtu.be/J15JSqgVmMQ?t=384)]
The real payoff is that many other tools speak MCP too, Gmail, Slack, Figma, Intercom, and more. With several connected, you can ask for your most recent email and have the agent file it as a read-later task in Tana under the right node, linked back to the source. Put that on a schedule and the agent can, say, scan your inbox each morning and drop any essays in as tasks. New systems labs exploring use cases like this run roughly every other week, listed on [tana.inc/community](https://tana.inc/community).
---
#### Tana Outliner for students: how to build your perfect study system
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-for-students
In this session we build out a full study hub to track courses, assignments, exam questions and more. So you can stay on top of everything, and focus on learning!
Being a student today means managing a flood of lectures, readings, projects, and deadlines.
Traditional note-taking tools capture information, but they don't help you connect it, act on it, or keep track of everything across courses.
Tana Outliner is built to solve this. It's more than a note-taking app, it's a connected workspace where you can transcribe lectures, capture ideas, manage assignments, and let AI help you study smarter.
**In this session, we will walk through how you can build a custom study system that works for you.**
---
#### Tana Outliner Live Build: a node novella
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-live-build-a-node-novella
Whether you're a book writer, blogger, filmmaker, or YouTuber, you need a place to riff freely without losing the plot. In this session, we'll demo a workflow that turns fragments into structure and keeps threads alive. No contradicted world-building, no dropped subplots, no scattered docs.
The focus: _systematized storyboarding_
What we'll cover:
- **Capture** raw ideas, lines, and beats with zero friction
- **Structure** into parts, chapters/sections, scenes/beats
- **Track threads** (characters, themes, plot points) with simple tags, fields, and search nodes
- **Big-picture view:** build a dashboard/table to see how everything connects into a cohesive narrative
We'll start with a real Tana Outliner user scenario, then build from scratch, showcasing how scattered notes become one cohesive storyline in under 60 minutes.
---
#### Tana Outliner Live Build: clarifying complex connections
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-live-build-clarifying-complex-connections
Most people organize information the only way they've been taught: lists, folders, outlines, buckets. That works until reality stops being simple; when people play multiple roles, assignments and responsibilities overlap, and relationships aren't neatly hierarchical. This session explores how to model relational complexity in Tana Outliner, using structure that adapts as connections shift.
**What we'll cover in this session:**
- Demonstrate common relational patterns (one-to-one, one-to-many, many-to-many)
- Use intermediary tags to represent evolving relationships (roles, assignments, requirements, etc.)
- Build structured views that surface patterns and connections across projects, ideas, and processes
- Apply relational modeling across diverse scenarios (research, collaboration, design)
By the end, you'll leave with a structural framework for mapping relationships in your data: a way to reveal connections that weren't visible before, and to design systems that stay clear as complexity grows.
---
#### Tana Outliner Live Build: collector's edition
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-live-build-collector-s-edition
We all collect things, not just objects, but experiences, ideas, and patterns. Maybe it's the movies you've watched, the books that shaped you, or the recipes you keep rediscovering.
In this live build, we'll tinker with a collection system in Tana Outliner, and demonstrate structures that adapt to whatever you value enough to track.
You'll learn how to:
- Design reusable tags and fields for flexible organization
- Build dynamic views for sorting, grouping, and surfacing insights
- Link your collections to other parts of your graph such as notes, goals, habits, or reflections
You'll leave with an example template and a deeper sense of how to design elegant, extensible systems inside Tana Outliner.
---
#### Tana Outliner Live Build: compound journaling
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-live-build-compound-journaling
Most journaling captures moments in isolation; useful in the present, but hard to return to, hard to build upon, and hard to turn into something cumulative. In this session, we'll explore how to build a review workflow in Tana Outliner that turns daily writing into clarity over time; moving from raw notes to weekly reflections, to emerging themes, and into a structure that grows with you.
**What we'll cover:**
- **Capture and merge** daily entries into unified weekly summaries
- **Extract entities** like people, themes, tasks, questions, and insights
- **Build review nodes across time windows** (weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual)
- **Surface long-term patterns** using views, queries, and structural connections
By the end, you'll have a repeatable framework that turns experience into direction, and reflection into something you can actually use.
---
#### Tana Outliner Live Build: conference connector
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-live-build-conference-connector
Conferences, IRL events, and meetups generate a flood of ideas, insights, and connections. But what happens after you leave the room? Too often, notes get buried in a doc, new contacts vanish into LinkedIn, and the real value of the event is lost.
This session is about turning the short-term investment of attending an event into long-term payoff by building a system in Tana Outliner to:
- **Quick capture** ideas, conversations, and contact information while staying engaged in the moment
- **Synthesize** your field notes into structured knowledge, follow-ups, and next actions
- **Share** your takeaways: whether that's publishing a recap, tweeting insights, following up with contacts, or bringing lessons back to your team
Mark built the system live, showing techniques for turning your conference notes and recordings into digital assets for connecting with your in-person and online communities.
---
#### Tana Outliner Live Build: effective executive
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-live-build-effective-executive
Make meetings meaningful. This session will focus on how executives can capture the flow of decisions from meetings, and connect them to the KPIs and outcomes that matter.
[Template](https://tana.pub/3R19ytp62SDv/effective-executive-pre-build-example)
Every week, leaders sit through endless updates. The challenge isn't hearing the information, it's making sure it turns into action and results. In this session we'll show a system that helps executives:
- Capture raw meeting inputs
- Categorize them against KPIs, OKRs, and ongoing issues
- Use AI to expand and evaluate decision options
- Track decisions over time, linking them back to metrics and outcomes
Mark will start with a pre-built example to demonstrate the flow. Then Matt will present Mark with a new scenario to build out from scratch in a blank workspace showing how messy meeting chatter can be transformed into a cycle of evidence, decisions, and results.
---
#### Tana Outliner Live Build: manager mode
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-live-build-manager-mode
We're back with another live build, this time focused on how teams keep track of shared assets and updates, and surface the right information to the right people.
[Template](https://tana.pub/7qU4WkPC1MqY/manager-mode) | [Publish demo](https://app.tana.inc/shared/dashboard/dG85c0Q4QkY4aFNJL3RNaUZxOWVkYVVHRA==)
Whether you're managing features in an app, pages on a website, SKUs in a product pipeline, or status reports in operations, the pattern is the same:
- Capture structured updates
- Automatically funnel them into dashboards for different roles
- Zoom seamlessly between small details and the big picture
In this session, Mark will start from a blank workspace and build a complete system live showing how raw updates become organized reports, and how those reports turn into actionable dashboards for managers, operators, and stakeholders alike.
---
#### Tana Outliner Live Build: the focus dashboard
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-live-build-session-the-focus-dashboard
This session is about building a focus dashboard: a living system that ties together your areas, projects, actions, and reviews into one adaptable flow.
## The focus dashboard
What do the most popular productivity frameworks have in common?
- Tiago Forte's PARA
- August Bradley's PPV
- Cal Newport's Multi-Scale Planning
- Jordan Peterson's Future Authoring
They all try to solve the same challenge: how do you stay focused and keep moving forward, even when the goalposts shift?
This session was about building a focus dashboard, a living system that ties together your areas, projects, actions, and reviews into one adaptable flow.
We showed how to:
- Capture tasks, projects, and routines across every area of life
- Align them with shifting goals, objectives, and KPIs
- Review progress across multiple time horizons (daily, quarterly, yearly)
- Bring it all together in a dashboard that keeps your focus on meaningful action, even as circumstances change
Mark started with a pre-built demo and then built a focus dashboard live from scratch, showing how to move from knowledge management to systems for action in a way that works for executives, consultants, and individuals alike.
Access the pre-build template here: [Focus dashboard pre-build](https://tana.pub/zBJfG-gx5FxC/focus-dashboard-pre-build)
---
#### Tana Outliner Slack Review: Week 10 2026
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/slack-review-week-10-2026
Highlights from the community Slack: recent releases, pushing search node changes everywhere, auto-fill on added, searching descendants under a tag, descriptions on tags and fields, and excluding the current node from a search.
Every couple of weeks, Mark walks through what's happening in the Tana community Slack. Week 10 opens with a roundup of recent releases, then digs into search behavior: applying a search change to every instance, lightweight auto-fill, searching deep under a tag, descriptions in unexpected places, and keeping the current node out of its own results.
## Recent releases and community [[0:00](https://youtu.be/NOjTWHyw2HA?t=0)]
A quick roundup before the questions: the MCP community competition (week three went to a headless-browser setup that drives ChatGPT and captures the results into Tana), a recent Tana Systems Lab on filling out your system with MCP, the new global web clipper and quick capture (`shift + control + space`), the [local API MCP](/learn/features/local-api-mcp) now on by default, and new AI models (GPT 5.4, Opus 4.6, Gemini Pro 3.1).
## Push a search node change everywhere [[3:10](https://youtu.be/NOjTWHyw2HA?t=190)]
Ryan Baum changed a search on one day's page and found it didn't carry to other days. That's intentional: Tana won't overwrite your per-instance view unless you ask it to. Run `command + K` then update search node on tag and the display, sorting, grouping, and filtering apply to every instance of that tag.
## Auto-fill fields on added [[4:47](https://youtu.be/NOjTWHyw2HA?t=287)]
Marius wanted the mobile voice-capture auto-fill behavior while typing on desktop. Add the auto fill fields command to a tag's on-added automation, and the text you write when you tag a node is used to populate its fields, dates included. Auto-fill is a lightweight starting point; for more accuracy use a run AI fields command instead, or add AI instructions on the individual fields to guide it.
## Search descendants under a tag [[7:15](https://youtu.be/NOjTWHyw2HA?t=435)]
Abby wanted to find text nested any number of levels below a tagged node. A plain string match finds the text everywhere; to scope it, add the path system field with the tag you care about. Path holds every ancestor above a node (the breadcrumb you see above each panel), so the query keeps only matches that sit somewhere under that tag.
## Descriptions on tags and fields [[9:39](https://youtu.be/NOjTWHyw2HA?t=579)]
A hidden-in-plain-sight one: `command + K` then description adds subtext to a node, but you can also add descriptions to tags and to custom fields (not system ones). The keyboard shortcut is `control + I` (`alt + I` on Windows). Handy for documenting what a field is for right where people use it.
## Exclude the current node from a search [[12:00](https://youtu.be/NOjTWHyw2HA?t=720)]
To find related nodes (say, other tasks in the same area) without the current node showing up, use the node name system field with a not clause: `not node name parent`. That feeds the node you're on into node name and excludes it. The full list of system field names is in the docs, or ask the help chat for them.
---
#### Tana Outliner Slack Review: Week 12 2026
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/slack-review-week-12-2026
Highlights from the community Slack: connecting a coding agent with a personal API token, triggering commands from a field change, hide-field conditions, and getting content out of Tana.
Every couple of weeks, Mark walks through the best questions, workarounds, and discoveries from the Tana community Slack. Week 12 covers a fallback way to connect a coding agent, a more advanced automation trigger, a refresher on hiding fields, and the reliable way to copy large content out of Tana.
## Connect a coding agent with a personal API token [[0:00](https://youtu.be/_0xlf3mtmPo?t=0)]
The docs cover the recommended way to link Codex, Claude Code, or Gemini to Tana via the [local API MCP](/learn/features/local-api-mcp). For agents not covered there (Open Code, Open Router), or when a connection keeps dropping, there's a fallback: create a personal API token under API tokens, then point an `mcp.json` file at the local MCP address with a bearer authorization header holding that token. Keep the token private, ideally behind an environment variable, and never paste it where others could see it. Your coding agent can write the config for you.
## Trigger commands from a field change [[2:50](https://youtu.be/_0xlf3mtmPo?t=170)]
Beyond the familiar tag triggers (on added, on removed, on checked), fields have their own automations. Debug a field with `command + K`, scroll to its automations, and you'll find on child added and on child removed. So when you set a value in a field, you can fire a command, for example automatically adding a status-report tag whenever a project is set. Note the context: an on-child-added command runs on the child by default, so step up to the field's owner if you want it to act on the node itself. It's powerful but can be too sensitive for every situation.
## Hide-field conditions [[5:40](https://youtu.be/_0xlf3mtmPo?t=340)]
A refresher distinct from the truly hidden metadata fields covered in an earlier review. Run `command + K` then set hide field conditions to choose when a field collapses to the top of a node: always, when empty, and more. Hide when empty, for instance, keeps a field tucked away until it has a value, cutting visual clutter without removing the field.
## Get content out of Tana [[7:07](https://youtu.be/_0xlf3mtmPo?t=427)]
`command + K` then copy as offers markdown, Tana Paste, and markdown without fields and tags, but these can miss content buried in deeply nested layers or search nodes. For everything nested under a node, use `command + K` then copy full content to clipboard. It's the one to reach for when copying a long meeting transcript, where the lighter methods report the content is too big. With a lot of content, expect Tana to lag briefly while it copies.
---
#### Tana Outliner Slack Review: Week 19 2026
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/slack-review-week-19-2026
Highlights from the community Slack: a new copy node ID command, filling fields in bulk with AI, chaining AI commands, the hidden formula fields, and what's coming up in the events calendar.
Every couple of weeks, Mark walks through the best questions, workarounds, and discoveries from the Tana community Slack. Week 19 covers a small but handy new command, two ways to use AI on fields in bulk, how to chain AI commands together, a hidden corner of Tana that power users have been digging into, and what's coming up in the events calendar.
## Copy node ID command [[0:00](https://youtu.be/RG17xOTMIrM?t=0)]
There's a new quality-of-life command: **copy node ID**. Until now, "copy node link" gave you a full URL with the node ID on the tail end, which is more than you need when you're pointing the [MCP](/learn/features/local-api-mcp) at a specific place in your workspace. The new command copies just the ID, so it's easy to tell an AI agent exactly where to read or write in Tana. Credit to community members Ready, who first built this as a chain of commands, and Emmanuel, who suggested turning it into a built-in.
## Auto-fill fields in bulk [[1:11](https://youtu.be/RG17xOTMIrM?t=71)]
A question from Josie: you have a long list of tagged people and want to backfill fields like first name and last name without editing each one by hand. Two approaches:
- **Autofill command.** Run `command + K` then autofill to fill a node's empty fields. To stop it touching fields you want to leave alone (like email or company), convert it to a custom autofill command that excludes those fields.
- **AI field with a custom prompt.** Set a field's value with `AI enhance field` and a prompt like "return the first name only from this name." Drop the nodes into a table view and run that field, and it fills in the whole column at once.
One caution: when you run an AI field across a table, check how many rows the search returns first. Running a lengthy prompt on a high-reasoning model across a few thousand nodes burns through AI credits faster than people expect.
## Chaining AI commands [[5:30](https://youtu.be/RG17xOTMIrM?t=330)]
From Martin: when you build a custom AI command, Tana won't let you place the same command (like `ask AI`) back-to-back. The workaround is to **nest** commands instead. Convert the second step into its own command and run it from inside the first, so you can stack as many AI steps as you want.
To pass the result of one step into the next, write the first command's output to a field (a temporary field works well, for example an "agent notes" field), then have the second command read from that field. That gives you a single command that builds on its own output.
## Hidden formula fields [[7:45](https://youtu.be/RG17xOTMIrM?t=465)]
Kate went Easter-egg hunting and surfaced **formula fields**, a long-standing prototype that's quietly available but not officially released, so expect rough edges. With `command + K` then `set formula` you can turn a field into a formula. The standout use, found by Alberto, is replicating a search node from inside a formula field: instead of a separate search node for "related tasks," you get a field that finds every task whose project is set to this node (self). Kate wrote up the fields, capabilities, and semantics in detail, so start there if you want to go down the rabbit hole. This one is for advanced users.
## What's coming up [[10:40](https://youtu.be/RG17xOTMIrM?t=640)]
The events calendar keeps running on an alternating cycle, with a strong focus on MCP:
- **Tana Systems Lab** every other week, going deep on recent real-world MCP use cases. A recent session covered thread and file management for Claude Code and Codex.
- **Tana MCP help sessions** in the alternate weeks. These are unrecorded, drop-in, and have no set agenda, just bring your questions.
You can find the latest sessions at [tana.inc/community](https://tana.inc/community). And if you find a clever workaround or a rabbit hole of your own, share it in the Slack.
---
#### Tana Outliner Slack Review: Week 23 2026
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/slack-review-week-23-2026
Mermaid diagrams now render inside Tana, part-of breadcrumbs are out, the new docs site is live, plus two reader questions on updating a parent field from a child and conditional commands that swap tags.
Every couple of weeks, Mark and Matt walk through the best updates and community questions from the Tana Slack. Week 23 covers a few features that just shipped, Mermaid diagrams, part-of breadcrumbs, and the new docs site, then two reader questions about driving field and tag changes with commands.
## Mermaid diagrams [[0:00](https://youtu.be/i-NoSOO4i8I?t=0)]
You can now render Mermaid diagrams directly in Tana. Ask [AI chat](/learn/features/ai-chat) for, say, a left-to-right flowchart and it returns a Mermaid diagram. It works on the code block feature: the code sits behind a render button, so you can edit it inline, or paste your own Mermaid code in and set the language to Mermaid to render it. Beyond flowcharts you get ERDs, pie charts, bar charts, and more, so you can turn numbers in your fields into a visual. There's a [workflow mapping systems lab](/learn/tutorials/tana-systems-lab-workflow-mapping) that goes deeper on this.
## Part-of breadcrumbs [[2:06](https://youtu.be/i-NoSOO4i8I?t=126)]
A [field](/learn/features/fields) can now carry the semantic function "part of", toggled in its advanced settings. With it enabled, a node shows the breadcrumb of that part-of field above it, on top of its normal location breadcrumb, so you get multi-dimensional parents. For example, a project that's part of a marketing area shows that marketing path as a breadcrumb, and these chains expand across multiple levels. It pairs with the downstream searches part-of already enables, like finding every task under an area.
## New docs site [[4:12](https://youtu.be/i-NoSOO4i8I?t=252)]
The docs you're reading are a brand new site. Two things to know. First, you can give feedback right on the page: hit the thumbs button, leave a note about anything unclear or missing, and that feedback gets collected, run through AI into edit proposals, and reviewed to update the docs quickly. Second, search is upgraded, type a word like "field" and you'll find every mention across the docs, not just the one feature page, so it's easier to see how features connect.
## Updating a parent field from a child field [[6:14](https://youtu.be/i-NoSOO4i8I?t=374)]
Maggie asked how to update a parent's field when a child's field changes, for example marking a topic as "final copy" once its draft is. There's a way to run a command automatically on field change, but it's fiddly and fires on every keystroke, so a [command node](/learn/features/command-nodes) you trigger is more reliable.
Build a command whose node context targets the parent (or grandparent) and whose action is set field value, setting the same field to the same value. The original node has to live as a child of the topic for this to work. Then put a command on the draft tag that only appears when the draft's status is "in progress", and have it both update the parent's value and set its own status, which also clears the button once it's done.
## Conditional commands [[11:23](https://youtu.be/i-NoSOO4i8I?t=683)]
Jim's question was similar but about changing the tag itself. Say a "claim" should become a "supported claim" once an evidence field is filled. Using the same node-filter idea, make a command that only shows when the evidence field is set, then have it add the supported-claim tag and remove the claim tag. You can wire the reverse too, so removing the evidence flips it back. Depending on your schema there are other routes, inheriting tags, or building the name from a type field, but this command approach works well for scanning and searching by state.
## What's coming up [[14:33](https://youtu.be/i-NoSOO4i8I?t=873)]
The events calendar keeps its usual every-other-week rhythm: drop-in sessions for the new Tana, the MCP help sessions for Outliner, and Systems Lab events digging into real MCP use cases. Find the latest at [tana.inc/community](https://tana.inc/community), and share your own workarounds in the Slack.
---
#### Tana Outliner Slack Review: Week 28 2026
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/slack-review-week-28-2026
Three community command questions: hoisting field children into a node, set field and duplicate with command line commands, and node filters, plus how search nodes refresh across supertag instances.
Every couple of weeks, Mark walks through the best tips and community questions from the Tana Outliner Slack. Week 28 is all about commands: three reader questions on hoisting field children, compounding set field with duplicate, and node filters, then a look at how search nodes stay in sync across every instance of a supertag.
## Hoist field children into a node [[0:22](https://youtu.be/93UHcfgpg30?t=22)]
Dondry asked for a command that hoists children out of a specific field and turns them into normal nodes. The answer is a straightforward [command node](/learn/features/command-nodes) built on Insert [Tana Paste](/learn/features/tana-paste): the prompt is a reference to the field you're moving from, and the output strategy is set to child. Run it and the field's children reappear as a plain child of the node. You can compound it further by also running set field value on a field instance with no value, which clears the original field as it moves the content out, so nothing is left behind.
## Set field and duplicate, plus command line commands [[3:08](https://youtu.be/93UHcfgpg30?t=188)]
Tobias asked about another compound command. Here you set a field value, using a field instance (the `>` symbol) rather than a field reference, then duplicate the node. The useful trick underneath is command line commands: the built-in actions you see under command K that aren't separately configurable. You can still call them inside a custom command with "run command line command", so typing `duplicate` into a command chain runs the built-in duplicate. That lets you stack set field value and duplicate into one action that sets the field and produces a copy carrying the same value.
## Node filters work like search nodes [[5:53](https://youtu.be/93UHcfgpg30?t=353)]
Jim's question was really about node filters, and the key insight is that a node filter works just like a search. It controls what a command is allowed to run on. With no filter, a command runs on any node; add a filter and it only appears where the conditions match. Because the syntax is identical to a query, you can draft the conditions in a search node, using the and, or, and not buttons, then drag that query into the node filter rather than copying it, which keeps it clean. On non-matching nodes the command drops out of command K, and if you place it in a supertag's commands menu it shows up as a button only when the node still satisfies the filter.
## Refreshing search nodes across supertag instances [[10:53](https://youtu.be/93UHcfgpg30?t=653)]
This is an old classic that trips people up: how does Tana propagate a change to a [search node](/learn/features/search-nodes) that lives on a supertag template? Edit the search on a single instance and only that instance updates. To push it everywhere, run "update search node on tag and refresh all instances", which sends your change back to the template and applies it to every instance. If you're already editing the template on the tag itself, you skip the update step and run "refresh search nodes on all instances" instead. It's a bit fiddly to work out the first time, but it covers both directions cleanly.
## What's coming up [[15:04](https://youtu.be/93UHcfgpg30?t=904)]
The Outliner MCP help sessions keep running on their regular cadence, and they're worth dropping into: hooking Tana Outliner up to Claude Code or Codex through [MCP](/learn/features/local-api-mcp) automates a lot of the command work covered here. The Systems Lab series builds on itself, including a recent session on loop engineering, so start with the guide section on the Outliner site if you're new to it. The big one on the horizon is remote MCP, which moves beyond the current local-only setup and lets the new Tana talk to Tana Outliner. Watch Slack and Luma for dates.
---
#### Tana Outliner Slack Review: Week 6 2026
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/slack-review-week-6-2026
Highlights from the community Slack: syncing related content to the calendar day, filtering for PDFs, inheriting an ancestor field on demand, and filtering out past items by date.
Every couple of weeks, Mark walks through the best questions, workarounds, and discoveries from the Tana community Slack. Week 6 is search-heavy: keeping a related-content search in step with the calendar day, a workaround for finding PDFs, a command to inherit an ancestor field on demand, and date searches that hide everything in the past.
## Sync related content to the calendar day [[0:00](https://youtu.be/Cv-0KUyTEEo?t=0)]
Frederick's [related content](/learn/features/related-content) search kept showing the same day's tasks no matter which calendar day he opened. The cause is a saved default view that pins the search to one date. Open the search node's configuration, run `command + K` then debug, and under the views for the node's default you'll find a stored current view date stuck on today. Remove it, then run `command + K` then refresh search node on all instances. Each day's search now follows its own date.
## Filter for PDFs [[3:15](https://youtu.be/Cv-0KUyTEEo?t=195)]
Kavia wanted a "has PDF" search, which Tana doesn't have directly. Two ways around it:
- **By elimination.** Search `has media` and then exclude `has audio`, `has video`, and `has image`. Whatever is left is a PDF.
- **By mime type.** Debug a PDF node and scroll to the hidden mime type system field. Copy that field and its value into a new field (you can't type it by hand), then use it in a search node to match PDFs directly.
## Inherit an ancestor field on demand [[5:30](https://youtu.be/Cv-0KUyTEEo?t=330)]
Troy had nodes that should inherit a field from an ancestor, but only auto-initialize when created in place, not when dragged in later. The fix is a [Tana Paste](/learn/features/tana-paste) command that fills the field on command. Using the system node owner syntax to grab both the ancestor's name and its node ID, the command writes a reference into the target field, so dragging a node under a new parent and running the command backfills the inherited value without typing it out.
## Filter out past items [[10:40](https://youtu.be/Cv-0KUyTEEo?t=640)]
Robin wanted a list that hides anything dated before today. Tana's date search supports greater-than and less-than comparisons: set the date field to `GT` (greater than) a reference like `parent`, and you only see today and the future. Use `parent` minus one to include today as well. The same `GT` and `LT` operators let you bound a list to any window in time.
---
#### Tana Outliner Slack Review: Week 8 2026
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/slack-review-week-8-2026
Highlights from the community Slack: pointing an MCP agent at a node, truly hidden metadata fields, fixing duplicate fields by merging, an extended child-of filter, renaming transcript speakers, and auto-assigning a task to its creator.
Every couple of weeks, Mark walks through the best questions, workarounds, and discoveries from the Tana community Slack. Week 8 leans into MCP and fields: telling an agent where a node lives, hiding fields without losing them, untangling duplicate fields, a deeper subtree filter, fixing transcript speaker names, and automatically stamping who created a task.
## Point an MCP agent at a node [[0:01](https://youtu.be/roO5OaV4TxI?t=1)]
Harris asked how to tell a coding agent where a node is. The simplest answer: copy node link (from `command + K` or the right-click menu) and paste it into the agent. With the [local API MCP](/learn/features/local-api-mcp) connected, the agent reads exactly that node. It recognizes attached files by type, though it can't yet view or OCR images.
## Truly hidden metadata fields [[1:44](https://youtu.be/roO5OaV4TxI?t=104)]
Alberto found the field-is-metadata option on the set field values command. It pushes a field into the debug menu, completely out of sight, while you can still filter by it in search. It's a more thorough alternative to the usual hidden fields (collapsed at the top of a node) for power users who want zero visual clutter. The trade-off: if a search misbehaves, the field isn't visible on the node, so the cause isn't obvious.
## Stop duplicating the same field [[5:46](https://youtu.be/roO5OaV4TxI?t=346)]
A recurring confusion (raised by Martin and Sabina): creating a field with the same name again makes a brand-new field rather than reusing the existing one, which breaks searches and inheritance. To reuse a field, pick it from the existing options on the [supertag](/learn/features/supertags) rather than retyping it. To check whether two fields are actually the same, paste references to both into one node: if Tana refuses the second as a duplicate they're the same; if it accepts both they're different. Highlight the two and run `command + K` then merge node to combine them, and inheritance starts working.
## An extended child-of filter [[9:06](https://youtu.be/roO5OaV4TxI?t=546)]
Michael wanted to exclude a node's whole subtree to any depth, which the child-of field doesn't really do. Use `parents descendants with refs` instead, negated, to filter out everything in the tree under a given node. There's a nuance: a search node counts its own results as descendants on the next run, so add `parents descendants with non-search refs` (an older, lightly documented operator) to ignore the search node's own values when filtering.
## Rename transcript speakers [[13:11](https://youtu.be/roO5OaV4TxI?t=791)]
Also from Michael: you can't edit speaker names directly in a [transcript](/learn/features/live-voice-transcription). Open the transcript node, run `command + K` then debug, and scroll to the bottom to find the speaker names. Rename them there and the corrected names flow into the summary, and into meeting notes if you reference them.
## Auto-assign a task to its creator [[14:48](https://youtu.be/roO5OaV4TxI?t=888)]
Harald wanted tasks assigned to whoever created them, wherever they're made (something the Tana team uses internally). Tana tracks creation in a hidden edited-by system value, but you can't search those user values directly. The trick is an AI field that reads edited-by and returns the matching person from a team [search node](/learn/features/search-nodes). Add a run AI fields command to the tag's on-added automation and the creator fills in automatically the moment a task is tagged.
---
#### Tana Outliner Systems Lab: Advanced Workflows for Remote MCP
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-systems-lab-advanced-workflows
Use Tana Outliner as the context layer for new Tana meetings, skills, and agents, then bring approved outcomes back to your graph.
This Tana Outliner Systems Lab shows how Remote MCP connects your Outliner graph to the new Tana. Outliner supplies the structured context; new Tana supplies the meetings, [skills](https://tana.inc/learn/features/skills), and [agents](https://tana.inc/learn/features/agents) that use it. Approved meeting outcomes can then return to Outliner as proposed updates or new records.
For the one-time connection steps, start with [Connect Tana to Tana Outliner](https://tana.inc/learn/guides/connect-tana-outliner). This session focuses on what to build once the connection works.
## Intro [[0:00](https://youtu.be/5tzYxMVHGuU?t=0)]
The session builds on the first Systems Lab and moves from connecting the two products to using them as one working system. Tana Outliner remains the structured history and destination for resulting work. The new Tana is where its linked meetings and agents run.
## Remote MCP Recap [[2:30](https://youtu.be/5tzYxMVHGuU?t=150)]
Remote MCP gives the new Tana permissioned tools for searching, reading, and writing in your Outliner graph. Because the server is hosted, the new Tana can reach it without the Outliner desktop app running. The connection appears there as a linked skill whose individual tools you can allow or deny.
## Demo Scenario Overview [[8:35](https://youtu.be/5tzYxMVHGuU?t=515)]
The demo follows one new-Tana meeting across its full lifecycle: prepare from existing Outliner context, retrieve more context while the conversation is happening, and propose updates after the call. The point is not a one-off prompt. Each working prompt becomes a new-Tana skill that can be run consistently or handed to an agent.
## Skill: Meeting Prep From Outliner [[10:40](https://youtu.be/5tzYxMVHGuU?t=640)]
The first new-Tana skill gathers relevant context from Outliner and turns it into meeting prep. It can search beyond a single page, follow the references around the subject, and assemble the open threads into a brief you can use in the meeting. Saving the workflow as a skill gives every run the same instructions and output shape.
This follows the same progression as [Walk into every meeting prepared](https://tana.inc/learn/guides/prepare-for-meetings): get one result right in new-Tana chat, save the method as a skill, then automate it with an agent.
## Agent: Daily Meeting Prep From Outliner [[18:30](https://youtu.be/5tzYxMVHGuU?t=1110)]
The meeting-prep skill becomes an agent that runs across the day's calendar. Instead of naming and preparing meetings one at a time, the agent applies the same process to each relevant meeting and leaves the preparation ready for review. Add a schedule to make that preparation happen automatically at the start of the day.
## Skill: Grab Relevant Outliner Context During Meeting [[27:30](https://youtu.be/5tzYxMVHGuU?t=1650)]
Remote MCP also works inside the new Tana meeting's [Private Meeting Agent](https://tana.inc/learn/features/meetings#chat-in-the-call). A retrieval skill can search Outliner when the discussion surfaces an older decision, project, or note, then bring the relevant context into the current meeting without switching tools. Naming Tana Outliner in the request, or invoking its skill with `/`, makes the intended source explicit.
## Skill: Create and Update to Outliner After Meeting [[34:25](https://youtu.be/5tzYxMVHGuU?t=2065)]
After the meeting, another skill reads the outcomes and proposes what should change in Outliner. Existing records can be updated and genuinely new records can be created in the hierarchy and structure you specify. Name the destination, tag, and fields in the skill so the AI does not have to guess where the work belongs.
Keep this as a proposal-first workflow. Review the suggested changes before applying them, especially when several Outliner records may match the meeting context.
## Agent: End of Day Meeting Review [[40:30](https://youtu.be/5tzYxMVHGuU?t=2430)]
The final agent applies the post-meeting skill across the day's meetings. Its job is to find the outcomes that should update Outliner, prepare the changes, and bring them together for review. Scheduled alongside the morning prep agent, it closes the loop: Outliner context enters each meeting, and approved meeting outcomes return to Outliner at the end of the day.
## Discussion [[41:50](https://youtu.be/5tzYxMVHGuU?t=2510)]
The session closes with discussion of the workflows and how to adapt them. The durable pattern is the same throughout: connect a source with MCP, make one grounded workflow reliable as a skill, and give that skill to an agent only after its inputs, destination, and review step are clear.
---
#### Tana Outliner Systems Lab: Agent delegation
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-systems-lab-agent-delegation
Thus far this season, we've looked at using MCP to help design your Tana Outliner system, and to drive it (capture into it). In this next session, we're moving one step further downstream: how to automatically sort incoming content into the right context and hand it to the right agent to do something useful with it.
We'll focus on two skills:
- **Route:** capture anything to a single inbox and categorize it into the right place.
- **React:** have an agent or subagent take action on that content given its specific context.
---
#### Tana Outliner Systems Lab: Daily review
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-systems-lab-daily-review
AI workflows get better with better context, not just more data but structured, relevant context about what you're doing, what matters, and what has happened across your day.
AI workflows get better when they have better context. Not just more data, but more structured, relevant context about what you're doing, what matters, and what has actually been happening across your day.
In this session we look at how a daily review in Tana Outliner gives your agent that structured context, so it can help you reflect on the day and set up what comes next.
---
#### Tana Outliner Systems Lab: Exploring CRMs
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-systems-lab-exploring-crms
There's no one-size-fits-all CRM. Some people track clients and deals, some track friends and follow-ups, and some just need a simple way to remember who they met, where, and what matters.
In this first systems lab session, we'll walk through a few real CRM styles built in Tana Outliner, from lightweight to powerful, and tease out the patterns that make them work.
---
#### Tana Outliner Systems Lab: Loop engineering
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-systems-lab-loop-engineering
Combine the routing and agent delegation skills from earlier sessions into connected loops that run with greater autonomy, while Tana Outliner keeps the work visible, correctable, and grounded in the right context.
Every new skill and component we add to our Tana Outliner systems raises the same question: are we improving our overall efficiency and effectiveness, or just giving ourselves more workflows to manage? Inspired by a recent viral post from OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger, Mark walks through loop engineering: taking skills from previous Systems Labs and combining them into connected loops that can run with greater autonomy while keeping a record of every action in Tana Outliner along the way.
The idea is to move yourself back a layer. Agents get more room to operate, while Tana Outliner keeps the work visible, correctable, and grounded in the right context. The key distinction is that a real loop is stateful: each pass reads and updates a context database, so the next run behaves differently based on what changed. In these examples, that context database is Tana.
We'll focus on:
- Combining the routing and agent delegation skills into a single connected loop
- Deciding loop intervals and defining boundaries for what agents can do without approval, plus stopping conditions so a loop can't run away
- Saving receipts, decisions, and proposals in Tana Outliner so you can review the work asynchronously and just approve it
---
#### Tana Outliner Systems Lab: Multiplayer mode
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-systems-lab-multiplayer-mode
Discover how to build systems for managing people, projects, and priorities in Tana Outliner.
In this systems lab session, we explore multiplayer workflows in Tana Outliner, how to coordinate without losing context or letting follow-ups slip. You'll see how to structure a shared workspace with the right tags, fields, and nodes, organize work using a clear hierarchy from areas to projects to tasks, and see the new Tana Outliner MCP in action to help.
Whether you're leading a team, managing cross-functional projects, or trying to keep everything visible and moving on your own, this session gives you practical systems for increasing clarity, alignment, and trust.
---
#### Tana Outliner Systems Lab: Portable knowledge core
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-systems-lab-portable-knowledge-core
Keep structured knowledge in Tana Outliner and reusable instructions in GitHub, so AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT can work with your system wherever you are.
Remote MCP made your Tana Outliner graph reachable from anywhere. The instruction files that teach an agent how to use it can travel the same way. Building on our [Remote MCP](/learn/tutorials/tana-systems-lab-remote-mcp) sessions, in this Systems Lab we explore a portable knowledge core: structured knowledge in Tana Outliner, reusable instructions in GitHub, so AI tools like Claude and ChatGPT can work with your system wherever you are, including from a phone at the gym.
Mark walks through his workout and nutrition examples, connects Claude to both Outliner and GitHub, and explains how skills add workflow knowledge to MCP's tools. MCP gives an agent the tools to act in Outliner. It does not tell the agent what your system means, which is the job of the instruction files. The example repo from the session is public: [portable-knowledge-core](https://github.com/markjmidlick/portable-knowledge-core).
We then use guided discovery to build a first version of a reading system in Outliner, with captures, reading ideas, and quizzes. Along the way we discuss content capture, defining useful outcomes, and turning collected information into knowledge you can put into practice.
We'll look at:
- Keeping instructions in GitHub so the same workflow follows you between AI tools
- The difference between MCP's tools and the skills that tell an agent how to combine them
- Using guided discovery to design a system, and what makes an outcome worth building toward
## What is a portable knowledge core? [[3:21](https://youtu.be/nkiFVwk8cR8?t=201)]
Remote MCP made the graph portable. The instruction files can be too. Put them in a GitHub repo, connect GitHub to your AI client, and the same understanding of your system travels with you. The demo repo holds two working skills: `create-tana-system` for starting from nothing, and `discover-tana-system` for reading the supertags and fields you already have and writing them up as a skill file.
## Workout and nutrition examples [[5:05](https://youtu.be/nkiFVwk8cR8?t=305)]
A training plan lives in Outliner with the exercises and the previous session's reps and sets. Asking ChatGPT for the next workout pulls both, voice mode reads the session out at the gym, and "log all this to Tana" hands off to the logging skill, which is what makes the result land as structure rather than a paragraph. The nutrition example starts from nothing more than "I want to track what I eat" and proposes [supertags](/learn/features/supertags), [fields](/learn/features/fields), and a [search node](/learn/features/search-nodes) for food items. Because the data is in Outliner, the same chat can then chart calories per day.
## MCP tools vs. skills [[13:03](https://youtu.be/nkiFVwk8cR8?t=783)]
MCP is fundamentally a list of tools: list workspaces, get a supertag's schema, read a node, set a field value. Every manual action in Outliner has a matching tool. What the tool list does not carry is which combination to use, or why. It knows how to create a field called calories; it does not know what your system means by one. That is the job of the `AGENTS.md` or `CLAUDE.md` a client reads at the start of a session, and of the skills beside it.
## Guided discovery: designing a Tana system [[18:16](https://youtu.be/nkiFVwk8cR8?t=1096)]
The guided discovery skill is a written version of a coaching conversation: what matters to you, what you are logging, how you want to see it. MCP has made building the system cheap and largely automatic, which leaves knowing what you are trying to achieve as the real work.
## Building a structured reading system [[23:48](https://youtu.be/nkiFVwk8cR8?t=1428)]
The live build starts from the read-it-later reflex that fills a backlog nobody returns to. The requirements come out clearly: no summaries, because they are a lossy version of an article whose value often sits in one sentence; the full text in Outliner, so the record survives the link. Success is not a bigger collection but returning to the big ideas and being tested on them, with you as the filter for what counts as important.
## Making the workflow reusable across AI tools [[54:15](https://youtu.be/nkiFVwk8cR8?t=3255)]
The first pass produces a reading capture tag with fields for the source URL and raw text, plus a quiz tag with a hide condition on the answer so a question can be asked before the answer shows. Writing that structure into a system file and skills in the repo, so any client with access can run it, is the next step and is described rather than built: the session ran out of time before doing it.
---
#### Tana Outliner Systems Lab: Remote MCP
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-systems-lab-remote-mcp
Tana Outliner Remote MCP connects Tana Outliner with the new Tana. See what Remote MCP is, how to authorize it, and how the two tools work together.
Tana Outliner and the new Tana can finally talk to each other. In this systems lab, Mark walks through the release of Tana Outliner Remote MCP: what it is, how to connect it, and the workflows it opens up between the two tools. Remote MCP is the hosted version of the [Outliner MCP server](/learn/features/local-api-mcp), so a client can reach your graph over the internet with the desktop app closed.
## What Remote MCP is [[0:45](https://youtu.be/FfElLFM7GHc?t=45)]
MCP lets an AI tool read and act on the software you use. Tana Outliner has had a local MCP since the start of the year: the desktop app and your AI client both run on the same machine and talk over localhost. Remote MCP moves that connection to the cloud, so your client reaches Outliner over the internet with the app closed, and the new Tana can finally query your Outliner graph.
## Set it up in the new Tana [[5:00](https://youtu.be/FfElLFM7GHc?t=300)]
Setup is far simpler than the local server: no tokens, no localhost, nothing to keep running. In the new Tana, open Settings, go to Custom MCP servers, and click Add server. Paste the hosted URL, give it a name like "Tana Outliner", and add it. Tana Outliner asks you to allow the connection; click Allow and you are connected within moments.
## Which plan you need [[6:45](https://youtu.be/FfElLFM7GHc?t=405)]
Remote MCP requires a paid Tana Outliner plan. The [local MCP server](/learn/features/local-api-mcp) stays free for everyone. A paid plan also includes access to the new Tana, so it can stand in as a Claude Code or Codex alternative when you would rather not run a client locally.
## Query your Outliner from a chat [[9:00](https://youtu.be/FfElLFM7GHc?t=540)]
Start a chat in the new Tana, type slash to pick Tana Outliner, and ask about your graph. Ask what tools are available and it lists what it can do: list workspaces, [search nodes](/learn/features/search-nodes) with the same query structure you use in Outliner, read nodes and walk their children and parents, and read or edit [supertags](/learn/features/supertags). Natural language sometimes needs a nudge, say "nodes tagged with OKR" rather than "OKR instances", which is exactly what a skill file is for later.
## Turn Outliner context into documents [[15:00](https://youtu.be/FfElLFM7GHc?t=900)]
Ask the AI to pull context around something in your graph and write it up as new documents in the new Tana. It follows references beyond the direct path, so it can gather surrounding context, a related meeting transcript, or notes on cost and profitability, and synthesize a useful brief rather than dropping a raw link. Handy for prepping a meeting from a backlog that lived only in Outliner.
## Query Outliner live in a meeting [[23:35](https://youtu.be/FfElLFM7GHc?t=1415)]
The new Tana is built around meetings. Start one and it records a transcript you can pause at any time. In the meeting's private chat you can ask it to read the transcript and look up what your Outliner graph says about what is being discussed, so material you wrote months ago is one request away mid call.
## Keep your Outliner node IDs [[30:00](https://youtu.be/FfElLFM7GHc?t=1800)]
When you bring content across, ask the AI to include the Outliner node IDs. With a node ID you can always get back to the source: paste it into search in the new Tana to find whatever carries it, and the AI can use the same ID to read or update that node in Outliner. It keeps the structured references from your Outliner graph intact instead of flattening them into plain text. Worth saving as a habit in a skill.
## Send content back to Outliner [[32:50](https://youtu.be/FfElLFM7GHc?t=1970)]
The connection runs both ways. Ask the new Tana to summarize its documents and send the result back under a specific node in Outliner, and it creates the content there. Tagged nodes, fields, and todos all work the same way from a Tana chat, including onto today's day node.
## Save it as a reusable skill [[39:00](https://youtu.be/FfElLFM7GHc?t=2340)]
Once a workflow works, tell Tana to turn it into a skill. It reads what you just did and writes a repeatable version, often preserving good practices like carrying node IDs across on its own. Run the skill by name from the slash menu. You can hook up other tools the same way, from GitHub and Jira to Linear or another note app's MCP.
## Run agents without your machine on [[45:15](https://youtu.be/FfElLFM7GHc?t=2715)]
Because the server is hosted, a cloud agent can reach your Outliner around the clock with nothing running on your desktop. A small virtual server running Claude Code or Codex, reachable from Telegram, WhatsApp, or a voice call, can query your graph while you are away. It also points toward building your own lightweight mobile front end for a graph that has always been heavy to load on a phone.
---
#### Tana Outliner Systems Lab: Self-driving Tana Outliner
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-systems-lab-self-driving-tana
Learn how to build AGENTS.md and SKILLS.md files that teach your AI agent to work with your specific Tana Outliner setup reliably and repeatably.
In the last systems lab, we showed how MCP can be used to help design your Tana Outliner schema and ontology. In this next session, we'll tackle the main challenge that comes next: teaching your agent to work with your specific Tana Outliner setup reliably and repeatably.
We'll cover building an AGENTS.md that reflects your unique tag and field conventions, personal lingo, and operating rules, creating SKILLS.md files that let your agent query, capture, and update your system correctly, and iterating on this process so the behavior gets tighter over time.
---
#### Tana Outliner Systems Lab: Thread and file management
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-systems-lab-thread-and-file-management
As agent workflows get more useful, the bottleneck shifts from capability to management: organizing and archiving agent threads, files, and desktop folders inside Tana Outliner.
As agent workflows get more useful, the bottleneck stops being raw capability and starts being management. Not just how your Tana Outliner system serves as input and output for the agent, but how the agent threads, files, and folders on your desktop can be organized and archived inside Tana Outliner.
In this session we look at methods for keeping that work organized: capturing agent threads and local files into Tana Outliner, and archiving them so your system stays clean as it grows.
---
#### Tana Outliner Systems Lab: Workflow mapping
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-systems-lab-workflow-mapping
Visualize your Tana Outliner agent workflows with Mermaid diagrams, HTML, and Object-Process Methodology (OPM) so you can explain, improve, and automate them.
So far this season we've looked at using MCP to help design your Tana Outliner system; capture, route, and review the information that flows through it; and manage the subsequent agent threads and local files. But as systems evolve and grow more complex, you need a way to keep a birds-eye understanding of what your workflows are actually doing.
In this session we demonstrate methods for visualizing your Tana Outliner agent workflows with Mermaid diagrams, HTML, and Object-Process Methodology (OPM, an ISO-standard minimum-viable ontology). The goal isn't a perfect diagram. It's understanding a system clearly enough that you and your agent can explain it, improve it, and automate it.
We'll look at:
- Why complex Tana Outliner workflows benefit from mapping
- The basics of modeling with OPM
- How these diagrams help you fill the gaps in your Tana Outliner system
---
#### Tana Tutorials: Advanced Tana and Outliner Workflows
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-outliner-advanced-workflows
A condensed Tana Outliner walkthrough: use your graph as context for new Tana meetings, skills, and agents, then return approved outcomes to Outliner.
A condensed Tana Outliner walkthrough of the advanced workflows you can build after connecting it to the new Tana. Outliner is the structured context layer; the new Tana provides the meetings, skills, and agents that use it. The session moves through the complete loop: read Outliner context, prepare a meeting, retrieve context during the call, then propose and apply updates afterward.
Use [Connect Tana to Tana Outliner](https://tana.inc/learn/guides/connect-tana-outliner) for the setup. Watch the longer [Systems Lab](/learn/tutorials/tana-systems-lab-advanced-workflows) for the full explanation and discussion.
## Intro and Remote MCP recap [[0:00](https://youtu.be/pG-5ZSmX5wc?t=0)]
Remote MCP connects the new Tana's AI to the search, read, and write tools in Tana Outliner. The connection is permissioned to your account and hosted, so the Outliner desktop app does not need to stay open while a new-Tana chat, skill, or agent uses it.
## Direct reading from and writing to Tana Outliner [[0:44](https://youtu.be/pG-5ZSmX5wc?t=44)]
The connection works in both directions. The new Tana can search the graph and follow its structure to bring context into a document or meeting. It can also create and update Outliner records when you give it an exact destination, tag, and fields. Each operation runs through the MCP tools exposed by the connected skill.
## Demo scenario and structured Outliner context [[1:32](https://youtu.be/pG-5ZSmX5wc?t=92)]
The demo uses structured Outliner context across the life of a meeting. Existing notes ground the preparation and live conversation. The meeting then produces proposed changes that can keep those records current. This turns the two products into a loop rather than a one-time import.
## Skill: Prepare a meeting with Outliner context [[2:26](https://youtu.be/pG-5ZSmX5wc?t=146)]
A meeting-prep [skill](https://tana.inc/learn/features/skills) in the new Tana searches Outliner for the relevant history and open threads, then writes a consistent brief. Once the prompt produces the preparation you want, save it as a skill so you can rerun the same process without rebuilding the instructions.
## Agent: Prepare all of today’s meetings [[5:10](https://youtu.be/pG-5ZSmX5wc?t=310)]
Give the preparation skill to a new-Tana [agent](https://tana.inc/learn/features/agents) to run it across today's meetings. A schedule can start the agent each morning, leaving the briefs ready before the first call. See [Walk into every meeting prepared](https://tana.inc/learn/guides/prepare-for-meetings) for the ask-to-skill-to-agent pattern in more detail.
## Skill: Retrieve Outliner context during a meeting [[8:26](https://youtu.be/pG-5ZSmX5wc?t=506)]
During the call, run a retrieval skill from the new Tana [Private Meeting Agent](https://tana.inc/learn/features/meetings#chat-in-the-call) when you need older context from Outliner. The skill searches the connected graph and brings the relevant material into the current meeting, so the conversation can continue with the history in view.
## Skill: Propose and apply updates after a meeting [[10:36](https://youtu.be/pG-5ZSmX5wc?t=636)]
The post-meeting skill compares the outcomes with the relevant Outliner records, then proposes updates to existing records or the creation of new ones. Keep the destination rules in the skill and review the proposal before applying it, so new information lands in the right hierarchy and structure.
## Agent: Configure end-of-day meeting reconciliation [[13:06](https://youtu.be/pG-5ZSmX5wc?t=786)]
The final step turns that post-meeting skill into a scheduled agent. It reviews the day's meetings, gathers the changes that should return to Outliner, and prepares them for review. Together with the morning preparation agent, it creates a daily cycle: start with Outliner context, work in Tana meetings, and end with approved outcomes reflected back in Outliner.
---
#### Tana Tutorials: Connect Tana to Outliner with Remote MCP
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/tana-outliner-remote-mcp
A condensed walkthrough of Tana Outliner Remote MCP: connect it in Tana, then use your Outliner graph from chat, documents, and meetings.
A brief summary of our Outliner Remote MCP Systems Lab: how to connect Tana to Tana Outliner, and how the two tools work together once the connection is live. Remote MCP is the hosted version of the [Outliner MCP server](/learn/features/local-api-mcp), so Tana reaches your graph over the internet with the desktop app closed.
Use [Connect Tana to Tana Outliner](https://tana.inc/learn/guides/connect-tana-outliner) for the written setup steps, and watch the longer [Systems Lab](/learn/tutorials/tana-systems-lab-remote-mcp) for the full walkthrough and discussion.
We'll cover:
- Connecting the hosted server in Tana, and checking which Outliner tools arrived
- Querying your graph from a Tana chat, and turning what it finds into documents
- Reaching Outliner during a meeting, and sending the outcome back into your graph
## How to connect Outliner Remote MCP in Tana [[0:31](https://youtu.be/JqhQAdaFbCc?t=31)]
A one-time setup with no token to manage and nothing to keep running. In Tana, open Settings, go to **Custom MCP servers**, and click **Add server**. Paste the Tana Outliner hosted URL, give it a display name you will recognize in chat, and authorize the connection. Connecting adds a linked skill for the server whose individual tools you can allow or deny.
## Using Outliner from a Tana chat [[1:35](https://youtu.be/JqhQAdaFbCc?t=95)]
A good first prompt is asking what Tana Outliner tools it has. It can list workspaces, [search nodes](/learn/features/search-nodes) with the same query structure you use in Outliner, read a node and walk its children and parents, and read or edit [supertags](/learn/features/supertags) and their [fields](/learn/features/fields). Each tool call shows in the chat as it runs.
## Generating Tana documents from Outliner nodes [[4:30](https://youtu.be/JqhQAdaFbCc?t=270)]
Ask the AI to gather the context around something in your graph and write it up as a document in Tana. It follows the references around the node you named rather than reading only that node, so what comes back is a synthesized brief rather than a list of links.
## Using Outliner during a Tana meeting [[6:25](https://youtu.be/JqhQAdaFbCc?t=385)]
The meeting's private chat can reach Outliner mid call. When the conversation touches a decision or project you wrote up months ago, ask for it and add a short summary to the meeting notes, without leaving the call.
## Sending content to Outliner from Tana [[9:40](https://youtu.be/JqhQAdaFbCc?t=580)]
The connection runs both ways. Ask Tana to send an outcome back under a specific node in Outliner and it creates the content there, including tagged nodes, field values, and todos on today's day node. Name the destination and the supertag, so what lands is a properly structured node rather than a loose bullet to file later.
---
#### Task management that evolves with you
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/task-management-that-evolves
In this video, we go from using the basic features of Tana Outliner, to advanced setups with live searches, multiple supertags and dashboards tailored to your needs.
---
#### The ultimate Tana Outliner starter guide
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/ultimate-tana-starter-guide
Tana Outliner is one of the most powerful knowledge management tools I have used. But sometimes all those powerful features can overshadow just how simple it can be to get started. And I guarantee that most people are overthinking it from the very start.
---
#### Thoughtful gift tracking
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/thoughtful-gift-tracking
Track gifts you're planning, wishlist items you want, and gifts you've received - all in one elegant system. Built-in AI helps you brainstorm thoughtful presents, visualize ideas, and create beautiful presentation touches that show you care.
## Never forget a gift idea again
The best gift ideas come up in casual conversation throughout the year. With quick capture using the `#Gift` tag, you can record ideas the moment they happen, via voice memo, mobile, or desktop. When birthdays or holidays arrive, you're already prepared with genuine, thoughtful options.
Build your wishlist the same way. When someone asks what you want, share specific items with links instead of saying "I don't know."
## Everything connects to the person
Because Tana Outliner connects everything, each gift links to the person it's for. Click on someone's name and instantly see all gifts you've given them, received from them, and are planning. Your notes about their interests automatically inform gift suggestions. Their past reactions guide future choices.
This relational context means better gift ideas. AI can pull from what you know about the person, and visualizations adapt to their aesthetic.
## Brainstorm with AI
Stuck for ideas? Talk to AI agent who asks perceptive questions about the recipient and searches the web for specific, purchasable gifts with links. Generate 3D gift renders to visualize ideas in context, or create elegant Scandinavian-inspired gift stickers that make any occasion feel special.
## A record of thoughtfulness
Looking back through gifts you've given and received is just... nice. See the telescope that made your nephew's eyes light up, the journal a colleague chose because they really listened. It's a warm archive of care and attention, a reminder of the moments that matter.
## How to use
- Apply the #Gift tag to a note in Tana Outliner to add gift ideas.
- Fill in the core fields: who it's from/to, the occasion, and when (press the button to send to your wishlist).
- Note ideas, links, reflections, or capture reactions and memories within each gift note.
- Mark the gift as done (✔️ check it off) once the gift has been given or received.
- Use the optional Budget field and Budget view for financial breakdowns with filters for occasion, recipient, giver.
- Click the #Gift supertag to see all your gifts organized - including a history of thoughtful gifts others have given you.
## This template contains
- #Gift supertag
- Santa AI agent
- 'Visualize gift' and 'Design gift tag/sticker' AI commands
---
#### Three levels of Tana commands
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/three-levels-of-tana-commands
Work up from Tana's built-in commands, to building your own custom commands, to multi-step custom AI workflows including image generation and AI agents.
Almost everything you do in Tana is a command. This walkthrough builds up through three levels: the commands already built into Tana, the custom commands you can build yourself, and full custom AI workflows. If you'd rather skip the building, the [Tana template store](/learn/features/tana-templates) packages a lot of this up to add in one click.
## Level one: built-in commands [[0:00](https://youtu.be/M2wLss7WRfc?t=0)]
Every action in Tana is a command, surfaced in two places. The right-click context menu shows actions for whatever you're on, viewing in different formats, filtering, sorting, opening in a new panel, publishing, copying a link. The [command line](/learn/features/command-line), opened with `command + K` (or `control + K`), reaches everything else: starting a meeting transcription, changing note formats, generating images (now upgraded), autofill, and the AI commands covered later. If there's one shortcut to learn, it's `command + K`.
## Level two: building your own commands [[9:33](https://youtu.be/M2wLss7WRfc?t=573)]
Type any text, then convert it to a [command node](/learn/features/command-nodes). Inside, you stack system commands and set their parameters (insert a parameter with the `>` sign), for example a prompt, a target node, or a model. You can't place two of the same system command back-to-back, so nest them as separate custom commands to chain steps. Once created, a command is available everywhere in the command line, can be bound to a custom keyboard shortcut (`shift + command + K`), and can live as a button in a supertag's compact or full menu, like a high-priority button that sets status, priority, and due date in one click.
## Level three: custom AI workflows [[21:29](https://youtu.be/M2wLss7WRfc?t=1289)]
The same building blocks unlock AI workflows. An audio-enabled tag with post-processing gives any node a microphone and autofills fields from what you say, the same mechanism behind the meeting notetaker. You can chain AI steps by feeding one command's output into the next through a field: for example, an ask-AI step writes an enhanced image prompt into a field, a generate-image step reads that field, and a final step removes it. At the far end are custom AI chats, an initial prompt, an agent with its own system prompt and source expressions, and command buttons in the chat. The [template store](/learn/features/tana-templates) ships working examples if you want to see how they're wired.
---
#### Turn lectures into lasting knowledge
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/turn-lectures-into-lasting-knowledge
You sit through hours of lectures every week, frantically typing notes while trying to keep up. By exam time, you're staring at scattered docs and forgotten screenshots, wondering how any of this connects. What if your notes could work as hard as you do?
## Why traditional note-taking fails students
Most students collect information without processing it. They screenshot every slide, transcribe every word, and save everything in folders they'll never revisit. When exam season arrives, they're drowning in disorganized material with no clear path to understanding.
The real problem isn't taking the notes, but being able to turn fleeting lecture moments into knowledge that sticks.
## A system that learns with you
Instead of collecting fragments, you can create a connected academic workspace where every lecture, assignment, and resource builds on what came before. Your coursework becomes a living knowledge base that reveals patterns, connections, and insights across subjects.
Here's how to transform your academic workflow from scattered to systematic:
### Start with your course structure
Every course becomes a hub that attracts related material automatically. Tag any node in Tana Outliner with `#Course` and add basic details: instructor, semester, credits. This creates the foundation where everything else connects.
Your courses are containers that lectures, assignments and resources can link to, and they are also the organizing principle that helps you see how different topics relate to each other and your broader academic goals.
### Capture lectures in real-time
In Tana Outliner, you create structure by applying supertags to any text. Write "Introduction to Psychology" and tag it `#Lecture`, and you've instantly created a lecture with all the fields and capabilities that come with it. Each supertag acts like a specialized app. For example a `#Lecture` supertag can include AI transcription, note-taking fields, and a search node to retrieve relevant resources.
During lectures, focus on understanding, not transcription. AI handles the lecture recording while you stay engaged with the actual discussion. Instead of frantically typing every word, you can ask questions, follow interesting tangents, and note what sparks your curiosity.
> Tana Outliner's AI meeting notetaker can be used for both in-person and digital meetings and lectures, by optionally capturing both your microphone and speaker audio.
As you take notes, use `@` to reference notes or topics from other lectures or to create new ones. This lets you trace how ideas develop over time and connect insights across different subjects.
Right-click any note and click `AI Chat` to start a chat about that content where you can dig deeper into concepts or clarify confusing points. Create specialized agents to help you out and develop your thinking. AI agents can be instructed to break down complex theories, generate practice questions, and connect today's material to things you've learned before. And much more!
> **Pro tip:** When professors mention potential exam topics, tag them as `#Exam question` right in your lecture notes. These automatically link to the course and/or lecture, creating an instant study guide. Use these as flashcards that you review and study throughout the semester.
### Track assignments that matter
Use a `#Assignment` tag and set the type, due date, and course. These can automatically appear in your task views, but more importantly, they connect to your lecture notes and resources so you can stay in control. This is achieved with search nodes that look through your whole graph to find the information you are looking for. And can be displayed as related content on the right so they are available where you need them.
Instead of scrambling to remember what's due when, you see how assignments build on lecture content and which resources you'll need. The system anticipates what you need to focus on next.
### Create a dynamic resource library
Tag any `#Resource`, whether an article, book, video, url, pdf, or anything else, and connected it to relevant courses. But here's the key: resources don't just sit in folders. Relevant curriculum surfaces when you need it.
Studying for an exam? Your system shows every resource connected to that course. Writing a paper? All relevant materials appear together, along with your notes about how they connect.
### Your academic dashboard
The Student hub dashboard brings everything together in one view. See today's lectures, upcoming assignments, and study sessions without switching between apps or hunting through folders.
The calendar view lets you drag tasks directly onto time slots, turning your to-do list into a realistic schedule. Click to add study sessions and watch your academic life organize itself around your actual availability.
## How this changes your study habits
**Before:** Lecture notes live in isolation. You review by rereading everything and hoping something sticks.
**After:** Every lecture connects to assignments, resources, and previous knowledge. Reviewing becomes following trails of connected ideas that reinforce each other.
**Before:** Exam prep means gathering scattered materials and trying to remember what's important.
**After:** Your exam questions are already connected to specific lectures and resources. Study guides generate themselves from the connections you've built all semester.
**Before:** Research papers require starting from scratch every time.
**After:** Your resource library surfaces relevant materials across courses. Ideas from different classes naturally combine into more sophisticated thinking.
## Making knowledge compound
The real transformation happens when information starts connecting itself. A concept from your psychology course illuminates something in product design. Resources from different semesters reveal patterns in your thinking.
You don't need to work harder, but you do need a system that amplifies your learning over time. Every note, every assignment, every resource becomes more valuable because it's connected to everything else.
Your academic workspace grows more useful as you use it. By graduation, you won't just have a degree, you'll have a structured knowledge base that follows you into your career. This is special.
## Getting started
Ready to stop losing your best ideas to forgotten docs?
Install the free Student hub templates below to jump right into it. The template includes pre-configured course tracking, assignment management, and the academic dashboard. Start capturing your next lecture and watch your academic workflow transform from scattered to systematic.
---
#### Unleash the power of GTD in Tana Outliner
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/gtd-in-tana
This article takes you through the principles of Getting Things Done by David Allen, and how to adapt this popular productivity framework in Tana Outliner.
## What is GTD?
Getting Things Done, commonly known as GTD, is a personal productivity methodology introduced in 2001 by David Allen. GTD allows its practitioners to capture all of their work and process it in such a way that they stay organized and in control. They don't get flustered or frustrated by work that is in disarray.
The goal of GTD is to achieve a state that David Allen calls "Mind Like Water," easily and comfortably deciding what work to pursue, informed by engagement with the GTD process.
### Forty-three folders
When David Allen wrote the book _Getting Things Done_, he taught clients to implement GTD with physical paper and folders. One component of the system, the Tickler File, requires forty-three folders to implement it physically -- one for each day of the month (31), and one for each month of the year (12). It's a useful approach, but it's _begging_ for a simpler, digitized way to execute it.
Digital tools certainly _existed_ in 2001, but GTD's specific structural requirements made digital implementations challenging. In the two decades since its introduction, followers of GTD have built the system using a wide variety of tools.
But as powerful as digital GTD setups can be, it often feels as though something is missing -- that there's a disconnect between the organization and the action.
### GTD is a framework for emerging work
What's missing from most digital systems relates to this: GTD is _not_ a top-down system.
What does "top-down" mean? A top-down system is prescribed. Top-down systems have a pre-built structure that dictates the way you work. Almost every digital task or project management tool is top-down to some extent, and they often collide with GTD principles.
Because GTD is a bottom-up system. Bottom-up systems can still have structure, but the structure emerges as you use the system. GTD is a framework that allows you to organize your work, but doesn't force it into pre-built pigeonholes.
Like most emergent systems, GTD relies on iteration: you see your work in different phases and through different lenses, and each step of the GTD process provides a perspective that makes your work easier to accomplish.
GTD is a frame that supports the bottom-up emergence of your work.
The steps of GTD allow you to see your work when you capture it, when you organize it, when you review it, and when you do it. That iteration helps you better understand what your work is and where it should fit in your day.
### GTD in Tana Outliner
There is now a digital tool that allows you to achieve what GTD promises: Tana Outliner. The app supplies the best of both bottom-up and top-down systems: a flexible, powerful workspace where your work can emerge and develop through iteration, plus the tools to define structure once it _does_ emerge. Those same structural tools allow _you_ to establish a GTD framework without inhibiting the flow of information through that framework. From capturing work all the way through to its completion, Tana Outliner allows you to experience David Allen's elusive Mind Like Water.
### What will this article cover?
This article will explore each of the steps of GTD in sequence and highlight which features of Tana Outliner can make that GTD process simpler.
- **Capture:** Capture is the process that involves gathering all tasks, ideas, and ongoing projects that occupy your mind and getting them into your system.
- **Clarify and Organize:** When you clarify, you analyze your captured items to determine what is actionable and what their immediate next steps are. Then the organize phase allows you to sort tasks into categories like projects, next actions, or work that you're waiting for someone else to complete. For simplicity, this article will group clarify and organize into the same step.
- **Reflect:** The reflect step involves regular reviews of your GTD system to update and revise your task lists.
- **Engage:** With everything organized and reviewed, you can simply execute the tasks
- **Beyond GTD:** Digital tools provide significantly more power than paper and folders. This article will also explore how Tana Outliner opens up new possibilities beyond standard GTD.
## The Steps of GTD
### Capture
We only have so much working memory -- mental RAM, as David Allen calls it. Capturing your ideas, tasks, and projects into your GTD system ensures that nothing gets lost and contributes to your mental clarity. Capturing is essential to a usable GTD system.
#### GTD System Components for Capture
GTD uses the concept of an Inbox to capture things that do not yet have a place in your system. Using the Inbox, you can capture now and then later determine where you want to store a task or idea.
#### How does Tana Outliner make Capture easy?
No matter what environment you're in or what hardware is at your disposal, Tana Outliner has effortless ways to capture your ideas, tasks, projects -- or anything _else_ you may need to capture!
## Tana Outliner Capture app
One of the biggest GTD challenges is this: How do you capture when you're not working at your computer? The answer is the iPhone and Android app Tana Outliner Capture.
Tana Outliner Capture gives you several different ways to capture information.
You can scan text from images or from the "real world" -- documents, signs, etc. -- and capture that as text directly in the app.
You can capture an image or video saved on your phone, or open the camera from within Tana Outliner Capture and snap a picture to capture right now.
You can use "Write" to type text, which includes indenting to organize the information. Write is especially useful, because you can also scan text, capture images, snap pictures, and capture voice memos from _within_ the Write area, which allows you to add additional context that may help you better understand what you've captured when you review it later in your Inbox.
The Voice Memo option opens up a world of possibilities. In other apps, recording voice audio has limited uses, because listening back to audio is time consuming. But in Tana Outliner, you don't _have_ to listen to it!
After you take a voice memo, the next time you open your Tana Outliner Inbox on your computer you will get the option to automatically transcribe it. That's the best of both worlds: it's faster to talk than it is to write, but it's also faster to read than it is to listen. With transcription, the app makes voice memos not only useful, but essential.
**Capture Voice**
Even if you _are_ sitting at your computer, you can take advantage of transcription using the Capture Voice command. Capture ideas or tasks by speaking them aloud and convert them to text with transcription.
Worth noting: the first prose draft of this very article was "written" by dictating paragraphs into Tana Outliner's Capture Voice command and transcribing them!
**Day node and Quick Add**
Another way to quickly capture information in Tana Outliner is by typing or dictating it into the day node.
Each day you work in the app, you get a new day node. This daily "blank slate" provides a natural default place to capture information that may not immediately belong elsewhere -- say, in a project or on a someday/maybe list.
There's also a pop-up called Quick Add that allows you to capture to your day node no matter where you are in your Tana Outliner workspace. Simply call up Quick Add, type or dictate whatever you need to capture, and then save it to your day node by closing Quick Add.
Between Tana Outliner Capture, Capture Voice, your day node, and Quick Add, you'll be hard-pressed to find a context in your life where you _can't_ capture information into the app!
### Clarify and Organize
#### What are Clarify and Organize?
This article combines the Clarify and Organize steps because it makes it easier to understand how they work together in Tana Outliner.
Clarify requires you to analyze your captured items to determine what's actionable and what their immediate next steps are. You might execute tasks right away, depending on how long they will take, or you might choose to organize your tasks into projects or onto other lists. Or you might decide not to do them at all!
Once you've determined what to do with your captured items, the Organize step is when you add them to projects, next actions, or waiting-for lists, or save the information as reference material. Organizing lets you establish order, and prevents tasks from overwhelming you or being overlooked.
Organizing also answers the big question: where does this go? One of Tana Outliner's major contributions to GTD is allowing this answer to be "wherever you want" -- provided you tag the information.
The Clarify and Organize steps aid in decision-making and set the stage for productivity by focusing you on execution rather than wondering what to do.
#### GTD System Components for Clarify and Organize
**Project list**
The GTD definition of a project is this: when two or more tasks are united in purpose, pulling in the same direction, they comprise a project.
Projects give you a place to organize those related tasks, and also serve as a hub for information that will help you complete those tasks.
**Someday/Maybe list**
The Someday/Maybe list in GTD is a list for things you want to do but don't have time to schedule right now. Someday/Maybe gives you a place to organize those items that don't require or demand immediate attention but that you don't want to slip off your radar.
**Waiting For list**
When you need someone _else_ to do something before you can move forward on a project, you are "waiting for" that to be done. The Waiting For list tracks this so you won't lose the thread of work simply because the ball isn't currently in your court. It also reminds you to follow up with other people.
**Tickler File**
The Tickler File is the 43 folders mentioned earlier. Using physical paper, you can jot notes and reminders, or you can store bills that need to be paid or other date-sensitive documents.
The Tickler File is particularly improved in a digital format: you don't need physical space for 43 folders, and it allows information to be resurfaced automatically rather than by checking and reordering folders.
**Reference material**
Reference material associated with projects needs to be collected and organized as well. Physical GTD relies on file cabinets and folders for reference material. Tools like Tana Outliner can link directly to digital files, URLs, or anything else that supports the projects you're working on.
#### How does Tana Outliner make Clarify and Organize easier?
The Clarify and Organize steps demonstrate how Tana Outliner really shines as a way to implement GTD. Here are a few examples.
**Combining notes and tasks in one environment**
Dedicated task apps like Todoist, Things, or Omnifocus handle tasks quite well, but they are limited when you need to link to notes and other information.
Tana Outliner gives you the freedom to implement your _own_ structures for surfacing projects, tasks, ideas, and more, which provides much more leverage than dedicated task apps.
Clarifying and Organizing isn't just for your tasks. It's for the notes and other reference material that _support_ your work. When notes and tasks live in separate tools, these steps become considerably more cumbersome than they need to be.
The app allows you to go from seed of idea to full project implementation in the same environment. Context switching costs are eliminated when you're not bouncing from one app to another as you move through the various stages of a project.
**Making sense of your ideas and your work**
GTD is a framework that supports emergent work. You don't need to have a project pre-built in advance -- you can create it as you clarify and organize the tasks that make up that project.
Tana Outliner supports this in a way that comparable apps like Roam Research or Notion cannot. Roam is good on the emergence side, but weak at establishing the structure projects require. Notion is the opposite: solid on structure, but emergence from seed of idea to project is far more difficult.
A deep dive into Tana Outliner's supertags, fields, and searches would be beyond the scope of this article, but those tools make it easy to build immediate and durable relationships between tasks, projects, reference materials, and any other information relevant to your work.
Supertags define types -- your tasks, your projects, or honestly _anything_. Fields allow you to schedule tasks, define next actions, assign contexts for work, track what you're waiting for, or handle any other information you need for your work. Searches surface the information you need when you need to see it, and include filters that allow you to narrow down to exactly what you're looking for.
**Creating lists for anything, effortlessly**
If a node in Tana Outliner is tagged as a project, you can view it together in a search with _all_ your projects. The same is true for tasks, items you're waiting-for, reminders tagged as "ticklers," reference notes, or anything else.
It's not necessary to store all of these "in one place" to keep track of them. When you use tags to organize your information, you can automatically access it in searches you create to surface that information.
This is a _major_ improvement in the maintenance requirements for a GTD-style system. You can stay organized with far less effort on your part, and feel comfortable knowing information will be where you need it when you need it.
Executing the Clarify and Organize steps in Tana Outliner allow you to make sense of new ideas and wrap your mind around projects, while still having the framework and structure in place to add tasks to projects and link work to the reference materials that support it.
### Reflect
#### What is Reflect?
If you're going to keep track of the work in your GTD system, you must reflect regularly upon it: you must perform reviews. This is where GTD often collapses, because people _don't_ perform those reviews.
GTD contains three types of reviews: daily Inbox processing, the Weekly Review consisting of the primary maintenance requirements for the system, and higher-level big-picture reviews for staying aligned with goals.
The Inbox processing and Weekly Review, in particular, are notorious bottlenecks for GTD users. Captured items pile up in the Inbox, un-clarified and unorganized. And GTDers often go _months_ without performing the so-called "Weekly" Review.
When this Reflect step fails, the GTD system fails. Reviews are required for your system to stay up-to-date and remain adaptable to the change that is inevitable in your life and work.
It's not that GTD practitioners don't _know_ this -- they do! But there's a piece missing, which fortunately Tana Outliner can provide. That piece is the simplicity of remembering the reviews and the ease of performing them.
#### How does Tana Outliner make Reflect easier?
There are no other tools that combine the fluidity of information entry with the ease of information review as effectively as Tana Outliner does.
**The first step to performing reviews regularly is as critical as it is mundane:** you must remember to do them. The app comes with a reminder function built in -- you can surface reminders on specified day nodes.
Beyond that, it's possible to combine Tana Outliner's supertags, fields, and commands into robust and reliable recurring tasks. With a recurring task poking you to complete your Weekly Review, you're that much more likely to do it.
**The next step to excellent reviews is surfacing the right information to review.** Tana Outliner's Live Search feature is infinitely flexible. You can build searches to deliver you any information you could possibly need.
If you're checking in on your projects' next actions, you can configure a search to provide you exactly that and _only_ that. Or to review your projects themselves, as part of a Weekly Review, you can build a search just for projects. You can configure it to display only what you need to see, and group or sort them in any way that's useful for you to make sense of the information.
Using Tana Outliner's tabs view, you can easily build dashboards that contain a series of searches or other information, with each tab leading you to a critical step of your review process.
A Weekly Review delivered by a series of pre-configured tabs in a dashboard is far more likely to be completed than one from a checklist that requires you to go fishing for the information you need for each step.
Plus, reviews of your big picture from (to use David Allen's terms) 10,000 feet, 20,000 feet, 30,000 feet, or higher, can be assembled into a dashboard of searches configured to surface goals at various time intervals or tied to specific areas of your work or life.
### Engage
#### What is Engage?
Once everything is captured, clarified, organized, and reviewed, you can simply execute the tasks. This is where David Allen promises Mind Like Water -- because you have engaged with your work in this iterative way, you understand it deeply. You can trust your instincts: simply look at the next actions in your projects and choose what to do now.
This step is where productivity becomes concrete, as you confidently tackle tasks based on their priority and your current contexts.
Just do the work. Engage.
#### How does Tana Outliner make Engage easier?
It is easier to take action when your tasks, notes, information, and more, are aligned with your way of thinking and working. Projects serve as not just containers for tasks related by purpose, but also as hubs of information. That's where Tana Outliner makes executing your work easier.
If you build a project exactly to your specifications, then there's no fumbling around for information when it's time to act. Everything is at your fingertips when the structure reflects your requirements. There's nothing that's going to stop you from getting that work done.
What that structure looks like depends on your needs and the needs of a given project. But Tana Outliner's features make it simple to incorporate _any_ structure that makes your work easier to execute.
### Beyond GTD
Tana Outliner takes us beyond the paper and folders David Allen envisioned in his pure GTD of 20+ years ago. The power of digital systems, and of the app in particular, will allow you to expand into areas that GTD doesn't address.
The most critical blind spot of GTD is the value of recurring work. The only recurring structures in pure GTD are the reviews: Inbox processing, Weekly Review, and big-picture reviews. But productivity leverage comes from capturing work you've done before and using it to avoid reinventing wheels in the future.
As mentioned above, you can build recurring tasks in Tana Outliner using supertags, fields, and commands. This isn't particularly amazing -- any task app can handle recurring tasks.
But task apps do _not_ allow you to capture processes into reliable procedures, or create project templates with set task lists that can be pre-scheduled based on a relative reference date.
None of that is part of pure GTD, but it's critical for efficient productivity. Nothing kills productivity more than starting from scratch with every piece of work you do. The extraordinary flexibility and power of Tana Outliner opens up these possibilities.
Any set of workflow relationships you can imagine -- dashboards that are unique to your work, subsystems that allow you to track pipelines of information -- _all_ of this can be built in the app.
Granted, you have to learn Tana Outliner to do that. It's _not_ immediately obvious how to build these more advanced workflows, but that's true with _any_ tool.
What's _not_ true of any tool is this: once you understand Tana Outliner's features and recognize a few fundamental patterns, the flexibility and power available to you is out of this world.
## What's your Next Action?
Tana Outliner is a tool built for emerging work. You can capture, clarify, organize, reflect on, and engage with information that is structured by the frameworks that you design. It is a perfect fit for GTD, because you can build a GTD framework in the app with relatively little difficulty once you understand the fundamentals. If you use GTD -- or if you've used GTD in the past but always felt something was missing -- dive into Tana Outliner and take it for a spin!
---
#### Use Tana Outliner for daily planning
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/daily-planning
Quick start guide to your first Tana Outliner win! Learn how to use voice tags on mobile to make daily plans, brainstorm and reflect on your work!
---
#### User interview to insight
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/user-interviews
This User Interview Template automatically transcribes conversations, identifies and tags important observations, and structures everything into clear, easy-to-use insights for you and your team.
## Instant analysis
Skip the hours spent transcribing, grouping, and labelling insights. With this template you'll instantly get a summary with suggested user observations that are grouped and super easy to find and use for later reference.
## Super Scannable Summaries
Get your interview notes summarized and grouped by key themes, so you can get the gist with a glance. You still have easy access to the full transcript and can AI chat with it when you need to dig a little deeper.
## A User Research Agent that does 80% of the work
This User Interview Template includes an AI agent that can help you prep for the interview, analyze the conversation based on your research goals, generate a user profile, or suggest next steps for your research.
---
#### Using Tana Outliner for meetings with Andre Foeken
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/meetings-with-andre-foeken
In this episode of Tana Outliner Tours, Ev chats with fellow Ambassador Andre Foeken. Andre is a CTO of a health tech company and spends a majority of his day in meetings with staff. He has developed a killer meeting workflow and shows it off here.
---
#### Voice chat to presentation
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/speech-to-presentation
You have presentation ideas. They're scattered, overlapping, not yet shaped. Talk them through with an AI presentation coach and get a narrative you can actually present.
## Presentations start scattered
You know what you want to say. Sort of. The ideas are there, but they're tangled. Most people either stare at a blank slide deck or jump straight into bullets that somehow don't land.
The problem isn't your thinking. It's that presentations are stories, and stories need to be found.
## Talk to a presentation coach
Start a voice chat and get it all out. Half-formed thoughts, competing angles, that one story you're not sure belongs. The AI coach listens, asks the right questions, and reflects back what it's hearing.
"Who's this for?" "What do you want them to walk away feeling?" "I'm noticing tension between X and Y. That might be your hook."
You don't need to know your structure yet. That emerges from the conversation.
## Built on what actually works
Great presentations don't just inform. They move audiences from "what is" to "what could be." The audience becomes the hero. Openings hook attention. Closings land the message.
These principles are built into how the AI coach thinks. You focus on your ideas. The craft takes care of itself.
## Get a story, not an outline
When you're ready, AI extracts your Big Idea and builds a narrative that flows. Each beat is a moment in the presentation. Rich enough to become a slide, with visual thinking and delivery notes woven in.
Not a table of contents. A story you can tell.
## How it works
1. Start a voice chat with the `#Presentation workshop` supertag on mobile. (Alternatively use voice to capture on desktop or write freely.)
1. Braindump your presentation ideas, the messier the better. AI acts as a presentation coach, helping you find the story hiding in the chaos.
1. When you're ready, AI fills in the Brief, Big Idea, and generates Narrative beats as children.
1. Come back anytime to add more thinking. Continue the conversation and iterate as your ideas evolve.
1. Click the `#Presentation workshop` supertag to see all your presentations in one place.
## This template contains
`**#Presentation workshop**` – Supertag with fields for Brief, Big Idea, and Narrative. Voice chat and autofill instructions for mobile voice capture.
The [Image generation - Slides](https://tana.inc/templates/image-generation-slides) template.
---
#### Voice to article
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/article
The Tana Outliner Article Template turns your thoughts into polished, publication-ready content faster than you can say "writer's block." Speak your ideas, and watch as they transform into well-structured articles complete with eye-catching banner images and flexible rewrite and publishing options.
## The no friction approach to sharing your thoughts
**Voice-to-Article Magic** - Transform rambling voice memos into coherent, well-structured content with zero typing. So now you can embrace screen-free productivity.
**One-Click** **Rewrite ** - Effortlessly adjust the style and format with multiple handy rewrite options, so you can remix and repurpose your thinking for any occasion.
**Professional publishing** - With author bylines, text-formatting, and password protected webpages your ideas are ready to go.
## Share like a Pro
Quickly share your ideas with the Tana Outliner Publish webpage. Add password protection for confidential content, update content and style at any time, and add an author byline for when you're sharing expertise that deserves recognition, both inside and outside your organization.
## How to use it
Apply the #Article tag to a note in Tana Outliner to get started.
Start drafting your article directly, or
Use the Tana Outliner mobile app to record a voice memo with the #Article tag.
Zoom in, use the Rewrite commands, and refine your article.
Click "Share" for a webpage with a banner image ready to publish.
View all your articles by clicking #Article.
## This template contains
#Article
Contains
- 1 supertag
- 1 search node
- 6 commands
---
#### Voice to memo
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/memo
The Tana Outliner memo template helps you capture and share internal updates or ideas using voice memos, making it easy to communicate clearly and consistently - whether you're at your desk or on the move.
## Capture clear updates without breaking your flow
**Capture as you speak** – Whether you're mid-commute or between meetings, quickly log internal updates, ideas, or follow-ups using your voice.
**Rewrite with purpose**. Easily transform your memo into different formats like emails, Slack posts, or proposals with one click. Choose from built-in rewrite options or create your own.
**Fast and focused**. Skip the formatting. Just speak, review, and share internally with structure that keeps things moving.
## Share like a Pro
Quickly share your memos with the Tana Outliner Publish webpage. Add password protection for confidential content, update content and style at any time, and add an author byline for when you're sharing expertise that deserves recognition, both inside and outside your organization.
## How to use it
Apply the #Memo tag to a note in Tana Outliner to get started.
Start drafting your memo directly, or
Use the Tana Outliner mobile app to record a voice memo with the #Memo tag.
Zoom in, refine your message, or use the Rewrite commands for different formats.
Click "Share" for a shareable webpage with optional password protection.
View all your memos by clicking #Memo.
## This template contains
#Memo
Contains:
- 1 supertag
- 1 search node
- 7 commands (Rewrite options)
---
#### Weekly reflections
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/weekly-reflection
3 minutes to improve the other 10,077 minutes in your week. The Tana Outliner Weekly Reflection Template removes the friction from continuous learning - letting you capture insights and lessons from your week with a guided voice memo. It provides useful prompts and will automatically transcribe and organize your reflections, so you can spot patterns, track progress, and stay focused on your long term goals.
## Reflect like a pro
**Friction-Free Insights** - Simply talk through guided prompts while we handle the transcription and organization, consistent, systematic reflection has never been this easy.
**Guided Structure** - Follow proven prompts designed to extract maximum learning from each week.
**"More of This/Less of That" Clarity** - Automatically categorize lessons into action categories—making next steps and areas of improvement obvious.
**Learning That Compounds** - Build a growing library of personal insights that becomes more valuable every week, and that's readily available where you do your day-to-day work.
## Life Lessons that Compound
With the Weekly Reflection Template you'll get all your insights and lessons in one easy to read dashboard—including a "Do more of this" view that collects high energy and high impact activities, as well as a "Stop doing this" section with energy drainers and time wasting activities.
## How to use this template
Use the Tana Outliner mobile app to record a voice memo with the #Weekly reflection tag.
Speak freely – reflect on your week, including highlights, challenges, and progress. You’ll see the fields while recording, so you can naturally respond to each prompt.
Tana Outliner will automatically fill in the relevant fields based on what you share.
Click #Weekly reflection to view all your past reflections in one place.
You can also fill out a reflection manually on desktop using the same fields.
## This template contains
**#Weekly reflection**
Record a voice memo from mobile or fill it in on desktop.
- Highlight of the week
- Time and energy wasters
- Highest value activities
- What did I learn?
- What progress did I make towards my long-term goal?
Template contains:
- 1 supertag (#weekly reflection)
- 5 fields
- 4 search nodes
---
#### Welcome to Tana Outliner! Learn the basics
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/tutorials/learn-the-basics
Spend 3 mins. learning the basics needed to get started with Tana Outliner - this will save you hours!
#### **In Tana Outliner, your notes can turn into useful things.**
Just think, type, and then add a Supertag. Watch how a simple note becomes a task, with fields like status and due date to track your work.
**Fields** give your notes structure.
They organize your notes and enable powerful workflows and systems.
Different Supertags transform your notes into different things; a #Task, #Meeting, #Person, #To discuss, you get the Idea.
**Your daily note** is the perfect place to start capturing these things.
A fresh space each day for writing and working. A place to gather thoughts, plan your day, and focus on what matters.
Learn more about how to take notes in Tana Outliner.
#### **Every Supertag has a homepage.**
The homepage has tabs that collect everything with that tag.
#Person shows you a table of your entire network.
#Meeting shows a calendar view with all your meetings.
And #Task gives you a card view grouped by status. Each of these views are live feeds.
This means that when you add a Supertag anywhere in Tana Outliner, the note will show here.
You can choose different view types, and easily add filters, sorting, and groups to display the information you need.
The custom feeds are not limited to Supertag homepages. You can actually create them anywhere in Tana Outliner.
For example, to show open tasks on your daily note. Or when you look at a company, you'll see a live feed of the people who work there. This is because the #Person Supertag has a field that connects them to the company they're in.
Similarly, a meeting shows all discussion items you've set to discuss for that meeting.
Fields connect your Supertags together, and the custom feeds use these connections to display relevant information.
[Learn more about Supertags, field and searches](https://tana.inc/articles/intro-to-supertags-search-nodes-and-views).
#### You can easily customize Supertags and create your own.
Just tag a note with what it is. Then add the fields you want.
Fields can be different types like dates, options, or links to other Supertags. And as you get more advanced, you can add custom feeds, commands, and AI automation to enhance your workflows.
We recommend you use the daily note to write and work.
Type # to add Supertags or create new ones.
For more guidance, **click the question mark** in the bottom of the sidebar to visit the Help Center.
And make sure to join our community for inspiration, support, and to discover how others are using Tana Outliner.
---
### Help
#### About Tana Outliner
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/help/knowledge-graph-concepts
What Tana Outliner is, how it compares to other tools, and whether it fits your workflow.
## What is Tana Outliner?
Tana Outliner is an AI-powered outliner editor that helps you capture, connect, and structure information in a networked knowledge graph.
## What is a Reference in Tana Outliner?
A reference in Tana Outliner is a mirror copy of a node. It's a node that lives in many places all at once. If you edit one of them, the change reflects in all copies, everywhere.
References are handy because they make digital objects work a bit more like reality. Example: Spinach doesn't only belong in your pantry, it also belongs as an ingredient in your quiche #recipe, an item at a local #vendor, or as a source of iron #nutrient.
What's really helpful here is that all references to Spinach refer to the same node, so the node Spinach becomes an index for all things spinach in your life, whether it be in recipes, found in shops, or a nutrient source. As you encounter spinach more in your life and connect it to more things in your graph, your knowledge about spinach will just keep on growing. Just like knowledge does in real life.
## What is the difference between supertags in Tana Outliner and hashtags used in social media?
Here's a comparison between hashtags and supertags:
- **Primary function.** Hashtags identify keywords and trends that are relevant to a piece of content. Supertags identify items and entries in one's data or knowledge-base.
- **Placement.** Hashtags can appear anywhere in the content. Supertags apply to the whole content (node), always appearing at the end.
- **Search.** Hashtags find all content tagged with that hashtag across the platform. Supertags work similarly.
- **Value.** Hashtags connect users to the broader conversation across the platform. Supertags connect users with their own content, improving knowledge management and retrieval.
- **Shorthand.** Hashtags: "This content is related to X." Supertags: "This content is an X."
Using supertags this way is a good starting point for getting to know them. Once you become more familiar, it's not a problem if you want to break the rules and use supertags like hashtags, as long as you know what the tradeoffs are and why you are doing this.
## Does Tana Outliner have backlinks?
Yes, Tana Outliner has backlinks. We call them References, and there is a Reference section at the bottom of every node that shows all backlinks to this node.
It is also possible to create a search node using the operator `LINKS TO` that captures backlinks, which you can customize to scope and filter in different ways.
## Do I need to understand graph theory to use Tana Outliner?
Nope. You work in a familiar outline: bullets, indentation, keyboard shortcuts. Tana Outliner handles the graph behind the scenes, turning your writing into a connected structure you (and AI) can search, query, and reuse. No query languages required.
## Do I need to understand knowledge graphs to use Tana Outliner?
No. You work in a familiar outline with bullets and indentation. Tana Outliner builds the knowledge graph behind the scenes so you and AI can search, filter, and reuse your information later. You get the benefits without the complexity.
## How is a knowledge graph different from folders or a database?
Folders organize files in a tree; one place per thing. Databases organize rows in tables; rigid and separate. A knowledge graph organizes things and their connections, so the same piece of information can link to many others without duplication. It's closer to how your brain actually works.
## What's the difference between a knowledge graph and linked notes?
Linked notes (like [[backlinks]] in Roam or Obsidian) show that two pages reference each other. That's useful, but limited. A knowledge graph adds types and relationships: This node is a #person, that node is a #project, and the connection between them means "responsible for." Types let you query, filter, and reason over your knowledge, not just click around.
## Is Tana Outliner a graph database?
Under the hood, yes. Tana Outliner uses a graph-structured model. What you see however is a thinking and productivity tool, not a raw database. You don't write traditional queries; you use search, views, and AI to work with your graph naturally.
## Why do knowledge graphs work better with AI?
Documents are flat. AI sees a wall of text and has to guess at relationships. Knowledge graphs are structured. AI can follow explicit connections, do multi-hop reasoning ("find all tasks for projects owned by this person"), and ground its answers in real relationships. Less hallucination, more accuracy.
## How is Tana Outliner different from Notion, Obsidian, or Roam for PKM?
Traditional note apps store documents or pages. Tana Outliner stores connected nodes in a graph. Supertags and fields let you treat the same information as a note, a task, or a project depending on context. Add AI that actually understands your graph, and your PKM stops being a passive archive.
## How is Tana Outliner different from Notion, Todoist, or Obsidian?
Todoist is great for task lists, Obsidian for markdown notes, Notion for databases and pages. Tana Outliner combines an outline editor, knowledge graph, and AI in one app. Your notes, tasks, projects, and people are all connected and viewable in different ways without duplicating data. One tool that does what used to take three.
## Can Tana Outliner really be my whole PKM system?
Yes. Tana Outliner is designed to be a complete personal knowledge management system: capture information, connect it with supertags and links, resurface it across projects, tasks, and writing. Many people have moved their entire PKM from Notion, Roam, Obsidian, Evernote or others into the app.
## Does Tana Outliner support Zettelkasten, GTD, and PARA?
All three, and you can mix them. Tana Outliner doesn't lock you into one framework. Run a pure Zettelkasten, a classic GTD setup, a PARA-based second brain, or a hybrid that fits how you actually work. Templates and supertags make it easy to adapt.
## How hard is it to get started with PKM in Tana Outliner?
Start simple: A daily note and one or two supertags (#note, #task). That's it. You can layer on fields, views, and frameworks gradually. There are starter templates and community setups that help you skip the phase of "designing the perfect system".
## Is Tana Outliner overkill if I just want to be more organized?
Not at all. You can start with a single daily note and one task tag. Tana Outliner scales from "simple list of things to do today" to a full life operating system without forcing complexity on you. Start simple. Add structure when you actually need it.
## Is Tana Outliner too complex for PKM?
Tana Outliner can be as simple or as powerful as you want. Some people use it as a straightforward outliner with a few tags. Others build elaborate systems with custom views and AI workflows. The complexity is opt-in, the basics are just bullets and links.
---
#### AI and automation
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/help/ai-and-automation
AI chat, command nodes, prompts, image generation, and API keys.
## What AI models are supported?
Tana Outliner supports state of the art LLMs from Google, Anthropic and OpenAI. See the full list of models supported across AI chat and commands in the [AI chat documentation](/learn/features/ai-chat).
Some legacy models were deprecated on Nov 21, 2025. Command nodes using these will automatically be updated to fallback models.
## How fast does Tana Outliner update to latest AI models?
The team strives to make the models available as soon as possible. New AI models require fine-tuning before they can be used in the app. This involves adjusting the prompts that ask AI to deliver information in Tana Outliner format. Additionally there are many out of the box AI features that need to be tested for consistency. The turnaround for this depends on engineering capacity, usually 4-8 weeks.
New models can be made available in Ask AI and Generic AI commands much faster, so the rollout is often staggered.
## Can I use my own OpenAI API key?
With a Tana Outliner paid subscription, you get AI credits that are part of the plan, along with the option to use the "Ask AI" and "Ask AI (non-streaming)" command nodes with your own OpenAI API key. With other features like AI Chat, Meeting agent and most integrated AI tools in the app, Tana Outliner AI credits are used because the models need to be fine-tuned for these features to work as expected.
**Commands that can be used with your own OpenAI key:**
- **Ask AI:** Simpler command, provides streaming results. Formerly "Generic AI query"
- **Ask AI (non-streaming):** Extensive command, provides result in one batch. Formerly "Ask AI"
When setting up the commands, set the parameter "use your own AI key" and it will utilize the saved OpenAI API key in Settings.
To set your OpenAI API key, go to Settings, then API keys, then OpenAI.
## Can I use my existing AI provider subscription?
No, this is not possible. Tana Outliner AI uses a mix of AI providers, not just OpenAI, which is why paid plans have AI credits included in them which can be used towards any AI model you use. For more on that, see [Tana Outliner AI](/learn/features/tana-ai).
It is possible to use OpenAI's API key on select few commands. See the question above for details.
## Can I retrieve the prompt I used for AI?
Yes, use the "Open GPT log monitor" via the command line. Once open, click on one of the jobs to open it. This shows you the raw inputs and output from OpenAI, including the prompt you used.
## Keyboard shortcut to invoke a set of commands
**Goal:** Use one keyboard shortcut to bring up a very specific set of commands.
**Instructions:** For this example, we're going to build one command that brings up a set of commands for a bullet journaling practice. People who practice bullet journalling (or BuJo) usually decide on a list of keys or "signifiers": bullet symbols that mean different things to the writer.
In Tana Outliner, we can assume each item in the list is a separate supertag.
**Build the command:**
1. Decide on a prefix for your commands. In this example, we'll use "Bujo:"
2. For each of the signifiers, create a new command called "Bujo: [signifier]"
3. Add the command "Add tag", and insert the supertag definition to the parameter
4. Create a keyboard shortcut: Run "Create keyboard shortcut" in the command line, then record the shortcut you want to use. In this case, we're using Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P. In the parameter "Commands", write the words "Bujo:"
**Testing the command:**
1. Use the keyboard shortcut Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+P
2. This will insert the words "Bujo:" in the command line
3. Type space to bring up all the options
## Single command to toggle checked/unchecked field
**Goal:** Build one command that toggles the state of something, like a checkbox. The key that unlocks this is the obscure "Run commands in parallel" command.
**Instructions:**
**In the schema:**
1. Create a checkbox field called "is visible". In the Hide field setting, choose Always
**Create the toggle commands:**
1. Create a command node for checking the is visible field:
- Name: "visibility ON"
- Add node filter: `>NOT:: >is visible:: true (checked)`
- Add command "Set field values". In parameter "Fields to set": `>is visible:: true (checked)`
2. Make another command node that removes the field:
- Name: "visibility OFF"
- Add node filter: `>is visible:: true (checked)`
- Add command "Remove fields". In parameter "Fields to remove": is visible (field definition)
3. Create a third command node for toggling between the two commands:
- Name: "Toggle visibility"
- Add command "Run commands in parallel"
- In the parameter "Commands to run", add references to the two commands you created earlier
**Test the command:** On any node, run the command "Toggle visibility". It should add the is visible field to it, checked. Running it again should remove the field.
**Configure visibility of command buttons:**
1. Create or find a node that has many command buttons you want to hide
2. For every command, add the node filter: `>Node filter:: >is visible:: true (checked)`
3. As you do this, the buttons should, one by one, disappear from the node
Test again by running the "Toggle visibility" command on the node. It should make the buttons appear/disappear.
**Further ideas:**
- Bind a custom keyboard shortcut to Toggle visibility
- Add the toggle command as a button for mouse-click access
- Use the same thing to toggle the visibility of related content sections
## Can a command move node to a field of a new node?
Yes, you can. Make a new command node, and use the command "Insert Tana Outliner Paste" with the following prompt:
```
- ${name} #note
- Based on:: [[^${sys:nodeId}]]
```
The first line is the new node. It uses the name of the current node to inform the name of the new node by using the title expression `${name}`. The supertag `#note` can be enough for Tana Outliner to find the right tag to use, but you can specify it more precisely by adding the `^nodeID` to it. See the [Tana Outliner Paste documentation](/learn/features/tana-paste) for more info on this convention.
To retrieve the nodeID of a supertag, run the command "Copy link (HTML formatted)" on a supertag definition and paste the results.
The second line is the field. After the name of the field and the double-colon `::` is a reference to the current node that the command is being run on, which it is able to target by retrieving the nodeID of the current node using the title expression `${sys:nodeId}`.
## Autofill command to enrich URL nodes
The Autofill command can generate a new node title and description based on the URL.
**To set up the command:**
1. Create a new command node
2. Add the "Autofill fields" command
3. Add and check off "Autofill title" and "Autofill description" parameters to change both
4. Add "Model to use" to control which model you prefer. If left empty, Tana Outliner will pick the one that returns the answer with best quality and consistency
**To run the command:**
- Run the command on a URL node using the command line
- Put this command node in the Commands section of a supertag you use for URLs. Press the button to run the command
## Extract start date of range using Commands
Use the "Insert relative date" command to extract the start date from a date range.
## Toggle related content on/off with one command
**Goal:** Hide the Related content sections to dial up your focus.
**Instructions:**
1. Build the single-command toggle (see the "Single command to toggle checked/unchecked field" example above for the schema setup)
2. Navigate to the Related content section in the configuration:
- For supertags: Cmd/Ctrl+Shift click on the tag itself
- For nodes: run the command "Configure node"
3. For every related content section, run the command "Add contextual content" on the related content nodes, and add `>Node filter:: >is visible:: true (checked)`
**Testing:** Run the "Toggle visibility" command on the node. It should make the related content sections appear/disappear. Optionally, you can add the Toggle visibility command to the node as a button.
## Can I generate many images at once?
You can generate max. 10 images at once in Tana Outliner.
## Max context limit for image generation?
Yes. If you include nodes with a lot of content or references with a lot of nodes below, you may go over the limit and it will not be possible to start the image generation (no credits will be used in this case).
## What does it cost to generate an image?
The average cost of generating an image in Tana Outliner will vary with the prompt and output generated, but for normal images it will usually be around $0.15, or around 70-100 Tana Outliner AI credits.
## Max tokens for image generation input?
The max number of tokens you can send as context/instructions to generate an image is 3200. You can see how many tokens are sent by typing Cmd/Ctrl+K, then "Open AI credit monitor".
## Save image from AI-generated banners
Right-click on the banner, then select "Move banner image to node". Then you can download it like you would with any image.
## Use AI to connect Readwise tags to topics
The Tana Outliner API that is used to power the Readwise integration is exactly the same (and therefore has the same limitations) as the Input API. It can only write new nodes to Tana Outliner, and the API can only write a single value to new fields.
So, to get all your tags out of Readwise, we recommend a comma-separated format, and then using AI to link to the correct nodes in your graph.
Here is the prompt:
```
PROMPT
Look at each keyword separated by the commas:
Input:
[${rwTags}]
And try to find equivalents in this list of all keywords:
//Insert search node here that finds all keywords/topics
EXAMPLE:
Input:
[arbitrage, cities, dikw, economy]
Output:
- [[Arbitrage]]
- [[Cities]]
- [[DIKW]]
- [[Economy]]
Just print the output, nothing else.
```
For best results, ensure that the tags in Readwise match the topic nodes in your Tana Outliner graph as closely as possible.
---
#### Billing and account
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/help/billing-and-account
Plans, pricing, payment, student discounts, and account management.
## How much does it cost?
Tana Outliner has three different plans:
- **Free.** Flexible, personal notes for casual task and knowledge management. This plan does not include AI features.
- **Plus, $8/month.** The next-gen of AI-powered notetaking that helps you stay on top of things. Get the power of connected notes, an all-in-one workspace, and AI functionality like meeting notetakers and voice transcripts.
- **Pro, $14/month.** Build powerful custom workflows with voice, AI, and commands.
To get early access you need to sign up for the Plus or Pro trial, but you can cancel anytime and will get the free version.
## Is there a free trial or a demo?
Absolutely. You get a 14-day free trial of our paid plans so you can experience the full power of Tana Outliner, no strings attached. Starting a trial currently requires a credit card, and gives AI credits to test the powerful AI features in the app. You can easily cancel anytime during the trial and no charge will be made.
## How does Tana Outliner Free compare to Plus and Pro?
Free is designed for casual use and trying out AI features in Tana Outliner. Plus and Pro unlock the full power of the app with enough AI credits for recording meetings regularly, Google Calendar sync, publishing with password protection, unlimited workspaces, command nodes, and integrations like Readwise, and advanced AI model selection. See tana.inc/pricing for a detailed overview.
## How much AI is included in Tana Outliner's subscription plans?
The Pro (previously "Core") plan includes 5000 credits each month. 5000 credits can get you one of the following:
- 22 x 30 min meetings with the meeting agent
- 125 images generated
- 570 blog posts generated from transcripts
- 25 hours of live voice transcriptions
The Plus plan includes 2000 credits each month. 2000 credits can get you one of the following:
- 8 x 30 minute meetings with the meeting agent
- 50 images generated
- 220 blog posts generated from transcripts
- 10 hours of live voice transcriptions
If you run out of credits you can easily add more through Settings > Manage your Account.
Tana Outliner Free includes 500 AI credits, equivalent to:
- 100 min meetings
- 12 images generated
- 57 blog posts generated
- 106 minutes of voice transcription
## Can I buy extra AI credits on Tana Outliner Free?
No, Free plan users cannot top up AI credits. To access more credits and remove usage limits, you'll need to upgrade to a paid plan.
## What happens if I run out of AI credits?
When you are approaching your credit limit or have reached it, you'll see a warning message popup inside Tana Outliner on desktop. This will link to the upgrade flow, so you can start a trial or upgrade to a paid plan to continue using AI.
If you are out of credits and try to record a mobile voice memo, you will see a warning message in the recorder. You can continue recording the voice memo, and it will be stored as an audio file. You can then top up your AI credits to process it.
**How to buy more credits:** You can easily top up by going to your account settings and choosing "Manage your plan" (only available on desktop). If you are on Tana Outliner Free you will have to upgrade to a paid plan to buy top-up AI credits. Top-up credits are valid for 12 months, and will only be used when you don't have any monthly credits left.
## What happens if I downgrade to the free plan?
If you downgrade to Free, you can continue to take notes in Tana Outliner and work with your existing notes. The Free plan has a monthly limit of 500 AI credits, which you can use for AI chat and transcription. After these are used, you won't be able to use AI in the app unless you upgrade to a paid plan.
When your subscription period or trial ends, integrations like Google Calendar won't pull in data anymore and you will not be able to use paid features like password-protection on Published pages (setting new passwords), selecting model in AI chat, or creating new command nodes.
On Free, you'll be able to use all the powerful editor features of Tana Outliner like supertags, search nodes, and more. For people who casually use the app, or are temporarily using it with others, this plan may be sufficient.
## How can I change to another plan?
You can change your plan by opening the profile icon in the top right, select your user account (email is shown) and then Manage account. Here you will see what plan you are currently on, and can choose to upgrade to another plan by clicking the "Upgrade" button. You will then see a plan comparison of the prices and plan features.
Choose the plan you want to upgrade to, and confirm in the checkout modal.
## How do I change my subscription between monthly and annual billing?
You can switch between monthly and annual subscription using the "Change to monthly/yearly" button.
- If you are on a trial, you can switch between monthly and yearly subscriptions, and the change will kick in once the trial ends.
- If you started a monthly subscription already and want to switch to yearly, the new billing type will kick in at the end of the monthly period.
- If you started a yearly subscription already and want to switch to monthly, the new billing type will only kick in at the end of the yearly period.
For other changes to your subscription, please contact Tana Outliner support at help@tana.inc.
## How can I cancel my plan?
To cancel your subscription, go to Manage your account, then look at the Plan section and select Cancel plan. On the Stripe page, you can cancel the plan there.
Once you've cancelled, it will go into effect during the next billing period.
## What is Tana Outliner's cancellation and refund policy?
**Refund policy.** Tana Outliner provides refunds for your plan if canceled and requested within 48 hours of the invoice date. To request a refund, submit a request to our support team (email help@tana.inc, or contact via in-app bug reporting) and include the email address associated with your Tana Outliner account in your request.
**Subscription cancellations.** If you cancel or downgrade your plan partway through the billing cycle, your subscription will remain active until the end of your current billing period. Cancellations are not prorated, meaning you will retain access until your billing cycle ends, but no partial refunds will be issued.
If you upgrade your plan (for example, from Plus to Pro), the change will take effect immediately, and proration will be applied for the unused time on your previous plan. If you downgrade to a lower-tier or free plan, the change will take effect at the end of your current billing cycle, with no proration.
## Where can I find my invoices?
Log in to Tana Outliner and go to Settings > Manage account > View invoices and payment history. This launches Stripe. In Stripe, scroll down to Invoice history. Each date is a link you can open to see the invoice for payments made.
## How can I add the Tax ID (TRN/VAT/GST) to my billing information?
In jurisdictions where Tana is required to file VAT/GST (currently EU and Australia) we will be alerted if we detect an invalid tax ID on your account. As a result, we may reach out to have you update it.
To update it:
1. In Tana Outliner, click on Manage your account, then scroll down and click on "View subscription details."
2. On the Stripe page that opens, click "Update information."
3. Scroll down and add your correct tax ID type by selecting your country or jurisdiction.
4. Hit Save and you're good to go.
## How can I check how many credits I have?
You can see how many credits you have left by clicking the user icon, then selecting Account settings. Here you'll also see when your quota renews. Credits will not roll over.
In the mobile apps, you can go to Settings and see how many credits you have left.
If you want to see details on how many AI credits are used, you can do `Cmd/Ctrl+K` > `Open GPT log monitor`.
## Do you offer any discounts?
We offer a 50% discount on our plans for students, academics, and NGOs:
- **Tana Outliner Plus:** $5/month or $48/year ($4/month when paid annually)
- **Tana Outliner Pro:** $9/month or $84/year ($7/month when paid annually)
To apply for the discount, send an email to help@tana.inc or student@tana.inc with proof of eligibility (for example, send from your verified .edu address or send a photo of your student ID).
## How do I get the Tana Outliner student discount?
To apply for a student discount, send an email to student@tana.inc with proof of eligibility (for example, send from your verified .edu address or send a photo of your student ID). Also include your Tana Outliner account email and which plan you'd like:
- **Tana Outliner Plus:** $5/month or $48/year ($4/month when paid annually)
- **Tana Outliner Pro:** $9/month or $84/year ($7/month when paid annually)
It's important to specify if you'd like the monthly or annual plan.
## Can existing subscribers switch to the new student plan?
Yes! If you qualify, email student@tana.inc with proof of eligibility (your school email or student ID). Please also include which plan you want and your Tana Outliner account email.
- **Tana Outliner Plus:** $5/month or $48/year ($4/month when paid annually)
- **Tana Outliner Pro:** $9/month or $84/year ($7/month when paid annually)
Depending on your current plan and eligibility, we will update your subscription based on the following:
- **Monthly subscribers:** We'll switch you to the student plan at the end of your current billing cycle.
- **Annual subscribers:** You'll also be switched to the student plan at the end of your current billing cycle. As an added bonus, you'll receive AI credits equal to 2x the cost difference between what's remaining on your current plan and the student plan.
## I work in academia. Do I qualify for the student discount?
Yes. Email student@tana.inc with one of the following:
- A message from your verified institutional email (for example, .edu or your university's domain), or
- A photo of your current student or academic ID.
## I'm a student who loves Tana Outliner, how can I get more involved?
First of all, join our 26K strong Community on Slack to share tips, learnings, and help others.
We're also launching a Tana Outliner Student Ambassador Program for the 2025/26 school year. If you'd like to get involved, email student@tana.inc with a bit about yourself and your ideas.
## What happens when I graduate or leave my school?
Your student discount is valid for 12 months at a time. We'll re-verify your status (usually with your school email or proof of enrollment). If we can't verify it anymore, your discount will continue until the end of your current billing cycle, and then your workspace will switch to regular pricing unless you provide updated student info.
## Is it allowed to use transcription services to record lectures at universities and schools?
The general policy for transcribing lectures at most academic institutions is that recording or transcribing lectures is permitted primarily for personal, educational use, however we recommend checking with your institution. A good rule of thumb is to always obtain consent before recording and transcribing others.
## Do you offer login options other than Google and Apple ID?
While we are in closed beta we are only offering Google and Apple ID logins. More options will be added in the future when we are ready to launch to the general public.
## How do I delete my account?
If you want a fresh start in Tana Outliner, we recommend resetting your primary workspace instead of deleting your account.
If you go through the steps for deleting your account, your account will be queued for deletion. You won't have access to the app anymore after this, and will not be able to re-register with the same email without contacting the support team on hey@tana.inc.
If you no longer want to use Tana Outliner, you can delete your account by:
1. Click on the user icon in the top right corner
2. Click Manage account
3. Scroll to the bottom
4. Select "Delete my account"
5. Confirm by following the instructions
## When will Tana Outliner start charging users?
Tana Outliner launched paid plans in May 2024. For more details, see Pricing.
---
#### Getting started
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/help/getting-started
Common questions about getting started with Tana Outliner.
## How do I install Tana Outliner?
## How do I navigate around?
## How do I set up my workspace?
## Why should I switch to Tana Outliner?
This is best answered with a few quotes from our users:
- "I really like bringing together notes and tasks into the same place, it makes finding context for tasks much easier."
- "Supertags are amazing to track all todos and decisions across all my daily notes and projects"
- "I like that I can build Tana Outliner as I go along, adding functionality or cutting it as necessary. I tried Notion in the past and having to build different databases up front was much less good!"
- "It's easier for me to find the information I need and not have to think about the right way to store notes."
- "Jot down, capture my thoughts and easily organize them"
- "A flexibly accessible system. Everything is connected, but not forced. I don't need to invest so much time building the system. Just build as I go. I don't need to fill everything or make it consistent. It's there when I need it"
- "No other tool provide pure outliner with task management, databases and complex queries."
To read more about what users think about Tana Outliner, check out our Producthunt page.
## How does Tana Outliner's AI work?
Tana Outliner's built-in AI assists you with things like live voice transcription, summarizing meetings, extracting insights from meeting transcripts and letting your AI chat with your notes as context, without leaving your flow.
Press `Space` below any note to start an AI chat with that note as context: ask questions about what was said in a meeting, get AI to reformat rough notes into a blog post, a Slack summary, formal meeting minutes, or help you with brainstorming or reviewing your notes. Check out AI-powered templates to see what AI can do.
Tana Outliner lets you build out custom AI-based automations with command nodes and event triggers. You can also build out AI chat agents (like custom GPTs) with specific prompts or instructions for how to process something, for example an OKR agent that will review your draft and suggest how to improve them.
## Can I record and transcribe meetings in Tana Outliner?
Yes, the app can capture voice or meeting audio, transcribe it automatically, and link it to related projects or people so it becomes part of your knowledge graph. This allows you to compound the information from meetings into a powerful historical archive.
We believe meetings are an important way to capture knowledge and context that is important when working with tasks. Tana Outliner lets you tag tasks, decisions, or follow-ups directly in the meeting notes. You can also customize how meeting transcripts are processed to tailor your workflow to different use cases.
Check out templates for meetings: use research interviews, investor meetings, hiring interviews.
## How do you take notes in Tana Outliner?
Tana Outliner has two main areas for note-taking: the daily scratchpad, and the wikis/dashboards.
**Daily scratchpad.** Plan your days, do braindumps, send yourself reminders, all on your daily notes. This place is the catch-all for anything that needs to be written down and recorded on a daily basis. From the notes you take today, not everything is important tomorrow, let alone in the long run. For the stuff that is important, apply supertags to give it structure and importance in the outliner. Using supertags is the first step to building your knowledge graph.
**Wiki/dashboards.** The best place for your knowledge-base to be is in the more permanent area of the Workspace Home. This place doesn't shift with time like the calendar nodes do. This is also the first thing you see when clicking on a workspace in the sidebar, making it a good entry point.
- Use the outline to structure your content.
- Make references to content that should be repeated.
- Use views like Side menu and Tabs to make sections navigable.
- Remember that it's easy to move and rename things as you go, so don't be afraid to commit now and change later.
For everything you've added a supertag to, you can make search nodes that gather them in one place. These become your dynamic task board, meeting notes, project overview, media library, recipe collection, showing you what you've collected in your graph that is worthy of keeping.
If you need to see your information in many different ways, make as many search nodes querying the same data as you need. That's the beauty of a knowledge graph with a powerful search functionality. These two modes in Tana Outliner form the backbone of all note-taking in the app.
## How is Tana Outliner different from Notion?
Tana Outliner isn't a page-based tool with databases inside pages, it's a knowledge graph workspace built as a living network. Where Notion organizes information in folders and tables, forcing you to navigate to the right place to note something, Tana Outliner lets you simply take notes anywhere, add supertags, and the information will flow to where it's needed. You can create live searches anywhere to pull out the information you need, filtering on properties and supertags. Since the app is an outliner editor, any note can be tagged, linked or referenced, offering enormous flexibility.
Tana Outliner lets you easily connect your ideas dynamically, like your brain does. By typing `@` you can mention any note and pull it in as a reference, not just create a backlink. References let you work on a mirrored version of the note, but changes will also be applied to the original. This makes it easier to update information, avoiding it becoming stale.
The app is built for voice input, both on desktop and mobile. With live transcription on desktop, you can talk instead of typing, or transcribe meetings with the meeting notetaker and get automatic summaries. In the mobile apps, you can record voice memos and build custom workflows by adding supertags with instructions for how they should be processed.
Tana Outliner offers a Daily Notes page, a fresh notepad to start your day with planning, reflection, or journaling. You can customize your daily notes as a dashboard, pulling in tasks for review, open projects, and more with live searches.
Together, this makes Tana Outliner a great Notion alternative for power users who are looking for an AI-powered notetaking app giving them more control over how to build out their workflows. It also makes it one of the best tools for building a second brain, with methodologies like Getting Things Done (GTD) or Zettelkasten.
## Where can I find the most common keyboard shortcuts in Tana Outliner?
Open the side panel to see the most common keyboard shortcuts from the sidebar.
## Where do deleted/trashed nodes go? Does the trash get emptied?
When you delete something, it goes to Trash. You can access Trash via the command `Open trash`.
To empty trash, use the command `Empty trash for workspace [current workspace]`. It may take a couple of times of running empty trash to get all nodes out.
## Should I have just one or multiple workspaces?
We suggest you keep one workspace until you need to do one of the following things, many of which will trigger or require the creation of a new workspace anyways:
- **Collaborate with someone in Tana Outliner** (requires you or the other person to create a workspace and invite each other)
- **Import content from Roam, Logseq, Workflowy, or other tools** (this automatically creates a new workspace for the purpose of the import)
- **Create a holding space** (separate from your private workspace with no "Allow access from" for testing other people's templates and setups before you bring it in to your active workspaces)
- **Create a Tana Outliner Template** (which means you want a clean, self-contained workspace setup so you know you're creating a template with no references pointing to other workspaces)
## Is there a free trial or a demo?
Absolutely. You get a 14-day free trial of our paid plans so you can experience the full power of Tana Outliner, no strings attached. Starting a trial currently requires a credit card, and gives AI credits to test the powerful AI features in the app. You can easily cancel anytime during the trial and no charge will be made.
---
#### Import and export
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/help/import-and-export
How to bring your data into Tana Outliner and get it back out.
## How do I import from Notion?
## How do I import from Roam?
## How do I import from Logseq?
## Can I import markdown files?
## Can I export my Tana Outliner data?
Yes, you can export your data as a Markdown or JSON file. Go to your workspace home node and click the ellipsis menu to the right.
Read more about [workspace export](/learn/features/copy-paste-and-export) or options for copy-paste and downloading nodes.
## Can I get my data in and out?
Yes. Currently we support Roam, OPML/Workflowy, and Logseq as native import formats. Export as Markdown or JSON, or check out Tana Outliner Publish, whenever you need to move things elsewhere. Your data stays yours.
## What are all the ways I can copy data out of Tana Outliner?
**Basic copy-paste.** Copy-pasting content is the fastest way of getting data out of the app. Select the content you want to copy, then hit `Cmd/Ctrl+C`. To paste, `Cmd/Ctrl+V` either in Tana Outliner (will create references) or elsewhere.
**More copy-paste options.** Via the command line (`Cmd/Ctrl+K`) there are various flavors of copy available to you. Read about all copy-paste options in [copy-paste and export](/learn/features/copy-paste-and-export).
**Other ways to get content out:**
- **Download nodes.** You can download a selection of nodes (for example, all tagged items or results in a search node) in markdown or Tana Outliner Paste with the `Download as` command in the `Ctrl/Cmd+K` menu.
- **Export plain HTML.** Renders an HTML page of the selected content that you can copy the HTML of, or save as an HTML file.
- **Export workspace as markdown or JSON.** To learn more about this, read about [workspace export](/learn/features/copy-paste-and-export).
## How to use Tana Outliner Paste with supertags that have non-alphanumeric characters?
Tana Outliner Paste can usually parse supertags that are one word, such as `#task`. If a supertag has spaces, numbers, or irregular characters, try wrapping the name in double brackets like this:
`#[[1'3$4'6]]`
If you want to grab the supertag definition, include the hashtag within the brackets, like this:
`[[#1'3$4'6]]`
## How do I enable the scan text feature in Tana Outliner Capture on iOS?
The iOS feature Live Text needs to be turned on for all supported languages:
1. Go to iOS Settings > General > Language and Region.
2. Turn on Live Text (green is on).
This feature is available with iOS 15.4 or later.
---
#### Mobile and desktop apps
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/help/mobile-and-desktop
Platform-specific features, offline mode, and sync.
## What is the difference between the desktop and the web app?
Right now they are more or less the same, with a few differences:
- The web app can receive CSS modifications, although we do not encourage doing this because it can easily break due to rapid iteration of the codebase at this time.
- The Desktop app has a couple more features like global voice recording that the web version doesn't have. In the future, the feature gap will grow larger when we add things like reminders, notifications, and more.
We encourage users to use the desktop app, so Tana Outliner can remain open without needing the browser to be open as well.
## What are the system requirements for running the Tana Outliner desktop app?
The system requirements for Tana Outliner Desktop are the same as for Chromium. You can check out the most up-to-date system requirements on the [Chrome support page](https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/7100626?hl=en).
## How do I change or disable the Tana Outliner desktop recording shortcut?
All desktop apps have access to a top bar with several OS-level menus. Go to Options > Customize keybindings to change it.
- **Mac:** The Option menu is visible when the top bar is visible.
- **Windows:** Hit `Alt` to see the top bar of the window.
See [Tana Outliner for Desktop](/learn/features/tana-for-desktop) for more.
## Does Tana Outliner Desktop work with Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams?
Yes. Because the app records system audio rather than joining as a bot, it works with any video conferencing tool, including Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, and in-person meetings. You don't need to configure anything per platform.
## Can I use Tana Outliner on mobile browsers?
Tana Outliner is not optimized for mobile or tablet browsers, especially not on iOS where it forces a full refresh too often.
**Tana Outliner Mobile for iOS.** Tana Outliner Mobile for iOS was released in November 2024, which allows for browsing and capturing content to the app. We are working towards fuller editing capabilities.
**Tana Outliner Mobile for Android.** Tana Outliner Mobile for Android was released in February 2025, which allows for browsing and capturing content to the app. We are working towards fuller editing capabilities.
## When will Tana Outliner have a dedicated mobile app?
Tana Outliner Mobile apps for both iOS and Android have launched. See the question above for details.
## Does Tana Outliner have an offline mode? Can Tana Outliner run locally on my computer?
Yes, Tana Outliner Desktop supports working offline. The Tana Outliner Mobile apps for iOS and Android support capturing new things offline, but not reading your existing notes yet.
## Do I need to do anything special to enable offline in Tana Outliner?
Just make sure you're on Tana Outliner Desktop version 1.0.50 or newer, reload, and choose "Work offline" from the user menu or command line.
## What works while offline?
You can edit all personal (non-shared) workspaces, search across your notes, and use inline references. Shared workspaces are read-only while offline.
AI features, transcription, AI commands, and publishing will not work. You cannot create new workspaces while offline.
## Do AI features work offline?
No. AI features like live transcription, chat, and AI-based command nodes require an internet connection and will reappear when you reconnect.
## Is there offline mode on mobile?
Yes. The Tana Outliner Mobile app for both iOS and Android supports offline capture for new notes, tasks, and voice memos. Anything you add in the mobile app will be uploaded the next time you are online. You cannot access your existing notes offline at the moment.
## Can I use Tana Outliner without Wi-Fi?
Yes. You can work completely offline on the Tana Outliner Desktop app. Shared workspaces are read-only. In the mobile apps for iOS and Android you can capture new notes while offline.
## Will my notes sync automatically when I reconnect?
Yes. When you reconnect, Tana Outliner syncs all changes automatically, no manual uploads needed. When you choose to go online, the app will reload and may take a few minutes to sync all your changes.
---
#### Organizing your workspace
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/help/organizing-workspace
Supertags, fields, views, workspaces, and structuring your knowledge.
## How do I create a relational database in Tana Outliner like in Notion or Airtable?
Because Tana Outliner is a graph, building relational databases is easy. Think of supertags as databases and fields as columns in a database.
Let's use an example: You have two supertags: `#person` and `#project`. You want to relate the two by assigning a team lead to each project that draws from person.
To relate each project to one team lead, we can make an Instance field called "Team lead" in the project. This allows us to select the `#person` supertag so this field will now create a dropdown of options from every instance of the person supertag.
Now, every time you assign a team lead to every project, on the other side you can look at a person and see what projects they are noted as Team lead for in the Reference section.
There are many other ways to relate one database to another in Tana Outliner that go beyond what relational databases can do. That's because all information in the app is stored as a graph, and on top of this we have flexible ways to build schemas with supertags and fields. It's everything a relational database has, with much more freedom and flexibility in the long run.
## How do I set up relationships between nodes?
There are two main ways to create a connection between one node and another:
**References and inline references**
Use references or inline references to create an unstructured two-way connection between the nodes and the place you mention them in. The reference section shows you all unstructured mentions under "Referenced in..."
**Fields**
Fields and their field values create structured two-way connections between nodes. Structured in the sense that the connection is labeled via the name of the field. Example: A book node has a field called Author, where you can enter a reference to any person. The relationship between the book and the person is that they are the Author.
Fields offer a variety of ways to create structured connections:
- Create a Plain field and copy/paste or @-mention any node into it
- Create an Options field where you can choose from a list of your choice
- Create a Supertag from Options field where you can choose from a list of all nodes tagged a chosen supertag
Fields show up in the Reference section as "Appears as [field name] in..."
## Can I show an alternative field value in a title?
Yes you can, with this kind of annotation:
```
${My field.Alternative}
```
Where `My field` is the field you want appearing in the title, and `.Alternative` is the name of the field within the field value you want to target instead. This is great whenever you, for example, want to swap out written-out states for emojis.
**Example:** You have an Options field with some pre-determined options. For each option, add a field like "Icon" and put a different value for each.
When writing out the title expression in the supertag configuration, use the field name in the title expression format, plus add the field (in this case, "Icon") you are targeting inside the field value, which will make the value of the new target field appear instead.
You can go deeper with the targeting by adding more periods. So, you could have something like `Field.Field2.Field3` for example. For more information on title expressions, check out the [Supertags documentation](/learn/features/supertags).
## How can I use system fields in title expressions?
Calculated system fields are prefixed with `sys:` to avoid being mixed up with user-created fields with the same name.
Example: `${sys:owner}`
See [Build title from fields](/learn/features/supertags#1-build-title-from-fields-title-expression) for the system fields available in title expressions.
## What are field definitions and how do I find them?
A field definition is a special node that stores the settings of a field.
To grab the field definition from a field, put your cursor in the field name, then press copy (Cmd/Ctrl+C) and put your cursor on an empty node and paste (Cmd/Ctrl+V). That gives you a reference to the field definition. Then you can run the command "Bring referenced nodes here" to swap the reference with the actual node.
For more information on field definitions, see the [Fields documentation](/learn/features/fields).
## What does "Number of nodes with this tag" do?
This system field is relevant only for supertag objects, and reveals the number of times a tag has been used.
How to use it:
1. Make a search node with IS TAG, which will find all supertags in your graph
2. Display: Number of nodes with this tag
It shows you how many nodes the tags have been applied to.
## How do I bulk delete a field and its values?
In order to bulk-delete fields and their values, they need to be in Table view and not part of a supertag template. Here's how you do it:
If you know the field you're targeting but do not have a list of nodes with the field already, use the field definition in a search node to find all nodes with this field.
With the list of nodes that have the field and values you want to delete:
1. View as table
2. Display that field as a column
3. Right-click the column header, then select "Delete column and values"
## How can I bulk add or remove supertags?
## How can I bulk set a value to fields?
Select the nodes whose field you want to set. Enter the command line (Cmd/Ctrl+K) and type "Set" to see your options.
The "Set [field]" command only works on field types Option, Instance, Tana Outliner User and Checkbox.
## How do I share a supertag from my private workspace to a shared one?
Currently, the easiest and most foolproof way to do this is to not share it but instead build the supertag, with its fields and anything else necessary for the supertag to work, from the ground up in the new space.
That said, if you still want to move a supertag over that exists only in your private workspace, the main work is to ensure that there's nothing in the supertag that references something in your private workspace, otherwise it will appear as broken to others once it's moved. It's like packaging up a zip file. You can't just zip up a bunch of shortcuts, you need the real files in there or the recipient will only see broken shortcuts.
You'll also have to remember to move over other things like field options, commands, and ensure that no saved view options contain elements from your workspace. Basically, you must ensure that nothing you're moving over from your workspace contains references from your workspace.
To bring all nodes (except system nodes) into the supertags, fields and commands you want to move, use the command "Bring referenced node here". Alternatively, you can move each necessary node separately too if you for example want the field definition to exist outside the supertag. But the key is that everything that is connected to what you're sending over gets sent over too, otherwise there will be missing pieces.
## Can you build a wiki in Tana Outliner?
Absolutely. The most common place to do this is on the Home node. You can build top-level wiki structures, usually arranged on workspace home nodes.
## How does "Set view definition" command work?
There is a command called "Set view definition". It can set the Group, Sort and Display settings of a node view. There is no good UX for this at the moment, so the instructions are not conventional nor friendly for beginners. But right now, this is one way of doing it:
1. Mock up a node that will have sample child nodes representing the data you'll be applying this command on
2. Create the exact view settings you want with Group, Sort and Display
3. Open the command line and run "Debug Node" on the parent node and look at "Views for node"
4. Clone the fields over to the command node
When you run this command on a node, this should change the view settings according to your configuration.
## Can I open another workspace's day node by default?
It is not possible to change which workspace's day node you open by default; it is fixed to your private workspace's day node.
However, open the sidebar and hold Option (Mac) or Alt (Windows) whilst clicking on a workspace in your sidebar to open its day node for today.
## How can I check how many nodes in a workspace?
If you go to the home node (top level node) of the workspace, click the three dots on the right side to open the workspace menu, then select "Export as JSON" or "Markdown". You'll then see a dialogue modal that includes a node count estimate.
## Does Tana Outliner have a 500k node limit?
The workspace node limit has been increased to 750k (as of January 2025). Open your profile settings from the top right, then API tokens, then the Workspace Tokens tab to see how many nodes are in your workspaces.
The node limit only applies for information synced via API. Other than that, you can continue to work in any workspace without limitations. The limit per workspace only applies when information is being added from an external service like the [Input API](/learn/features/input-api) or Readwise. This is a temporary precaution to prevent external services from overloading the app.
You can still use a workspace that has well over 750k nodes as long as you're writing things yourself. There's no performance hit at that mark.
## How can I reduce my workspace size and improve performance?
If a workspace feels slow to load or search, the most effective lever is reducing the number of nodes it holds. A few things to know:
- **Empty the trash.** Deleted nodes stay in the trash until you empty it, so they keep counting toward your workspace. Emptying the trash is the quickest one-time win. Note that clearing nodes that have references can be fiddly, since it's not always obvious what gets removed alongside them.
- **Remove large chunks of nodes you no longer need.** Cutting whole branches of stale content has more impact than trimming individual nodes.
- **Media files load on demand.** Audio and image files attached to your nodes are fetched only when you open them, so they don't slow down initial loading or search.
To see roughly how many nodes a workspace holds, see [How can I check how many nodes in a workspace?](#how-can-i-check-how-many-nodes-in-a-workspace) above.
## Should I use the DUE DATE field?
No, create your own date fields.
Early on in Tana Outliner's history the team wanted a way to find overdue tasks but there was no current way of searching for nodes with dates relative to a certain date. So, the system field "Due Date" along with the OVERDUE search operator was created specifically for this reason.
But since the introduction of LT/GT (less than/greater than) operators, there is no reason to use the system Due Date field along with the OVERDUE search operator. A user defined field for Date or Due Date offers more flexibility:
- You can use the initialize feature if desired
- Consistent color with other fields
- You can hide the field
## Different supertag on day nodes by interval?
In the Journal node section of your settings, there is an expression you can use to define intervals of when you want certain supertags applied to certain calendar nodes. It is loosely based on the cron format.
In the field values for defining which supertag to use, you can nest the tags under a cron expression to have it apply only during a certain interval. The expression takes on this custom format:
```
DAY-OF-MONTH MONTH DAY-OF-WEEK YEAR
```
**Legend:**
- DAY-OF-MONTH: 1-31
- MONTH: 1-12, or JAN-DEC
- DAY-OF-WEEK: MON-SUN, or 1-7
- YEAR: 2024
**Common syntax:**
- `*` (asterisk) represents "every" possible value for that field
- `?` (question mark) is used to specify "no specific value" and is often used where the day of the month or day of the week should be ignored
- `,` (comma) is used to separate discrete values
Specify the cron expression as a field value, and nest the supertag you want used at that interval.
**Pattern examples:**
- `? * FRI *` = Every Friday
- `? * MON-FRI *` = Every weekday
- `31 12 * *` = Last day of the year
- `L * ? *` = Last day of the month
- `* 3 * *` = Every day in March
- `15 * * *` = The 15th day of every month
- `* * MON,WED,FRI *` = Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
- `1 1,4,7,10 * *` = January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1
- `14 2 * *` = Every February 14th
- `1-7 * MON *` = The first Monday that occurs between the 1st and 7th of every month
Note that it will only apply to all new day nodes once the rule is established. It will not apply to existing nodes.
## Calendar nodes in other workspaces lack default tags
Calendar nodes don't need the day/week/month/year supertags to work, so they come by default without them. It's only necessary to add supertags if you want to use templates for gathering tasks or doing reviews for that time granularity.
To add default tags, go to the node options menu and you should see an option to "Create default day/week/month/year tag". Once it's created, you can rename and customize it like any other supertag.
You can see all the tags you've created for your day/week/month/year nodes by going to Settings, then Journaling, then Advanced config.
For setting up calendar node tags based on specific intervals, see the section above. For more detail, check out the [Dates and calendar nodes documentation](/learn/features/dates-and-calendar-nodes).
## Semantic functions Part of and COMPONENTS REC explanation
In the docs, there's a paragraph that goes like this: "Keep separate the fields used for the definition versus use of semantic information. One thing is establishing the semantic relationships with a field that has semantic functions turned on, another thing is using the semantic map as field values in another field."
Community member Sabrina asked if someone could explain what this sentence meant. This led to explainer videos being recorded as an alternative way to show how they work.
**Part 1: Making the semantic connections**
**Part 2: Using the semantic connections**
## Can I collaborate with others in Tana Outliner?
Yes! It is already possible to collaborate with other users in Tana Outliner if they have a Tana Outliner account.
To invite another Tana Outliner user to collaborate with you in a shared workspace:
1. Create a new workspace
2. Invite them to the workspace by going to the workspace home node and clicking on the "Member" button (they must already have a Tana Outliner account)
Right now you can:
- Write simultaneously in the same context (not same node) and see where others are, live
- Invite members to a shared workspace and everyone can see and edit content that is owned by that workspace. All have to be existing Tana Outliner users.
- Notify members of nodes and they get pinged immediately with a link to the node. Notifications show up in the sidebar.
Collaboration features coming later:
- Admin tools for managing content and members
- Access control per member
- More collaboration tools
## How are AI credits used on shared workspaces?
Whoever triggers the request for an AI command or adds the Meeting agent will have the credits charged to their account.
## Can I keep work and personal life separate?
Yes. Use separate workspaces or tags and views to keep them distinct, while still linking things that overlap like your calendar, energy, or long-term goals. Your boundaries, your rules.
## Is my personal data private?
Yes. Your personal workspace is yours alone. AI features operate within your account, and you control what's captured and how it's structured. Your second brain stays yours.
---
#### Search and navigation
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/help/search-and-finding
Finding content with search, the query builder, and keyboard shortcuts.
## How to find all nodes with a specific word?
There are multiple ways to search for a specific word. Say you're looking for all nodes with the word "bottle" in it:
- **Option 1:** Use the global search (Cmd/Ctrl+S) and enter "bottle", then Option+Enter, and the search will be made into a search node in your workspace and shown in a panel
- **Option 2:** Cmd/Ctrl+K, then "Find nodes with text='bottle' as list"
- **Option 3:** In a search node, enter `>LINKS TO::@bottle` to find only linked items to the node
- **Option 4:** In a search node, if you're searching for a node that has this word within its field's value, enter the field in the search and the value `/bottle/`. Be sure to put the slashes as shown; this will run the value as a regex match
## Find all nodes that use a specific field
You can find nodes solely based on the fields they have. This is defined by using the field definition. This is one reason to either:
- Define a single field for a Deadline, then you can retrieve every node regardless if they're a task, project, homework, etc.
- Define multiple fields for the same purpose, but to work in different contexts that are not meant to cross over, such as per workspace, per template, or for an isolated workflow
To find all nodes that use a certain field, whether it is filled or empty, insert the field (either the field definition or just the field, empty) into the search query.
To find all nodes with the field that has a field value, insert the field and the operator Set (use @-mention and type "set" to find the system node).
## How to find all tags that extend a tag?
One way is to create this search node:
```
>system field Tags : #tag (use supertag that was extended)
IS TAG
```
## How can I search for content that is nested?
There are several ways to find content that is nested within one or more nodes:
**Search within**
The global search (Cmd/Ctrl+S) and the command "Search within" allows you to make that node and its contents the sole scope for your search.
**Search within (query)**
When defining a query in a search node, you can scope the search by adding a reference to the node you'd like to search within.
**Variations of PARENTS DESCENDANTS**
When creating a search node in a supertag template, you can make it a scoped search which looks at all descendants within each supertag instance by using the search operator PARENTS DESCENDANTS and its variations. For more on scoped search operators, see [Search nodes](/learn/features/search-nodes).
**Field initialization**
Nodes can "clone" attributes from parent/ancestor nodes through field initialization settings. This can help you resurface things based on related attributes. For instance, if your meeting is about a certain client, your `#meeting` tag may have a field called Client where your "Acme Inc." client is defined. Then, when you are taking meeting notes and define a `#task` there, your task can have the same Client field inherit the field value "Acme Inc.", which connects it to the same client as the meeting. Then you can separately search for all tasks that are related to that particular client. For more on field initialization, check out [Fields](/learn/features/fields).
## Find references in one workspace owned by another
To find all references in a workspace that are owned by another workspace:
1. Go to your workspace home
2. Create this search as a direct child of the workspace home node:
```
GRANDPARENTS DESCENDANTS WITH REFS
>NOT GRANDPARENTS DESCENDANTS
```
To limit the search to specific workspaces, add the system field Workspace and specify the workspaces you want to target there.
## Find nodes based on ancestor field value
## Get the task list on daily notes
You may have seen a Tana Outliner setup that had a task list on the daily notes page, or even had one from early prototypes, and it somehow disappeared now. There is a simple way to get it back:
1. Go to any daily note, and make a search that looks for all `#task` nodes NOT DONE
2. Run it to confirm it's fetching the right things
3. Adjust how you want your tasks to look (set all view options here, like Display, Group, Sort options)
4. Confirm changes to the view options and the query
5. Right-click on the title of the search, and select "Move to Related content"
## Retrieve tasks dated for today
**On the daily page (or any calendar node):**
Create a search that uses PARENT in the field value of the Date field of the task.
With PARENT/GRANDPARENT in a date field: you can append with `-3` or `+3` (use any number) to hit a specific date before/after the PARENT date, respectively. Example: `PARENT+3` = Any match on date 3 days from today.
You can use GT/LT search operators (greater than or less than) together with PARENT to match a range of dates before/after today. Example: `>GT : PARENT-3` and `>LT : PARENT` = Any match between today and three days ago.
**If not on a day node:**
Use `FOR RELATIVE DATE [term]` as keyword field value for the Date field of the task, and insert `today` as the term, without the brackets.
## Help with date search
It depends on what you want to find, the context of the search (which part of the graph it is made in), and the time scale/granularity you are looking for. Below are possible queries you can use to find date-related things in Tana Outliner.
**A quick legend:**
- `>` : Typing this key starts a field anywhere in Tana Outliner, so we prefix fields with this sign when writing out queries in text
- LT/GT: Less than/Greater than field operators
- `text` : Text in this style is meant to be written out
**I want to find all overdue items from a deadline date field...**
Based on what the time is right now (most efficient graph-wise):
```
>LT : >your deadline field : FOR RELATIVE DATE today
```
Based on the date in a date field of parent node:
```
>LT : >your deadline field : PARENT.date field
```
Based on the date of an ancestor calendar node:
```
>LT : >your deadline field : PARENT / GRANDPARENT
```
**I want to find deadline dates that fall within a range (let's say, a week)...**
Based on what the time is right now, and this/last/next week/month/year:
```
>your deadline field : FOR RELATIVE DATE this/last/next week
```
Relative to a date field of the parent node:
```
>LT : >your deadline field : PARENT.date field
>GT : >your deadline field : PARENT.date field-7
```
Relative to the date of a calendar node:
```
>LT : >your deadline field : PARENT
>GT : >your deadline field : PARENT-7
```
**I want to find nodes based on their location in the journal nodes...**
To pick up the date based on the calendar node they are nested under, use system field "Date from calendar node". For field value, use any variation from the above examples depending on need and context.
**I want to find nodes relative to the search node's location in a journal node...**
Relative to parent: `PARENTS DESCENDANTS` (example: a search node on a day page limits search to only nodes that live on the parent Day page)
Relative to grandparent: `GRANDPARENTS DESCENDANTS` (example: a search node on the day page limits search to only nodes that live on the grandparent Week page)
For both operators, add `WITH REFS` to include references in the search, or `WITH NON SEARCH REFS` to include references while ignoring the ones that search nodes produced as their results. This is useful when you negate the clause and don't want a search excluding its own previous results.
**I want to find nodes based on when they were created/edited/done (replace X with a number):**
- `CREATED LAST X DAYS`
- `EDITED LAST X DAYS`
- `DONE LAST X DAYS`
**I want to find nodes based on when they were created/edited/done relative to a date field of the parent node:**
Use system fields Created time, Last edited time, and Done time. As field value, write out `PARENT.date field`.
To read about these search operators and more, check out [Search nodes](/learn/features/search-nodes).
## Find nodes with empty descriptions
You can use regex to find this:
```
Add a reference to the area you want to search within
>NOT >Node description:: /.+/
```
## How to find URL nodes
While there isn't a search operator to target URL nodes, they all use a system-defined node to store the URL. You can grab the field definition for it in one of the URLs, and it will retrieve all nodes that use this field, which will be mostly URL nodes.
Note that you can paste the URL search node into the search to limit the search to only children within that node.
## CHILD OF vs PARENTS DESCENDANTS
The search operators CHILD OF and PARENTS DESCENDANTS are similar, but have some key differences:
- With **CHILD OF**, the target node is the node that you reference in it, and the results will only be direct children of the referenced node, including references
- With **PARENTS DESCENDANTS**, the target node is the parent relative to the search node, and the results will match any descendant (children, grandchildren, great grandchildren etc.) of the target node, ignoring reference nodes
- With **PARENTS DESCENDANTS WITH REFS**, the same as PARENTS DESCENDANTS except it includes reference nodes
- With **PARENTS DESCENDANTS WITH NON SEARCH REFS**, the same as PARENTS DESCENDANTS WITH REFS except references created as search node results are ignored
## Logic behind the query builder
The query builder uses what's called "prefix" (or "Polish") notation. The operator comes before the operands. Instead of writing `x AND y` you write `AND x y`.
This style of writing things avoids the need for parentheses to disambiguate things. Consider this ambiguous example: `x AND y OR z`. This could mean `x AND (y OR z)` or it could mean `(x AND y) OR z`.
But with prefix notation, there is no need for parentheses because it is not possible to write the ambiguous form. You would have to write either:
```
AND x OR y z
```
or:
```
OR z AND x y
```
Furthermore, the query builder makes this even easier to read by using indentation and by putting each operand on its own line:
```
OR z
AND x
y
```
As an added bonus, because of this clean way of representing the logic of the query, it is easy to rearrange a query by dragging and dropping entire clauses around, something which would be much harder to do if the logical operators were in the middle and there were loads of brackets in the way.
And remember: if you are struggling to read the prefix version of your query, the linter text at the bottom of the query builder translates it into standard infix notation with parentheses, with everything in the same order you'd write it in English.
## Can I customize sidebar search, recents, or supertags?
No. The sidebar items Recents, Supertags and AI chats are system views that can't be modified, as Tana Outliner needs to ensure they work well for all users. They may be updated by Tana Outliner at any time, which would overwrite any changes made by you if customization were allowed.
If you want to set up a similar search tailored for your needs, you can create a search node and re-create the basic searches with these operators:
**AI chats search:** Use the appropriate system search operators for AI chat nodes.
**Recents search:** Use the IS ENTITY search operator + EDITED BY (USER EMAIL) ANYTIME + ANY ACCESSIBLE WORKSPACE (workspaces you have added in the sidebar) + NOT IS CALENDAR NODES to filter out calendar nodes. Replace (User email) with your Tana Outliner user email.
**Supertags search:** Use IS TAG + ANY ACCESSIBLE WORKSPACE.
## How to add or remove custom keyboard shortcuts?
## Create search nodes using Tana Outliner Paste?
Yes you can. There is a basic syntax for this which you can read about in the [Tana Outliner Paste documentation](/learn/features/tana-paste).
Example of a task search:
```
%%tana%%
- %%search%% Fei's tasks
- OR::
- [[#task]]
- [[#CS todo]]
- Assigned to::
- [[Fei-Ling Tseng]]
- NOT DONE
```
## Where is the calendar in Tana Outliner?
Tana Outliner doesn't technically have something called "the" calendar. What the app does have is calendar views, date fields, and daily notes (also called calendar nodes).
You can arrange child nodes in a calendar view defined by the date field you pick in the view, and you can take notes within the daily notes/calendar nodes like a journal.
In more detail:
**The calendar view:** A "view", like view as table, view as list, view as cards, or view as calendar, is a setting on a node that determines how its children will be displayed. In the case of a search node, the search results are the children. One calendar view might show completely different things than another calendar view for the exact same period.
**Date fields:** What displays in a calendar view depends on which date field(s) you select in the view options. For example `#todo` nodes, found by a search node, might have multiple date fields such as Created date, Due date, Date started, etc. Depending on what you select, the `#todo` nodes can appear on the date(s) of any or all of the above date fields.
**Daily notes:** When you press the Today button in the sidebar, you are taken to your daily notes, formerly called calendar nodes. These nodes represent different date granularities (day/week/month/year) and are connected to the dates they represent via the date object (via @today for example). But it is not common to view the calendar nodes in a calendar view, for instance.
So, to summarize: there is no such thing as "the calendar" in Tana Outliner. The closest thing would be nodes with date information that are displayed in a calendar view.
---
#### Troubleshooting
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/help/troubleshooting
Solutions for common errors and unexpected behavior.
## My supertagged nodes are not updating with the latest changes I'm making! What's going on?
Supertag template nodes are directly connected to the template until the moment you edit or make a change to them in the instance. Editing them in any way separates them from the template, and any change you make to the template will not reflect on edited template nodes. This is part of Tana Outliner's way to never destroy information you have touched and edited.
To refresh template nodes with the updated ones from the supertag template, consider first whether you have content you want to save, and move them out of the template element first. Then, perform a hard delete (`Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + Backspace`) to clear the stale node, and the template will immediately repopulate it.
## I'm unable to delete nodes/fields in the supertag config, what's going on?
The tag might be extended, which means that it's inheriting fields from another tag. Check right above the supertag template to see if it has been extended.
## Where is my imported content? The new workspace appears to be empty
Imported content is placed either under the new workspace's Library, or under the appropriate daily page depending on the contents of your import file.
For more on import, see [Import data into Tana Outliner](/learn/features/import-data-into-tana).
## AI for Builders errors after activation
Errors when trying to run AI commands in Tana Outliner usually stem from one of two things:
1. Your OpenAI API key has not been entered
2. A payment method for using OpenAI's API has not been entered (this is a separate billing from ChatGPT, i.e. not included in a ChatGPT Pro subscription)
For more on how to set up OpenAI, read the [AI for Builders documentation](/learn/features/ai-for-builders).
## Fix "aiForBuilders feature not enabled" error
To activate AI for Builders, go to Settings, then Tana Outliner Labs, then AI for Builders.
It can happen that this setting gets reset if you switch browsers or client. This setting is stored per browser/client, not per account.
## AI error messages: Out of budget and 0/1 left
You've got to understand that Tana Outliner uses the OpenAI API. This is a different product than the OpenAI chatbot ChatGPT. So even if you have a paid account with the OpenAI ChatGPT, this is of no use to using the OpenAI API.
You have a limited amount of free queries available with the OpenAI API. This is why you run into error messages after a week of using the AI facilities in Tana Outliner. So you've got to pay extra. The good news is that you can limit your credit to approximately $5 and you can limit your maximum spend per month.
**How to get it working:**
1. Enable AI in Tana Outliner (Settings, then Tana Outliner Labs, then AI for builders: check)
2. Login to platform.openai.com (not chat.openai.com)
3. Create a user account at platform.openai.com
4. Create a payment plan at the billing overview page. Register your credit card at payment method
5. Set usage limits on the limits page. This is where you can set a monthly budget
6. Get your API key from the API keys page
7. Go to Tana Outliner and paste your fresh API key in Settings, then API tokens (hit the Create button)
8. Reboot the app
## "Retrying AI requests failed" error
This message means that the request to OpenAI was denied upon receipt, and there can be several reasons for this:
1. **Not enough funds:** Recently, OpenAI changed their payment rules and you have to prepay to cover for API costs
2. **Token window too small:** Your request may be spending too many tokens on the prompt. Switch model to one that has a higher token limit
3. **OpenAI service disruption:** If OpenAI's API is temporarily experiencing instability or down time, this may trigger this error. You can check their status at status.openai.com
## Prompt variables not getting replaced
When building a prompt in a Command node, you're allowed to use variables that bring your data into the prompt. They look like this: `${name}`
You are also allowed to use node references in the Prompt. However, if the contents of the reference has variables, they will not be replaced. Only variables written out in plain nodes will be replaced with your actual data.
## "Editing in X places" yellow message
The "Editing in X places" message usually pops up for a moment when you are editing a node that is referenced in multiple places. It's a reminder that the changes you're making here reflect on X amount of other nodes in the graph.
To see all the other places this node is referenced, zoom into it and go to the Reference section at the bottom of the page. Here you'll find all the places in the graph where a reference of this node appears.
## What does "Fields nested under other nodes" warning mean?
This warning pops up in the supertag template when there are fields that are indented (another word for nested). There are several "expected" behaviors of fields in supertags that only work when they are first-level nodes in the template, such as (and not limited by) the following:
- Searching for nodes based on their field values (all `#tasks` with Status::Complete)
- Viewing the node as a table, with fields as columns
- Using fields to build title using title expressions
If you do not care for any of the above uses, you can safely ignore the warning.
## Why is my field not auto-initializing?
There could be several reasons why a field isn't auto-initializing. Currently, field auto-initialization is triggered only on the event where a supertag is applied to a node, and the field is in a placeholder state (i.e. doesn't exist or have its own node ID).
Fields will therefore not auto-initialize under the following events:
1. When added anywhere as a solo field
2. On nodes where the supertag is already applied and the field is added after the fact
3. If the field is nested under a node in the supertag template. Fields have to be direct children to the supertag to auto-initialize
**Can I trigger auto-initialization manually?**
As a result of how initialization is triggered today, there is an unintentional quirk that can be used to re-initialize fields. For fields that fall under category 2 (from the list above), it is possible to trigger initialization by applying any supertag to the node. The fields have to be in a placeholder state, or it won't work.
## Why can I not drag nodes between workspaces?
You may see error messages like "Cannot move notes between different shared areas" or "Cannot move nodes between different workspaces - use move command."
The reason for this message is that nodes are not made to easily move between workspaces. The workspace they belong to dictates a lot of things, such as permission to view and edit.
There are a couple of methods you can use to move nodes from one workspace to the other:
- **Option 1:** Cut (Cmd/Ctrl+X) and Paste (Cmd/Ctrl+V) into new workspace
- **Option 2:** Cmd/Ctrl+K, then "Move node to", then choose workspace and target (you can set custom targets in addition to the defaults of Today/Library/Home etc.)
## Set [field] doesn't show all my fields, why?
The "Set [field]" command only works on field types Option, Instance, User and Checkbox.
## Synced calendar events not getting tagged?
Tana Outliner performs an AI action to classify events coming in from your calendar. If an event doesn't match one of the classification profiles listed, AI is less likely to apply a tag to it.
To learn about the event classes currently supported, see the classification of events section in the [Calendar integration documentation](/learn/features/calendar-integration).
## Help! I am not able to log into Tana Outliner
If you are not able to log into Tana Outliner, you can try to clear site data:
1. Open the Developer tools (`Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+I`) in the browser window.
2. Go to Application > Storage, then hit "Clear site data."
This will force-log you out of Tana Outliner. Restart the browser or desktop app, then try logging in again.
---
#### Voice and meetings
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/help/voice-and-meetings
Meeting agent, transcription, voice memos, and calendar sync.
## Does Tana Outliner offer a meeting notetaker?
Yes, Tana Outliner offers a fully integrated bot-less AI meeting notetaker as part of the desktop experience. You can use it to transcribe meetings, generate summaries, and link notes directly to your work without needing to install a plugin or add a bot.
Key features of the meeting notetaker:
- AI notetaker that doesn't join meetings, so there are no bots, no guest links, and no disruption
- Works with any meeting tool: Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack calls, or even livestreams and videos
- Works with in-person meetings, capturing audio from all participants in the room, or from lectures, conferences, etc.
- Effective meeting notetaking in real time with live transcript as people speak
- 61 languages supported with auto-detect and seamless switching during the conversation
- Ready-made templates for hiring, user interviews, investor meetings, and more
- Support on both Windows and Mac (Tana Outliner Desktop App)
- One-click on notification to start transcription, join the call, and open your Tana Outliner meeting note
- Speaker separation where the app will try to separate speakers (best effort)
- Summary auto-generated after the meeting
- Suggestion for action items, so you can easily tag to have them flow into your task system
- Integrates with your tasks, people, and projects for instant action
Read more about the [Meeting notetaker](/learn/features/tana-meeting-notetaker).
## Does the desktop app work with Zoom, Meet, Teams?
Yes. Because Tana Outliner records system audio rather than joining as a bot, it works with any video conferencing tool, including Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Webex, and in person meetings. You don't need to configure anything per platform.
## How to change the name of the meeting agent?
You can change the name of the meeting agent through the meeting agent settings.
## How to revoke meeting agent from a meeting?
Tana Outliner is looking into creating a button that will make the agent leave a meeting if you press it. Until that is in place, it is possible to force the agent to stop transcribing and kickstart the meeting notes processing if necessary.
To do this:
1. Run the command "Debug node" on the meeting node
2. Set the Meeting bot status to Done
The agent should now have stopped transcribing, and the text processing agent should start running.
## Does GPT log monitor show meeting agent credit usage?
Only partially. The transcription of the meeting does not use OpenAI and is therefore not logged in the GPT log monitor. Meetings use a service called Soniox and there is ongoing work to expose the AI credit cost of individual meetings in a simple way, but currently it's not possible.
The post-processing of the meeting transcript is however done using OpenAI and will be visible in the GPT log monitor.
## How to change tags used in meeting agent and calendar?
Supertags are created or assigned as part of the setup for your meeting agent/calendar integration.
**Calendar integration:**
Supertags that are used during calendar sync are listed under "Classification of events" in the Google Calendar settings. When you change a tag, it needs to use the same fields that are set up for the calendar integration, otherwise the information will get lost. To check which fields are used during sync, go to Google Calendar settings, then Advanced, then Raw configuration.
**Meeting agent:**
Supertags are used when processing the transcript to create meeting notes. These supertags are set during setup and can be changed by going into the command node that controls the meeting agent and the transcription process.
First, you must navigate to the text processing agent command for your meetings. In the text processing agent config, you will see parameters like "Tags used for X", which is the list of supertags used when processing meetings.
To change the tags, simply add or replace tags from these lists. However, there are several things to consider:
- **Study existing tag:** Open the config for the tag you want to replace, and study how it's set up. Try and identify dependencies like specific fields that are also used in the meeting config. Try and make sure your replacement tag replaces as much of the original one as possible
- **Set Base type:** Make sure the new supertag you add has the appropriate Base type defined, and that it's suitable for the type of object it is. Items typically use base tags: Project, Topic, Event. Entities typically use base tags: Person, Organization, Location. Action items typically use base tag Task
- **Decommission the old tag:** Make sure the tag you're no longer using is merged with the one you're using, or deleted, to prevent clutter and confusion
## How to change or disable desktop recording shortcut?
All desktop apps have access to a top bar with several OS-level menus. Go to Options, then "Customize keybindings" to change it.
**Mac:** The Option menu is visible when the top bar is visible.
**Windows:** Hit Alt to see the top bar of the window.
See the [Tana Outliner for Desktop documentation](/learn/features/tana-for-desktop) for more.
## Can I sync a calendar to other workspaces?
Currently the calendar sync only works on your private workspace.
## Can I sync multiple calendars?
Currently, Tana Outliner only accepts one calendar account which it can sync events from. Support for multiple calendar accounts is planned for the future.
In the meantime, there is a workaround where you can make events from other accounts sync to a single account, which then could connect to the app. To connect a Google account's calendar to another, go to the settings of the calendar you want to add to the primary calendar. Under "Share with specific people and groups", add your primary account and allow them to "make changes and manage sharing".
Once properly linked, you'll see the calendar appear under "My calendars" in Google Calendar, not "Other calendars". Then go to Tana Outliner and Settings, then Google Calendar sync, then General config, and you should be able to select it from the list of synced calendars.
## Two-way calendar sync?
No, Tana Outliner's calendar integration provides one-way sync at the moment. This means that if you make changes to events in the app, they are not reflected in your Google Calendar.
## Is it allowed to transcribe lectures?
The general policy for transcribing lectures at most academic institutions is that recording or transcribing lectures is permitted primarily for personal, educational use. However, we recommend checking with your institution.
A good rule of thumb is to always obtain consent before recording and transcribing others.
---
#### Writing and editing
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/help/writing-and-editing
Working with nodes, references, formatting, and daily notes.
## Can I create aliases in Tana Outliner?
Yes. In Tana Outliner when you create an inline reference, you can change what is written and still retain the link. Click the inline reference and a toolbar will pop up that allows you to set the alias.
## How do I delete nodes?
It depends what you are deleting, but almost always the cleanest way to delete nodes is using "hard delete" which clears the entire node at once. You can hard delete using the following methods:
- **Keyboard:** Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Backspace
- **Mouse:** Right-click the node icon, then select Delete
If you delete a node, it goes to the trash. If you delete a node that is referenced one or more times in the graph, the node goes to the trash and the references will have a little trash icon next to them. If you want the node and all references deleted, use the command "Hard delete including references."
If deleting the node was a mistake, you can click on the trash icon and resurrect the node through one of the references. If you delete a reference, it goes to the trash and the node it referred to and other references will still exist and not be trashed.
## How do I get the permalink to a node?
Bookmarking the URL in your browser of the form `https://app.tana.inc?wsid=XXX` (note the `wsid`) will break as it is a temporary ID for your window state.
To grab the permalink to a node, use one of the following ways:
- Right-clicking on a node, then "Copy link"
- Using the options menu on the node, then "Copy link"
- Running the command "Copy link"
The link to a node never changes. They are URLs of the format `https://app.tana.inc?nodeid=XXX` (note the `nodeid`).
## How do I remove the strikethrough on a node?
It is likely the legacy implementation of the checkbox node styling. Cycle through the Cmd/Ctrl+Enter checkbox states to see if that removes it.
## Why are line breaks not supported?
Tana Outliner's speed is reliant on each node being a small packet of information. Larger nodes are slower to edit, slower to index, slower to update, and so on.
Line breaks, also known as multiline editing, would encourage longer entries of information, and would break many other situations where the contents of a node needs to be rendered as one line, such as inline references, option values, and title expressions just to name a few.
We do recognize that some want to store small pieces of information under one node, like a poem or quote. We are continuing to do research to explore ways to solve this, and also to solve for other issues related to long-form writing.
## Owner vs Parent of a node
The Owner is the node's home (where it was created). A node has only one owner, but can have many parents.
PARENT/GRANDPARENT search operators are used to refer to one and two levels up in the outline, respectively.
## How can I merge nodes, fields, or supertags?
## How to set up Unsplash banners on daily notes?
It is currently possible to plug in your own Unsplash API key which gives you access to their images for the banners of your daily notes page.
Note: This is an experimental feature; it might change in the future.
## Convert text dates to Tana Outliner dates
Typically, to insert a date into a node, type `@` followed by the date expression: today, tomorrow, friday, last monday. Tana Outliner understands natural language for dates, so you can say "in two weeks" and the app will understand.
If you want to convert text to a Tana Outliner date object:
1. Select text that contains the date
2. Press the `@` key
3. Select desired option
## Two Agendas on daily node, how to fix?
This can happen if you go through the calendar sync setup a second time. You can remove the extra/old one by clicking the ellipsis menu on the Related content section you want to remove, then selecting "Remove from #day".
## Move node to Library when supertag is used
**Goal:** To move all nodes to a single place when they get tagged. This is useful if you want nodes of a certain type to live in a place that makes sense for breadcrumb navigation.
**Instructions:** For this example, we're going to build a command that moves all tagged nodes to the Library.
**Build the command:**
1. Create a new command called "Move to Library"
2. Add the command "Move node"
3. In the parameter "Move node target", pick the Library from the dropdown. There are other locations to choose from as well, and you can insert a reference to any node you want as the target
4. Add parameter "Remove references after moving node" and give it your desired setting. Most would want it unchecked so it leaves a reference of the node in the original location
5. Add parameter "Move original node" and check it. This ensures that even when you use the Add tag action on a reference, it moves the original node to the desired location and not the reference
6. Add the command to the config of the supertag in question. Go to AI and Commands, then "On added", and add a reference to the command here
**Testing the command:**
- If used on a node, it should immediately send the original to the specified location and leave a reference behind
- If used on a reference, it should send the original, wherever it is, to the specified location
## Receive notification when someone uses a supertag
**Goal:** Get notified when a specific supertag has been added to a node. For example, you created a `#feedback` supertag to collect feedback from your team, and you want to receive a notification when someone applies the tag.
**Instructions:**
**Build the command:**
1. Create a new command called "Notify me"
2. Add the command "Run a command line command"
3. In the parameter "Commands", write `Notify @[your Tana Outliner account email]`. Example: `Notify @fei@tana.inc`
4. Go to the supertag config you want to be notified on, to the section "Trigger commands on events", and add a reference to the command to the "On added" section
**Testing:**
Test the command by adding the supertag. You should get a notification that a notification has been sent, and see a blue dot appear in your notifications. Clicking it shows you which node you were notified on.
---
### Features
#### Account settings
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/account-settings
Account settings control your subscription, billing, workspace preferences, API tokens, and experimental features. Access it from the profile icon in the top right.
## Basics
Account settings is where you control things on the account/browser level (as opposed to workspace level).
To find your account settings, click on the profile icon in the top right:
From the top:
- **Manage your account:** Go here to manage your Tana Outliner subscription and billing details.
- **Subscription and payment information:** see your plan, renewal date, make changes to your subscription or find past invoices.
- **AI credits**: see how many AI credits are left in the monthly quota, buy top-up credits if needed.
- **Reset primary workspace:** This will give you a clean start with the most recent pre-built configuration for new users. Your old workspace with all data will be moved to a secondary workspace so you can still access it.
- **Delete account:** This will permanently delete your Tana Outliner account. WARNING: This is not reversible, it puts your email on a delete list and blocks it from getting a new account. If you want a fresh start, reset the primary workspace instead.
- **Settings**: Preferences for your primary workspace; theme, calendar sync, date/time, move targets and more. [See here for more](/learn/features/account-settings#workspace-settings).
- **Tana Labs**: Occasionally, experimental features are released here and you can decide to enable/disable them.
- **API tokens:** If you are a paid subscriber, you can create and refresh API tokens per workspace here. [See here for more](/learn/features/input-api).
- **Import content**: Options for importing content into Tana Outliner. [See here for more](/learn/features/import-data-into-tana).
- **Invite to Tana Outliner**: Invites you have will show up here.
- **Report bug**: The official way to log bugs to the Tana Outliner team. Opens a chat that guides you through the process.
- **Log out:** Log out from your Tana Outliner account.
- "**web@XXX.XX.X**": The client version number. For the latest release notes, [see here](/changelog).
## Details
### Manage account
This shows all the details and settings about your user account.
#### Subscription settings
You can see which plan you're on, when it renews and choose to change between monthly/yearly plan. You can also cancel or make changes to you billing information, or see past invoices.
#### AI credits
Paid plans include AI credits, which renew every month on the billing date (visible in subscription settings). In the account settings you can see how many credits you have used, how many are left and buy additional credits if needed.
#### Reset workspace
If you want a fresh start, you can reset your primary workspace.
- This will move your existing primary workspace into a secondary workspace you can choose to add in the sidebar, so you'll keep all the data.
- All sidebar items, pinned nodes and mounted workspaces will disappear.
- If you have the calendar sync set up, it will continue to be active, and you will be asked in onboarding if you want to continue to sync it.
#### Delete account
This is only recommended if you are no longer planning to use Tana Outliner. After you set your account to delete, you will not be able to re-register for Tana Outliner with the same email without contacting support at hey@tana.inc.
### Workspace Settings
You can also access the Settings via the command line: `Open settings`
This will open a new panel with your settings. These will vary based on features you have used in Tana Outliner, but below is a fairly average example of what it may look like:
### Google Calendar integration
For more, see [Calendar Integration](/learn/features/calendar-integration).
### Date/Time settings
Here you can set your Time Zone, Time format, and First day of the week preferences. They represent the account settings, and also your private workspace settings. When you are browsing another workspace with different settings, the times will be adjusted accordingly.
Time Zones use the international standard for setting timezones. [See here for the official nomenclature of TZ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones).
### Private keyboard shortcuts
Any custom keyboard shortcuts you have saved will appear here. [See here for more on creating custom shortcuts.](/learn/features/command-line#custom-keyboard-shortcuts)
### Preferences
These are your global user preferences.
#### Enable dark mode
Make dark mode persistent
#### Use system theme
Use system light/dark mode setting.
#### Warn when editing reference nodes
Enables the reference counter indicator when editing references
#### Show daily tip
Shows a daily tip whenever Tana Outliner is opened or reloaded. There are a limited amount of these, so once you've seen them all, they will not show again.
#### Show URL embeds
There are several URL embeds implemented in Tana Outliner: Youtube, Vimeo, Spotify, Figma
#### Show reference counter
Shows reference counter next to nodes that have references (experimental, not recommended to large workspaces)
#### Default transcription language
Define language when we send voice recordings for transcription
### Notifications seen
Keeps track of in-app notifications for things like invites, and uses of `Notify →` via command line.
### Progress stats
Progress on in-app help and activities, to determine what content to show you
### Move targets
Any custom move targets that belong to this workspace live here
### API keys
Place to store API keys for different integrations.
## Tana Labs
We've created Tana Labs for the users who want to test our upcoming features that are still in development.
### Editor tips
Suggests tips for users for Tana Outliner features when detecting commands from other tools
### Journal today view
Show the current day node when expanding the Daily notes node on the home node.
### Transcript backup audio recording
Automatically record and store audio during live transcription sessions.
### Entities
Enables the tracking and indexing of entities in the content.
---
#### AI Agents
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/ai-agents
AI chat agents are customized AI chat experiences you can build in Tana Outliner. Each agent has its own system prompt that defines how it responds, an optional greeting message, and a set of commands available in the chat. Agents appear as buttons on tagged nodes or in the command menu.
## Overview
AI chat agents allows you to make AI chat in Tana Outliner much more powerful, by letting you customize look and feel, "personality", how conversations start, and what the user can do with chat content.
You can build your own agents (advanced use, requires knowledge of [command nodes](/learn/features/command-nodes) and [AI commands](/learn/features/ai-command-nodes)), or install an agent as a template.
AI chat agents require use of AI, and require a paid plan.
## Basics
AI chat agents in Tana Outliner lets you instruct the agent with knowledge and instructions for a use case where you want its help. This can give better results when using AI chat in Tana Outliner.
Agents in Tana Outliner are built on AI command nodes, but can also be explored by downloading a [Tana Outliner Template](https://tana.inc/templates).
An example of an agent that can be built in Tana Outliner would be a "User research interview agent" that is trained on best practices for how to process interviews, and will analyze a transcript from a user interview and extract suggested action items for the product team. Try this with the [User research interview template](https://tana.inc/templates/user-interviews).
_A lot of work is going on to take AI agents in Tana Outliner to the next step - stay tuned!_
## Detail
There are two ways to start a chat with an agent:
- **As a button** on selected nodes: The command can then be added to appear as a button on e.g. nodes with a supertag, allowing you to start a chat with this agent directly from the node.
- **In the menu**: Commands you create in nodes (outside configuration panels) are automatically added to the command line (type `Name of your command`)
- As all commands, this will also respecting the node filter that defines when the command should appear.
#### How to build AI chat agents
If you want to build your own, AI chat agents has four aspects that can be tailored:
- **Presentational**: name, description, icon (when zoomed in), banner image
- **"Personality"**: AI model, temperature, system prompt
- **Startup mode**: What happens when the agent is invoked? A combination of `initial prompt` and `chat greeting` leads to three different scenarios:
- Only `chat greeting`: A message is displayed to the user, without sending anything to AI, and the chat waits for user input
- `Chat greeting` and `initial prompt`: Greeting is displayed, but initial prompt is immediately run in the background, thus you will end up with two messages from the agent (the greeting, and the response to the prompt), and then we wait for input.
- Only `initial prompt`: When opening chat the initial prompt is immediately run without any greeting message, the result of the query is shown, and then we wait for user input.
- **Commands:** Any commands added in the command field of an agent will show up at the bottom of the chat.
- The context of the commands is the node that the chat was run from (currently we don't show the commands if the chat was launched from the AI chat page).
- That means that any node filter on the command will reference the context node of the chat, not the chat itself, and any commands will output into that node.
- However, you can include the contents of the chat in the prompt using `${sys:chat}`, and the contents of the chat is automatically included if you run th Autofill command. See [prompt expressions](/learn/features/ai-command-nodes#prompt-expressions).
### Create an Agent
You can now create your own AI chat agent, that you can work with in AI chat.
To create an agent:
1. Create a new node with the name of your command to start a chat with the agent (e.g. "Chat with Manager coach")
2. Create a command node ( > `Convert to command node`)
3. **Type @** and select the **Start AI chat** command node
4. Click Add configuration
5. Type > and type "Agent", select the Agent parameter that appears
6. Type the name of the agent into the field (you can also create agents outside the command by doing > `Convert to agent` on a node, and paste a reference in here)
7. You'll now see a new command node, that let's you fill in parameters to tailor your agent. For more details on how to use parameters, see [AI commands](/learn/features/ai-command-nodes).
- The _`System prompt`_ will be the basis for how the agent will respond, it should contain the main prompt that defines the personality of the agent. It can be short or long.
- Prompts can refer to specific parts of the content by using [prompt expressions](/learn/features/ai-command-nodes#prompt-expressions).
- `Chat greeting` is how the agent will respond when you start a chat with it
- Initial prompt
- `Model to use` lets you select which AI model to use.
Now you can start a chat with your new agent by doing > `Chat with (agent name)`, and a new AI chat with the agent will open.
#### Show agent commands as buttons
If you want an AI chat agent to appear as a button on certain nodes, you can add it in the Compact or Full menu:
1. Open the configuration panel for the supertag you want to add the button to
2. Go to the "AI and Commmands" section
3. Do with your cursor on the agent command
4. Do into the Compact or Full menu fields
1. Compact menu will make the button appear on tagged items both collapsed and expanded/zoomed.
1. Full menu will make the button appear only when you expand or zoom into nodes.
If you want to see what others are building or get help, join our [community on Slack](https://tana.inc/community), with a dedicated #ai-for-builders channel.
---
#### AI Chat
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/ai-chat
AI chat lets you have a conversation with an AI model directly inside Tana Outliner. Press Space below any note to start a chat with that note as context, or open the AI chats sidebar to start a standalone conversation. You can pull in specific notes as context by typing @ to reference them.
- **Chat with AI from anywhere:** On an empty node, hit Space to get started. Or, use the `AI chats` button in the sidebar.
- **Chat history in sidebar:** Click `AI chats` in the sidebar to view all past conversations and start new chats.
- **AI chat works like ChatGPT**: Type in your question, hit Enter to send it, and receive an answer instantly.
- **Chat with your content:** Insert a reference in the chat (by typing @ and selecting a node) to talk about its contents with AI. (Note: You cannot chat with your whole graph yet, this requires a different approach entirely.)
- **We send the entire chat as context for each answer.** So, the longer the chat gets, the larger the AI credit cost becomes.
- **Stored in your Library:** All AI chats are automatically saved to a system-managed "AI chats" node in your Library. The sidebar's `AI chats` view displays all your conversations in a list format for easy access.
- **Limitations:** AI chat does not handle images and files currently.
- **AI Chat Agents (advanced):** [Create your own AI chat agents](/learn/features/ai-agents) to tailor your chats and workflows.
## How to use AI chat
Click AI chats in the sidebar to view all your conversations in a list format and start a new chat. The AI provides responses without using your notes unless explicitly added to the chat using copy-paste, @ to reference any node or [live searches](/learn/features/search-nodes).
Once a chat is open you can:
- **Take default actions:** Before typing anything into the chat, you have the default options to `Summarize`, `Explain`, `Continue writing` or `Translate` the content in the reference
- **Ask a question or provide a prompt:** write above the reference and hit Enter to receive a response
- **Add, change or remove the context that is included in the chat:** Paste more references to add context, or delete the nodes to remove. (Note that AI credit use depends on how big of a context you are sending to AI.)
On AI responses you can take further actions, or copy the content into your notes:
### Things you can do on AI responses
- You can make edits right in the chat.
- You can **apply Supertags**, to add parts of the result into your notes.
- You can create a `New thread` based on the conversation up until that point, if you want to take the conversation in a new direction. This puts the full chat up to that point into the chat context.
- Hover over an AI response, and you can `Insert` the latest response to the parent of the chat (the place you initiated the chat from), `Copy` the response to your clipboard, or continue chatting to it.
- You can `Stop/rerun` an AI job if you want to tweak the prompt. This will delete the AI response up to that point. Hold Alt+click to create a branched path of conversation that keeps the history of the previous response(s).
You can also ask for have the results formatted as a table.
For more tips on how to use AI chat, check out the AI chat guide by pressing the i (info) button in the chat.
## Use _AI chat_ to chat to your notes
You can also include your own notes as context in the AI chat. Type @ and then select the node you want to reference.
### Start an AI chat from any note
You can invoke AI chat within any node to ask questions about it.
Press space on an empty node on the bottom of any node to start an AI chat with that node as context:
You can also click the purple sparkle icon (1) next to the node options to start an AI chat in a new panel. Notice in the screenshot above that a reference to the node is loaded in the chat (2):
### What and how much gets included in the context?
When you add context to an AI chat (a reference to a node you want to include in the prompt), all nodes in the tree are included. If there are references, it includes them but not any referenced nodes nested under them:
## Select AI model (paid feature)
Tana Outliner's built-in AI chat supports many of the cutting-edge models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google. If you are on a paid plan, you will see an icon to open the model selector in any AI chat. Some models support web search and reasoning. This is indicated with icons in the model selector:
These models can also be used in [AI command nodes](/learn/features/ai-command-nodes).
### All models support web search
When you ask Tana Outliner's AI chat a question about things not related to your notes in Tana Outliner, the models will now search the internet to find the information. They may include citation links back to the sources used.
NB: This is different from **web fetch**, were you can ask the model to read/summarize a specific URL. C*urrently not supported.*
### How to select model in Tana Outliner's AI chat
### Current models supported in Tana Outliner's AI chat
*Updated Nov 21, 2025*
#### OpenAI GPT
- GPT-4o
- GPT-4.1
- GPT-5 Nano (Reasoning: None)
- GPT-5 Mini (Reasoning: None)
- GPT-5 (Reasoning: Medium)
- GPT-5.1
- Reasoning: None
- Reasoning: Low
- Reasoning: Medium
- Reasoning: High
- GPT-5.2
- Reasoning: None
- Reasoning: Low
- Reasoning: Medium
- Reasoning: High
- Reasoning: X-High
#### Google Gemini
- Gemini 2.5 Flash
- Standard
- Extended Thinking
- Gemini 3 Flash
- Reasoning: Low
- Reasoning: High
- Gemini 3 Pro Preview
- Reasoning: Low
- Reasoning: High
- Gemini 2.5 Pro
#### Anthropic Claude
- Claude Haiku 4.5 (Reasoning)
- Claude Sonnet 4.5 (Reasoning)
- Claude Opus 4.5 (Low/Medium/High effort)
- Effort: Low
- Effort: Medium
- Effort: High
## Prompt caching
AI chat uses AI credits from your plan based on tokens used, both input (what you send) and output (what the AI generates).
When chatting with large contexts (meeting transcripts, long documents), follow-up questions can be significantly cheaper through automatic prompt caching:
- First question: Full cost as the AI reads your entire context
- Follow-up questions: Up to 80-90% cheaper when reusing the same context
Note: Output tokens (AI responses) are always charged normally.
Prompt caching is automatic when your context is large enough and follow-ups happen within minutes. Each provider (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) implements this differently.
See individual model provider docs for details:
- [https://platform.openai.com/docs/guides/prompt-caching](https://platform.openai.com/docs/guides/prompt-caching)
- [https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/build-with-claude/prompt-caching](https://docs.claude.com/en/docs/build-with-claude/prompt-caching)
- [https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/caching](https://ai.google.dev/gemini-api/docs/caching)
## AI chat agents (advanced)
[AI chat agents](/learn/features/ai-agents) allows you to make AI chat in Tana Outliner much more powerful, by letting you customize look and feel, "personality", how conversations start, and what the user can do with chat content.
You can build your own agents (advanced use, requires knowledge of [command nodes](/learn/features/command-nodes) and [AI commands](/learn/features/ai-command-nodes)), or install a template.
[Check out template with AI agents](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/AI)
If you want to see what others are building or get help, join our [community on Slack](https://tana.inc/community).
---
#### AI command nodes
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/ai-command-nodes
AI command nodes are reusable actions that send your notes to an AI model with a prompt you define, then write the result back into Tana Outliner. You configure what data gets sent, which model to use, and where the output goes. Use the Prompt Workbench to preview exactly what gets sent and test results before running commands on real data.
##
For an intro on command nodes and all non-AI commands, see [Command nodes](/learn/features/command-nodes)
### 🧪 Prompt workbench
When you trigger an AI command, the AI is given a prompt composed of a request + your data.
**The challenge of writing prompts is that it's hard to get it right the first time.** To get it right necessitates rapid iteration cycles where you can compare and contrast results, and you need to understand exactly what gets sent to AI when you run that command.
This is what the Prompt workbench was built for.
#### Commands with prompts
Many of the AI commands will ask for a *prompt. *The Prompt workbench is available for these, including:
- Ask AI
- Ask AI (non-streaming)
- Make API request
- Generate image(s) with AI
- Transcribe audio
- Text processing agent
#### How it works
Here's a quick primer on how it works:
1. **Building a command:** When you use a command that requires a [prompt](/learn/features/ai-for-builders#prompt-workbench), a button will appear called "Prompt workbench".
1. **Opening the prompt workbench:** This opens up a new panel where you can do rapid iteration testing of a prompt and its parameters to see the kind of answer they yield.
1. **Node to test with (required):** This is necessary context to set so the workbench has a real node to test the prompt on. The context is sent by default after the prompt.
1. **Custom prompt (required):** This is where you build your prompt which gets sent to an AI. You must include some kind of reference to or expression that embeds your content into the prompt, otherwise the job will run context-less. A prompt expression looks like this: `${name}`. For more, [see below](/learn/features/ai-for-builders#custom-prompt).
1. **Expanded prompt:** When you have composed your prompt with the expressions, you can preview what gets sent to AI. It will show your custom prompts with the expressions replaced with actual content based on the node you're testing with. You'll also see an estimate of how many tokens the prompt shown will cost if you send it.
1. **Configure and test:** Use the sliding scale to increase model creativity.
1. **Ready to test:** When you're ready to send a test job, hit "Test AI completion". This does spend AI credits, which you can monitor by running the command `AI Credit Monitor`
### Prompt expressions
Prompt expressions allows you to refer to parts of the content in a prompt.
#### Prompt expression keywords
When you use a command that generates new content in a draft panel, you can edit the prompt of the command directly in the prompt editor:
You can use `@` to trigger a menu of options, to tweak the prompt to give you the output you want - you can also reference specific nodes here:
Full list of prompt expression keywords:
- Context _(All data from current node, incl. all fields and children)_
- Content _(All content from current node, incl. the node's children, excluding content inherited from supertag)_
- Source* (All content from source material from voice memos/transcription)*
- Source or content _(Source material from voice memo or content if no source material)_
- Chat _(All content in chat, for use in chat-commands)_
- Node ID* (The unique ID of the node)*
- Node name _(The name/title of the current node)_
- Node URL* (A URL if the node has one)*
- Owner (of node) _(Where this node lives)_
- Tags (_The tags on a node)_
- Created At _(Time when the node was created)_
- Current Date _(The date today)_
- Current DateTime _(Time and date right now)_
- Date from day node _(the date from ancestor day node)_
- Date from calendar node _(Date based on ancestor calendar node, if any)_
- Description _(The description of the node)_
- Done time _(What time a checkbox was checked by a user)_
- Edited by _(All users who have edited the node, most frequent editor at the top)_
- Last modified at _(The last time the node was modified)_
- Last modified by* (The last user who modified the node)*
- Last edited time _(The time of the last edit)_
- Last edited by _(The user who last edited the node)_
#### Prompt expressions (advanced)
*These were the original prompt expressions, the keywords above was added for easier use in some use cases, but all
existing prompt expressions will continue to work and can be used for more advanced configurations. *
Prompt expressions in Tana Outliner are built like Title expressions, with some extra functionality:
- To get the name of the node that you are targeting, use `${name}`
- To reference field values, use `${field label}`.
- To reference the entire node context with all fields and children in Tana Outliner Paste format, use `${sys:context}`
- To return a node's supertags, use `${sys:tags}`
- To show a node's children (excluding content inherited from supertag), use `${sys:content}`
- To insert the current date/date and time, use `${sys:currentDate}` and `${sys:currentDateTime}` respectively. Keep in mind that GPT doesn't know the current date or time natively.
- To return the URL and ID of the node, use `${sys:nodeURL}` and `${sys:nodeId}` respectively.
- All of the normal title expressions are also available.
- Extra: to get the full context of the field content, use a _field definition_.
Reminder: Prompt expressions only work in nodes. They do not work if within references.
#### Bonus: Expand References
This operator will include the expanded owned content of references that are direct children of the target. This is handy if you want to include content that is not directly related to the node you're running the command on, if you want the results of a search node reference to be included, or if there are field values you want expanded in the prompt.
## All AI commands and parameters
To prevent infinite loops where AI commands are triggered from another AI commmands, a warning message will be shown,
if Tana Outliner detects an event triggered on a node that was created by AI, that was similar to an event that was
triggered less than 60 seconds ago. The event system will then be disabled and Tana Outliner will have to be reloaded
to start it again.
### Ask AI
_Renamed from Generic AI query on Jan 21, 2025._
_A generic AI query command that streams content into Tana Outliner (text will appear as soon as it's ready). Accepts user-provided OpenAI keys._
- [Prompt](#prompt)
- [Insert output strategy](#insert-output-strategy)
- [Target node](#target-node)
- [Temperature](#temperature)
- [Model to use](#models-to-use)
- Use your own AI key (check to use your own OpenAI key)
### Ask AI (non-streaming)
Can be run on a single node, a single field, or can be configured with prompts, batch processing, temperature etc. Output will not be shown until the whole content is ready. Accepts user-provided OpenAI keys.
- [Prompt](#prompt)
- [Node filter](#node-filter)
- [Node context](#node-context)
- [Field dependencies](#field-dependencies)
- [Target node](#target-node)
- [Temperature](#temperature)
- [Top P](#top-p)
- [Suffix](#suffix)
- [Best of](#best-of)
- [Max tokens](#max-tokens)
- [Model to use](#models-to-use)
- [Stop sequences](#stop-sequences)
- [Presence penalty](#presence-penalty)
- [Frequency penalty](#frequency-penalty)
- [Insert output strategy](#insert-output-strategy)
- [Combination prompt](#combination-prompt)
- [Batch prompt context](#batch-prompt-context)
- [Fill context window percentage](#fill-context-window-percentage)
- Use your own AI key (check to use your own OpenAI key)
### Make API request
_Making an API request involves specifying the API endpoint, choosing the appropriate HTTP method, providing any necessary headers or authentication, and handling the response from the API. This process allows different software systems to exchange data and functionality seamlessly._
- [Prompt](#prompt)
- [Node filter](#node-filter)
- [Node context](#node-context)
- [Target node](#target-node)
- [URL](#URL)
- [Insert output strategy](#insert-output-strategy)
- [Payload](#payload)
- [API method](#api-method)
- [Parse results](#parse-results)
- [Authorization header](#authorization-header)
- [Headers](#headers)
- [Avoid using proxy](#avoid-using-proxy)
### Generate image(s) with AI
_Returns an AI-generated image using Gemini Nano Banana Pro. Price will vary depending on how much context/instructions are give, and how complex the output it. You can max. generate 10 images at a time. _
- [Prompt](#prompt)
- [Node filter](#node-filter)
- [Node context](#node-context)
- [Target node](#target-node)
- [Image size](#image-size)
- **Image resolution** (_select Standard/1K, 2K or 4K)_
- **Image aspect ratio** (_select 1:1, 16:9, 9:16, 21:9, 3:2, 2:3, 4:3, 3:4, 5:4, 4:5_)
- [Number of images to generate](#number-of-images-to-generate)
- [Metaprompt to enhance prompt with GPT-3](#metaprompt-to-enhance-prompt-with-gpt-3)
### Run AI fields
_System command that uses the field's context to fill empty AI fields_
- [Node filter](#node-filter)
- [Node context](#node-context)
### Transcribe audio
_Sends an audio file to WhisperAI and returns a transcription._
- [Prompt](#prompt)
- [Node filter](#node-filter)
- [Node context](#node-context)
- [Target node](#target-node)
- [Temperature](#temperature)
- [Transcription language](#transcription-language)
### Autotag
_Add tags using AI interpretation_
- [Tag candidates](#tag-candidates)
### Add meeting bot
_Send a meeting agent to a video call to transcribe what participants are saying. Many of these fields map onto the ones being synced by the _[_Calendar integration_](/learn/features/calendar-integration)_._
- **Meeting link** (required): Where to find the link to the meeting
- Works well with Google Meet and Zoom. Coming soon: MS Teams
- **Transcript field** (required): Where to place the transcript of the meeting
- **Attendees field**: Where to find attendees for the meeting
- Having attendees here improves participant identification during the transcription process and when making meeting notes and attributing who said what
- **Recording target**: The link to the recording will be placed here. It will be deleted after 7 day
- **Meeting date field**: Where to find the date of the meeting. The bot will join automatically when the meeting starts.
- If a meeting has no date filled in, it will join immediately when you hit "Add meeting agent" button.
- **Transcription provider**: Which provider to use for transcription
- **Meeting bot name**: Name of the bot to use for the meeting
- When the agent joins the meeting, the name of the agent can be changed here to "Tam's assistant"
- **Post process command**: Command to run after transcription is completed. The default is a command with the _Text processing agent_, see below.
### Text processing agent
_Take a transcript (or any text), extract summaries and other things, put them in a target location._
#### General
- **Transcript source** (required): *Where to find the transcript. *The field with the text for processing.
- Could be a meeting transcript, article, voice memo or similar.
- **Status attribute**: _Use this if you need to override the default system provided status attribute._
- You may be using several text processors on the same transcript. You can have each text processor triggered based on a different status field.
- **Text processing agent mode**: _Which mode to run the text processing agent in. Defaults to meeting if not set. Available modes: meeting|generic. _
- There are two modes: _meeting_ or _generic_. For standard meetings, we recommend the meeting setting as it has been optimized to process action items, entities, and attribution of ideas to attendees. For other uses like processing a voice memo, we recommend _generic_. Default: _meeting_
Note: If all you define is the Transcript source, the processing agent will create a summary of the transcript, output as a child of the node.
#### Tag choices (optional)
- **Attendees field**: _Where to find users to be used for speaker identification_
- Field where attendees are listed. Most applicable to meetings where the meeting agent identifies speakers and can link them to the list in this field.
- **Tags to use for entities**: _Entities (e.g. persons, companies) will be detected and replaced for these tags_
- **Tags to use for action items**: _Action items (e.g. decisions, todos) will be extracted for these tags_
- **Tags to use for item extraction**: _Looks for sections of the transcript that match these tags, and extracts them as nodes_
Note: if no tags are defined, the processor will not look for anything specific and only run the summary.
#### Targets (optional)
- **Summary target**: _Where to place the summary of the meeting_
- **New entities target**: _Where to place discovered entities_
- **Action items target**: _Where to place discovered action items_
- **Extracted items target**: _Where to place extracted items_
Note: If you don't set targets, things are placed as children
#### Prompts (optional)
- **Summary prompt**: _Prompt to use for generating the summary_
- **Augment prompt**: _Prompt to use for augmenting the attendees_
- **Action items prompt**: _Prompt to use for detecting action items. Use `${sys:actionItemTags}` to get configured tags_
- **Entities prompt**: _Prompt to use for detecting new entities, Use `${sys:entityTags}` to get configured tags_
- **Extracted items user prompt**: _Additional prompt to use for extracting items (optional)._
```
EXAMPLE PROMPT:
GOAL:
- You are a senior UX researcher tasked with finding relevant “user observations”
in an onboarding transcript and reporting them back classified according to
the provided tags.
TASK:
- Find all moments in the transcript when the user experience any of the
described types of observation found in the supplied tags.
- You work for Acme Inc., and it is the experiences of the user - not the
team member - you want to observe and capture. The person with the #team acme
tag works at Acme Inc. The person being onboarded is tagged #person.
- Find at least 10 items, and at least 2 of each type.
```
#### Disabling functions (optional)
- **Disable augmentation**: _Checkbox. Do not enhance attendees with additional information_
- **Disable summary**: _Checkbox. Do not generate a summary_
### All parameters
#### Prompt
- Description: Prompt expression - same syntax as title expression, but can be multiline. `${sys:context}` gives context of node and children.
- Source: Tana Outliner
- Note: While you can use references in prompts, any variables like `${sys:context}` will not convert. See FAQ on why [prompt variables](/help/troubleshooting#prompt-variables-not-getting-replaced) have to be plain nodes.
#### Node filter
- Description: Search query to filter nodes that this command can be run on
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Node context
- Description: Node context for commands - defaults to node the command is run on
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Field dependencies
- Description: References to other fields on the same node. If any of these fields are empty, and have AI turned on, then their AI prompts will be run before evaluating this command.
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Target node
- Description: Defines what Tana Outliner object to insert the result into. Can be a reference to a template node, or a field reference. There are some special types of nodes that references "universal" locations in Tana Outliner:
- Current day page
- Draft panel
- Library
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Temperature
- Description: What sampling temperature to use, between 0 and 2. Higher values like 0.8 will make the output more random, while lower values like 0.2 will make it more focused and deterministic. OpenAI generally recommends altering this or top_p but not both. Defaults to 0.
- Source: OpenAI
#### Top P
- Description: An alternative to sampling with temperature, called nucleus sampling, where the model considers the results of the tokens with top_p probability mass. So 0.1 means only the tokens comprising the top 10% probability mass are considered. OpenAI generally recommends altering this or temperature but not both. Defaults to 1.
- Source: OpenAI
#### Suffix
- Description: A string that will be appended to the end of the text.
- Source: OpenAI
#### Best of
- Description: Generates best_of completions server-side and returns the "best" (the one with the highest log probability per token). When used with n, best_of controls the number of candidate completions and n specifies how many to return – best_of must be greater than n.
- Source: OpenAI
#### Max tokens
- Description: The maximum number of tokens to generate. Will be capped at maximum given prompt length. Defaults to maximum.
- Source: OpenAI
#### Model to use
- Description: Allows you to select from the models that are available to use in Tana Outliner.
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Stop sequences
- Description: Up to 4 sequences where the API will stop generating further tokens. The returned text will not contain the stop sequence. One sequence on each node.
- Source: OpenAI
#### Presence penalty
- Description: Number between -2.0 and 2.0. Positive values penalize new tokens based on whether they appear in the text so far, increasing the model's likelihood to talk about new topics. Defaults to 0.
- Source: OpenAI
#### Frequency penalty
- Description: Number between -2.0 and 2.0. Positive values penalize new tokens based on their existing frequency in the text so far, decreasing the model's likelihood to repeat the same line verbatim. Defaults to 0.
- Source: OpenAI
#### Combination prompt
- Description: After running the normal prompt over all of the context, this prompt will be run with `${sys:context}` set to the concatenated output.
- Source: OpenAI
#### Batch prompt context
- Description: The presence of this field enables splitting up a long context into multiple prompts, which can optionally be combined with the Combination prompt. The field `${sys:context}` is determined by the dropdown options, or by a reference to a field or a node.
- Source: OpenAI
#### Fill context window percentage
- Description: The context window size includes both the prompt and the response. This parameter takes a number from 0 to 1, and determines the percentage of the context window that the prompt is allowed to fill - both for individual and batched prompts. The default is 0.5, which means that the prompt and response are equal in size.
- Source: OpenAI
#### URL
- Description: URL, processed using title expressions
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Insert output strategy
- Description: Default is adding as a child (except in fields, where default is replace)
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Payload
- Description: Payload type
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### API method
- Description: Defaults to GET
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Parse results
- Description: Defaults to no parsing (raw)
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Authorization header
- Description: For authentication (for example "Bearer ....")
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Headers
- Description: API headers, must start with a word and a colon, like "Authorization: ..."
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Avoid using proxy
- Description: For local sites, or where you know there is no CORS issue
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Tags
- Description: Define supertags
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Image size
- Description: The size of the generated images. Must be one of `256x256`, `512x512`, or `1024x1024` for `dall-e-2`. Must be one of `1024x1024`, `1792x1024`, or `1024x1792` for `dall-e-3` models.
- Source: OpenAI
#### Number of images to generate
- Description: The number of images to generate. Must be between 1 and 10. For `dall-e-3`, only `n=1` is supported.
- Source: OpenAI
#### Metaprompt to enhance prompt with GPT-3
- Description: n/a
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Number of groups
- Description: Defaults to 3
- Source: OpenAI
#### Transcription Language
- Description: The language of the input audio. Supplying the input language in [ISO-639-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ISO_639-1_codes) format will improve accuracy and latency.
- Source: OpenAI
#### View definition
- Description: View definition to apply to node
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### View type
- Description: Set view type by picking from dropdown.
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Fields to set
- Description: Fields to set, and optionally values
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Commands
- Description: Commands to execute
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Tag candidates
- Description: Define supertags that become candidates
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Fields to remove
- Description: Define fields that, if present, will be removed.
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Move node target
- Description: Define node to be moved. Reference to a specific node, field or a dropdown option
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Remove reference after moving node
- Description: Will remove the reference after moving node
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Move original node
- Description: By default, if you run the command on a reference, the reference will be moved. This option can force the original node to be moved.
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Done status to set
- Description: Gives you done state options to set. There are four options to choose from:
- Node has no checkbox
- Done
- Not done
- Toggle done status
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Command to run
- Description: Write out the commands you want to run.
- If you're uncertain about how a command is written out, navigate to it through the command line, create a custom shortcut, and go to `Settings > Private keyboard shortcuts` to the shortcut you just made and expand it. You'll find the command written out in a node.
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Look for children in field
- Description: Looks for children in a specific field, instead of the node. Add reference to field definition.
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Relative date string
- Description: Write out a date string like _this week, in two months_, etc. Interpreted with prompt expressions.
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Reference date
- Description: Either a date, or use Lookup field to reference a field. If reference date is May 1, and relative date is in two weeks, the output will be May 15th.
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Date/time granularity
- Description: Allows you to specify the granularity of the date object. Use the dropdown to set year, month, week, day, hour, minute, second, or millisecond.
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Set only start or end of date
- Description: Allows you to specify whether you want to set a Start or End date/time.
- Source: Tana Outliner
---
#### AI for builders
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/ai-for-builders
AI for Builders is the toolkit for creating custom AI automations in Tana Outliner. It includes AI fields that auto-fill based on a node's content, the Prompt Workbench for testing and refining prompts, and command nodes for building reusable AI actions.
## Overview
The Tana Labs feature `AI for Builders` was the first generation of AI functionality in Tana Outliner. It introduced a modular toolkit to build AI workflows and embed AI processing into Tana Outliner actions. This included things like command line actions, command nodes, the prompt workbench, Autofill, Autotag, generate image and much more.
With the introduction of [Tana AI](/learn/features/tana-ai), `AI for Builders` will graduate from being an experimental project to being an integral feature in Tana Outliner, and will therefore cease to exist as a Tana Labs option moving forward.
AI work will be powered by [Tana AI](/learn/features/tana-ai) and not through OpenAI API keys brought by the user (BYOK), with the exception of one general purpose command called `Ask AI` commandthat will accept BYOK.
The advanced tools that were introduced under the `AI for Builders` feature will remain mostly the same. You do not need to fix or change anything once this change is in effect.
## Basics
- All AI functionality that previously worked with your own API key will now be powered by Tana AI. For more on how Tana AI works, see [Tana AI](/learn/features/tana-ai).
- Any functionality that was created as part of AI for builders will continue to exist until further notice. This page will be integrated into the main Tana Outliner AI page eventually.
## Details
There are many changes happening with AI in Tana Outliner. Details on this page might not be fully in line with the
newest user experience. We apologize for the confusion and inconvenience this may cause as you learn about AI features
in Tana Outliner. For the most up to date info, see [Tana AI](/learn/features/tana-ai).
### AI: \
Start a node with `ai:`, and add your prompt. You'll see an Ask AI button pop up. Press it, and this generates the AI response for you.
You can also do the same through the command line, either pre-writing your prompt in a node and running `Ask AI`, or taking an existing node with content and running `Ask AI to →` and type out your prompt in the command line.
The plug-and-play AI commands will let you:
- quickly query GPT, or generate art with DALL-E, using your nodes as prompts.
- cluster/sort your nodes using AI.
- transcribe audio files into text.
There are seven standard commands that are accessible via the command line:
**Ask AI commands**
- Ask AI
- Ask AI to →
- Ask AI (creative)
**DALL-E commands**
- Generate image(s) with DALL-E
- Generate image(s) with DALL-E (enhanced prompt)
**Other commands**
- Cluster children with embeddings
- Transcribe
### AI Fields / Autofill
_Desktop only_
**AI fields are super-powered fields:** through GPT, they can be automatically filled in with useful data, based on what the AI can see of the field and its context.
Turn it on by going to Field configuration, and turn on `✨AI-enhanced field`. An `✨AI` button will appear next to the name of the field. To autofill the fields, click it.
By default, the AI looks at the node the field is attached to plus the node's children, other fields and description.
This is packaged into a prompt and sent to the AI, with the task `Decide a value for the field: [field name]`. The AI then does its best to answer.
#### Smart tables
AI fields can be run on a single node, or as a part of a table.
#### Suggest AI fields
You can also have GPT suggest appropriate AI fields for you, from the "Add column" area in tables.
Since we send the whole node content as context, if you first calculate one field, and then click to calculate a
second, the output of the first field will also be included in the context for the second field.
## Builder's corner
For more advanced implementations of AI, we have created a highly modular set of building blocks which are covered below. It is a higher threshold of entry, but allows for customizations that are not possible anywhere else.
### Prompt Workbench
See
When triggering an AI lookup field or running a custom Ask AI command, the AI is given a prompt composed of your data + a request.
See
The key to creating powerful AI functionality in your Tana Outliner workflows, is understanding what is sent to the AI when you run a command.
You can view, test and edit your prompt in the Prompt Workbench.
Access the workbench in the following ways:
- When you turn on AI-enhanced field in the field configuration (see image below)
- On the Ask AI command node
When you open the prompt workbench, you'll see this:
The prompt workbench consists of a few sections:
#### Test node
You can set which node is used for testing and setting up your prompt
#### Custom Prompt
The Custom Prompt is the window where you feed your own prompt into the AI function you are configuring.
Prompt expressions in Tana Outliner are built like Title expressions, with some extra functionality:
- To get the name of the node that you are targeting, use `${name}`
- To reference field values, use `${field label}`.
- To reference the entire node context with all fields and children in Tana Outliner Paste format, use `${sys:context}`
- To return a node's supertags, use `${sys:tags}`
- To show a node's children (excluding content inherited from supertag), use `${sys:content}`
- To insert the current date/date and time, use `${sys:currentDate}` and `${sys:currentDateTime}` respectively. Keep in mind that GPT doesn't know the current date or time natively.
- To return the URL and ID of the node, use `${sys:nodeURL}` and `${sys:nodeId}` respectively.
- All of the normal title expressions are also available.
To get the full context of a field's content, use the _field definition_.
- To get the field definition, put your cursor on the name of a field, to copy, put your cursor inside the prompt and to paste a reference to the field definition
The video shows the difference between the title expression pointing to a field versus the field definition in terms of what gets sent in the prompt:
You can also use dynamic content in your prompts: use a reference to a node directly in your prompt (including search nodes), or create search nodes in the prompt.
#### Side note: Tana Paste and AI prompts
All output from the AI is parsed with Tana Paste before being inserted into Tana Outliner. For smaller texts, this should make no difference for you, but it does offer the possibility of teaching the AI to generate rich Tana Outliner data structures.
For example, you can tell it to generate a list of cities, and tag each as city, with the population as a field. Providing examples are really helpful:
```
- Rio de Janeiro #city
- Population:: 4M
```
Other useful tricks you can tell AI to do to output in a more Tana Paste friendly format:
- "Output as Markdown table"
- "Output as Markdown code block"
- "Output as hierarchical Markdown, and use indentation instead of # for headers"
- "use - [ ] for tasks"
You can even make it generate search nodes. For more on that, read up on [Tana Paste](/learn/features/tana-paste).
#### Expanded Prompt
The expanded prompt section shows what is being sent to the OpenAI API. To see what is being sent from and to Tana Outliner when you're using AI, use the GPT Log Monitor.
#### Temperature
If you frequently get unsatisfying responses that start with "As a language model", try turning the temperature up for your prompt. Increasing the model's creativity seems to often get it to loosen up a bit.
A rule of thumb:
- If you are generating new content, use a high temperature.
- If you are restructuring your existing data, use a low temperature.
### AI Command nodes
To learn about all custom AI command nodes, see [AI Commands](/learn/features/command-nodes#all-ai-commands). Some commands are covered below.
#### Ask AI command
_Renamed from Generic AI command on Jan 21, 2025._
This command node only works with an OpenAI key you provide. (See [BYOK setup](#byok-setup) for more info on how to connect your own key to Tana Outliner.)
#### Autotag
Autotag is an AI Command that is designed to help users sort and organize their content. Autotag uses AI to analyze different items, recognize what they are, and apply the relevant tags.
Set up the command _Autotag_ with parameter _Tag candidates_, list a few supertag candidates in the configuration, and now run this custom command on a list of nodes.
Once supertags have been assigned, you can use [Autofill](#autofill) to fill in fields based on the contents of the name. For example, AI can provide suggestions to fill fields, such as deadline, topic, even follow-up task, based on what it finds. You can also set it to auto-generate a new title and description. You can also exclude fields from the action, and choose to run on GPT-4 for different results. All of this can be switched on in the Supertag configuration as _AI-enhanced tag_.
### BYOK Setup
Warning: Your own OpenAI API key only works with the Generic AI query command.
#### Your OpenAI keys
All interactions with the APIs require you to connect your own OpenAI API key. To get it, go to [OpenAI's API Key page](https://platform.openai.com/api-keys).
**IMPORTANT**: For the OpenAI API to work, you need to add your credit card in Billing so that OpenAI can charge you
for API usage. Pinging the API via Tana Outliner will otherwise produce errors.
Once you have your API key at hand, open the command line and run the "Set OpenAI API Key" command. Then paste your key in the field and you're good to go.
#### Your data and privacy
The different AI commands require us sending your data to the OpenAI API.
There is no functionality in the system that sends data to OpenAI unless you take a specific action that sends data (e.g. using the AskGPT command.)
If we ever introduce the option of automatic/background processing, we will change our terms, and have an explicit opt-in.
#### Your spend limit
IMPORTANT: Since you are using your own API key, you will be responsible for your own Pricing.
When experimenting, it can be easy to use a lot of tokens (AI in Tana Outliner is a lot of fun). We strongly recommend setting Usage limits in your OpenAI API.
Note: if you are a trial user of OpenAI you are likely to be hit with rate limiting. Entering a payment method (credit card information) will improve this.
---
#### AI meeting notetaker
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/tana-meeting-notetaker
A built-in notetaker in the Tana Outliner desktop app that records audio from your computer, transcribes it in real time, and generates a summary when the meeting ends. It works for video calls, in-person meetings, lectures, and interviews without adding a bot to the call. Supports over 60 languages with automatic detection.
Tana Outliner now offers a fully integrated **AI meeting notetaker** as part of the desktop experience. You can use it to transcribe meetings, generate summaries, and link notes directly to your work - without needing to install a plugin or add a bot.
The meeting notetaker works for both calls and in-person meetings by recording system audio, and can also be used for lectures, interviews, and other audio sources. The feature is available on both Mac and Windows through the Tana Outliner desktop app and supports over 60 languages with automatic language detection.
We recommend doing a test meeting the first time you have set up the meeting notetaker, and verify that audio is being
picked up in the transcript. Different machines and OSes may handle audio differently.
## How to set it up
**1. Open the configuration for your meeting supertag**
- You can use an existing tag (e.g. #meeting) or create a new one by typing `#` followed by your tag name anywhere in Tana Outliner.
- You can set up the meeting notetaker on as many supertags as you want.
**2. Enable meeting notetaker on a supertag**
- Toggle `Audio-enabled tag` on under the "AI and commands" section.
- Turn on `Include system audio` to include audio played by your computer, for example other voices in online meetings.
- Turn on `Output as transcript` if you want to transcribe with speaker separation and timestamps (stored in the note's source material).
This will automatically add the "Text processing agent" command with its default configuration.
See [here](/learn/features/meeting-agent) for further customization of the text processing agent.
Enabling these options will make a Mic button appear on the supertag:
When you open a tagged meeting, you'll see the mic button below the title:
## Start note taking
You can start a transcription in several ways:
- Click the **microphone button** on any note tagged with an audio-enabled supertag.
- Click the **desktop notification** if Tana Outliner detects a meeting or you've synced your Google Calendar to Tana Outliner.
- Use the command line with , choose "**Start meeting with...**", and select the supertag you want to use (all audio-enabled tags will show).
When meeting transcription starts you'll see a floating recording menu, and a recording indicator in the sidebar. This gives you quick controls to pause for privacy, or end the meeting and start post-processing. Clicking the recording indicator will open the meeting note in Tana Outliner.
### Transcript view
You'll see a `Transcribing...` button on the meeting that you can click to open and see the live transcription in source material. This button will also be available when you pause or stop the transcription so you can revisit the transcription at any time.
> Tana Outliner [AI chat](/learn/features/ai-chat) is available on all notes. To chat with a meeting note:
>
> - Press space on an empty line inside the meeting
> - Or click **Ask AI about this content** in the top right
## Re-transcribe from audio file
If real-time transcription stops due to network issues or vendor outages, you can retranscribe from the captured audio file using the `Re-transcribe from recordings` command available in context menu on right-click or through the command line.
### How to enable it?
When this is on, Tana Outliner keeps the original audio of each live transcription so you can re-transcribe it later if you run into network or language problems.
- The first time you run a live transcription, Tana Outliner asks once whether to save the audio.
- You can change it at any time from the command line: `Save audio from transcriptions` to turn it on, or `Stop saving audio from transcriptions` to turn it off.
### How to re-transcribe
In the right-click/context menu on a node containing audio recordings, you'll see these options:
**View recordings** - will open the audio recordings in a new panel
**Re-transcribe from recordings** - starts a new re-transcription (no language selection will attempt to auto-detect)
**Delete recordings** - Will delete the audio recording files. No re-transcription will be possible after doing this.
#### Re-transcribe in another language
If you get the wrong/an undesired language on your summary, you can re-transcribe in the language you want:
1. > Re-transcribe from recordings (press Enter)
1. Select the language you want
### Audio file handling
Audio recordings are automatically captured and stored to enable re-transcription when needed:
- Audio files are stored securely in your Tana Outliner cloud storage, not locally on your device
- Recordings have a technical limit of 59 minutes. Longer sessions will create multiple audio files (e.g., a 3-hour meeting will generate 3 separate recordings)
- Starting and stopping transcription multiple times creates multiple audio recordings
- If network connection is permanently lost during recording, audio files will not be persisted after 5 retry attempts
- Audio files are not directly accessible through the interface
## Transcription language
Tana Outliner supports realtime transcription in over [60 languages](/learn/features/live-voice-transcription). By default, transcription uses auto-detect, which can dynamically switch between languages during a meeting.
To change this:
- Shift-click the microphone button before starting the transcription,
- Click the globe icon in the transcription view during, or
- Set a default language using the `Set default transcription language to...` command
The summary will be generated in the same language as the spoken language. You can translate the summary by using AI chat.
## Configure transcription
### Transcription context
You can add context to improve the quality of transcription for difficult words or names. This is configured in the **Realtime transcribe audio** command (automatically added when you enable audio on a tag):
- Add the Transcription context parameter to the Realtime transcribe audio command under "Compact menu".
- Include names or other vocabulary manually, or reference a field (e.g. Attendees) to include dynamic context from the meeting.
## Use cases beyond regular meetings
This feature is built for meetings but also works well for:
- User interviews
- Sales calls
- Hiring interviews
- [Voice workflows](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/Mobile%20voice)
- Lectures
- And more!
Explore use cases and workflows in the [Tana Outliner template store](https://tana.inc/templates)!
---
#### API and MCP
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/local-api-mcp
Tana Outliner runs a local MCP server inside the desktop app so AI tools like Claude Code and Cursor can search, read, and modify your workspace, and a hosted MCP server for connecting remote clients over the internet.
The Tana Outliner Local API provides direct access to Tana Outliner data from the desktop application. It exposes an MCP (Model Context Protocol) endpoint allowing AI tools to connect.
Tana Outliner offers two MCP servers: a **local** server that runs inside the desktop app (free, and the main subject of this page), and a **hosted** server for connecting remote clients over the internet. See [Hosted MCP server](#hosted-mcp-server-beta).
## Hosted MCP server (beta)
Alongside the local server, Tana Outliner offers a hosted MCP server, also called **Remote MCP**, that you can connect to from anywhere without the desktop app running. Because it is hosted rather than on localhost, remote-only clients work with it, and you can connect the new Tana so your Tana Outliner graph is available in its AI chat.
| Setting | Value |
| --------------- | -------------------------- |
| Connection type | HTTP |
| URL | `https://app.tana.inc/mcp` |
Setup is much simpler than the local server: there is no desktop app to keep running, no localhost port, and no API token to manage. Point any MCP client that supports HTTP and OAuth at the hosted URL, authorize when prompted, and you are connected.
**Connect the new Tana:**
1. In the new Tana, open **Settings, Custom MCP servers**
2. Click **Add server** and paste `https://app.tana.inc/mcp`
3. Give it a name, for example "Tana Outliner", and add it
4. Tana Outliner asks you to allow the connection; click **Allow**
Once connected, the new Tana can reach your Outliner graph from any chat, using the same tools as the local server (see [Available tools](#available-tools)): search nodes, read and navigate the node tree, read and edit supertags and fields, and create nodes. The connection runs both ways, so you can pull Outliner context into a Tana document or meeting and send new content back into a node in Outliner. The same URL works for other remote clients, including Claude Desktop, Codex, and always-on cloud agents.
When you move content between the tools, ask the AI to carry the Outliner **node IDs** across. A node ID points at one exact node, so the AI can go straight back to it to read or update it later, and structured references survive the trip instead of flattening into plain text.
For the step-by-step setup and the workflows it opens up, see [Connect Tana to Tana Outliner](https://tana.inc/learn/guides/connect-tana-outliner). For a full walkthrough, see the [Remote MCP systems lab](/learn/tutorials/tana-systems-lab-remote-mcp).
The hosted server is in beta and requires a paid plan. The local server described below stays free for everyone.
## Local MCP server
The rest of this page covers the local server, which runs inside the Tana Outliner desktop app. It is on by default and stays on localhost, so your data stays on your machine until a client requests it. The requirements and setup below all apply to this local server.
## Requirements
- Tana Outliner desktop app (latest version)
- MCP-compatible client (Claude Code, Gemini CLI, Codex CLI, Cursor, VS Code, etc.)
- Desktop app must be running for client connections
## Enabling the API
The Local API / MCP server is enabled by default and runs whenever the Tana Outliner desktop app is open, so there's nothing to switch on. You can optionally have Tana Outliner auto-configure a client for you from **OS menu → Options → Local API settings** (currently Claude Code only); other clients use the manual setup below.
## Connection details
| Endpoint | URL |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| MCP | `http://localhost:8262/mcp` |
| Health check | `http://localhost:8262/health` (no auth required) |
| API documentation | `http://localhost:8262/docs` (no auth required) |
| OpenAPI spec | `http://localhost:8262/openapi.json` (no auth required) |
## Setup by client
All CLI tools use the same connection details:
- **Transport**: HTTP
- **URL**: `http://localhost:8262/mcp`
### Claude Code
**Auto-configure (recommended):**
1. In Tana Outliner, go to OS menu → Options → Local API settings
2. Enable the Claude Code option
This auto-configures while Tana Outliner runs and removes the configuration on close.
**Manual setup:**
```bash
claude mcp add --transport http tana-local http://localhost:8262/mcp
```
**Scope options (`-s`):**
- `-s local` — only you in current project, not shared (default)
- `-s project` — shared with everyone in project via `.mcp.json`
- `-s user` — available to you across all projects
This creates the following configuration:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"tana-local": {
"type": "http",
"url": "http://localhost:8262/mcp"
}
}
}
```
For authentication, run `/mcp` in Claude Code, select the tana-local server, and complete the OAuth flow. A modal appears in Tana Outliner Desktop for approval, then a browser window confirms authentication status.
### Codex CLI
```bash
codex mcp add tana-local --url http://localhost:8262/mcp
```
This creates the following configuration:
```toml
[mcp_servers.tana-local]
url = "http://localhost:8262/mcp"
```
The command writes to user scope (`~/.codex/config.toml`) by default and initiates authentication immediately. A modal appears in Tana Outliner Desktop for approval, followed by browser confirmation.
For project scope, manually create `.codex/config.toml` in the project root. Run `codex mcp login tana-local` to authenticate if not already completed.
### Gemini CLI
```bash
gemini mcp add -t http -s user tana-local http://localhost:8262/mcp
```
**Scope options (`-s`):**
- `-s project` — current project only (`.gemini/settings.json`, default)
- `-s user` — available across all projects (`~/.gemini/settings.json`)
This creates the following configuration:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"tana-local": {
"url": "http://localhost:8262/mcp",
"type": "http"
}
}
}
```
To authenticate, start a Gemini CLI session and run `/mcp auth`. Select the tana-local server, then approve the permissions prompt in Tana Outliner Desktop. A browser window confirms authentication status.
### Claude Desktop
Claude Desktop requires the `mcp-remote` bridge since it cannot connect to local HTTP servers directly.
First, install mcp-remote:
```bash
npm install -g mcp-remote
```
Then in Claude Desktop, go to Settings → Developer and click "Edit Config". This opens `claude_desktop_config.json`. Add the following to the MCP server config:
**Config file locations:**
- macOS: `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
- Windows: `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json`
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"tana-local": {
"command": "npx",
"args": ["mcp-remote", "http://localhost:8262/mcp"]
}
}
}
```
After saving, restart Claude Desktop. The tana-local server should display as running when properly configured.
### Personal API token method (advanced fallback)
If your MCP client is not listed here, or if you have OAuth issues with the built-in authorization flow, you can connect to Tana Outliner's local MCP server with a personal API token instead.
This is an advanced fallback. If your client supports the built-in Tana Outliner authorization flow above and it works reliably, that is still the recommended option.
1. Open your profile settings from the top right of Tana Outliner, go to **API tokens**, then the **Personal Tokens** tab
2. Create a **Personal Token**
3. Create or update your MCP config file for Tana Outliner (you can do this manually or ask your coding agent to do it for you)
Your MCP config should include a Tana Outliner entry like this:
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"tana-local": {
"transport": {
"type": "sse",
"url": "http://127.0.0.1:8262/mcp",
"headers": {
"Authorization": "Bearer ${TANA_API_TOKEN}"
}
}
}
}
}
```
Set `TANA_API_TOKEN` in your environment before starting your MCP client.
For example:
- macOS/Linux: run `export TANA_API_TOKEN="your-token-here"` in the terminal, then start your MCP client from that same shell
- Windows PowerShell: run `$env:TANA_API_TOKEN="your-token-here"`, then start your MCP client
Important notes:
- Tana Outliner Desktop must still be running, because the MCP server is hosted locally
- Keep your personal token private and never commit it to source control
- Prefer using an environment variable rather than pasting the token directly into a config file
- Different MCP clients may use different config file names and schemas, but the required values are the same: the local MCP URL plus the `Authorization: Bearer ...` header
### Verify your connection
After setup, verify the connection is working:
| Client | Command |
| ----------- | -------------------------------------- |
| Claude Code | `claude mcp list` or `/mcp` in session |
| Codex CLI | `codex mcp list` |
| Gemini CLI | `gemini mcp list` |
You should see the tana-local server listed with a connected status.
## Available tools
### Read operations
- `list_workspaces` - List available workspaces
- `search_nodes` - Search for nodes using structured queries
- `read_node` - Read a node and its children as markdown
- `get_children` - Get paginated children of a node
- `list_tags` - List supertags in a workspace
- `get_tag_schema` - Get the schema definition of a supertag
### Mutation operations
- `import_tana_paste` - Import content using Tana Paste format
- `tag` - Add or remove supertags from a node
- `set_field_option` - Set a field to a predefined option value
- `set_field_content` - Set a field's content to a string value
- `create_tag` - Create a new supertag
- `add_field_to_tag` - Add a field to an existing supertag
- `set_tag_checkbox` - Configure the done checkbox for a supertag
- `check_node` / `uncheck_node` - Check or uncheck a node's checkbox
- `trash_node` - Move a node to trash
- `get_or_create_calendar_node` - Get or create a calendar node
- `edit_node` - Edit a node's name or description using search-and-replace
## Troubleshooting
| Issue | Solution |
| -------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Connection refused | Verify Tana Outliner desktop is running |
| Authentication fails | Remove and re-add the MCP server, retry authentication |
| Tools not appearing | Restart your client after configuration |
| Workspace not found | Open the workspace in Tana Outliner Desktop. Workspaces must be loaded to be accessible |
| OAuth popup doesn't appear | Check your browser's popup blocker settings |
---
#### Calendar integration
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/calendar-integration
Google Calendar integration syncs your calendar events into Tana Outliner as nodes on your daily notes page. The sync is one-way: changes in Google Calendar appear in Tana Outliner, but not the reverse. Synced meetings connect to live transcription for automatic summaries and action items. Requires a Tana Outliner paid plan.
## Overview
**Connect your Google Calendar to import calendar events to Tana Outliner.**
**Easily take notes on all your video calls** that are synced from your calendar using the [botless, live meeting transcription](/learn/features/tana-meeting-notetaker).
**The connection is a one-way sync.** Changes you make in Google Calendar will sync to Tana Outliner, but not vice versa
**Calendar sync is only available on a Tana Outliner paid subscription.** It requires AI credits to classify incoming events.
## Basics
- **Initial setup:** When you sign up for a trial or upgrade to a Tana Outliner paid subscription, you will have the opportunity to connect your Google Calendar with Tana Outliner. **_The Google account used for calendar sync can be a different account than the one you use to log in to Tana Outliner._**
- **See events on daily notes page:** By default we create a Related content section on your daily notes page where you will see all the synced events for the day. Click on events to zoom into them and take notes.
- **Meeting notifications:** Get notifications for upcoming meetings 2 mins before the meeting starts, clicking the notification will open the meeting node in Tana Outliner + the meeting link + start live transcription, making it easy to join and be present.
- **Botless meeting transcription:** Start transcribing audio from a meeting with one click and get an auto-generated summary directly in Tana Outliner. After the meeting you can go through suggested action items and tag the ones you want to flow to your Task board.
- **Build a CRM by having meetings:** When we sync your contacts to Tana Outliner, they all get tagged with #person. As you have more meetings, your CRM is basically making itself.
## Detail
### How the Calendar integration enables great meeting notes in Tana Outliner
The Calendar integration and [live meeting transcription](/learn/features/tana-meeting-notetaker) are two intertwined features that are meant to work together.
The calendar integration is not just a convenient way to see your events on the day node. It is an opportunity for AI to help build out your knowledge graph:
- It syncs your meetings to Tana Outliner so you have a place to prepare for meetings, write notes and agenda points beforehand
- The [Tana Outliner Desktop app](/learn/features/tana-for-desktop) can send you notifications about upcoming meetings, allowing you to add the meeting agent easily.
- The [live meeting transcription](/learn/features/tana-meeting-notetaker) lets you generates an automatic summary for you.
- All notes are saved back in Tana Outliner on the meeting node, and connects back to your knowledge base.
When the live meeting transcription creates notes, it does the following:
**Writes a concise meeting summary**: Your meeting summaries are no longer siloed on a different transcription platform just for meeting notes. They now live in Tana Outliner with the rest of your knowledge, connected to your graph and ready to use as context for AI.
**Creates action items based on the conversation:** It suggests tasks that come out of a meeting, so you can easily add them to you task dashboard by tagging them with #task (or the supertag you use).
**Builds a CRM:** Meetings usually have Attendees. By syncing your contacts that you have meetings with, the calendar integration will build up your CRM in Tana Outliner over time. You can then enrich the information on these contacts by referencing them in meetings.
Go here for more on [Meeting notes in Tana Outliner](/learn/features/tana-meeting-notetaker).
### Initial setup
#### Start setup
To start the setup, go to your day node and you'll see a Google Calendar icon. Press it to begin:
#### Grant Google authorization
- When you start the setup, you will be asked for a separate authorization for the Google Calendar integration. **Note: You can use a different account than your Tana Outliner account for calendar sync.**
- Checking the boxes grants Tana Outliner permission to access calendar events and contacts, nothing else. We recommend checking all the boxes for the calendar integration to work properly.
- Then, select which calendar you want to sync.
- Once you're through the flow, your Google calendar will be ready to do an initial sync.
- Tana Outliner will sync one week of events at the time. The sync will also trigger when you navigate to days that haven't been synced yet.
#### Google Calendar configuration
- To change anything about the configuration of the calendar later, you can go to `Settings` > `Google Calendar settings`
- For more on that, see [Calendar settings](#calendar-settings)
#### Desktop notifications
When you install the Tana Outliner Desktop app, and have Google Calendar synched, Tana Outliner will by default send you meeting notifications.
- A notification will be shown 2 mins before an upcoming meeting
- Clicking the notification will open the meeting link (Google Meet, Teams, Zoom etc) and open the meeting node in Tana Outliner, so you can start taking notes or add the meeting agent.
If you would like to disable desktop meeting notifications, you can go to the system menu for Tana Outliner desktop, click Options and toggle "Meeting notifications" off:
#### Meeting agent and calendar sync
**Open events to schedule/send the Meeting agent to the meeting:** When a synced meeting has a Meeting link (Zoom, Google Meet... Coming soon: Teams), you can send a Meeting agent to take notes for you during the meeting. For more on that, see [Meeting agent](/learn/features/meeting-agent).
### What gets synced from the calendar, and where do they go
Two nodes are created in the Library: `Google Calendar Events` and `Google Calendar Contacts`. We don't encourage users to go here often, this is just the place where things are stored. To change target nodes for people and events being synced, see [Calendar settings](#calendar-settings)
#### The integration is a one-way sync
This means that some content coming from the sync cannot be edited by the users. If they are changed, the next sync will overwrite this with the existing information from the calendar. This means that any changes to events need to happen in Google Calendar, not in Tana Outliner.
Here's a list of information coming from Google that is mapped to the corresponding Tana Outliner calendar sync settings. See [below](#raw-configuration) for the full list. These would be not editable in Tana Outliner due to their Google Calendar counterparts updating them regularly:
- ["Google term"] -> [Tana Outliner calendar config term]
- "Summary" -> Node name
- Start/End time -> Date field (user field)
- Attendees -> Attendees field (user field)
- HTML link -> Calendar link (system field)
- Conference Link -> Event meet link URL (user field)
- Description -> Event details (user field)
- Status -> Event status (system field)
#### The Google Calendar Contacts node
All contacts that are part of the invite list of an event are added here
By default, a person looks like this:
#### The Google Calendar Events node
All events are added here
By default, an event looks like this:
#### Changing the names of events
Event names are locked because the names are directly tied to Google Calendar. To change the name of the meeting, change it in Google Calendar, or use a title expression on the **Meeting** tag to override it.
#### Recurring events
Recurring events have a special identifier so Tana Outliner knows which events happened previously or are upcoming for the series. These can be found in the Related content section on the meeting node:
#### Events on your daily notes page
If you are on a Tana Outliner paid subscription, the calendar events of the day will show up on your daily notes page as a search node in _Agenda_, a related content section. If you want to learn more about how this works, see [Related content](/learn/features/related-content).
On this page, the `Configure calendar sync` option in the three-dotted menu on your daily notes navigation takes you to the Google Calendar settings:
#### Triggering sync
Tana Outliner syncs new events from your calendar within set intervals. If you know a new event in your calendar hasn't shown up in Tana Outliner yet, you can manually force a refresh by running the command `Force calendar sync` on the title of the day/week node.
### Calendar settings
Warning: The calendar settings are very complex with many moving and interconnected parts. We learn as a community, so
if you have any questions about how it works, please join our [Tana Outliner Community
slack](https://tana.inc/community) to ask your question and get help from the team and other advanced users if there's
something you want to do.
The calendar settings give you the option to change which calendars are being synced from your Google account, which fields are used to map information from Google to Tana Outliner, and which supertags to use to classify events with.
#### How to get to Calendar settings
Go to Settings, then Google Calendar settings:
#### General config
Here you can choose which calendars you want to sync to Tana Outliner. You can also disconnect your calendar connection with Tana Outliner.
#### Reset calendar integration
If you run into issues with events syncing, or just want a fresh start, you can reset your calendar integration.
`Reset integration` signs you out of Google Calendar in Tana Outliner and starts the calendar setup flow again. You can find it under `Settings` > `Google Calendar settings` > `General config`.
Before the reset, choose whether to keep existing calendar events:
- Events that you have modified or added notes to are always kept.
- If `Keep existing calendar events` is on, other synced calendar events are kept too.
- If `Keep existing calendar events` is off, calendar events that you have not modified are removed.
After the reset, sign in to Google Calendar again and follow the calendar setup flow.
#### Classification of events
When events are imported into Tana Outliner, they can be given a specific supertag according to the type of event it is.
Event classification is still a work in progress. While the below describes the current state of things and is
currently not customizable, this is likely to change in the future.
Here's a detailed description of what each of them means:
| Title: Description | Parameters |
| -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Meeting: The most common type of event. | Attendees: Min. 2 |
| Block: A block of time with no attendees | Keywords: gym, lunch, dnd, busy, hold, traveling, driving, appt; Attendees: Must be 0 |
| Full day event: An event that last the entire day | Note: Must be checked as a full-day event in calendar |
| Task: A chore that needs to be completed | Keywords: prepare, send, draft, create, finish, follow up, review, action item, to-do; Attendees: Must be 0 |
| Investor meeting: A meeting with an investor | Keywords: investor meeting, VC touchpoint, funding discussion, venture meeting, capital call, shareholder update; Attendees: Min. 2, has external participants |
| User interview: A discussion with a user about their experience with a product. | Keywords: user feedback, onboarding, product usage interview, user experience research, usability test; Attendees: has external participants; Note: not recurring |
| Hiring interview: An interview with a candidate or applicant for a job. Involves external participants. | Keywords: interview, candidate, hiring, coding test, applicant, talent acquisition, job interview; Attendees: Min. 2, has external participants |
| Out of office: Time away from home, business travelling, recreation or vacation | Keywords: OOO, out of office, vacation, traveling, holiday, PTO, time off, annual leave, leave of absence; Attendees: must be 0 |
| Two person meeting: A two person meeting that is not a 1:1 | Keywords: NOT: 1:1, 1-1, one-on-one, check-in, catch up, personal meeting, individual sync; Attendees: Must be 2; Note: not recurring |
| One-on-one: A two person check-in, sync or catch up aimed at providing mentorship, feedback, or discussing personal development. | Keywords: 1:1, 1-1, one-on-one, check-in, catch up, personal meeting, individual sync; Attendees: Must be 2, only internal participants; Note: recurring |
| Standup: A brief, regular meeting held to discuss team members' daily progress. | Keywords: standup, huddle, scrum, daily meeting; Attendees: Min. 2, only internal participants; Note: recurring |
**Note: These classes can currently _not_ be changed, or added to.**
You can specify which tag to apply for that kind of event ("Tags to set"), and you can set a command that will trigger whenever this event is identified ("On classified").
#### Advanced
##### Target configuration
Setting an event and contacts target ensures that when they're created, they get saved in that target location.
There are a number of restrictions on where you can save Event and Contact nodes. If you decide to choose another target, there will be some warning messages to guide you.
##### Raw configuration
If you need to change a field or supertag that the calendar sync uses to populate Tana Outliner events, this is where you would do it. There's a lot of raw config exposed, so tread carefully when making changes.
Note: You'll see supertag definitions and field definitions in the config. This is a reminder that they look like this, respectively:
**Enabled Calendars:** Shows the calendars that are being synced. Your personal calendar is usually shown as an email.
**Attendees field:** The field in your meeting tag where attendees will be listed, if any. Default name: Attendees
**Attendee supertag:** When attendees are downloaded from an event, Tana Outliner will try to match them to instances of this supertag using their email. Default name: person
**Attendee email field:** The email field of the Attendee supertag that Tana Outliner will match incoming event attendees with. Default name: Email
**Date field:** The field used to store the date and time of the event. Default name: Date
**Event URL field:** The field used to store the link to the original calendar event. Default name: Calendar Link
**Event details field:** The field that stores the details/description of an event. Default name: Action items
**Event status field:** The field that stores the status of the event. Possible status options: Tentative, Confirmed, Cancelled, Declined. Default name: Event Status
**Event classification config:** Same as [Classification of events](#classification-of-events)
**Event Destination:** Same as [Target configuration](#target-configuration)
**Contacts Destination:** Same as [Target configuration](#target-configuration)
#### Other calendar services
The calendar sync is currently only available for Google Calendar. We hope to expand on these offerings in the future.
#### Multiple calendar sync
We do not support syncing multiple calendar accounts to Tana Outliner at the moment. There is a workaround where you can have other calendars sync to a single Google Calendar account, so they appear in Tana Outliner. For instructions on this, see [Can I sync multiple calendars to Tana Outliner?](/help/voice-and-meetings#can-i-sync-multiple-calendars)
---
#### Checkboxes and progress bars
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/checkboxes-and-progress-bars
Any node can be turned into a checkbox by pressing Cmd/Ctrl+Enter, cycling through unchecked and checked states. When child nodes have checkboxes, the parent node automatically shows a progress bar counting how many are complete. Progress bars aggregate through the outline hierarchy, so a top-level node reflects all nested checkboxes beneath it.
## Overview
Any node in Tana Outliner can be turned into a checkbox.
Press to toggle the checkbox on, check it or hide it.
If you add a checkbox below another node, the node above will automatically get a progress bar indicator.
The progress bar shows the number of checkboxes below the node that are done/not done.
Progress bars work with the **outliner hierarchy**, meaning that any progress bars below a progress bar will be counted into the top bar.
Progress bars will include results with checkboxes from search nodes
## Checkboxes
Keeping track of tasks in the form of checkboxes are a fundamental part of a node. It is baked into the metadata of every node through the _Done_ and _Done time_ system fields. There are some very simple and powerful things you can do with checkboxes in Tana Outliner to track your tasks.
#### Add a checkbox to a node
- **Turn any plain node into a checkbox:** Cycle through each checkbox state by hitting .
- If you **press Enter on a plain checkbox node** to make another node, this new node will be automatically be a checkbox.
- **Checkboxes have three "done states"**: _no checkbox_, _not done_, and _done_.
- **You can find all checkbox nodes that is a descendant of a node** by running the command `Find todos within →`. This is handy when you've been creating tasks on the fly and want to gather them all.
- **Special search terms exist for finding nodes with checkboxes:**
- `TODO` - finds all nodes with checkboxes, no matter their done state
- `NOT DONE` - finds all nodes that are unchecked
- `DONE` - finds all nodes that are checked
- `DONE LAST DAYS` - finds all nodes that were done the past X days. Write it out like this: `DONE LAST 7 DAYS`
- For more, see [Search nodes](/learn/features/search-nodes)
- **Supertags have a setting to turn on checkbox by default:** for more on that, see [Supertags](/learn/features/supertags)
- **Supertags can have their done state mapped to the values of a field:** for more on that, see [Supertags](/learn/features/supertags)
## Progress bar
Tana Outliner has a dynamic progress bar that aggregates checkboxes from nodes nested below the top node. This allows you to build out project plans with sub-areas and sub-tasks, and see progress at a glance.
### Showing and hiding the progress bar
**Automatically shown**: When you add a checkbox below another node, the parent node automatically gets a progress bar indicator.
**Show/hide the progress bar manually:** You can right-click any node and select "Show/hide progress bar" or do > `Toggle progress bar`.
**Shown in sidebar:** If you pin a node with a progress bar, a progress bar will show in the sidebar, allowing you to see progress at a glance.
### How the progress bar works
Progress bars in Tana Outliner work with the **outliner hierarchy**, meaning any progress bars below a progress bar will be counted into the top bar.
An item with a progress bar can itself have a checkbox. That checkbox will count only as a single item in the progress above it.
The count for nodes will include items that are filtered out (if filters are applied anywhere in the hierarchy).
**Search Node Compatibility**: The progress bar can be enabled on search nodes, counting the results if these are checkboxes.
#### Color indicates recency of completion
The green line in the progress bar communicates the recency of task completion. Dark green indicates tasks completed 7 days or older, while light green shows tasks completed today. There are four age-buckets in total: today, 1-3 days old, 3-7 days old, and 7 days or older.
### How to Use the Progress Bar
- **Add Checkboxes**: Simply add checkboxes (press on a node) below a node to see the progress bar appear automatically on the top node.
- **Enable the Progress Bar on any node**: Right-click and select "Show progress bar, or use the command "Toggle Progress Bar" () to turn it on or off.
- **See recent progress**: Hover over the progress bar to understand the recency scale and see how much progress has been made recently.
- **Pin in sidebar**: drag the node into the sidebar, or use the command `Pin to sidebar` to see the progress bar in the sidebar.
## Sharing
Checkboxes and progress bars in Tana Outliner will also work in a published Tana Outliner nodes, using Tana Outliner View in Publish. This allows you to build effective project plans, client portals that keeps everyone up to date.
NB: Nodes must be **re-published for updates to checkboxes to appear** in the published page.
[Learn how to publish nodes in Tana Outliner](/learn/features/tana-publish).
---
#### Command line
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/command-line
The command line is a keyboard-driven menu for running actions in Tana Outliner. Open it with Cmd/Ctrl+K on any node, then type to search for commands like Find Nodes, Move To, View As, or Remind Me. You can also assign custom keyboard shortcuts to any command for faster access.
Tana Outliner has a **command line** that gives you access to all actions you can take in Tana Outliner. The command line is accessible via
If you're looking for a modular system for creating and assembling custom commands, see [command nodes](/learn/features/command-nodes).
## Command line
The command line can be launched from any node using the shortcut
A modal pops up which you type into to search for available commands.
### Some central commands
| Command | Description |
| ---------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Remind me | Sends your node to a date of your choice, like tomorrow or a specific date |
| Find nodes | Gives you the possibility to set up list or tables based on time created, dates, information in fields and much more |
| View as | Show you quickly the different views from the command line |
| Move to | When you have a shared workspace, you can move a node there |
### A Tana Outliner backbone function: _Find nodes_
The **Find nodes** command gives every user the magical powers of developers, allowing you to create what would have been complex database queries, lightning fast and easy in one command:
- find nodes with a specific tag, and view them in a list or table, like "**_Find nodes with tag #todo as list_**"
- find nodes created within a certain timeframe "**_Find nodes created last 7 days as list_**"
- or combine them with "**_Find nodes with tag #todo created last 7 days as list_**"
- find nodes with specific fields, and the values in these fields "**_Find nodes with tag #todo created last 7 days with field Owner=John Doe as list_**"
## Custom Keyboard Shortcuts
You can define custom shortcuts for any command in the command line, all the way down to setting specific tags or field values. To trigger shortcut recording, open the command line, find the command you want to set a shortcut for, and hit .
To remove custom keyboard shortcuts, go to Settings in the Home node or > Open Settings, and look under "Private keyboard shortcuts" for the custom shortcut you want to delete.
## All commands
### Calendar
| COMMAND | DESCRIPTION |
| --------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Remind me | A reference of the selected node will be sent to daily page of choice |
| Open calendar for → | Open a daily page |
| Show today node | Opens today node in full page layout |
| Set up day tag for this workspace | Only runs on workspace node. Creates the journal tags and nodes on the workspace root. |
### Collaboration
| COMMAND | DESCRIPTION |
| ---------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| Notify @ → | Sends a notification to target user's Notification menu |
### Copy, Download and Export
| COMMAND | DESCRIPTION |
| -------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Copy as HTML link | Copies URL of node along with node contents |
| Export plain html | Opens a new browser html page of the selected node and contents |
| Copy as markdown | Copies the selected content in plain markdown format (.md files) |
| Copy as markdown no fields, no tags | Copies the selected content in plain markdown format (.md files) without supertags or fields |
| Copy as Tana Paste | Copies the selected content in Tana Outliner Paste format |
| Download as markdown | Downloads the selected nodes as a zip file |
| Download as markdown no field, no tags | Downloads the selected nodes as a zip file without supertags and fields |
| Export workspace as markdown | Exports the whole workspace in markdown format (.md files) |
### Fields
| COMMAND | DESCRIPTION |
| --------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Set [Field] → | Set a field option on one or more selected nodes with the same field |
| Show [Field] → | Switch on chosen hidden field |
| Set Optional → | Toggle whether the field is Optional or not (Yes/No) |
| Set Cardinality → | Toggle what Cardinality a field is (single value/list of values) |
| Set Datatype → | Set the type of data the field can contain |
| Set Autocollect options → | Toggle whether a field will autocollect values to populate options |
| Set Hide field conditions → | Toggle Hide state of a field |
| Set Source supertag → | Set Source supertag for all field values |
| Create field | Creates a field node |
### Global Interface
| COMMAND | DESCRIPTION |
| -------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Join collaborative space → | Add workspaces you've been invited to |
| Open sidebar node | Open the node that drives the sidebar content |
| Open layout node | Open the node that saves all layouts (Tana Labs savedLayout) |
| Open in new browser | Opens node in a new browser instance |
| Go back | Goes back to previous location navigated from |
| Open workspace → | Open the home node of chosen workspace |
| Open quick add | Open quick add |
| Hide sidebar | Hides the left sidebar |
| Show sidebar | Shows the full left sidebar |
| Show mini sidebar | Shows the collapsed mini sidebar |
| Toggle sidebar | Cycles through sidebar states |
| Set theme to dark mode | Toggles dark mode theme on |
| Set theme to light mode | Toggles light mode theme on |
| Set theme to system theme | Matches system theme |
### Navigation
| COMMAND | DESCRIPTION |
| ----------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Open trash (deleted) | Opens node where all deleted items go |
| Open library | Open your Library page |
| Open settings | Open your Settings page |
| Open home node of current workspace | Open your home node |
| Open schema | Open your schema, where definitions for supertags and fields live by default |
| Create keyboard shortcut | Dumps keyboard shortcut nodes for manual input (do same while navigating to command line option you want, then hit to auto-record a shortcut which gets saved in Settings) |
### Nodes and references
| COMMAND | DESCRIPTION |
| ------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Move to → | Brings up a list of predetermined locations to move a node to. Defaults are Home, Library and Today. |
| Delete node | Deletes selected node and sub-nodes in trash |
| Clone Reference | Convert a Reference node into a non-referenced node with all contents cloned |
| Duplicate node | Duplicates selected node |
| Hard delete including references | Deletes a node and all References. Inline refs and refs in other workspaces stay, but with trash icon. |
| Show edit attribution | Show Edit Attribution of node |
| Hide edit attribution | Hide Edit Attribution of node |
| Hoist children to siblings | Move child nodes to the same level as selected node |
| Configure node | Opens configuration for selected node |
| Configure node (legacy) | Opens legacy configuration for selected node |
| Create URL node | Creates a node that receives and specially formats URLs |
| Lock node | Locks a node from being edited |
| Unlock node | Unlocks a locked node |
| Paste as code | Pastes contents in a special formatting code node |
| Add description | Opens the description of the selected node |
| Set move target | Adds selected node to list of places when using Move command |
| Select node | Selects the whole node |
| Copy full content to clipboard | Copies all contents of selected node as indented plain text |
| Select children | Selects child nodes of selected node |
| Iterate and convert URLs to URL nodes | Finds nodes that are just URLs and converts them to Tana Outliner URL nodes |
| Add contextual content | Creates contextual content (child node, field, column) that only appears in this specific context; doesn't add data to the node generally |
| Remove Reference | Remove a reference node |
| Get link to node | Retrieves reference link to node. Same as in an open node |
### Outline editing
| COMMAND | DESCRIPTION |
| ------------------ | ----------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Indent nodes below | Indents nodes below selected node |
| Expand | Expands the selected node's child nodes |
| Expand all | Expands the selected node's child nodes and all their ancestors |
| Collapse | Collapses the selected node's child nodes |
| Collapse all | Collapses the selected node's child nodes and all their ancestors |
| Move up | Moves selected node up |
| Move down | Moves selected node down |
| Insert after | Insert new node after selected node |
| Insert before | Insert new node before selected node |
### Panels and Layout
| COMMAND | DESCRIPTION |
| ----------------- | ------------------------------------------------------- |
| Zoom full page | Selected node opens to full page layout |
| Zoom in panel | Selected node is opened within the current panel layout |
| Open in new panel | Selected node is opened in new panel |
| Close this panel | Close panel that your cursor is in |
| Close panel | Closes the active panel (when multiple panels are open) |
### Search
| COMMAND | DESCRIPTION |
| ------------------ | ------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Find nodes | Starts query builder |
| Find todos within | Retrieves todos from within the parent node |
| Search within | Searches within the contents of selected node via main search bar |
| Create search node | Create an empty search node. Also invoked by typing "?" on an empty node |
| Open search | Open global search () |
### Supertags
| COMMAND | DESCRIPTION |
| --------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Add tag # | Starts searching for existing supertags to add to active node |
| Remove tag # | Removes selected supertag from node |
| Create supertag | Convert the contents of a node to a supertag definition |
| Insert current date and time | Adds text of current date and time (YY-MM-DD hh:mm) |
| Insert current time | Adds text of current time (hh:mm) |
| Create supertag based on content | Use node and contents (nodes, fields) to create a supertag |
| Edit supertag definition for [supertag] | Opens supertag configuration |
| Set default tag for children | Choose which supertag gets applied to all new child nodes of selected node |
### Views
| COMMAND | DESCRIPTION |
| ------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| View as [view type] | Set view of child nodes as [view type] |
| Add column | Table view only: Creates column which will appear as a field within nodes listed in the table |
| Add contextual column | Table view only: Creates contextual column/field for nodes listed in the table |
| Show column → | Table view only: Switch on chosen hidden column |
| Hide column | Table view only: Switch off column |
| Move right | Table view only: Move column to right |
| Move left | Table view only: Move column to left |
| Delete column and values | Table view only: Delete column/field and its values |
| Add calculation → | Table view only: On a numeric field, add a calculation type |
### View options
| COMMAND | DESCRIPTION |
| ------------------------------- | ------------------------------------- |
| Show view toolbar | Make view toolbar shown |
| Hide view toolbar | Make view toolbar hidden |
| Remove all view options | Removes view type and view options |
| Filter by | Opens the filter menu in view toolbar |
| Sort by | Opens the sort menu in view toolbar |
| Group by | Opens the group menu in view toolbar |
| Sort by Not Done → Done | Changes sorting of search results |
| Sort by date created, Old → New | Changes sorting of search results |
| Sort by date created, New → Old | Changes sorting of search results |
| Sort by name, A → Z | Changes sorting of search results |
| Sort by name, Z → A | Changes sorting of search results |
### AI
| COMMAND | DESCRIPTION |
| ------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| Ask AI | Ask AI anything. Write your prompt in the node and run this command. Accesses default GPT model. |
| Ask AI to → | Ask AI to do a task, which will run on the node you are on, looking at both the node and context. Node must have content. |
| Ask AI (creative) | Same as Ask AI, but with higher temperature. |
| Run AI fields | Runs all AI-enhanced fields on a node. |
| Autofill fields | Uses AI to autofill fields within the node. |
| Generate image(s) with AI | Returns an AI-generated image |
---
#### Command nodes
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/command-nodes
A command node is a custom automation you build by chaining actions together. When triggered, the actions run in sequence. You can run command nodes from the command line, attach them to supertags, or trigger them automatically.
Command nodes help you get one or more tasks done in Tana Outliner. You can create your own command nodes with multiple commands, or steps, within them. For example, build a “Process voice memo” command node that grabs the voice recording, transcribes it, creates and tags tasks and ideas that it finds, and sends it all to your daily notes.
Command nodes can be run via the command line, as buttons on a supertag, or via node events.
Command nodes are easier to understand if you're already comfortable with using the command line and the search query.
For commands that use AI, see here: [AI command nodes](/learn/features/ai-command-nodes)
## Basics
- There are three essential elements to creating custom commands: the `command node` that is a container for the command, the `commands` that represent the actions you want to do, and the `parameters` that are the settings for the commands
- To create a custom command node, run > Convert to command node on an empty node.
- To configure what the command node does, add commands as child nodes to it. To get a list of all available commands you can add, use @.
- Each command can receive certain parameters (represented as system fields), listed in the description. The ones that are starred are required. Add the necessary parameter fields to the command (hit > to create a field, then the name of the parameter), and fill it with the necessary field value.
- If there are multiple commands in the command node, they are executed in the order that they're listed from the top.
- You cannot add the same command twice. To repeat a command, wrap it in another command node and add that to the list.
- Command nodes appear as buttons attached to nodes, supertag instances, or fields. They also appear in the command line.
- You can control when/where a command appears by using _node filter_ and _node context_ parameters on the main command node.
- You can find all commands in your workspaces by writing the keyword operator `IS COMMAND` in the search node.
## Create a command node
To create a command node, on any node go > Convert to command node:
The icon of the node will change. Give the command node a name, which will appear on command buttons, and on the command line.
## Set up commands and parameters
### Commands
To configure the command node, select the commands you want using @. This gives you a filtered list of all available commands, including Tana Outliner commands, AI commands and custom commands you've defined previously.
Tana Outliner commands include:
- **Set field value** tells the system to do the _action_ of setting a field underneath your node—same way we do it ourselves—and then, optionally, filling that field with a specific value.
- **Insert a cloned copy of a node** tells the system to do the action of copying another node (that you specify inside the command) and bringing a clone of that node into the context in which you're working.
- **Add tag** adds a tag to your node, and **Remove tag** takes one away.
See [All Tana Outliner commands](#all-tana-commands) for a full list of options.
### Parameters
Each command has a set of parameters you use to configure it. To add a parameter to a command, add any of the listed parameters as a field under the command. Parameters with a star are required.
Using the example of the Move node command, you'll find these settings:
- **Target node**: Let's you instruct the action where to send the moved node.
- **Remove reference after moving node**: Let's you decide whether you want there to be a reference to your moved node at the current location, or not.
- **Node filter/Node context**: These settings are available on all commands and let you specify which nodes will run your command, in various ways.
Using the `Move node`-command and these settings, you could, for instance, make a command that
- Sends a node to your team workspace and
- Removes the reference from your workspace
Combining this with `Add tag` and `Set field values`, you could
1. create a new `#project` (Add tag)
1. assign it to your teammate `Brage` (Set field value)
1. set status to `Active` (Set field value) and
1. send it to your shared workspace `Viral Content` (Move node)
all with one button click.
## Access commands
### Commands in the command line
Once you've configured your command node, it will appear in the command line () as another command you can access alongside the default commands.
### Commands as buttons
Once you've configured your command node, you can use it to make buttons appear in any node. With your caret on target node, go to the command line > Configure node to open the node configuration. Add your command node in the Commands field.
You can also add a command node to a supertag or field, see the supertag/field configuration panel > AI and Commands section > **Compact/Full menu**. Paste in the command you want to use in the compact or full menu field, and the command will appear alongside the tagged node or field.
### Command menu buttons
It is now possible to group multiple commands together in a menu button. These can either be shown on collapsed nodes (Compact menu) or only when you expand/zoom into a node (Full menu).
To create command menu buttons;
1. Go into the AI and Commands section, to Compact/Full menu
1. In one of the fields, create a node with the menu title
1. Do > Convert to Group on the node
1. Indent below the node and paste in the commands you want shown in the menu
1. For nested menus, make an indented node and convert this to a group, before pasting commands indented under that
### Node filter
Using the parameter `Node Filter`, you can use search query language to control which nodes the command can be run on.
For instance, if you made a command specifically to run on your #standup tag and no other tag or node, you can add this:
`>Node filter: #standup`
An excluded node will not display the command, neither from the command line nor as a button.
Because a node filter is a search query, you build conditions the same way you would in a [search node](/learn/features/search-nodes). The `and` operator sits at the start of the query, and adding more conditions gives you `or` and `not` toggles to combine or negate them. To add a `not` condition inline, type > and then start typing `not`.
The most reliable way to build a filter with several conditions is to draft it as a regular search node first, get the conditions right, then drag that query into the node filter. Drag it rather than copy it, so you move the query itself instead of leaving a reference behind.
### Node context
By default, a command's actions run on the node you trigger it on. `Node context` lets you point them at a different node, so a command run on one node can act on a related one.
Set it like any other parameter (type > then `Node context`) and give it a value:
- `PARENT` runs the command's actions on the parent of the node you trigger it on
- `GRANDPARENT` targets the level above that
- a reference to a specific node targets that node directly
For example, a command placed on a child node can set a field on its `PARENT`, so triggering it from the child updates the parent instead.
## Finding all commands
You can find all commands in your workspaces by creating a search node and using the keyword operator `IS COMMAND`. Scope it down to a workspace to only find commands from there.
## Trigger commands on node events
You can have commands trigger when child nodes are added or removed from any node. For more, see [On child added/removed](/learn/features/nodes-and-references)
You can also have commands trigger when a supertag is added or removed from any node. For more, see [On added/removed](/learn/features/supertags)
To prevent infinite loops where AI commands are triggered from another AI commmands, a warning message will be shown,
if Tana Outliner detects an event triggered on a node that was created by AI, that was similar to an event that was
triggered less than 60 seconds ago. The event system will then be disabled and Tana Outliner will have to be reloaded
to start it again.
## All Tana Outliner commands
#### Insert a cloned copy of a node
_Can be used to emulate template behaviour, add a new time log entry to a time log etc_
- [Target node](#target-node)
- [Node to insert](#node-to-insert)
#### Insert relative date
_System command that inserts a date using the relative date string._
- [Relative date string](#relative-date-string)
- [Reference date](#reference-date)
- [Date/time granularity](#date-time-granularity)
- [Set only start or end of date](#set-only-start-or-end-of-date)
- [Target node](#target-node)
#### Move node
_System command that moves a node_
- [Move node target](#move-node-target)
- [Remove reference after moving node](#remove-reference-after-moving-node)
- [Move original node](#move-original-node)
#### Add tags
_System command for adding a tag to a node._
- [Node filter](#node-filter)
- [Node context](#node-context)
- [Tags](#tags)
#### Remove tags
_System command for removing a tag from a node._
- [Node filter](#node-filter)
- [Node context](#node-context)
- [Tags](#tags)
#### Set field values
_System command for setting field values to a field._
- [Node filter](#node-filter)
- [Node context](#node-context)
- [Fields to set](#fields-to-set)
#### Set field values for all children
_System command for setting field values to a field applied to all children. Example: Set all children to "status deployed" for a release process._
- [Node filter](#node-filter)
- [Node context](#node-context)
- [Fields to set](#fields-to-set)
#### Remove fields
_Removes the specified field_
- [Fields to remove](#fields-to-remove)
#### Set done status
_Sets the done status of a node to a particular setting_
- [Done status to set](#done-status-to-set)
#### Set view definition
_Takes the same information that is stored as a custom view on a node - can be used to configure which columns are shown, sorting, filtering, grouping etc._
There is no good UX for this at the moment. If you want to control this, we recommend the following: First, mock up a node that will have sample child nodes representing the data you'll be applying this command on. Then, create the exact view settings you want with Group, Sort and Display. Next, go > Debug Node on the parent node and look for "Views for node". Finally, clone the fields over to the command node.
- [Node filter](#node-filter)
- [Node context](#node-context)
- [View definition](#view-definition)
#### Set view type
_Can set node to outline, cards, table, list, tabs, side menu, and calendar view._
- [Node filter](#node-filter)
- [Node context](#node-context)
- [View type](#view-type)
#### Show alert
_Displays a user alert_
- [Node filter](#node-filter)
- [Node context](#node-context)
- [Prompt](#prompt)
#### Ask for user confirmation
_Displays a user confirm command, and halts execution if user does not confirm_
- [Node filter](#node-filter)
- [Node context](#node-context)
- [Prompt](#prompt)
#### Run commands in parallel
_Takes a list of commands as input, and runs them in parallel (default is sequential)_
- [Node filter](#node-filter)
- [Node context](#node-context)
#### Run a command line command
_Let's you run any command from the command line. Does not work well with multi-stage prompts_
- [Node filter](#node-filter)
- [Node context](#node-context)
- [Target node](#target-node)
- [Commands](#commands)
#### Run commands on all children
_Let's you run a command on all children._
- [Command to run](#command-to-run)
- [Look for children in field](#look-for-children-in-field)
#### Run commands on all children currently visible in the view
_Let's you run a command on the children based on what currently is in view. It respects the current search query (which may not be saved) and filtering of results._
- [Command to run](#command-to-run)
- [Look for children in field](#look-for-children-in-field)
### All AI Commands
For commands that use AI, see here: [AI command nodes](/learn/features/ai-command-nodes)
### All parameters
#### Node filter
- Description: Search query to filter nodes that this command can be run on
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Node context
- Description: Node context for commands - defaults to node the command is run on
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Field dependencies
- Description: References to other fields on the same node. If any of these fields are empty, and have AI turned on, then their AI prompts will be run before evaluating this command.
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Target node
- Description: Defines what Tana Outliner object to insert the result into. Can be a reference to a template node, or a field reference
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### URL
- Description: URL, processed using title expressions
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Insert output strategy
- Description: Default is adding as a child (except in fields, where default is replace)
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Payload
- Description: Payload type
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### API method
- Description: Defaults to GET
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Parse results
- Description: Defaults to no parsing (raw)
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Authorization header
- Description: For authentication (for example "Bearer ....")
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Headers
- Description: API headers, must start with a word and a colon, like "Authorization: ..."
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Avoid using proxy
- Description: For local sites, or where you know there is no CORS issue
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Tags
- Description: Define supertags
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Metaprompt to enhance prompt with GPT-3
- Description: n/a
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### View definition
- Description: View definition to apply to node
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### View type
- Description: Set view type by picking from dropdown.
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Fields to set
- Description: Fields to set, and optionally values
- Source: Tana Outliner
Add each field underneath this parameter and type the value into the field itself, the same way you fill in a field on a node. A field you add but leave empty clears that field on the target node. To add your value alongside whatever is already there instead of replacing it, also add the `Append field values` parameter and set it to `Yes`.
#### Commands
- Description: Commands to execute
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Tag candidates
- Description: Define supertags that become candidates
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Fields to remove
- Description: Define fields that, if present, will be removed.
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Move node target
- Description: Define node to be moved. Reference to a specific node, field or a dropdown option
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Remove reference after moving node
- Description: Will remove the reference after moving node
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Move original node
- Description: By default, if you run the command on a reference, the reference will be moved. This option can force the original node to be moved.
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Done status to set
- Description: Gives you done state options to set. There are four options to choose from:
- Node has no checkbox
- Done
- Not done
- Toggle done status
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Command to run
- Description: Write out the commands you want to run.
- If you're uncertain about how a command is written out, navigate to it through the command line, create a custom shortcut, and go to `Settings > Private keyboard shortcuts` to the shortcut you just made and expand it. You'll find the command written out in a node.
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Look for children in field
- Description: Looks for children in a specific field, instead of the node. Add reference to field definition.
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Relative date string
- Description: Write out a date string like _this week, in two months_, etc. Interpreted with prompt expressions.
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Reference date
- Description: Either a date, or use Lookup field to reference a field. If reference date is May 1, and relative date is in two weeks, the output will be May 15th.
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Date/time granularity
- Description: Allows you to specify the granularity of the date object. Use the dropdown to set year, month, week, day, hour, minute, second, or millisecond.
- Source: Tana Outliner
#### Set only start or end of date
- Description: Allows you to specify whether you want to set a Start or End date/time.
- Source: Tana Outliner
---
#### Commands and shortcuts
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/keyboard-shortcuts
All commands, keyboard shortcuts, and command line commands for Tana Outliner.
Every command below can be triggered via keyboard shortcut, the command line (), or both. Any command line command can get a custom keyboard shortcut — press on any command.
## Custom keyboard shortcuts
To record a shortcut for any command, open the command line (), find the command, and press .
To remove or re-record a custom shortcut, go to Settings (from the Home node, or the command line via "Open Settings"), then look under "Private keyboard shortcuts" for the full list of shortcuts you've set.
## Navigation
## Editing
## Formatting
## Organizing
## Selection
## Tabs and panels
## Search and command
## AI
---
#### Copy-paste and export
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/copy-paste-and-export
Copy and paste in Tana Outliner creates references that stay in sync, not independent duplicates. To make an independent copy, use the Duplicate command. You can also export nodes or entire workspaces as markdown or JSON.
In Tana Outliner, there are different ways to get content in and out.
- / inside Tana Outliner will create
[references](/help/knowledge-graph-concepts#what-is-a-reference-in-tana-outliner), not duplicate content.
- The command `Duplicate` or keyboard shortcut creates a copy of a node
- Cmd/Ctrl+C/V will work as you're used to from other apps when copying data
out into other tools
- There are various copy options that will copy content to your clipboard; copy link, full content, as markdown, as [Tana Paste](/learn/features/tana-paste).
- For exporting larger sets of nodes, you can use the `Download as` command, which will give you a zip file with markdown or [Tana Paste](/learn/features/tana-paste).
- You can paste code into Tana Outliner with the `Paste as code` or `Paste code as (select language)` commands.
- You can [export a workspace](/learn/features/workspaces#export-workspace) as markdown or JSON .
## Copy to create references
Tana Outliner lets you build a network of notes, and is designed to connect existing notes instead of creating duplicates.
/ - you may be used to using these copy-paste keyboard shortcuts to
duplicate content, but in Tana Outliner this is used to **create
[References](/help/knowledge-graph-concepts#what-is-a-reference-in-tana-outliner)**.
- In Tana Outliner, you can have _mirror copies_ of nodes. These copies _reference_ the original node, hence their name Reference, and are one and the same for all intents and purposes.
- Editing one reference edits the original and thus every other reference of this node in Tana Outliner.
- When you delete references, you're not deleting the original node, just the reference.
- In addition to doing /, you can also create a reference by typing @ and searching for the node you wan to reference.
- On the original node, you can scroll down to the bottom to find the reference section, showing all the references linking to that node.
## Duplicate
If you want to make a duplicate of a node, you can open the command line () and type **Duplicate**. This will create a copy of the node, not a reference (if you want to edit them separately for example). Supertags and fields will be included if you duplicate a tagged node.
## Copy node link
Copies just a link to the node, if you are using a shared workspaces. Access to the workspace is required to use this link. If you want to share a node with someone who doesn't have access to the workspace, use [Tana Publish](/learn/features/tana-publish).
## Copy link address
This will appear for URL nodes, and will copy the URL you have added into Tana Outliner.
## Right-click a node for all copy options
You'll find the copy options for individual nodes in the context menu that appears on right-click on a node:
## Copy-paste options for external tools
Copy-pasting content is the fastest way of getting data out of Tana Outliner into other apps.
Select the content you want to copy, then hit Cmd/Ctrl+C. To paste, Cmd/Ctrl+V into the other tool.
## Copy options in command line
Via the command line () there are various flavors of copy available to you. All of these will copy the content to your clipboard.
### Copy link (HTML-formatted)
Copies a link to the node, but also includes the ID and title of the node in HTML format. This is useful for sharing links e.g. in Slack, to see which node was shared.
### Copy full content to clipboard
Copies the selected content in plain text format, so it can be pasted into other apps. Should not be used for large selections of nodes, as the clipboard has limitations. Use [Download as](#exportdownload) instead.
### Copy as markdown
Copies the selected content in plain markdown format (.md files), that can be opened and browsed in a file manager or another app supporting markdown.
### Copy as markdown no fields, no tags
Copies the selected content in plain markdown format without including Supertags or fields
- This is great if you want to share information with people who are not using Tana Outliner and are not familiar with the concept of supertags and fields.
### Copy as Tana Paste
Copies the selected content in [Tana Paste](/learn/features/tana-paste) format.
## Paste into Tana Outliner
In the [Tana Outliner Desktop app](/learn/features/tana-for-desktop), you can right-click an empty node and see a "Paste" option if you have content on your clipboard, or just do with keyboard when your caret is on the node you want to insert it in.
### Commands "Paste as code" / "Paste code as ->"
You can paste code from your clipboard via the "Paste as code" command, and it will be shown as a monospaced block. Select the language from the dropdown to get the correct syntax highlighting.
### Pasting from Google Sheets
Copy-pasting cells from a Google Sheet will appear as a table in Tana Outliner.
### Pasting _Tana Paste_
If you copy Tana Paste code and paste it in Tana Outliner, it will run a special process which will convert the Tana Paste code as Tana Outliner objects. [Go here to read more about Tana Paste](/learn/features/tana-paste).
## Other ways to get content out
## Export/download
### Download a subset of nodes
Only want to export parts of your workspace? Try these steps:
1. Open the nodes you want to export/download, either in a search node or inside a node
2. Select the nodes you want to download:
- Put the cursor on the title node - this will export the title of nodes below/inside this (but not the content inside those)
- Select nodes manually, or open command line () -> `Select children` -> Enter (_to select all the nodes_) - this will include the content inside the nodes
3. Open command line () and select one of these options:
- **Download as markdown to zip file**
- This will give you the nodes in .md format
- Images/video files will not be included in the export, but there will be links to view/download them individually.
- **Download as markdown no field, no tags to zip file**
- Same as above, but not including supertags and fields (since they are Tana Outliner-specific concepts).
- **Download as Tana Paste to zip file** ([read more about Tana Paste](/learn/features/tana-paste))
4. You will be asked to save the file and can rename it.
5. Unzip the file to browse the markdown files (.md format).
### Export plain HTML
Renders a HTML page of the selected content that you can copy the HTML of, or save as a HTML file.
### Export workspace as markdown or JSON
Each workspace can be exported in Markdown or JSON format.
The Markdown export is intended to be used for export to other tools, or for browsing the files, and should be used in most cases.
The JSON export is for technical use cases, where you want the full export with all metadata.
To learn more about this, [read here](/learn/features/workspaces#export-workspace).
---
#### Daily notes
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/daily-notes
Each day in Tana Outliner has its own page called a day node, giving you a fresh place to capture notes and tasks. You can customize day nodes with a template to add structure. Week, month, and year nodes are also available for longer time spans.
## Overview
**The daily notes meet a very simple need: to be a quick catch-all for random things that come up in your day.** Later, you can choose to process and move it elsewhere, but only if you captured it first.
**Daily notes are also a place to store data where the _time of entry_ is important.** Every workspace provides two modes of writing: by _hierarchy_ (on the home/library nodes), or by _time_ (daily notes). The daily notes would be a very logical place to keep things like logs, journals, agendas, and daily work lists.
**Finally, use the daily notes for staging your day's work and getting in the right frame of mind.** Using the #day template, you can customize your day node to be the best companion for guiding you through your day. It's a place you can set and build habits, give yourself a random quote of the day, or remind yourself of your close-out routine when you're ready to sign off.
**If you like starting your day with a clean kitchen counter, using Tana Outliner's time-based _daily notes_ are perfect for you.** (However, if you prefer having a workshop table where things stay _exactly_ the way you left them the night before, you may prefer working in hierarchy-based nodes, using dashboards in the Home/Library nodes and the Pinned section in the sidebar to orient yourself.)
## Basics
- **Every day is represented by one node.** There are also week/month/year nodes, which you can navigate to through the breadcrumbs.
- **Day nodes are tied to Date objects.** This means that all nodes with the date of the day node appear in the reference section of the day node. See the documentation on [Dates and Calendar nodes](/learn/features/dates-and-calendar-nodes) for more. This page can be seen as an extension of the aforementioned, diving into more detail on the day node specifically. But all principles about calendar nodes apply to day nodes as well.
- **Having a day supertag is _optional_.** Supertags on your day nodes are only needed if you want to build out a template for your day. For inspiration, our [Daily notes showcase](https://tana.inc/articles/showcase-daily-notes) has many examples from the community of different daily notes setups.
- **Nodes created in a search node** will be sent to the current day node.
- **Nodes synced via Tana Capture** (and soon, mobile) appear on the current day node.
- **Notes captured via the [Global Clipper](/learn/features/tana-for-desktop#global-clipper)** ( in the desktop app) are sent to the current day node.
- **Nodes you send to a shared workspace via the Move to [workspace] suggestion** will, by default, go to the day node of that workspace.
## Details
### Daily notes in your private workspace
A freshly opened account will have the daily notes already set up and ready to go for you.
Doing a [workspace "factory reset"](https://tana.inc/articles/how-to-factory-reset-a-tana-account) will give you a workspace without daily notes, but it's super simple to get them back, with all the instructions in the linked resource.
#### How to find your daily notes
- **Sidebar button:** `Today`
- **Keyboard Shortcut:**
- **Command line:** `Open calendar for -> [pick a day]`
- **Sidebar shortcut:** Option/Alt+Shift+Click on the workspace names
- **On your workspace home node:** click on the Daily notes bullet
#### On Tana Outliner paid plans
Your private daily notes have a central role in the following features:
##### Calendar integration: the Agenda
A Related content section called Agenda gets installed when you set up your calendar integration. It shows you your events for the day.
##### AI chat: Save location
All AI chats get saved to the day node under a node called AI chat.
Tip: If you add a node called this to your supertag template, you can choose where the AI chats end up. Note that the template node has to be a direct child of the day node.
### Daily notes in shared workspaces
#### How to find the daily notes of a shared workspace
- If on your own daily notes page: `Switch workspace`
- Option/Alt+Shift+Click on your workspace in the sidebar
#### How to move nodes from your private to the shared workspace
There's a very easy workflow you can use to ensure that you start drafts of nodes in your private workspace, then when you're ready to let others see it, you can send it over easily. It uses the home workspace of a supertag to hint at where it ought to live.
1. In your private daily notes (or anywhere in your workspace), create a new node and add a supertag from the shared workspace
2. Hit to toggle the node editor toolbar. The first option should be a prompt to move it to the workspace the supertag belongs to.
3. Click it to send the node to that workspace's day node, which leaves a reference in the original workspace.
### Searching for nodes relative to your day node
There are many ways to find things based on the day node, this is an overview with links to further descriptions.
- Nodes that live on your day nodes
- **Search term `ON DAY NODE`:** Restricts search to find any child of a day node
- **System calculated field **Date from calendar node**:** This system field will be automatically filled if it lives under/is a descendant of the day node. You can use it in search queries, and for sorting, filtering, grouping, or displaying in your [views](/learn/features/views). Note: This field is independent from the node's created and edited times. It will change if you move the node to another day node.
- Nodes that mention the date of the day node
- **Search term `PARENT`/`GRANDPARENT`:** To match a date in a field, use the P/GP terms as the field value to refer to the day node. The day node can only be one (`PARENT`) or two (`GRANDPARENT`) levels away from the search node. Tip: You can use `PARENT+3`/`PARENT-3` to find future/past dates relative to the target.
- **Search operator `>DATE OVERLAPS`**: Used together with the above, this operator allows you to find nodes where the date values you're searching through overlaps with the target P/GP day node. Example: a date value of Nov 20 - Dec 5 will overlap with the Nov 29 day node.
- **Search operators `>LT`/`>GT`:** Short for Less Than and Greater Than, with this you can create a more precise and wider range of dates you want to match than `>DATE OVERLAPS`. Use this with `P`/`GP` combined with the `+`/`-` for some very powerful searches.
For more information on searching for dates, see the [Date searches](/learn/features/dates-and-calendar-nodes#date-searches) section of the Dates and Calendar notes documentation, and also [this example](/help/search-and-finding#help-with-date-search) on common date searches.
For further information on Search nodes, see [Search nodes](/learn/features/search-nodes) documentation.
---
#### Dates and calendar nodes
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/dates-and-calendar-nodes
Tana Outliner has two date features that work together. Date objects are @-mentions you place on any node to connect it to a point in time. Calendar nodes are the day, week, month, and year pages where you write time-based notes. When you @-mention a date, the node automatically appears on the matching calendar node.
## Overview
**There are two important ways that Tana Outliner treats date information.** Date objects are a concept of time that you can link to, meanwhile a calendar node is a place in the graph you can write on that is related to a date. The two are intertwined but not the same.
**Date objects can be mentioned on any node using @-mention.** They have flexible date granularities so you can be as broad or specific as you want to be, allowing you to say "meet Henry at 2:15pm tomorrow", as well as "yearly goal for 2024".
**Calendar nodes are what drive your daily page.** They are automatically set up for days, weeks, months, and years, and allow you to take notes and set up searches that capture items in those date intervals.
## Basics
### On date objects
- **Dates in Tana Outliner keep everything connected to time in your graph.** To reference date objects in Tana Outliner, use `@` and write out the date/time you want in natural language. Try typing `@today` in Tana Outliner, and you'll see it bring up today's date.
- **Tana Outliner has a date field type so you can add date information to any node.** You can use just the field under a node, or add them via supertag templates.
- **Date objects allow for different date granularities.** Try typing `@November`, `@Wednesday last week`, or `@5pm next Saturday`. Once you have a date object, you can click it to bring up the date picker.
- **A negative year is parsed as BC/BCE.** To know what it is in astronomical years, add one. Example: input "`-101`" = "`101 BC`" = "`-100`" in astronomical years
### On calendar nodes
- **Calendar nodes are the day/week/month/year nodes on the root of a workspace.** They're automatically generated for your private workspace, and can be generated for other workspaces too. They are connected to the dates they represent, so you can take notes connected to that date granularity, and it also retrieves references based on that.
- **The Today page is a calendar node.** They exist within week nodes, that exists within year nodes. You can see all the calendar nodes in Tana Outliner by going to your Home page and expanding the Calendar.
- **The supertag on a calendar node can be customized.** Create your own time-based templates for things like reviews, reminders, and logs. You don't need a supertag on your calendar nodes (they function just as well without them) but they're handy for making daily/weekly/monthly/yearly templates. Use the command "`create default day/week/month/year tag`" on the calendar node to create them.
**If you had a default day tag set up before November 2023, you have to manually upgrade your setup.** Open the
configuration of that day tag to be prompted to upgrade your setup. Or, run the command “Convert old calendar setup”.
- **Tana Outliner has Month nodes.** Months do not appear as nodes under the Calendar node like Week/Day do, so you must navigate to months via the Today page, or from a date object with month granularity.
- **Use search nodes with field values PARENT/GRANDPARENT on any calendar node.** This allows you to retrieve all nodes within a time span ie. a PARENT search on month will find all nodes with a specific date within that month
## Documentation
### Date objects
#### To add a date on a node
- Type `@` and write out the date (or in natural language) what you want. Examples: "`today at 5pm`", "`Nov 15`", "`yesterday`", "`last month`", "`in two weeks`".
#### To add a date in a date field
- To create a date field, see [Date fields](/learn/features/fields#date-field-type)
- Date fields show a small calendar icon on the right.
- On an empty field, press the small calendar icon to the right, or hit space to insert today's date and bring up the date picker.
#### To open the date picker
- Using mouse: On any date object, click on it, or right-click > Show Calendar
- Using keyboard: Select the date object and hit Enter
This won't work on computed values that cannot be edited, like system field "Created time".
#### To change an existing date/time and granularity
- Via date picker: Click on the date object to bring up the date picker and click on a date to change it. For larger granularity, clear the selected date options by pressing the (x) in the corners. For smaller granularity select/input the finer granularity you want.
- Change granularity: Arrow keys + Spacebar to add/change/remove granularities. Hit Enter/Esc to commit the changes.
- Week granularity: Select a week as a date by clicking on the weeks to the left.
- Using keyboard shortcuts on a selected date object: When a date object is selected, you can use these shortcuts to quickly change date and time:
- Go forward in time = key, Go back in time = Shift+key
- Keys
- 5 minutes: J
- 1 hour: H
- 1 day: D
- 1 week: W
- 1 month: M
- 1 quarter: Q
- 1 year: Y
- Increment by one granularity: +/- keys.
- Using command line on a selected date object: Run command line () > Change date.
- This command gives you the following options:
- Switch granularities (day/week/month/year)
- Add/remove time
- Next minute/5min/hour/day/week/month/quarter/year
- Previous minute/5min/hour/day/week/month/quarter/year
- Change increment/decrement
#### To make a date range
- In the date picker: add an end date using `add end`. Use `remove end` to remove the range.
- In @-mention: Write `@[date] to [date]`. Example: `@Nov 21 to Nov 30`
- In command node: see [Insert relative date](#insert-relative-date)
### Calendar nodes
#### To reach your private day node/Today
- Using mouse: Use the Today button on the sidebar, or the Today button on every calendar node
- Using keyboard:
- In the sidebar, Alt+click on your private workspace header, or expand the workspace and click on the calendar node.
#### To reach the day node of another workspace
- In the sidebar, Alt+click on the workspace header, or expand the workspace and click on the calendar node.
- In your private day node, use the dropdown `Switch calendars`
#### To go to the calendar node from any date object
- Alt+click the date object to navigate to that corresponding calendar node
- Right-click > `Go to calendar date node`/`Open calendar date node in new panel`
#### To go to calendar nodes of higher level of granularity than the day node
- From a date object: If the date object references a higher level date granularity like `Week 45`, or `November 2023`, you can Alt+click to navigate to that corresponding calendar node
- From a day node: The breadcrumbs at the top of calendar nodes show the different granularities. You can click to navigate to them. `✨NEW` You can also right-click the Today button under the title to navigate to this week/month/year.
#### To traverse between previous/next calendar node
- Using mouse: use the `<` / `>` buttons right under the node title
- Using keyboard: use / to traverse to past/future calendar nodes of that granularity.
#### To create calendar nodes for other workspaces
- Unlike your private workspace, new workspaces do not come with default calendar nodes.
- To create them, go to any existing calendar node like any one in you private workspace, then `change workspace` to a different one.
- To add default tags, use the "`create default day/week/month/year tag`" command action. This can be accessed via the node options button to the right of the calendar node, or by running the command on the title of the node.
#### The reference section in calendar nodes
At the bottom of each node is a reference section. For calendar nodes, it will collect all nodes in the workspace that mention that particular date granularity, either mentioned in name or in a field. Example: week nodes will capture any node that have date objects using the `Week WW` granularity, month nodes will capture `November YYYY` granularity and so on.
#### Linking to calendar nodes
We heavily discourage directly linking to day/week/month/year nodes.
They do not show up in @-mentions, and although it is possible to make an instance field on these tags, referencing the actual dates itself gives a lot more flexibility in terms of finding the nodes later.
PARENT searches on the calendar nodes automatically return the date that the nodes represent, not the actual nodes, so you cannot find nodes that link to a specific calendar node using a PARENT search, only nodes that link to related dates.
### Date searches
There are many search operators that are specifically designed to handle date queries, as well as general purpose numeric ones that work with date queries as well.
#### Search operators
#### _LT/GT_
LT/GT is the only field operator in this list. Find nodes with date that are Less Than/Greater Than a particular date. Less = earlier, greater = later.
To use LT/GT, insert a date field and the value to compare to. Example: To find all appointments you've had up until a certain date, you can build a search like this:
- `>LT: >Appt date: [Date object]`
If the value you access through `PARENT` or `PARENT.field` is a date value, you can increment/decrement it using +/-. For example, to find all the tasks due during the next three days on a daily node, write a search like this:
- `>GT: >Due Date: PARENT`
- `>LT: >Due Date: PARENT+3`
#### _Date object as string match_
Use a date object to find any node that mentions that date as a date object.
#### _FOR DATE YYYY-MM-DD_
A keyword operator that matches any node that mentions that date as a date object.
Insert a date in the YYYY-MM-DD format, like this: `FOR DATE 2023-11-21`
#### _IS CALENDAR NODE_
A keyword operator that matches with calendar nodes.
Is most useful for excluding from searches:
- `>NOT: IS CALENDAR NODE`
#### _ON DAY NODE_
A keyword operator that matches children of any #day node
#### _...(NUMBER) DAYS_
Several search operators will look for nodes with date values within (NUMBER) of days:
- `DONE LAST (N) DAYS`
- `CREATED LAST (N) DAYS`
- `EDITED LAST (N) DAYS`
#### _`OVERDUE` + "Due date" field (legacy)_
The search operator OVERDUE only works when used in tandem with system field Due date.
We discourage using Due date because system fields in general are very inflexible. They cannot be configured and customized like other user-created fields with default hide state, default value, auto-initialization and so on.
We can now replicate the functionality of OVERDUE for any date field using LT/GT.
For more date-related searches, [check this FAQ out](/help/search-and-finding#help-with-date-search).
#### Field values
#### _PARENT/GRANDPARENT_
`PARENT`/`GRANDPARENT` refers to the immediate ancestors in the outline hierarchy relative to the search node.
If the parent/grandparent is a calendar node, you can add these search operators as a date field value. This will replace the field value with the date represented by the calendar node.
Example: If you create search nodes on your day node, you can use PARENT/GRANDPARENT to fetch all #tasks that are due today (PARENT), or this week (GRANDPARENT)
You can use `PARENT+3`/`PARENT-3` to find future/past dates relative to the target. See [LT/GT](#lt-gt) for more.
If a node has a date field, you can use PARENT.field to target that field value for date searches. See [LT/GT](#lt-gt) for more.
#### _FOR RELATIVE DATE [term]_
Add this in the date field value, and it will be replaced with a date that is relative to the current date.
Compare [PARENT/GRANDPARENT](#parent-grandparent) with FOR RELATIVE DATE, the former let's you look back at what you wrote yesterday relative to the calendar node you're on, whereas the latter shows results relative to today's values (which will change every day), and can be placed anywhere in the graph (not just nested as a child/grandchild of a calendar node).
- Present time: Today, this week, this month, this year
- Past: Yesterday, last week, last month, last year
- Future: Tomorrow, next week, next month, next year
### Command nodes with date function
#### Insert relative date
Accepts the following parameters
- Relative date string (required)
- Reference date
- Date/time granularity
- Set only start or end of date
- Target node
Suggested uses:
- time tracking setups (set present date/time)
- scheduling commands (postpone start date by +5 days)
- extract start and end of a ranged date object into two separate fields
- combine two separate fields (for example from imported data) into a ranged date object
Unfortunately we don't have a search expression that can be used in a node filter for dates that have a start/end or not.
See [Command nodes > Insert relative date](/learn/features/command-nodes#insert-relative-date) for more.
### Auto-initialization of date fields
Date fields used in supertags can be made to auto-populate a date upon use. Use a date field in the supertag config, and the following auto-initialize options will be available:
- **to current date:** inserts today's date
- **to date of ancestor day node:** inserts the date of an ancestor journal node
- **to value from ancestor with this field:** Get the field value from an identical field on a node nested above. For example you could have a #quote tag with an Author field, and it could automatically initialize with the value from the Author field of the #book that it is nested underneath
### Default date/time system fields
Every node stores a some default system fields that record date/time information based on certain events. This information are not editable, but can be queried.
- **Created time:** Date/time a node was created
- **Last modified time:** Date/time a node was last edited
- **Done time:** Date/time a node was registered "done". Has to be manual toggle, doesn't work with done state mapping/kanban-style setups.
- **Date from calendar node:** Calendar node that a node is a descendant of.
### Date/Time settings
#### Time zones
- Tana Outliner has a bare-bones implementation of time zones, which was necessary because when people are collaborating in Tana Outliner across timezones and search for "what happened today", they're not interested in only what happened "today" in their own time zone, they want to know what happened in "today"s everywhere, possibly in every timezone.
- Timezones are set per workspace, stored in Settings.
- Timezones uses the tz format. It can be changed manually by using one of the names from this list (use larger cities just to be sure): [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tz_database_time_zones)
#### Time format
- Time format settings are per user, stored in Settings
- Dictates how Tana Outliner displays time. Choose between:
- 12H
- 24H
- Auto (based on your local settings)
#### First day of the week
- First day of the week setting are per user, stored in Settings
- Allows you to choose whether to start your week on Sunday or Monday.
- Currently the daily nodes in the calendar hierarchy are all organized starting Monday though, this only affects what you see in the various date pickers and in the calendar view.
- You can also set this using command line > Set start of week to...
### The calendar view
See any list of nodes plotted in a calendar.
- By default you can use their system fields "Created at"/"Edited at", or "Done time" if it has checked status.
- Otherwise you can use any date field on the node that you have created (like Due date, Launch date, Publish date etc).
- Choose to plot nodes using one or more specific fields with date values.
For more, see [Views > Table view](/learn/features/views#table-view)
## Examples
### See all captured items from a day/week/month
Create a search node under a day/week/month to see all captured items from that period.
- Grab a reference to the Inbox and paste in the query builder
- Add the system field Created date and make the field value PARENT
- Your search node should look like this:
- Inbox (reference)
- > Created date::PARENT
---
#### Fields
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/fields
Fields are named attributes on a node. Each field has a type (text, date, number, URL, options) that determines what values it accepts. When you add fields to a supertag template, every node with that supertag gets the same fields automatically, making your data sortable, filterable, and queryable.
## Overview
**Fields = Add metadata to any node.**
**Use fields to describe your data.** For a Person, you may add fields (prefixed with `>` ; this also creates a field in Tana Outliner) like **Name**, **Number**, **Email**, **Address**, **Social media**, all of which helps organize information concerning that person. One way to check if a field is right, is to think "**has a**" when adding fields. A person _has an_ Email. A task _has a_ Due date. A movie _has a_ Release date.
**Fields are like the columns of a database.** Every node is a database entry, and the fields are consistent information about that node. You'll see this when you use our [Table view](/learn/features/views#table-view).
**Fields can be added to any node** but even better is using our Supertags to create a template of fields you want applied every time you record a new **Person**, **Task**, or **Movie**. See [Supertags](/learn/features/supertags) for more.
**Fields help you resurface, sort, group and filter your information**. Find all your **Idea** nodes that have **Topic**: Architecture. Filter **Movie** nodes by **Director**: Wes Anderson. Group **Book** nodes by all **Genres**. Tana Outliner has many ways of helping you surface just the right segment of information you need so you have a good overview, can make better decisions, and ultimately feel in control over the things you care about.
## Basics
- There are two main components of a field: the field definition and the field value. The field definition includes the name and type of field, as well as its configuration. The field value is the actual value of the field, which can be manually input or automatically initialized when applying a supertag.
- Other than being used to record metadata attached to nodes, fields are also used in defining the query for search nodes to narrow down searches by specific field values, such as finding all **Meeting** nodes where **Attendees** include the value "Jane Doe". Fields can also be searched directly by adding the field and the system field value SET, or by adding the field definition through `@[field name]`.
- Fields show up differently depending on how the nodes they belong to are viewed. In Outline and navigation views, fields are only visible when the node is expanded, but can be added to Display in view options. In Table view, fields appear as columns. See [Views](/learn/features/views) for more info on how to use fields in each view.
- To configure a field, press on its icon to open a side panel with all field configurations.
## Creating a field
Creating a field anywhere is simple:
1. Stand on an empty line
1. Type `>` to create a new field
1. Give the field a name, or select from existing ones
1. Hit tab to fill in its value
1. To further configure the field, click on the field icon or use the shortcut and select "Configure Field".
When in the [Supertag configuration](/learn/features/supertags#configure-a-supertag), fields can also be created by using the `+ Create Field` button or by typing `>` as described above.
## Deleting a field
Before you delete a field, consider whether it has been applied to any nodes or supertags. In the field configuration panel, scroll down and see the stats on how many nodes and supertags it’s been applied to.
- If you have used it on 0 nodes/supertags, it’s safe to just delete the field. If you have used it on 1 or more nodes/supertags, consider finding and untagging them before deleting, or if it’s being replaced by another field, merging the old field with the new field.
- When you delete a field that is applied to other nodes, these field will show a trash can icon. This follows our principles about _deleting Nodes, Supertags, and Fields that have references elsewhere_, which states that Tana Outliner will never delete data that is indirectly associated with another element that you delete.
**To delete a field:**
- Option 1: Go to Field configuration panel. At the bottom there’s an action to `Delete` the field.
- Option 2: Find the original Field definition and delete it.
## Pinned fields
Pinned fields are fields marked as important dimensions for your information. They indicate which fields you want to use most frequently for filtering, sorting, grouping, and displaying information.
- Pinned fields always show on top in supertag instances and are displayed with a border line around them to distinguish them from regular fields.
- Pinned fields are grouped above the other fields when you open `Add filter`, so the ones you filter by most often are the first you see. In the toolbar itself a field appears only while it is being filtered on, whether or not it is pinned, and it disappears again when you remove the filter.
- If you have nodes from multiple supertags in a view, and those supertags each have pinned fields configured, all pinned fields from all represented supertags will show.
### Configuring pinned fields
Pinned fields are configured in the Supertag configuration panel. See [Supertags](/learn/features/supertags) for more information on how to mark fields as pinned in your supertag templates.
## Field configuration
**To open the config panel:**
- Option 1: On the field you want to configure, press on the field icon
- Option 2: Go via command line and press > Configure field
### Field types
There are nine field types in Tana Outliner:
- [Plain](/learn/features/fields#plain-field-type)
- [Options](/learn/features/fields#options-field-type)
- [Options from supertag](/learn/features/fields#options-from-supertag-field-type)
- [Date](/learn/features/fields#date-field-type)
- [Number](/learn/features/fields#number-field-type)
- [Tana Outliner user](/learn/features/fields#tana-outliner-user-field-type)
- [URL](/learn/features/fields#url-field-type)
- [Email](/learn/features/fields#email-field-type)
- [Checkbox](/learn/features/fields#checkbox-field-type)
**Data Validation:** Based on their type, Tana Outliner will validate their contents. There are no consequences for storing information that doesn't conform with the validation rules, except for the warning that will appear in the field itself.
#### Plain field type
**Plain** is the most flexible type of field. It acts just like any other place in Tana Outliner where you can write anything. Ideal for data that is unlikely to be repeated (e.g., Bug description) or does not need data validation (Options, Dates, Emails, URLs, etc.).
- [Auto-initialize](#auto-initialize)
- [to value from ancestor with this field](#auto-initialize-to-value-from-ancestor-with-this-field)
- [Required](/learn/features/fields#required)
- [Hide field](/learn/features/fields#hide-field)
- [AI-enhanced field](/learn/features/fields#ai-enhanced-field)
- [Used in](/learn/features/fields#used-in)
- [Delete](/learn/features/fields#delete)
- [Commands (in Advanced)](/learn/features/fields#commands-in-advanced)
- [Page size (in Advanced)](#page-size-in-advanced)
#### Options field type
**Options** let you choose from a preset of options you can select from in a dropdown menu. The presets can be defined beforehand, or auto-collected as new values are added.
- Pre-determined Options: Define options directly in the field configuration. Each node becomes an option and can be reference nodes. Nested nodes are not visible.
- Sources of Options: Pull in one or more nodes whose child nodes you want to populate the options list. Nodes can be created straight in the field configuration, added as a Reference to a list of static nodes, or a custom [Search node](/learn/features/search-nodes).
- Auto-collect Values: Turned on by default on this field type. It automatically adds new values to the option list to make it easy to reuse values.
- [Auto-initialize](#auto-initialize)
- [to value from ancestor with this field](#auto-initialize-to-value-from-ancestor-with-this-field)
- [Required](/learn/features/fields#required)
- [Hide field](/learn/features/fields#hide-field)
- [AI-enhanced field](/learn/features/fields#ai-enhanced-field)
- [Used in](/learn/features/fields#used-in)
- [Delete](/learn/features/fields#delete)
- [Commands (in Advanced)](/learn/features/fields#commands-in-advanced)
- [Page size (in Advanced)](#page-size-in-advanced)
- Field has semantic function: See Semantic Function (coming soon)
#### Options from supertag field type
(Name updated from "Instance")
Options from supertag creates a list based on nodes with a chosen supertag. Writing in a new value will prompt Tana Outliner to suggest that it be tagged with the same supertag.
- Supertag: The chosen supertag will be suggested for new values. Nodes with this supertag will become available as options.
- [Auto-initialize](#auto-initialize)
- [to ancestor with this supertag](#auto-initialize-to-ancestor-with-this-supertag)
- [to random node with this supertag](#auto-initialize-to-random-node-with-this-supertag)
- [to value from ancestor with this field](#auto-initialize-to-value-from-ancestor-with-this-field)
- [Required](/learn/features/fields#required)
- [Hide field](/learn/features/fields#hide-field)
- [AI-enhanced field](/learn/features/fields#ai-enhanced-field)
- [Used in](/learn/features/fields#used-in)
- [Delete](/learn/features/fields#delete)
- [Commands (in Advanced)](/learn/features/fields#commands-in-advanced)
- [Page size (in Advanced)](#page-size-in-advanced)
- Field has semantic function: See Semantic Function (coming soon)
#### Date field type
**Date** fields accept Tana Outliner dates that link to the Day node. Press space or use @ to enter a date. Click on the date to change it or right-click for options like _Go to day node_ and _Open day node in new panel_.
- [Auto-initialize](#auto-initialize)
- [to current date](#auto-initialize-to-current-date)
- [to date of ancestor day node](#auto-initialize-to-date-of-ancestor-day-node)
- [to value from ancestor with this field](#auto-initialize-to-value-from-ancestor-with-this-field)
- [Required](/learn/features/fields#required)
- [Hide field](/learn/features/fields#hide-field)
- [AI-enhanced field](/learn/features/fields#ai-enhanced-field)
- [Used in](/learn/features/fields#used-in)
- [Delete](/learn/features/fields#delete)
- [Commands (in Advanced)](/learn/features/fields#commands-in-advanced)
- [Page size (in Advanced)](#page-size-in-advanced)
#### Number field type
**Number** fields accept numbers only. This enables calculations in table view and allows setting max. or min. values of digits.
- Minimum value: Define the lowest value of the validation range
- Maximum value: Define the highest value of the validation range
- [Auto-initialize](#auto-initialize)
- [to value from ancestor with this field](#auto-initialize-to-value-from-ancestor-with-this-field)
- [Required](/learn/features/fields#required)
- [Hide field](/learn/features/fields#hide-field)
- [AI-enhanced field](/learn/features/fields#ai-enhanced-field)
- [Used in](/learn/features/fields#used-in)
- [Delete](/learn/features/fields#delete)
- [Commands (in Advanced)](/learn/features/fields#commands-in-advanced)
- [Page size (in Advanced)](#page-size-in-advanced)
#### Tana Outliner user field type
Note: This field changed names from User to Tana Outliner user in [Week 7 / 2024](/changelog/2024-w7))
**Tana Outliner user** fields prompt you to put in a user of the workspace with @, like @Olav Sindre Kriken in the Tana Outliner workspace.
- [Auto-initialize](#auto-initialize)
- [to current user](#auto-initialize-to-current-user)
- [to value from ancestor with this field](#auto-initialize-to-value-from-ancestor-with-this-field)
- [Required](/learn/features/fields#required)
- [Hide field](/learn/features/fields#hide-field)
- [AI-enhanced field](/learn/features/fields#ai-enhanced-field)
- [Used in](/learn/features/fields#used-in)
- [Delete](/learn/features/fields#delete)
- [Commands (in Advanced)](/learn/features/fields#commands-in-advanced)
- [Page size (in Advanced)](#page-size-in-advanced)
The User field and feature is still under development and doesn't do much at the moment.
#### URL field type
**URL** fields store URLs/external links.
- [Auto-initialize](#auto-initialize)
- [to value from ancestor with this field](#auto-initialize-to-value-from-ancestor-with-this-field)
- [Required](/learn/features/fields#required)
- [Hide field](/learn/features/fields#hide-field)
- [AI-enhanced field](/learn/features/fields#ai-enhanced-field)
- [Used in](/learn/features/fields#used-in)
- [Delete](/learn/features/fields#delete)
- [Commands (in Advanced)](/learn/features/fields#commands-in-advanced)
- [Page size (in Advanced)](#page-size-in-advanced)
#### Email field type
**Email** fields store email addresses.
- [Auto-initialize](#auto-initialize)
- [to value from ancestor with this field](#auto-initialize-to-value-from-ancestor-with-this-field)
- [Required](/learn/features/fields#required)
- [Hide field](/learn/features/fields#hide-field)
- [AI-enhanced field](/learn/features/fields#ai-enhanced-field)
- [Used in](/learn/features/fields#used-in)
- [Delete](/learn/features/fields#delete)
- [Commands (in Advanced)](#commands-in-advanced)
- [Page size (in Advanced)](#page-size-in-advanced)
#### Checkbox field type
**Checkbox** fields show the field value as a checkbox toggle instead of a field you can write in. They output Yes/No values.
- [Auto-initialize](#auto-initialize)
- [to value from ancestor with this field](#auto-initialize-to-value-from-ancestor-with-this-field)
- [Hide field](/learn/features/fields#hide-field)
- [AI-enhanced field](/learn/features/fields#ai-enhanced-field)
- [Used in](/learn/features/fields#used-in)
- [Delete](/learn/features/fields#delete)
- [Commands (in Advanced)](#commands-in-advanced)
- [Page size (in Advanced)](#page-size-in-advanced)
### Auto-initialize
A field setting that specifies how their content should be autofilled when a supertag is added to a node. Auto-initialization allows fields to be filled out based on the context of their creation - when they were created, where in the graph they were created, who created them, and so on. This is different from setting default values to fields in the [supertag config panel](/learn/features/supertags), which are static.
Good to know:
- **Initialization expressions are convenience functions, but are not live updating.** So they won't change any prior field values from before you created the initialization functions, and you can change them after Tana Outliner fills a field if they need a manual touch.
- **This is only triggered for fields that are part of a Supertag template.** Auto-initialize will not work for fields that you use otherwise.
- **Initialization is only triggered when a node gets the supertag applied to it.** If the supertag gets updated with a field with initialization switched on, and the supertag was already applied to nodes, these nodes will only see the field added without any content initialized in it.
- **Moving a node doesn't re-trigger initialization.** If you drag an existing node into a new parent, its auto-initialized fields won't update to reflect the new context. To work around this, you can create a [command node](/learn/features/command-nodes) using Insert Tana Paste that reads the ancestor field value and writes it back — effectively re-inheriting the field on demand.
(From the archive: Stian's [original demo](https://share.cleanshot.com/MpkdPc) (October 2022) on how Auto-initialization works. May have outdated info.)
#### Auto-initialize to value from ancestor with this field
Available on all fields. Copies the field values from the identical field on a node earlier in the tree.
- Example 1: You could have a **Quote** tag with an Author field, and it could automatically initialize with the value from the Author field of the **Book** that it is nested underneath.
- Example 2: You could have a "Related Project" field for your tasks, and then any nested subtasks would automatically have the same related project.
#### Auto-initialize to ancestor with this supertag
Only available on Options from supertag fields. Grabs a reference to the first node with this tag that it can find earlier in the tree.
- Example: You could have a **Quote** tag with a Source field, which is an instance of **Source**. If you tag a **Quote** nested underneath a **Source** node, this function would auto-populate the field accordingly.
#### Auto-initialize to random node with this supertag
Only available on Options from supertag fields. Grabs a reference to one or more random nodes with this supertag.
- Example: You could have **Journaling prompt** and have three show up in a "Today's Prompts" field in your **Journal** nodes.
#### Auto-initialize to current date
Only available on Date fields. Adds today's date to the field.
- Example: You tag your workout logs and want to record the day you logged it.
#### Auto-initialize to date of ancestor day node
Only available on Date fields. Adds the date that corresponds to an ancestor day node that a node with this field would be owned by.
- Example: In your daily node for next Tuesday, you tag a meeting. A date field with this initialization expression would be set to next Tuesday.
#### Auto-initialize to current user
Sets the value as the user who triggered the creation of the field.
Note: _Auto-initialize to current user_ is a bit of a stub and there's not much you can do with this information currently. It will be picked up again for development once we start focusing on collaboration and teams.
### Required
If switched on, will give a warning when field has no value. The warning is visual only and has no consequence.
### Hide field
Minimizes the field when part of a supertag.
- Never (default): Field is never hidden
- When empty: Field is hidden when it has no value
- When not empty: Field is hidden when it has a value
- When value is default: Field is hidden when populated with template value from supertag
- Always: Field is always hidden
### Audio-enabled field
When enabled, you will see a button wherever this field is used, which will let you use realtime transcription to fill in the field.
You can optionally configure a command to run when the transcription is done.
### AI instructions
Plain text instructions for the AI when filling this field from [voice memo processing](/learn/features/mobile-voice-memos) or the autofill command.
### AI-enhanced field
Adds optional AI assistance for filling in this field, based on the name, description and contents of the parent node.
### Used in
- [number of] nodes: indicates the number of nodes where this field is used. Clicking this will open a new search for all nodes with this field.
- [number of] supertags: indicates the number of supertags that use this field in its template. Clicking this will expand the list of supertags.
### Delete
You can delete the field from here.
### Make it discoverable
Old: Move to Schema
**Question: Should you move a field to the schema?**
The place you _create_ a field becomes the primary instance of this field which carries the field definition. This can be anywhere in the graph, including inside Supertag configurations.
If you delete the field definition or its owner, and you used the field in other places, they will now appear with a trash icon alongside the name. This is intentional to prevent data from being unintentionally deleted.
Tana Outliner Template consideration: Sometimes you want the fields to live in the supertag they were created in, so if you clone the supertag definition, it clones all the fields as well. If the fields were referenced, they would remain a reference in the cloned version, which is often not desirable.
**But for most situations, to better preserve the fields you create it's recommended to move them to the Schema.** Also, field definitions owned by the schema have priority when searching for fields.
### Commands (in Advanced)
Adding one or more commands here will add buttons to the field that will trigger the command upon being pressed. See [Commands](/learn/features/command-nodes) for how to create and configure commands.
### Page size (in Advanced)
By default, a list of nodes will start to paginate at 100 items. Here you can configure another maximum number before nodes get put on the next page.
### Field has semantic function (in Advanced)
_Shows for Options and Options from supertag field types._
Semantics give meaning to the relationships between nodes. Supertags already express "is a" relationships and fields express "has a" relationships; a semantic function adds an explicit relationship on top. Today the one available function is **Part of**, covered next.
### Part of
**Reach for _Part of_ when you have a fixed breakdown, like a place, an org chart, or a product's components, and you want to file things at the most specific level while still pulling them up at any level above.**
It arranges nodes into a strict tree, so a single search can return everything beneath any node in that tree, however deep it sits.
You don't need _Part of_ for everyday structure. Plain nesting and ordinary fields cover most cases. It earns its place when you want **recursive retrieval**: ask for everything that belongs to Europe and get back every country and city beneath it.
A couple of things to know first:
- **One parent per node.** Each node is part of exactly one other node, so the structure stays a clean tree. Something that belongs to two parents, like a feature shared by two areas, is not a valid _Part of_ relationship; use an ordinary reference field for that.
- **The breadcrumb shows where a node sits.** A breadcrumb at the top of each node traces its part-of chain, and you can click any node in it to jump there.
#### Set up a Part of field
1. Tag the things in your hierarchy. For a geography tree you might tag Europe, Norway, and Oslo with `#place`, or use a tag per level like `#continent`, `#country`, and `#city`.
2. Create a field, for example _Part of location_. Set its **Field type** to _Options from supertag_ and point it at that tag, so your tagged nodes become the available values.
3. Open **Advanced**, toggle on **Field has semantic function**, and choose **Part of**.
#### Connect nodes into a hierarchy
Add the field to each node and set its value to the node one level up:
- On **Oslo**, set _Part of location_ to **Norway**.
- On **Norway**, set _Part of location_ to **Europe**.
Repeat up the chain for as many levels as you need. Each node's breadcrumb and Part of location field then reflect the chain you have built:
#### Find everything under a node
`COMPONENTS REC` (components, recursively) is the search operator that reads a part-of tree. Use it in one of two ways.
**To list the members of the tree,** query the _Part of_ field with `COMPONENTS REC` and the top node. For example, `Part of location: COMPONENTS REC Europe` returns every place that is part of Europe at any depth.
In the screenshot the search lives on the Europe node, so it uses `PARENT` in place of "Europe" and adds `#city` to
limit the results to cities. The result is the same.
**To list records attached to the tree,** point a separate field at the tree and query that instead. Keep the two roles apart:
- a _definition_ field with the _Part of_ semantic function builds the tree (the steps above), and
- a _use_ field on another supertag, an ordinary _Options from supertag_ field with semantic function off, references nodes in the tree.
For example, an `#inventory` record has a _Related part_ field pointing into your part-of tree. Searching `#inventory` where `Related part: COMPONENTS REC Engine` returns the inventory for every component under the engine. The Tana Outliner team uses the same shape to file feature requests against the smallest part of the product and still surface them when reviewing any larger area.
#### Keep the tree small
`COMPONENTS REC` walks the whole tree on every search, so it slows down as the tree grows, and it is still experimental.
- **Good fit:** a tree that is small and slow-growing, like a region, an org chart, or a product map.
- **Poor fit:** fast-growing working data, like Projects with their Tasks, or every paragraph of a book under its chapter.
Records _attached_ to the tree through a use field can still grow freely, since the search only walks the small tree. Very large result sets are also subject to the [search result limit](/learn/features/search-nodes).
#### Examples of common Part of hierarchies
Each of these shares one trait: every part has a single, undisputed parent.
- Geography (continent > country > city)
- Budgets (company budget > department budget > project budget)
- Organizational structure (corporation > division > department)
- Scientific classification (plant kingdom > ericaceae family > blueberries)
- Addresses (Canada > Ontario > Toronto)
## System fields
Tana Outliner has several different types of system fields.
**Calculated system fields:** Every node in Tana Outliner has calculated properties stored in these fields. To see a table of them, [go here](/learn/features/nodes-and-references#node-properties).
**System-defined fields:** Some fields are defined on the global level.
- Date field: When dragging nodes onto a calendar view, Tana Outliner adds a field to the nodes to store the date/time information.
- Due date field: More on that [here](/help/organizing-workspace#should-i-use-the-due-date-field)
## Fields in node titles
To use field values or system attributes in node titles, see [Build title from fields](/learn/features/supertags#1-build-title-from-fields-title-expression).
## Field definition
The field definition is a special node that stores the settings of a field.
A field definition (1) versus a field (2) looks like this:
You can find it by putting your cursor in the field name, then press copy (Cmd/Ctrl+C) and put your cursor on an empty node and paste (Cmd/Ctrl+V).
Whenever you select an existing field to use, it is retrieving the settings from the field definition of that field.
When you create a brand new field, the field definition for that field lives in the place it was first created. If a field is created in a supertag template, it will only appear there unless you make it discoverable. This sends the field definition to the Schema.
## Fields used in Search Nodes
See [Search nodes](/learn/features/search-nodes)
## Merging fields
See [Merging duplicate nodes](/learn/features/nodes-and-references#merging-duplicate-nodes)
---
#### Import data into Tana Outliner from other tools
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/import-data-into-tana
Tana Outliner has built-in importers for Notion, Roam, Logseq, and Workflowy (OPML). Each import creates a separate workspace with your content. Notion imports support pages, linked databases, images, and cross-page links. For other tools, community-built importers are available through the Tana Intermediate Format.
## Summary
Currently Tana Outliner supports Notion, Roam, OPML/Workflowy and Logseq as native import formats. Check out [Tana Intermediate Format](/learn/features/tana-intermediate-format) to see an early version of community-supported importers for other platforms, and how you could contribute to build an importer for your favorite format.
## Notion import
Tana Outliner supports [Notion exports](https://www.notion.com/help/export-your-content) in **Markdown (.md) or CSV**, **up to 1500 Markdown files in one import**. This gives you room to bring over substantial project documentation, research pages or operational material.
Included in the import:
- Page content and subpages in Markdown
- Linked databases exported as CSV
- Images will be included and shown inline
- Attachments such as PDFs and videos will
- Links between Notion pages, converted to Tana Outliner references
- Links to Notion pages that are not included in the export will retain the Notion URL
Not included:
- Relational links between Notion databases (can be re-created with fields and supertags)
- Custom Notion views such as cards or galleries (these doesn't exist in Tana Outliner)
- Workspace-wide structures or automations
We recommend to import some sections or databases at a time, instead of your entire workspace. This keeps the migration clean and easier to reorganize.
[See the full tutorial for Notion import](https://tana.inc/articles/tutorial-import-content-into-tana-from-notion)
## Roam import
1. Before exporting anything from Roam, you may want to do some preprocessing on your graph. [Here are some tips on things to consider](/learn/guides/importing-from-roam#preprocessing-by-shashank).
1. When ready, choose Export all to download a JSON of your graph in a zip file
1. In the Tana Outliner sidebar, go to the User icon > Import content > Roam, and drag your JSON file in to be uploaded
1. Imports create a new Tana Outliner workspace, so it's separate from your existing workspaces. Imported content _may_ be located in the Library.
1. If you want to access the Roam content from another workspace, you can go to your workspace home, press on `···` > `Allow content from...` and check the Roam workspace.
## Logseq import
1. In Logseq, choose `Export graph` to download a JSON or OPML of your graph.
1. In the Tana Outliner sidebar, go to the User icon > Import content > Logseq, and drag your file in to be uploaded
1. Imports create a new Tana Outliner workspace, so it's separate from your existing workspaces. Imported content _may_ be located in the Library.
1. If you want to access the Roam content from another workspace, you can go to your workspace home, press on `···` > `Allow content from...` and make sure the imported workspace is checked.
## Workflowy/OPML import
1. [Download an OPML file](https://workflowy.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/202610389-OPML-support-imports-and-exports) from Workflowy.
1. In the Tana Outliner sidebar, go to the User icon > Import content > Workflowy/OPML, and drag your JSON file in to be uploaded
1. Imports create a new Tana Outliner workspace, so it's separate from your existing workspaces. Imported content _may_ be located in the Library.
1. If you want to access the imported content from another workspace, you can go to your workspace home, press on `···` > `Allow content from...` make sure the imported workspace is checked.
## Markdown / Tana Paste
While it is not possible to import markdown files straight into Tana Outliner, the [Tana Paste](/learn/features/tana-paste) format is based on markdown and is therefore very similar. It's a format that allows you to paste structured Tana Outliner content via a plain text input.
**Alternative resource:** Ambassador Andrea Grasso created a [Tana Paste GPT](https://chatgpt.com/g/g-dMIJaLnIf-tana-paste-gpt) that converts different formats into Tana Paste format.
## Google Sheets / CSV
Copy-pasting cells from Google Sheets to Tana Outliner works very well. If you have an .xlsx or .csv file, open it in Google Sheets and copy-paste into Tana Outliner from there.
Alternatively, Navigator Mark Midlick created a CSV-to-Tana Outliner tool:
- [CSV Converter Tool](https://csvtana.streamlit.app/)
- [How-To Video (youtube)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UwUOTZiOuk)
---
#### Input API
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/input-api
A JSON-based HTTP API for creating nodes, fields, supertags, and file attachments in a Tana Outliner workspace. The API is write-only and requires an API token per workspace. Read access is not yet available.
## Overview
The Tana Outliner Input API gives you a set of basic tools to send (and edit, to a limited degree) data to the Tana Outliner graph. This API is useful for initializing data, automating repetitive tasks, and inputting data to Tana Outliner from custom workflows and external applications.
On the roadmap is to expand the API to enable reading from Tana Outliner graphs.
### Restrictions
The API has the following restrictions:
- POST only
- One call per second per token
- A maximum of 100 nodes created per call
- The payload size is limited to 5000 characters
- `!` Will not sync on workspaces with more than 750k nodes. If you are expecting to sync a lot of data, use a fresh workspace.
## Basics
The API can do the following:
- **Create nodes:** Create nodes, including children
- **Create fields:** Define new fields, their description, and their field type
- **Create supertags:** Define supertags, and their template fields and nodes
- **Edit nodes:** Update name of node.
- **File uploads:** Upload files and associate them with specific nodes.
To access the API, you need:
- A **Tana Outliner API token**
- **Endpoint**: `https://europe-west1-tagr-prod.cloudfunctions.net/addToNodeV2`
## Documentation
### How to get a Tana Outliner API token
You need an API token to work with the Input API. Tokens are assigned per workspace and can be generated in the Tana Outliner client:
1. Open your profile settings from the top right of Tana Outliner, go to `API tokens`, then the `Workspace Tokens` tab
1. Select which workspace you want to create a token for, and click `Create token`
1. Click `Copy` to copy the token you just created
### nodeID
With Tana Outliner's Input API, you'll need to know how to retrieve the `nodeID` for a node. Everything is a node in Tana Outliner, and so, everything has a `nodeID`. Nodes, field definitions, supertags all have `nodeID`s. To retrieve the `nodeID` for different types of objects, use the command `Copy link` to get the URL, and grab the part after the `=` sign. Example:
- URL: `https://app.tana.inc?nodeid=z-p8LdQk6I76`
- nodeID: `z-p8LdQk6I76`
For supertags, you can retrieve the API Schema for the supertag template. Open the Supertag configuration panel, and in the title of the supertag run the command `Show API Schema`
### JSON
The API is based on JSON. Below are examples of payloads for different situations:
### Creating nodes
Creating a node is done by sending a JSON object to the addToNoteV2 endpoint.
The object has two keys:
- `targetNodeId` refers to where the nodes will be created. By default, nodes will be placed in the Library. Other targets include `SCHEMA`, `INBOX`, or any `nodeID`.
- The `nodes` key is an array of one or more objects. These are Tana Outliner nodes.
When creating nodes, you can use the following keys:
- `dataType` refers to what type of node it is. Valid values: `plain`, `field`, `url`, `date`, `reference`, `boolean`, `file`. Default is plain.
- `name` refers to the name of the node.
- Cannot contain newlines
- Formatting available in nodes: `bold` `italic` `striked` `highlight` `**bold**` `__italic__` `~~striked~~` `^^highlight^^`
- You can also include links and dates:
- ``
- ``
- ``
- `description` refers to the description of the node
- Cannot contain newlines
- `id` refers to a nodeID. Use when making a [reference node](#reference-node), or when [applying a supertag to a node](#plain-node-with-two-supertags).
- `attributeId` refers to the field definition. Use when adding an existing field to a node.
- `supertags` is used for creating supertags and fields, and also applying existing supertags to a node.
- To create a supertag, use `"supertags": [{"id": "SYS_T01"}]`
- To create a field, use `"supertags": [{"id": "SYS_T02"}]`
- To apply existing supertags to a node, use its `nodeID`.
- Get the nodeID of a supertag in Tana Outliner by going to the supertag config panel and use the command line `Show API schema`
- For more examples, see [Fields and Supertags](#fields-and-supertags) below.
- `children` refers to the children to add to the node, including fields.
#### Plain node
An example of a plain node with text in the name, and in the description:
```
// Creating a plain node
{
"nodes": [
{
"name":"My plain node",
"description": "This is a plain node example."
}
]
}
```
#### Plain node with a field
An example of a plain node that contains an existing field and a field value in it:
```
// Creating a plain node with a field (existing) and value
{
"nodes": [
{
"name":"My plain node",
"children": [
{
"type": "field",
"attributeId": "nodeID",
"children": [
{
"name": "Field value"
}
]
}
]
}
]
}
```
#### Plain node with two supertags
An example of a plain node that has two different supertags applied, which will be created in the Inbox:
```
// add a node with two supertags, targeting Schema
{
"targetNodeId": "INBOX",
"nodes": [
{
"name": "The Hobbit",
"description": "A book by J.R.R. Tolkien",
"supertags": [{"id": "nodeID-1"}, {"id": "nodeID-2"}]
}
]
}
```
#### Reference node
An example of creating a reference, where you need to define the dataType as reference, and the nodeID:
```
// Creating a reference
{
"nodes": [
{
"dataType": "reference",
"id": "nodeID",
}
]
}
```
#### Date node
An example of creating a date node, where you need to define the dataType as date, and add the name in [ISO 8601](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_8601) format:
```
// Creating a date node
{
"nodes": [
{
"dataType": "date",
"name":"2023-12-01 08:00:00"
}
]
}
```
The API can receive different types of dates:
- Day: `2024-01-01`
- Week: `2024-W12`
- Month: `2024-05`
- Year: `2024`
- Timestamp: `2024-01-01 00:00:00`
- Ranges: `2024-01-01/2024-01-05`
- All dates and times are sent as UTC. Timezone information is stripped.
#### URL node
An example of creating a URL node (for EH review):
```
// Creating a node with a URL
{
"nodes": [
{
"name": "Webpage",
"description": "A webpage node with URL information",
"children": [
{
"type": "field",
"attributeId": "URLFieldId",
"children": [
{
"dataType": "url",
"name": "https://example.com",
}
]
}
]
}
]
}
```
#### Checkbox node
An example of creating a node with a checkbox (boolean state):
```
// Creating a checkbox node
{
"nodes": [
{
"dataType": "boolean",
"name":"My checkbox node",
"value": true, // or false
}
]
}
```
#### Node with file attachment
```
// Creating a node with a file attached
{
"nodes": [
{
"dataType": "file",
"file": "base64encodedfiledata...",
"filename": "myFile.pdf",
"contentType": "application/pdf",
}
]
}
```
Tana Outliner supports most MIME types in the `contentType` key. Tana Outliner will allow interactions with some common filetypes like images, audio, video and PDFs. Otherwise, a file will be uploaded as a plain attachment.
Note: The `file` key should contain the base64-encoded file data.
### Creating fields and supertags
Creating fields and supertags follow a slightly different pattern. As a best practice, it is recommended to send these nodes to Schema.
#### Creating fields
To create new fields, create a node with the supertag set to `SYS_T02`. You'll likely want to target the `SCHEMA`, which is a default place for supertag and field definitions to live.
```
{
"targetNodeId": "SCHEMA",
"nodes": [
{
"name": "Author",
"description": "Who wrote the book?",
"supertags": [{"id": "SYS_T02"}]
}
]
}
```
#### Creating supertags
To create a supertag, set the supertag value to `SYS_T01`:
```
{
targetNodeId: 'SCHEMA',
nodes: [
{
name: 'Book',
description: 'A supertag for my books',
supertags: [{id:'SYS_T01'}],
}
]
}
```
#### Using existing supertags
Run the command line `Show API schema` on the title of the supertag in the config panel or on the supertag definition to get all the information you need on how to compile your JSON to properly enter information for existing supertags in the API.
A typical schema looks like this:
```
type Node = {
name: string;
description?: string;
supertags: [{
/* meeting */
id: 'MaaJRCypzJ'
}];
children: [
{
/* Date */
type: 'field';
attributeId: 'iKQAQN38Vx';
children: [{
dataType: 'date';
name: string;
}];
},
];
};
```
And comes with a payload example:
```json
{
"nodes": [
{
"name": "New node",
"supertags": [
{
"id": "MaaJRCypzJ"
}
],
"children": [
{
"type": "field",
"attributeId": "iKQAQN38Vx",
"children": [
{
"dataType": "date",
"name": "2023-05-10T08:25:59.059Z"
}
]
},
{
"name": "Child node"
}
]
}
]
}
```
Use the payload example to properly compile the JSON for the Tana Outliner API.
### Editing the name of a node
The name of a node can be changed. Replace `nodes` in the payload with `setName: 'new name'` like this:
```
{
targetNodeId:'xxx',
setName: 'hello',
}
```
### Current limitations
Rate limiting:
- One call per second per token
- Max 100 nodes created per call
- Max 5000 chars in one request
Other limitations:
- You cannot target a relative Today-node
- To add supertags/fields, you'll have to know the IDs of the Supertag. To get it, run the command "Show API schema" on a supertag
- The payload is currently capped at 5K. Let us know if this is too low (and why)
- There's a new endpoint for the updated API
- You cannot send a checkbox as a child to a normal node
- We don't support the initialization function
- We don't support child templates
- We do not support non http/https links (in-app links)
- The API will only sync to workspaces under 750k nodes
- On added/removed events for nodes and supertags are not triggered
## TanaAPIHelper
In the GitHub repository is a basic client for Tana Outliner's Input API and example scripts. For instructions on how to use that, go to the [Github repository](https://github.com/tanainc/tana-input-api-samples/tree/main) and look at the readme.
---
#### Live voice transcription
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/live-voice-transcription
Real-time speech-to-text that converts your voice into text as you speak, anywhere in your workspace. You can start a transcription from the slash menu, the sidebar, or an audio-enabled field. The transcript is grouped under a single collapsible node. Supports over 60 languages.
There are several ways to start real-time transcription in Tana Outliner:
- **Type / (slash)** on an empty node, and choose "Live transcription" from the menu. The transcript will be shown below a new node where you can set a title.
- **Create new button in sidebar > Start live transcription**: Transcribes into the new node you created. New nodes like this are created on your Today page.
- **Audio-enabled fields**: Enables an audio button on the field. Pressing it triggers live transcription, with the transcript stored into the field. Set this up in [field configuration](/learn/features/fields).
If you want to transcribe meetings, see the [AI meeting notetaker](/learn/features/tana-meeting-notetaker).
### How it works
You can start live transcribing anywhere in Tana Outliner. The transcription will be grouped under one node, to make it easy to collapse the transcript.
If you want to see the transcription in real-time while working or taking notes (e.g. in a meeting) you can the main transcript node to open it in a new panel on the side.
#### Change live transcription language
To change the transcription language:
- Live transcription on a node: Click on the globe 🌐 icon
- To change the default language, hold Alt on Windows, Option on Mac, while selecting the language from the list. This will then be used for all transcriptions started.
- Audio-enabled fields: Shift+click on the record button
If you want to be able to change the language after transcription, you need to **enable Re-transcription from audio files**. [How to set up re-transcription with audio recordings.](/learn/features/tana-meeting-notetaker#re-transcribe-from-audio-file)
### Languages supported for live transcription
If you want to be able to change the language after transcription, you need to **enable Re-transcription from audio
files**. [How to set up re-transcription with audio
recordings.](/learn/features/tana-meeting-notetaker#re-transcribe-from-audio-file)
Live transcription currently supports these languages:
- Afrikaans
- Albanian
- Arabic
- Azerbaijani
- Basque
- Belarusian
- Bengali
- Bosnian
- Bulgarian
- Catalan
- Chinese
- Croatian
- Czech
- Danish
- Dutch
- English
- Estonian
- Finnish
- French
- Galician
- German
- Greek
- Gujarati
- Hebrew
- Hindi
- Hungarian
- Indonesian
- Italian
- Japanese
- Kannada
- Kazakh
- Korean
- Latvian
- Lithuanian
- Macedonian
- Malay
- Malayalam
- Marathi
- Norwegian
- Persian
- Polish
- Portuguese
- Punjabi
- Romanian
- Russian
- Serbian
- Slovak
- Slovenian
- Spanish
- Swahili
- Swedish
- Tagalog
- Tamil
- Telugu
- Thai
- Turkish
- Ukrainian
- Urdu
- Vietnamese
- Welsh
---
#### Meeting agent
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/meeting-agent
An AI bot that joins your Google Meet, Zoom, or Teams calls to transcribe the conversation, then processes the transcript into a summary, action items, and background information about attendees. Works with the calendar integration to join scheduled meetings automatically. Requires a paid Tana Outliner subscription.
Tana Outliner now offers **[botless live meeting transcription](/learn/features/tana-meeting-notetaker)**! Try this
for effortless meeting notes without the need to have a bot present in the call.
## Overview
The meeting agent is a life hack for people who spend lots of time in meetings, but don't want to spend time following up and post-processing the notes. Add the meeting agent to your calls, and it will transcribe what each participant is saying, and extract useful, actionable items that are immediately sent to the relevant context - without you lifting a finger.
**Sync your meetings with Tana Outliner straight from your calendar.** Our calendar integration brings all your meetings into Tana Outliner, and shows them on your daily notes page. It can also send desktop notifications for upcoming meetings. For more on this, see [Calendar integration](/learn/features/calendar-integration). If you don't use Google Calendar you can add meetings manually by tagging them as meetings.
**Allow Tana Outliner to take notes during your meetings.** Send a meeting agent to any virtual meeting with a link, or have it automatically show up if your meetings are scheduled via your calendar. Works with Google Meet, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams.
**See a summary of what was discussed, and all the action items mentioned during the meeting.** Everything is linked to the transcript so you can see where it came from.
**Meeting agent is only available on a Tana Outliner paid subscription**. It uses AI credits to transcribe and process meeting notes.
## Basics
The meeting agent is a set of special functions that can be added to a supertag.
- **First time users: Setup of your first meeting agent.** If you start a Tana Outliner subscription from an existing account, a setup process helps you select existing tags and fields for the meeting agent. For new subscribers, the meeting agent will already be installed from the beginning, no setup required.
- **It's easy to set up a meeting agent manually.** On any supertag, set the base tag to Meeting and start the setup process in tag config. For more detail, see [How to install another meeting agent](#how-to-install-another-meeting-agent)
- **Add an agent to a meeting.** Click on the meeting (anything with the meeting tag is considered a meeting), make sure it has a meeting link and press "add meeting agent". It has now been invited and will ask to join the meeting once it's started.
- **During the meeting, the agent is transcribing.** Everything that participants are saying is being transcribed to Tana Outliner, live, during the call.
- **Finish your meeting to start processing.** Once you close the video call, the meeting notes processor begins. This uses Tana AI to distill important items from the meeting. A short meeting takes less than a minute, longer meetings can take several minutes.
- **When processing is done, the meeting notes are complete.** Notes include a Summary, found tasks, future agenda items, new and existing entities - all with links to relevant parts of the transcript.
- **Enrichment of your knowledge.** The meeting notes processor adds background information about persons and companies who attended and/or were talked about under their nodes. This helps with jogging your memory on what they've said about themselves before going into the next meeting you have with them!
## Detail
### The synergy between the Calendar integration and Meeting agent
The Meeting agent and Calendar integration are two intertwined features that are meant to work together.
The calendar integration is not just a convenient way to see your events on the day node. It is an opportunity for AI to help build out your knowledge graph:
- It syncs your meetings to Tana Outliner so you have a place to prepare for meetings, write notes and agenda points beforehand
- It imports the attendees and meeting link of your meeting, so you can add the meeting agent with one click.
- The [Tana Outliner Desktop app](/learn/features/tana-for-desktop) can send you notifications about upcoming meetings, allowing you to add the meeting agent easily.
- The meeting agent uses AI to attend and take notes during the meeting for you
- All notes are saved back in Tana Outliner on the meeting node, and connects back to your knowledge base.
When the Meeting agent creates notes, it does the following:
**Writes a concise, interconnected meeting summary**: Your meeting summaries are no longer siloed on a different AI transcription platform just for meeting notes. They now live in Tana Outliner with the rest of your knowledge, connected to things in the transcript and in your graph.
**Creates action items based on the conversation:** It picks up all the tasks, agenda items and decisions that come out of a meeting
**Builds a CRM:** Meetings usually have Attendees. The calendar integration will import contacts you have meetings with, and the meeting agent can enrich the information on these contacts with facts that it learns from meetings. Joanne is not just a generic contact in your CRM anymore, they went to an escape room last weekend with their husband and really enjoy a good mystery novel (good to know when getting a birthday gift).
Go here for more on the [Calendar integration](/learn/features/calendar-integration).
### Setup
The meeting agent is a supertag that has meeting functionality under the hood.
To get the meeting agent, you can install it in one of two ways:
- **New user:** you don't have to do anything, it is already installed!
- **Existing user:** when you start your trial/upgrade to a Tana Outliner paid subscription, you can opt to install a new #meeting supertag, or to map an existing tag and fields to be used for your meeting agent. For more detail, see [How to install another meeting agent](#how-to-install-another-meeting-agent)
The meeting agent is meant to work seamlessly with Tana Outliner's calendar integration:
- Connect with your calendar to sync your meetings to Tana Outliner where you can use the meeting agent. For more, see [Calendar integration](/learn/features/calendar-integration)
- If you want to receive desktop notifications for upcoming meetings, install the [Tana Outliner Desktop app](/learn/features/tana-for-desktop) in addition to enabling the calendar integration.
- You can still use the meeting agent without a calendar integration by adding the meeting tag manually.
### Quick start guide
These are the steps for using a meeting agent. It looks like a lot but it's not actually _that_ difficult, there are more steps here than you actually have to do:
1. **Create/Find a meeting**
1. **If you're syncing a meeting from your calendar**, it should appear in your related content section on your daily page. Click on it to open it.
1. **If you're manually making a meeting**, apply the #meeting supertag to any node to make a new one (or the name of the supertag you specified during setup)
1. **Setup meeting.** In the meeting node, make sure the Meeting link field is filled with the link to a video call.
1. **Add meeting agent.** Click the button "Add Meeting Agent".
1. If there's no time in the Date time field, the agent enters immediately (usually within 30s after pressing button).
1. If there is a time specified, the agent will be scheduled to automatically enter at that time.
1. **Allow meeting agent in.** When the meeting is open, the agent will ask to join the meeting; let it in. If you are not the organizer of the meeting, you might have to ask the organizer to let it in. Once it's in, it immediately starts live-transcribing the meeting to Tana Outliner, separating the speakers based on their separate audio streams.
1. **Processing meeting.** After the meeting has ended, the meeting agent will automatically start processing the transcript. This usually takes 1 - 3 minutes. **Do not close or reload your browser while the meeting agent is processing the transcript.**
1. **Done.** When it's done, you can explore the results which include:
1. A **summary** that has links to the full transcript.
1. An overview of **action items** (if any) such as tasks, agenda items, and decisions.
1. **Background information** about meeting participants (including their role, where they are from, what they are working on etc.) as well as on company entities.
#### Enable/disable meeting notifications
If you would like to disable desktop meeting notifications, you can go to the system menu for Tana Outliner desktop, click Options and toggle "Meeting notifications" off:
### How to install another meeting agent
You can have specialized meeting agents for the different types of meetings you have during the day. Here's how to set up another meeting agent that you can then customize:
- **If you want a new tag; Create a new supertag**. This will become your new meeting agent
- If you want to install it on an existing supertag; Find the supertag.
- Open the **supertag configuration**.
- In the "Building blocks" section: Set the supertag's base type as **Meeting**.
- You can choose to extend the supertag from another supertag if you want it as a sub-tag.
- In the **Content template** section, add the fields from your main meeting tag if you want to reuse them, or keep it empty if you want to have brand new fields created in the process.
- Scroll down; a new section pops up at the bottom called **Meeting agent.** Open it and you'll see this:
- Press **Set up agent** and you'll see this. If the template is empty or no fields seem to be suitable, it will default to "Create new". If there are suitable fields, they will be pre-filled:
- After the setup, the meeting will have a default command set up that dictates how the meeting agent works. To customize that, see the next section!
### Advanced: How to customize your meeting agent
Meeting agents are very complex apps with many moving parts. We learn as a community, so if you have any questions
about how it works, please go to our Tana Outliner Community slack channel **#questions** to ask your question and get
help from the team and other advanced users.
Customizing your meeting agent requires you to have some knowledge of advanced supertag configurations and how to build commands from scratch. We think the best way to show you how it can be customized is to show you how it's built.
So, this tutorial is actually on **how to build a meeting agent from the ground up**, with explanations on all the parts along the way. Grab your favourite beverage and let's dive in!
#### 1. Have the required fields in your meeting tag
A meeting agent tag requires the following fields:
- **Meeting link**: A URL field
- **Transcript**: A plain field
Optional but quite common in many meetings synced from the calendar:
- **Attendees**: Usually a Options from supertag field linked to a supertag that represents people in your graph, and that uses the `Base tag: Person`. In the calendar integration, this is automatically made as a `#person` tag. In the absence of calendar integration, your own tag for persons with `Base tag: Person` is fine.
- **Date time**: A date field
Note: These are automatically configured/created for you if you run any meeting agent/calendar setup and you don't have suitable fields from before. Follow the steps above for [How to install another meeting agent](#how-to-install-another-meeting-agent) to get all the right fields.
#### 2. The Add meeting bot command
**This is what controls the transcription** operation during the live meeting (adding a bot, transcribing, where things go, what to do after)
To edit the command running this, press the configure button:
This opens the command in an adjacent panel. The name of this command node is what appears on the purple button on the meeting. Here it's called "Add meeting agent".
Nested within is the `Add meeting bot` command node. This is setup included in the default meeting tag:
**Node filter**: this grabs the Meeting bot status system-defined field and makes sure it isn't running yet by checking there's no status value set.
**Meeting link**, **Transcript**, **Attendees**, and **Meeting date** fields: These are self-explanatory in the description of the field. Plug in the field definitions for the fields you created above.
**Post process command** (important): This command will be run on the transcript
Other config settings that are not in this example
- **Meeting bot name:** The name for the agent when it appears as a participant in the meeting.
- **Recording target**: Field for inserting link to recording, if applicable
- **Transcription provider:** Choose a transcription provider, currently Gladia, or Deepgram
For all the possible settings, see the [Add meeting bot](/learn/features/ai-command-nodes#add-meeting-bot) command.
#### 3a. The Text processing agent command: Default meeting
**This is what controls the meeting notes processing.** It defines what happens after the meeting is done and the transcript is ready for processing. A lot of flavour can be added here, depending on your needs.
This is the setup included in the default meeting tag:
**Node context:** This command will reside inside the Add meeting agent command, on the config level of the main meeting node. In order to target the main meeting node correctly, we need to specify `GRANDPARENT` here.
**Node filter:** The command will only run if the following criteria are met:
- There is some contents in the `Transcript` field
- The `Meeting bot status` is _Done_ (i.e. it has left the meeting and done transcribing)
- The `Text processing agent status` (basically the status field for this command) does not exist yet
**Transcript source:** The field that contains the transcript
**New entities target:** The field that will contain Discovered items from the call
**Action items target:** The field that will contain tasks, and could contain other things like agenda items or decisions
**Tags to use for entities:** Entities that AI will look for when processing the transcript.
**Tags to use for action items:** Action items that AI will look for when processing the transcript.
Note: For the Tags to use for entities/action items, all the tags here would have special configurations (base tags set at a minimum, AI description for precision) to increase likelihood that AI correctly identifies these entities.
For all the possible settings, see the [Text processing agent](/learn/features/ai-command-nodes#text-processing-agent) command.
#### 3b. The Text processing agent command: Onboarding agent
Here's another example of how another type of text processing can be set up. This is an _Onboarding agent_ that sits in on manual onboarding meetings with new users:
**The node context/filters are the same**
**Text processing agent mode:** Generic
- Generic mode does not take into consideration attendees, and is better at non-meeting processing
**Tags to use for item extraction:** Add a list of supertags the agent will try to identify from the transcript. Optimize each tag for AI by setting a base tag (if applicable) and AI instructions.
**Action item/entities/extracted items prompt** (optional): Additional prompt to use for extracting above items
**Summary/New entities/Action items/Extracted items target:** Set field to insert found items into
For all the possible settings, see the [Text processing agent](/learn/features/ai-command-nodes#text-processing-agent) command.
---
#### Mobile Voice Memos
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/mobile-voice-memos
Voice memos let you speak into your phone or desktop and get a transcription back as a structured note. Tana Outliner's AI transcribes the recording and fills in fields based on your supertag configuration. On mobile, voice chat lets you have a two-way conversation with AI about your data.
Tana Outliner mobile offers two ways to work with voice:
- **Voice memos** record your speech and transcribe it into structured notes. Perfect for quick capture, journaling, meeting notes, or any content you want to dictate.
- **Voice chat (Early Access, iOS)** enables conversational AI interactions using voice. Talk through ideas with an AI assistant that responds based on your supertag configuration.
Both features leverage AI to understand context and structure your content intelligently.
## Mobile voice memos
Transform your voice recordings into structured content. Voice memos are instantly transcribed on servers and can be automatically structured using supertags and fields. The system supports 91 languages and maintains access to original recordings.
- **Quick start**: In Tana Outliner mobile, go to Capture and start a voice memo. Speak, then stop it when you're done - your memo will be automatically transcribed and sent to the default Destination.
- **While recording:**
- **Select supertag to add structure**: Tap "Supertag" to select a Supertag and to see its fields. Mention the field names explicitly for better auto-fill (e.g., if your field is called "Next steps", say "_Next steps... send the proposal to client for review_")
- **Change target Destination**: Tap "Destination" before recording to send to a different location. Pick from Today, Tomorrow, Inbox, and pinned nodes.
- **Select transcription language:** Tana Outliner mobile will default to the system language of the device the first time it records a voice memo. You can choose another language from here.
- **Recording limit:** 1 hour per memo
- **Rewrite:** Once the voice memo is transcribed in Tana Outliner, you can take the transcript and turn it into something else using AI. The default options include _Summary_, _Pros and cons_, _Article_ and _Tweet._ If a custom rewrite command is present, it will hide the default ones. Supertags may offer custom rewrite options, tailored to that content.
- **Access the original recording**: Find a voice wave icon next to any voice memo node to access the original recording
- **Requires AI credits:** This feature requires AI. It uses approximately 50 AI credits per 15 minutes of transcription
- **Lock screen and home screen widgets**: add shortcuts to open your favorite voice capture workflows with one tap
### How to record a voice memo on mobile
In the Tana Outliner mobile app, open the Capture tab and start a voice memo:
Once started, you will see the blue wave bars respond to what it hears:
While recording, you can do the following:
- Select a Supertag to use as a template (optional)
- Select a Destination (default is Today)
- Select a Language (bottom left, default is auto-detect)
Once done, complete the voice memo by hitting the blue send button, and it will be sent to the destination specified.
#### Select a supertag
Select a supertag to make its fields appear in the recorder interface.
- For supertags with many fields, scroll down to see the rest.
- Mention the field names for better auto-fill accuracy (e.g., "_Highlight of the week_... having lunch with an old friend")for Supertags with many fields, you can scroll down.
- Additional content will appear below auto-filled fields
#### Select a destination
Today is the target destination by default.
- To change that, long-press on the new target and confirm.
- Options for destinations include Today, Tomorrow and Inbox, plus any pinned node.
#### Note for Inbox users
If you have set up your own command looking for audio files, or have tweaked the standard *Inbox Audio Processing Command *on the Inbox – this will still work, but you will not get the new voice memo processing.
Existing commands on the Inbox will continue to work as before, but be aware that these will require activity on the desktop client to run the processing, so the output will not be instantly available on mobile like with the new processing.
**If you want to keep using the Inbox, you have two options (open link for instructions):**
A) [I want to keep using the Inbox as destination, but with the new processing](https://tana.pub/3TTiLJ92Pvp5/a-i-want-to-keep-using-the-inbox-as-destination-but-with-the-new-processing)
B) [I want to keep using the Inbox with my own command/processing](https://tana.pub/d4RtQBswCYa0/b-i-want-to-keep-using-the-inbox-with-my-own-commandprocessing)
#### Select a language
- **Default**: Uses your phone's system language
- **Auto-detect**: Works best for most common languages
- **Manual selection**: For best results with short memos in non-English languages, manually select the language. Choose from 91 supported languages.
#### Recording Limits
- **Current limit:** 1 hour per recording
- System notifies you when approaching the limit
#### Other ways to invoke voice recording on Tana Outliner mobile
There are several ways to initiate voice memos using Tana Outliner mobile:
- **From the Capture tab**: Press Capture, and select Voice memo
- **From Supertag tab**: Click the voice icon on a Supertag to start recording immediately.
- **From Tana Outliner mobile widgets**: Add the voice memo widget to your lock screen or to a home screen widget.
Read more about how to set up widgets and native integrations for Tana Mobile.
## Mobile voice chat
Mobile voice chat lets you have conversational AI interactions using voice on iOS. Talk through ideas with Tana Outliner and get AI responses tailored to your supertag configuration.
[Learn more about how to use voice chat in this blog post](/blog/talk-through-your-ideas-with-tana-ai-voice-chat-for-ios)
### How it differs from voice memos
Voice memos record and transcribe your speech into structured notes for a one-way capture tool.
Voice chat is a **two-way conversation with AI.** You speak, the AI responds with voice, and you continue the dialogue.
### Enabling voice chat
You can Start a voice chat from:
- **Capture tab:** Tap "Voice Chat" for a general conversation
- **Supertag:** Start from a Supertag (via Supertag tab or home screen widgets) to have a conversation tailored to that tag. The AI knows about its fields and any custom instructions you've set, and will autofill fields when the chat ends.
- **Any node:** Long-press a pinned node in Browse, or long-press the + button on any node. The AI will have the context of that node immediately. Send to save the transcript under that node.
Talk naturally, press send when done - a node is created, tagged, and fields auto-filled (just like voice memos).
### Using voice chat
The AI will greet you based on the supertag's voice greeting and respond according to the voice instructions you've configured.
You can tap the transcript button on the left to view the conversation in real-time.
Nodes created from voice chat will always have the raw transcript stored as source material, so this can be opened from the icon next to AI chat. Tana Outliner will create a summary node, in addition to auto-filling any fields if a supertag is applied.
### Configuration
Voice chat is configured per supertag on desktop:
1. Right-click a supertag and select `Configure`
1. Navigate to the **Voice chat** section
1. Set a Voice greeting (how the AI introduces itself)
1. Write Voice instructions (how the AI should behave in conversations)
Voice instructions let you create specialized AI assistants for different purposes. A quick capture assistant, a thinking partner, a structured guide, or a creative collaborator.
For a detailed tutorial with examples, see [Set up mobile voice chat for a supertag](/learn/guides/mobile-voice-chat-supertag).
You can also configure custom autofill behavior to control how the AI populates fields after voice conversations.
#### Known issues and limitations with voice chat
**Platform and availability**
- Available on iOS and Android
- Only English is supported
- Requires an internet connection
**During your conversation**
- The AI can do basic navigation in your Tana Outliner graph (sidebar nodes, basic text search on your workspace, zoom into references) and search the web
- Node context: AI has context when starting from a node, but some node types have limited support (i.e. search nodes not supported) and large nodes are truncated
- There's no memory between separate chat sessions - each conversation starts fresh
- If your connection becomes unstable, the agent may not recover gracefully (your transcript is saved locally, but you may need to start a new session)
**Capture and processing**
Transcripts are saved to your default destination (usually Today) and this cannot be changed.
If you start the chat from a node it will be saved into that node.
You cannot add a Supertag after starting a chat - start via a Supertag shortcut if you want one applied
Post-processing is still basic; without a Supertag, you'll get something similar to a conversation transcript
There's no command to re-process a voice chat yet.
## Adjust mobile voice processing
Once you have recorded a mobile voice memo, it will immediately be available on desktop and mobile:
- **If no tag was selected:** it will contain a cleaned-up transcription and will offer default options to **Rewrite** content.
- **If a supertag was selected:** Tana Outliner will run AI processes to fill in as much of its contents as possible, including title, description and fields
- **Source material:** Access the original recording and raw transcript via the voice wave icon present on the main node or node options menu.
Configure how AI processes and structures content from both voice memos and voice chat. These settings control what happens after voice capture.
### AI instructions
In addition to using the supertag/field name and description as context for AI, Tana Outliner lets you add AI instructions on supertags or fields. This helps AI understand what the content is about, how you want the output formatted and give specific instructions. The AI instructions will be used when a supertag or field is included in autofill or mobile voice memo processing.
AI instructions support plain text, references and markdown. Common markdown formatting that may be useful:
- [ ] for checkbox
- # for Heading
_Search nodes are not supported in AI instructions._
Open supertag/field configuration panel to edit the AI instructions:
### Custom autofill behavior
If you enable "Custom Autofill behavior" on a supertag, you can decide if you want Tana Outliner to try to autofill the node title, description and content/body. This includes the ability to set AI instructions specifically for each of these.
- **Title** - This could be used e.g. if you want to include the date in a certain format.
- **Description** - how you want the description of the node, e.g. "Make a one line summary of what the memo was about"
- **Content** - This could be used to specify a format you want for the body text instead of a basic transcript, e.g. "Make it a 140 character tweet" for a #tweet tag, or "Format it as an email".
To enable Custom Autofill behavior for voice memos, open the supertag configuration panel > AI and Commands.
#### Extract tagged items
If you have a supertag that you use for voice memos, where you would like Tana Outliner to try to extract multiple tagged items from one recording, you can select a supertag in the Extract items field under Custom Autofill behavior. Tana Outliner will also try to autofill any fields on the tagged items it finds.
It's only possible to select one supertag to extract items for.
#### Exclude fields from autofill
If you have some fields you never want Tana Outliner to autofill, you can add them in the "Fields to exclude" section under Custom Autofill behavior. Open the field you want to exclude, copy the field, and paste it into the "Fields to exclude" section.
You can exclude a field by right-clicking and selecting: Disable autofill for field
### Rewrite
You can find the Rewrite options on the top-right of the voice recording.
Pre-installed Supertags, or Supertags installed from Templates, may offer custom rewrite options tailored to that content, and the built-in Rewrite option will then not be shown.
The built-in rewrite offers these options, and will open a suggestion in a temporary draft panel:
- Summary: Generates a summary of the transcript
- Pros and cons: Generates a list of pros and cons. Tag the title with #article to publish and share immediately with Tana Publish
- Article: Generates an article you can publish and share immediately with Tana Publish
- Tweet: Generates drafts of short-form social media posts
#### Edit Rewrite prompts in Prompt editor
If you have [AI commands](/learn/features/ai-command-nodes) that appear as [command button](/learn/features/command-nodes#commands-as-buttons)s for voice memos, you can iterate on the prompt directly in the draft panel by clicking "Run again":
By clicking Edit, you open the prompt from the underlying command, and can edit this to get the output you want. Changes will be saved to the underlying command when you click "Run again", and a new draft will be generated:
If you want to make more advanced prompts, referencing specific parts of the node or your graph, see [Prompt expression keywords](/learn/features/ai-command-nodes#prompt-expressions).
## Known issues with mobile voice processing
- Auto-initialization of fields works only for date fields
- Search nodes not supported in AI instructions
- Multiple items from single recording currently limited
- Autofill can't be disabled
## Desktop voice memos
There are two ways to record voice memos in Tana Outliner on desktop:
1. Live transcription
2. Record an audio file
### Live transcription
See the notes in real-time as you talk, either for voice memos or in meetings. [Read more. ](/learn/features/live-voice-transcription)
### Record an audio file (legacy)
This feature is being reworked, and we recommend using the mobile apps for voice memos instead.
To start capturing a voice memo (no live transcription, no output shown until you stop the recording), you can type > `Capture voice memo`. A recording indicator will be shown in the sidebar, and you can click this to stop the recording.
If you're using the [Tana Outliner Desktop app](/learn/features/tana-for-desktop), you can do : This starts global live transcription that runs in the background. A floating recording menu will appear, and lets you stop the recording:
All recordings will be **sent to the Inbox**, which you'll see in the sidebar.
If your voice memo is not automatically transcribed, you can put your cursor on the title and do > `Transcribe audio`.
Unless you specified a default language to use during onboarding, your language is likely set to `auto-detect`.
If you're not having good results with this, you can specify a preferred language:
- Command line: `Set default transcription language to → `or `Transcribe audio as..` and select a language
Desktop voice memos support more than 90 languages.
---
#### Navigation
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/navigation
You navigate Tana Outliner by clicking node bullets to zoom in, using the sidebar to jump to key locations like daily notes and workspaces, and searching globally with Cmd/Ctrl+S. You can open multiple nodes side by side in panels, or use tabs in the desktop app to switch between contexts.
## Basics
- In Tana Outliner, you mainly navigate around by interacting with _nodes and references_, the _sidebar,_ the _global search._ Other navigation methods are based around the type of connection the nodes have with each other.
- Navigating via **nodes and references** is quite simple:
- To **zoom in** on a node, click on the node bullet or use
- To **zoom out** of a node to the previous view, use the back button or use
- **Right-click** on an node to see options
- The **sidebar** allows you to navigate to some key locations:
- **Today**: Always going to the current day node.
- **Supertags**: The place to view all supertags from all workspaces you're a member of.
- **Pinned**: An area you can use to pin important nodes to the sidebar
- **Workspaces**: If you are working with multiple workspaces (i.e. more than just your main workspace), you will see this section.
- The **global search** () allows you to jump to any node in your graph. Similarly, the **command line** has some fixed locations you can jump to easily. Type `Open` to see the full list.
- In addition, there are different ways to navigate your data in Tana Outliner based on the **connection** you're traversing:
- **Via the tree:** To navigate up the tree, use the breadcrumbs. Going down the tree, use the command `Expand all` to see all the branches below.
- **Via a supertag**: Adding supertags connect your nodes together even though they appear in very different parts of the tree. Click the supertag to navigate to the supertag home to find all tagged nodes gathered here.
- **Via references and option fields**: Open a reference in its original location by clicking on the node bullet or the inline link. Option fields allow you to reuse existing nodes as field values, connecting your information in a structured way.
- **Via the reference section**: Every node has this section at the bottom that shows every connection to this node.
- **Via day/week/month/year nodes**: When you're on a calendar node, there are navigation arrows to go to the previous/next increment, or use the calendar to pick the exact day.
- **Via the back button:** You can use the Back button to go back to previous contexts
- **Tabs and panels** allow you open several nodes at the same time
- **Panels** let you open nodes next to each other. New panels will open to the right of the original window. Resize panels by dragging the separation line between them.
- On any navigational menu/button in Tana Outliner, use
- to open a new panel to the right
- will open items from search in the panel that was in focus
- **Tabs** is supported in the [Tana Outliner Desktop App](/learn/features/tana-for-desktop) and allows you to easily switch back and forth between content. This is great to stay in context when you're working on something, but then have to join a meeting.
- On any navigational menu/button/node in Tana Outliner
- to open in a new tab
- Click the + icon in the top bar of the desktop app to open a new tab, you will then be able to search for the node you want to open.
## Breadcrumbs
The breadcrumb at the top of a node shows where it sits in its **part-of hierarchy**, so you can jump back up the chain of nodes it belongs to. The part-of relationship behind it is set up with a field, see [Part of](/learn/features/fields#part-of).
## Navigating with mouse
In Tana Outliner, you can click elements to navigate:
- Node bullets
- Inline references
- Breadcrumbs in the panel header
- All sidebar buttons
All of these elements work with the dock modifier keys. Hold down Cmd/Ctrl or Shift to send to the right/top dock respectively.
### Right-click on nodes
You can right-click on any node to see basic options for that node, in addition to contextual options that applies for that node type:
## Navigating with keyboard
### Keyboard shortcuts
For a complete list of keyboard shortcuts, see the [keyboard shortcuts reference](/learn/features/keyboard-shortcuts).
### Custom keyboard shortcuts
**You can define custom shortcuts for any command in the command line.** To trigger shortcut recording, open the command line, find the command you want to set a shortcut for, and hit . This opens a popup where you can input a new shortcut. All shortcuts are saved in your Settings > Preferences > Private keyboard shortcuts, with the bottom ones being most recent.
You can also create a new keyboard shortcut node via the command line: `Create keyboard shortcut`
Also see [How can I add/remove custom keyboard shortcuts?](/help/search-and-finding#how-to-add-or-remove-custom-keyboard-shortcuts)
## Tabs and Panels
**Tana Outliner Desktop allows content to be opened in Tabs.** This makes it easy to look up something or switch context, while preserving the view you were working on.
Multiple **panels** can be opened in a tab, to work on things side-by-side. Panels are able to scroll independently from one another, and be resized individually.
From anywhere in Tana Outliner:
- To open a node in a new tab: on node bullet
- To open a node in a new panel: on node bullet
### How to use Tabs (requires [Tana Outliner Desktop](/learn/features/tana-for-desktop))
If you are using Tana Outliner in a **web browser**, a **new browser tab** will open with a **duplicate** of Tana Outliner (as this is establish patterns in browsers).
_We recommend using the desktop app if you have large workspaces._
[Download Tana Outliner Desktop](https://tana.inc/desktop)
Open new tab: This will let you search for a node to open in the tab from global search.
- Click the + icon in the top menu to open a new tab.
- Type `Open in new tab` in command line
- to open new tab
- to close current tab
**Jump to tabs:**
- Tabs 1-8:
- Last tab:
**Cycle between tabs** (repeat to jump multiple tabs):
- (go right/next tab)
- (go left/previous tab)
**Re-order tabs**
Drag and drop with mouse, or use keyboard:
- Move tab left:
- Move tab right:
### How to use Panels
You can open multiple panels inside a tab, and every open panel is scrollable on its own.
- Panels have a "sticky" panel toolbar that stays visible at the top when you start scrolling. It has an `x` to close it.
- New panels will always open to the right of the panel you were active in.
- If you want to replace the content of a panel, make sure it's in focus (put your cursor there) and then use to open global search. Clicking a result will open this in the panel.
- Left click opens the node in the currently active panel
- If the element we are clicking is triggering an action, not navigating, left click executes the action
- opens the node in a new panel in the current tab
- triggers the secondary action / navigates to the secondary destination, if
available. Can be combined with Shift or Cmd/Ctrl to modify.
Inline references can now be expanded on right-click context menu > Expand.
Clicking "Configure tag/field" from the right-click menu will always open in a new panel. To open the config directly with click on a supertag/field, use .
#### Content widths
See [content widths](/learn/features/views#content-widths) under Views.
### Command line related to Tabs and Panels
To open a node in a tab with command line: `Open in tab`
To close the current tab: `Close this tab`
To close other tabs (except the one you're on): `Close other tabs`
To open in new panel: `Open in new panel`
To close the current panel: `Close this panel`
Tip: Define your own shortcuts for the commands above to gain ninja panel management powers
---
#### Node types
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/node-types
Every bullet point in Tana Outliner is a node, but nodes come in different types. Each type has a distinct bullet icon so you can tell them apart at a glance: content nodes, references, search nodes, command nodes, fields, and more.
## Overview
Tana Outliner has many different types of nodes, and icons to reflect what these types are. Below is a list of all the different types you may encounter.
## Content nodes
### Plain node
Plain nodes show up as dark grey, solid dots.
Plain nodes with content show up with a lighter halo around them.
Related doc: [Nodes and References](/learn/features/nodes-and-references)
### Reference
References show up with dashed outlines. References with children have a shaded background.
You can also have an inline reference or a link to a node, signified by blue linked text.
Related doc: [Nodes and References](/learn/features/nodes-and-references)
### Search node
Search nodes show up with a magnifying glass in the node.
Related doc: [Search nodes](/learn/features/search-nodes)
### Entity nodes
Since Tana Outliner is a knowledge graph, and every note is a node, Tana Outliner is treating some top level nodes as an "Entity". This is the equivalent to a "page" or "document" in other tool. This is a mechanism to avoid surfacing individual nodes that are part of a bigger "document" in searches where it wouldn't make sense to show them out of context.
A node is considered an entity if:
- It has a supertag
- It lives on top level in the library (direct child of the library)
- Is was captured from mobile ap
Entities can be used to build search nodes, and are used for the [Recents view](/learn/features/sidebar#recents) in the sidebar. You can also use it to build your own [live searches](/learn/features/search-nodes).
If you have a node that is not treated as an entity, but you would like it to be, you can use the command Set entity override to
### Node with contextual content
Nodes with contextual content show up as diamond shaped.
Related doc: [Nodes and References](/learn/features/nodes-and-references)
### Supertag definition
Supertag definitions show up as a hashtag inside a circle.
Related doc: [Supertags](/learn/features/supertags)
### Field definition
Many field definitions show up as a square icon with the various symbols signifying different field types. Others have just the symbol of their types with no framing square.
Related doc: [Fields](/learn/features/fields)
### Fields
Fields show up similarly as field definitions, but with an empty node as placeholder for entering a value.
Related doc: [Fields](/learn/features/fields)
### Command node
A command node shows up as a typical command line symbol `>_` , and inside a dashed circle as a reference.
Related doc: [Command nodes](/learn/features/command-nodes), [AI command nodes](/learn/features/ai-command-nodes)
### URL node
A URL node shows up with an external link icon.
### Code node
A code node shows up as two angled brackets.
### Workspace node
A workspace node shows up with a rainbow halo.
Related doc: [Workspaces](/learn/features/workspaces)
### Audio node
A node with an audio file looks like a regular node with a play button next to it. Expand it, and you will see more controls for playback.
Related doc: [Voice memo](/learn/features/mobile-voice-memos)
### Video node
A node with a video file looks like a regular node with content that auto-expands to show the video with playback controls.
### Image node
A node with an image looks like a regular node with content that auto-expands to show the image.
### Node with embedded links
A node with a link to Youtube, Vimeo or Loom looks like a URL node. It will auto-embed to show the video with playback controls. You can undo the embed by hitting the X in the top-right corner.
Nodes with links to Figma, Spotify or X.com will also auto-create an embedded version. looks like a URL node.Spotify links will auto-embed to show the playlist or album with playback controls. X.com links will let you click the reply button to open a reply modal in the browser on x.co.
### Unavailable node
A node with a prohibited bullet. Hover over the node to get more information.
Deprecated: Unknown (or no access) node. Showed a dashed box node with a no access sign. Means that the source that used to be referenced is unable to load / no longer accessible.
### External alias node
A dashed circle with no bullet, and the words "(alias)" at the end. This is a reference with no available content except the name, due to access restrictions.
## Function nodes
### Keyboard Shortcut
In Settings > Private keyboard shortcuts, custom shortcuts show up with the command (for Mac) / place of interest / Bowen knot symbol.
---
#### Nodes and references
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/nodes-and-references
Every bullet point in Tana Outliner's outline is a node. Nodes are the core building block of everything in Tana Outliner. The same node can show up in multiple places as a reference. Edit it anywhere and every reference updates, so your information stays current everywhere it appears.
## Overview
**The first thing you'll encounter in Tana Outliner is the \***node**\*.**
**Nodes look like bullets, and are the basic building blocks of Tana Outliner:** They are designed to be light, rearrangeable packets of information. Use it to store a piece of information: A note, an idea, a paragraph.
**The atomicity of nodes is key for unlocking the power of Tana Outliner:** Nodes are the indivisible parts of a _living_ information system. Living, because a node can grow and change over time. The simplicity of the node allows it to be used as a plain bullet for taking notes, all the way to powering sophisticated daily dashboards of dynamic information driven by [Commands](/learn/features/command-line) and enhanced by [AI](/learn/features/ai-for-builders).
**A node is an object that can be \***reused**\* anywhere in Tana Outliner**: Imagine if every time you visited your friends, they would forget your name and all the memories you've had together in the past? It's not just very annoying, but this is what's happening in documents and folders everywhere: you as a person is mentioned by name, but none of these mentions connect to a single entity that represents _you_, so the info gets stale (unless you're one of those who, on your birthday, is "always" turning 25). In Tana Outliner, every time you mention a quote in different contexts, you can connect it to the _actual_ quote in the book it came from. Let's say the quote had a mistake - changing the quote in one place changes it everywhere it has been mentioned. These mirror versions of nodes in Tana Outliner are called _References_.
**References ensure that important information stays relevant and updated:** In Tana Outliner, if you have entered the information once, it is easy to pull it into different contexts again and again just where you need it. In meeting notes, create tasks as they arise in conversation and use [Supertags](/learn/features/supertags) to make them magically appear on someone's task board an instant later. This powerful connectivity enables you to update information everywhere, on the fly, in one go. No more mission-critical information getting outdated, going stale and being forgotten.
## Basics
- **In Tana Outliner, everything is a node:** The fields, the views, the commands, the settings, layouts, workspaces, the daily page... everything. The difference between these node types is the kind of information Tana Outliner stores in them. For more info, see [Node types](/learn/features/node-types).
- **Every node is unique:** Nodes are not just bullets, they are sophisticated containers for information. Every node in Tana Outliner is given a unique ID upon creation. You can see the ID of the node in the URL bar when you copy a link of it. This means that even though two nodes may _look_ the same and spell out the exact same thing, they are considered different if they have different IDs. There's also a dozen other pieces of metadata collected per node in Tana Outliner.
- **Every node has an owner, a single source of \***truth**\*:** All nodes have a permanent address within Tana Outliner's outline hierarchy. This means that a node will always have a parent: a node that is one level higher than them in the hierarchy, essentially their _owner_ (with some exceptions). Why nodes only have one _owner_ each is explained in the next paragraph:
- **Mirror copies of nodes are References:** In Tana Outliner, you can have _mirror copies_ of nodes. These copies _reference_ the original node, hence their name Reference, and are one and the same for all intents and purposes. Editing one reference edits the original and thus every other reference of this node in Tana Outliner. There are some differences to keep in mind. For one, they are not _owned_ by their parent: Parents of these mirrored nodes are just _parents_. Also, when you delete references, you're not deleting the original node, the single source of truth.
- **Nodes do not accept line breaks:** To maximize the reusability of nodes means upholding strong design principles that keep their atomicity and simplicity intact. Therefore, Tana Outliner does not accept soft line breaks within a node, as it would make the node less uniform and universal.
## Documentation
### About nodes
#### NodeID
Every node is given a unique nodeID
- The easiest way to find it is to use the command `get html link to node` and paste it somewhere. This yields a text that looks like this, where the link opens Tana Outliner at the specified node given you have access to it:
- "Tana Outliner node aXvnZWOpXAsU: [Every node is given a unique nodeID]()"
- You can use this code to find the node it refers to. Paste it into the global search bar and the node with that ID should show up. Note: You have to have access to the workspace that the node resides in, or it won't work.
- A node cannot be referenced more than once as a child. This is because we don't allow the same nodeID to appear twice in the same list.
#### Node properties
Every node carries the following properties
#### Nodes vs. references
- **What is a node:** A node is a container for information.
- **What is a reference:** A reference represents a mirror copy of a node.
- **Node/reference relationship:** Every reference has a direct connection to their original node. You can't have a reference without an original node that it refers to. If the original node is trashed, references won't be trashed but appear with a trashcan which you can click to bring out of the trash.
- **The technical difference between nodes and references:** They are carbon copies because they use the same ID to draw from the same data. The only difference is that one of the parents of the references matches the value in the Owner field, turning that reference into the "original" node.
- **Changing a node's ownership:**
- **Within the same workspace:** you can change a node's ownership by swapping places between the original node and any of its references. On a reference, use the command `Bring referenced node here` and it'll change the owner to its parent, making this the original node.
- **Between workspaces:** you have to use the command `Move to`, or cut-paste a node between workspaces.
### Creating and editing nodes
#### Create and edit nodes
- Like any text document, click on the page and start writing.
- Hit Enter to make a new node
- Right-click on a node to see options
- Nodes are designed to contain a string of text, [with no line breaks](/help/writing-and-editing#why-are-line-breaks-not-supported).
- Nodes can receive most images/audio/video formats from copy-paste or drag-drop. PDFs too. See [Storing files on nodes](#storing-files-on-nodes)
#### Formatting text in a node
Here are all the formatting options that can be applied to text:
- Bold
- Italics
- Underline
- Strikethrough
- Code ``` (back tick)
- Highlight
Also see [Text selection toolbar](#text-selection-toolbar)
#### Add a checkbox to a node
Keeping track of tasks in the form of checkboxes are a fundamental part of a node. It is baked into the metadata of every node through the _Done_ and _Done time_ system fields. There are some very simple and powerful things you can do with checkboxes in Tana Outliner to track your tasks:
- **Any plain node can be a checkbox:** Cycle through each checkbox state by hitting .
- **Checkboxes have three "done states"**: _no checkbox_, _not done_, and _done_.
- **You can find all checkbox nodes that is a descendant of a node** by running the command `Find todos within →`. This is handy when you've been creating tasks on the fly and want to gather them all.
- **Special search terms exist for finding nodes with checkboxes:**
- `TODO` - finds all nodes with checkboxes, no matter their done state
- `NOT DONE` - finds all nodes that are unchecked
- `DONE` - finds all nodes that are checked
- `DONE LAST DAYS` - finds all nodes that were done the past X days. Write it out like this: `DONE LAST 7 DAYS`
- For more, see [Search nodes](/learn/features/search-nodes)
- **Supertags have a setting to turn on checkbox by default:** for more on that, see [Supertags](/learn/features/supertags)
- **Supertags can have their done state mapped to the values of a field:** for more on that, see [Supertags](/learn/features/supertags)
#### Slash `/` on empty node
Use slash on an empty node to create the following:
- [Search node](/learn/features/search-nodes)
- [Field](/learn/features/fields)
- Reference
- Image / file
- Heading
- Checkbox
- **Start live transcription:** Begins to transcribe using your microphone. Requires a Tana Outliner paid subscription.
- More commands (vertical ellipsis)
#### Add emojis 🙃
You can create emojis on the fly by hitting colon `:` and entering a word that describes your emoji.
There are also OS shortcuts for accessing emojis:
- MacOS: Ctrl+Cmd+Space
- Windows: Start+.
#### Lock nodes
- There's an option to lock nodes so they become non-editable.
- Nodes can be locked by using the command `Lock node`. If using Build Title on a [Supertag](/learn/features/supertags), this will also lock parts of the node that are derived from field values.
#### Moving nodes within the outline hierarchy
- To indent a node, use . This makes it a child of the node directly above it.
- To outdent a node, use . This makes it a sibling relative to its old parent
- For more documentation regarding nodes in the outline structure, see [Outline editor](/learn/features/outline-editor).
#### See edit history
Every node has a record of its creation time, and edit log. To see it:
### Creating and editing references
#### Create/edit a reference
To create a reference:
- **Option 1: @-mentions.** On an empty node, type `@` and select a reference with Enter
- **Option 2: Copy/paste.** Copy any node with , then on an empty node, paste the reference with .
- If you didn't want to paste a reference but rather its plain text content, hit .
#### Edit a reference
References are treated as enclosed objects in Tana Outliner:
- To edit a reference, hit Enter or double-click it.
- To bring up the edit toolbar, hit or right-click it
- To zoom into it, hit Spacebar or click on the node icon.
#### Create an inline reference
To create an inline reference:
- **Option 1a: @-mention on empty node.** Type `@` and then the keywords for the node you're looking for. Hit Enter to select it, then Space to turn it into an inline reference.
- **Option 1b: @-mention in the middle of a node.** Type `@` and then the keywords for the node you're looking for. Hit Enter to select it.
- **Option 1c: @-mention in the middle of node to make a new node in Library.** Type `@` and then the keywords for the node you're looking for. Use Cmd/Ctrl+Enter which will create a new node in Library and make an inline reference to it here.
- **Option 1d: @-mention with text selected.** With text selected, type @ and then find the node you're looking for. Hit Enter to create an inline link using the selected text as alias.
- **Option 2: Copy/paste, then type.** Create inline reference by first copying the node/reference with , then paste into empty node with . Hit Spacebar or any other key to make it inline.
- **Option 3: Type, then paste.** Start typing in an empty node, and if you have a reference already copied, you can paste it anywhere in the node to make an inline reference.
#### Edit an inline reference
For a quick look at what's inside the inline reference, you can expand it in context without navigating to it:
- Shift+click on an inline reference
- Focus on an inline reference and press Cmd/Ctrl+Arrow down
*(This section is greatly improved thanks to **[Navigator Maciej](https://tana.inc/creators/maciej-smola)** for writing an excellent post on all the ways to create references and inline references back in early 2023! *🙏*)*
Tip when using @-mentions: If you want to narrow down your search to only nodes tagged with a certain supertag, type
@#[name of supertag] before adding your keywords.
#### Rename the inline reference using Alias
If you want the inline reference to be written out differently, select the inline reference , then use Set Alias on the [Text selection toolbar](#text-selection-toolbar) and type out what you'd like it to be.
#### Reference section
- **References:** If a node has references, at the bottom of such a node will be a section with the title "References". Expanding this will show you the breadcrumbs of where these references exist in the workspaces it appears in.
- **Unlinked mentions:** Here you'll also find something called "unlinked mentions", which shows you all places where the name of the current node is found elsewhere in Tana Outliner but is not linked (as a reference or inline reference) to this node. From here, Tana Outliner gives you the opportunity to establish a link if you want using the button "Link" to the right.
#### Reference counter
- There is a floating reference counter that appears to the right of every node that is visible, and not in focus/zoomed into.
- The number shows you how many references a node has, similar to the Reference section in the footer of a node.
- Click on the number to see where else the node has been referenced.
- You can turn on Reference counter in Settings > Preferences > Show Reference Counter.
### Deleting nodes and references
Nodes and references are made differently from regular bullets, so there are some things to keep in mind when wanting to delete them.
- **To delete a node with no references:**
- Option 1: Use on the node.
- Option 2: Right-click on the node bullet and select "Delete node"
- Option 3: Using Backspace on all the words and then finally the node itself will also work.
- Note: If a node has content and your caret is at the beginning of it and you hit Backspace, it will delete the node and merge this node's content with the node above it.
- **To delete a reference without editing its contents:**
- Option 1: Use on the reference.
- Option 2: Right-click on the node bullet and select "Delete reference"
- **To delete a node and all its references:**
- Use the command `Hard delete including references`. This will remove the references in the current workspace, but make references in other workspaces show up with a Trash icon.
### Text selection toolbar
When you interact with text using a mouse, Tana Outliner gives you options in a toolbar based on what is selected.
#### When selecting text
- `@ Reference`: Creates a new inline reference, or lets you pick an existing reference from the popup
- `# Tag`: Creates a node from the selection and creates/applies a tag of your choice.
- Formatting: `Heading`, `Bold`, `Italics`, `Underline`, `Strikeout`, `Code`, `Highlight`
- `Remove formatting`
#### When clicking an inline object
- `Open`: Opens node in panel
- `@ Set alias`: Change the text of the link
- `# Tag`: Apply tag to inline object
- `🔗`: Copies the node URL to clipboard
- `Open to new panel`: Opens node in the right dock
- `···`: Access all commands
### Banners and Icons
You can add an icon and a banner to any node.
#### Add an icon to a node
You can add an icon to a node, which will replace the bullet icon.
- When zoomed into a node, hover over the title and you'll see `☺︎Icon` as an option. Click on it and the emoji picker will appear.
You can add a default icon to a _supertag_, which will replace the bullet icon on all instances.
- Click on the supertag to go to the supertag page, and set an icon here.
#### Add a banner to a node
You can add a banner to a node, which will appear as part of the header.
- When zoomed into a node, hover over the title and you'll see `Banner` as an option. Click on it and follow the instructions to set a banner.
You can add a default banner to a supertag, which will replace the banner on all instances.
- Click on the supertag to go to the supertag page, and set a banner here.
Right-click on a banner to:
- Upload new banner
- Remove banner image
- Move banner image to node
### Storing files on nodes
Nodes can handle pretty much any type of file. Drag a file onto a node in Tana Outliner and when you see a purple drop zone, let go to upload the file.
Files can be easily downloaded, and a few common web-friendly filetypes can be previewed in Tana Outliner. These include:
- Images
- Video
- Audio
- PDFs
### Node configuration
To get to the node configuration: with your caret on the node you want to configure, run the command `Configure node`
#### Child supertag
- A supertag can be set to apply to all child nodes.
- To configure the supertag to be applied to all children of a node, add a supertag definition in the field.
#### Banner image
- Nodes can have banners. Tana Outliner will make any format of image fit the landscape crop of the header.
- To give a node a banner, drag an image into the Banner image field.
#### Page size
- Nodes can trigger pagination on child nodes if they exceed a certain number.
- By default, when a list of child nodes is 100 or more, it automatically triggers pagination.
- To change this, specify in numbers how many child nodes can be visible before pagination gets triggered.
#### Commands
- Commands can be permanently attached to a node, so they appear as buttons appended to the node name.
- To add commands, go to the node config window > Commands and add them here. Read up on Commands for more on what they are and how to make them.
#### On child added/removed
- You can trigger custom commands to run when child nodes are added or removed from the target node.
- To configure: Use the command `configure node` and scroll down to the On child added/removed. Add the command nodes here.
- Use case examples:
- When a child is added, give it a tag and run an AI prompt
- When a child is removed, add the current time to a field of the child
- Limitation: If nodes are added/removed via API, it will not trigger as they are currently not recorded as a user action. This is a limitation with the way the API is implemented.
### Contextual content
To add notes to a node without making it permanently part of that node, you can use something we call contextual content.
In Outline view: use the shortcut
In Table view: It's available as a column via the `Add+` button at the end of the columns
A node with contextual content will display as a diamond instead of a circle.
Contextual content tends to be most helpful when you write a live search (viewed as a table) and want to process all of the results in some way without adding new data directly to the nodes. It can be as simple as adding a contextual checkbox field that says "I already looked at this."
### Node management
#### Merging duplicate nodes
If you have duplicate objects in Tana Outliner and you want to merge them to one, you can select them and use the command `Merge node` to choose which node you'd like to merge the other into. This works on nodes, supertags and fields. When a node is merged into another:
- All the children are combined (if they both have the same fields, children in that field are also combined)
- All tags are combined, and the original node is put into trash
- All references and inline references in the available workspaces are updated to point to the new node.
- If there are workspaces that had not been loaded during the merge with references to the merged node, these references will clearly point to the new node.
**To merge nodes:** Select the nodes, then run the command.
**To merge fields:** Get the field definitions in one place (copy/paste), select them, then run the command.
**To merge supertags:** Get the supertag definitions in one place (copy/paste or @-mention), select them, then run the command.
---
#### Outline editor
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/outline-editor
The outline editor is where you write in Tana Outliner. You organize content by nesting and indenting bullet points, and you can expand, collapse, and rearrange them freely. Zoom into any bullet point and it becomes a full page. There are no separate documents or files.
## Overview
**Tana Outliner is a knowledge graph, with the interface of an outline editor.** Nodes in a graph database do not usually come with any structure out of the box. The outline editor creates a tree structure, which defines hierarchical relationships between nodes, such as ancestors (nodes on higher levels) and descendants (nodes on lower levels).
**Using an outline editor is the simplest way to organize ones thoughts.** Instead of distracting you with styling, formatting and fonts, the outline editor nudges you to focus on the structure and flow of your thoughts, notes, arguments or stories. This will help clarify your thinking more than anything.
**Each bullet point in the outline is a discreet piece of information, called a node.** Nodes in Tana Outliner are the Lego pieces of your knowledge. Their atomic nature allow them to be rearranged, reused, and remixed in many ways. It's a replacement for files and folders, and gives you the ultimate flexibility and speed. For more on nodes, see [Nodes and references](/learn/features/nodes-and-references)
**Are there documents in Tana Outliner?** Any node can become the "document" you are focusing on - just zoom into it. If you want to focus on one section, expand it and collapse the rest. In this way, the "node-as-document" adapts to your shifting needs and focus.
## Basics
- **In Tana Outliner's outline editor, your information exists in a natural hierarchy.** At the root of this hierarchy is the workspace node. From here, there are three main trunks where you can place new nodes: the _Library_, _Home_ or _Calendar_ nodes. The hierarchy looks something like this:
- Workspace node
- Library node
- Home node
- Calendar nodes
- **Different branches, different logics.** On the [home node](/learn/features/workspaces), you can build your own hierarchical logic. On the [calendar nodes](/learn/features/dates-and-calendar-nodes), you are placing nodes according to the logic of time (e.g. days, weeks).
- **To nest information in the hierarchy, indent it with .** Indenting your information makes it easy to expand or collapse details as needed, and already imbues your information with structure and relationships by way of its place in the tree. You can outdent with
- **Nodes are expandable and collapsible.** This gives you full control over how much context you want to see, making complex information more digestible by breaking it down into manageable, collapsible parts. Press / to expand/collapse nodes under the current node.
- **Use references to refer to the same thing in different places.** To copy a reference of a node, focus on the node and press (you should see a little bounce animation on the node), and paste anywhere else. If you update this information or change your mind about it, it'll update everywhere it has been referenced.
## Details
### Tana Outliner is a graph database with an outline editor interface
At its heart, Tana Outliner is a graph database - a powerful way to store and connect information. Tana Outliner lets you create the structure and connections that most naturally fits your data. It's the first product trying to give everyone access to the power of the graph.
But interacting with a soup of nodes is hardly practical. So we chose the outline editor as the default structure and interface to interact with the graph.
### The structure of the outline
#### Owner and workspace nodes
Every node has a primary location in the tree structure. Think of this like having a home address - while you can be mentioned in many places, your content has one definitive location where it "lives." Every node has metadata that identifies its Owner node and the Workspace it belongs to:
- **Owner node**: A node property that signifies which node it's directly nested under. A node can have many parents, but only one owner. If the Owner node moves, has its workspace changed, or is deleted, the nodes owned by this "owner" node are considered part of it.
- **Workspace**: A node property that signifies the workspace this node belongs to. Permissions to see and edit nodes are all decided on the workspace level.
For more on other node properties, see [Nodes and references](/learn/features/nodes-and-references)
#### Breadcrumbs
You can always see where content lives by checking the breadcrumbs at the top of the panel.
#### Node relationships
{/* TODO: migrate image to R2 */}
A node or reference has relationships with adjacent nodes in the hierarchy, which can be described as follows:
- A _parent_ exists one level outdented from a node, making the node a direct ancestor of it. A _grandparent_ exists two levels outdented.
- A _child_ exists one level indented from a node and is a direct descendant of it.
- A _sibling_ exists on the same level relative to a node
Fields and field values are treated as part of the hierarchy too.
- In Tana Outliner, fields are considered a type of node that also exists within the outline hierarchy.
- Relative to a node, a field that is applied to it is considered a child, and the field value is considered a grandchild of the node.
### Structures beyond the outline
The outline editor provides a "familial" relationship between nodes. This hierarchical relation, however, is just one way that information can be arranged in Tana Outliner. A quick overview of other ways to structure your data in Tana Outliner:
- **By [date](/learn/features/dates-and-calendar-nodes)**: Every node has metadata like created/last edited times, as well as its associated calendar node if it exists as a descendant of one.
- **By [supertag](/learn/features/supertags)**: A node that has a supertag is automatically associated with other nodes tagged with the same supertag. They belong to the same "class."
- **By [fields](/learn/features/fields)**: A field provides metadata so large sets of data can be subdivided into smaller and more exact groups. (out of 100 nodes tagged #task, 3 of them are marked "Priority").
You will usually use a mix of these different structuring tools on your data, sometimes all of the above. **The less structure a node belongs to, the less important and findable it becomes.** This is not a bad thing, it's just something to be aware of. Creating data structure is a constant fight against entropy, so it is wise to know which nodes are worth the effort.
### View options beyond the outline
By default, the outline editor shows your nodes in Outline view. Changing the view settings of a node will affect how its child nodes are viewed. See [Views](/learn/features/views) for more on the types of views.
### Move nodes within the outline
To indent/outdent nodes
- Use to indent a node to make it a _child_ of the node directly above it.
- Use to outdent a node to turn it into a _sibling_ relative to its old parent
To move one or more nodes up/down
- With mouse, click and drag the node bullet up and down
- With keyboard, press /
### The `Move to` menu
There's a new way to move nodes that uses a menu to quickly find the location you want to move something to.
To open the menu
- **With the node toolbar:** Right-click or hit `Esc` on a node and select **Move** on the toolbar
- **With the node bullet context menu:** Right-click on the node bullet → **Move**
- **With the keyboard shortcut:**
- **With command line**: Use the `Move with finder` command to bring up the menu.
Once the menu is open, to find a location in the menu
- **By search:** start typing to find the location
- **By navigating:** use arrow keys to traverse up/down/left/right through the tree
Once you have found the location, to move to that location
- Use if it's a node with no children
- Use on a node with children
- Hit `Enter`, twice
To move and leave a reference:
- Use
### Other ways to move nodes
With Cut/Paste
- Cut a node () and paste it elsewhere.
With command line
- Use the `Move` command to move a node to a specific move target. You can define move targets by using the command Set move target on any node to add it to the target list.
### Navigate between nodes
See [Navigation](/learn/features/navigation)
---
#### Payment, billing and AI credits
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/payment-billing-and-ai-credits
Tana Outliner offers Free, Plus, and Pro plans billed monthly or yearly. Each plan includes a monthly quota of AI credits that get used when you run AI features. You can buy additional credits if you need more.
Tana Outliner offers **two paid plans, in addition to Tana Outliner Free**: Tana Outliner Plus and Tana Pro. Go to [the Pricing page](https://tana.inc/pricing) for a full overview of what you get in the plans.
All paid plans are **recurring subscriptions**, which can be paid on a monthly or yearly basis.
There are two ways you can subscribed to a paid plan:
- For **subscriptions created on web/browser/desktop** payment will be handled through **our payment partner Stripe**.
- For **subscriptions created in the mobile apps,** the payment will be handled by **Apple (In-app purchase) or Google Play**. For these subscriptions, you will need to contact Apple or Google directly for support, and make changes through their websites/in-app.
Subscriptions are applied **per user account.**
Subscriptions include **a monthly quota of AI credits** that renew every month. Credits will be used when you use AI functionality in Tana Outliner. AI credits can be topped up separately.
To see your plan, AI credits and invoice history, click the user icon in the top right and open **Manage account**, or the Manage tab in the mobile apps.
## Payment
Payment is handled by Stripe, which is available in the following countries: [https://stripe.com/en-ca/global](https://stripe.com/en-ca/global)
Through Stripe, we accept debit cards, credit cards, bitcoin.
To manage your Payment information, click the user icon in the top right and open **Manage account**.
There, you can:
- See the renewal date
- Edit payment info (e.g. add VAT number)
- Change the payment method you use for billing
- Cancel your subscription
- See AI credits used this monthly period
- See when AI credit quota renews
- Download invoices
In the mobile apps, you'll need to click the **Manage tab** and then "**Subscription**" to start, chance or cancel a subscription.
### Subscription billing
The start of the billing period is the date you start the Tana Outliner subscription.
Your plan will auto-renew every 30 days from that until you cancel.
If you change to a yearly plan while you have a monthly subscription, we will immediately start the new yearly subscription on that date, and prorate the remaining value of the monthly subscription.
### How to manage an Apple subscription
If you have started a trial or subscription from the Tana Outliner iOS app, you will have a subscription through Apple In-app Purchases. You can have to [edit this in the iOS preferences](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/iphone/iph4e3e7324f/ios):
1. Go to the **Settings** app on your iPhone.
1. Tap your name, then tap **Subscriptions**.
1. Do any of the following:
- _Cancel a subscription:_ Tap an active subscription, then tap Cancel Subscription or Cancel All Services.
- _Change a subscription:_ Tap an active subscription, then choose a different option.
- _Renew a subscription:_ Tap an expired subscription, then tap Renew.
- _Share a subscription:_ Turn on Share with Family to automatically [share eligible subscriptions](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/iphone/share-subscriptions-iph6e7917d3f/26/ios/26#iph6f8d8ed1c) with other members in your Family Sharing group.
- _Get Renewal Receipts:_ Turn on Renewal Receipt Emails to receive a receipt each time one of your subscriptions renews.
The Tana Outliner team will not be able to make change to this subscription. If you want to request a refund, you will need to [submit the refund request to Apple](https://support.apple.com/en-us/118223).
Apple subscription does not support purchasing top-up AI credits, if you have used up your monthly quota. You will need to buy these on web or desktop, and will then use Tana Outliner's web-based billing system. It is possible to purchase AI credits with this web system, even if your subscription is billed through Apple.
## Trials
You may be eligible to start a 14 day free trial of a paid plan. You can choose which plan to do the trial on. A credit card is required to start a trial, and you have to cancel during the trial if you do not want a subscription to start when the trial ends.
We will send a reminder 7 days before the trial ends.
How do I start a trial?
You will be asked if you want to start a trial when you have used up your monthly AI credits, and try to use an AI feature. You can also go to paid-plan-only feature like Google Calendar sync or Input API key, and you'll see a modal to start trial if you are eligible. It's only possible to do one trial.
To change the plan during trial, click the user icon in the top right and open **Manage account**, or **Manage tab > Subscription on mobile apps.**
### Cancel subscription
If you cancel your plan, you have access to all Pro functionality until the end of your billing period.
Any leftover AI credits in the monthly quota are not refunded. Any top up credits bought will remain in your account and can be used.
Any special discount on your account is revoked.
To change or cancel your plan, click the user icon in the top right and open **Manage account**, or **Manage tab > Subscription on mobile apps.**
## AI credits
All plans now contain a monthly AI credit quota, that renews every 30 days (same day as your subscription renews). Credits do not roll over.
Tana Outliner does not add any markup over the prices charged from AI vendors.
By default, an AI credit indicator is shown in the top menu of Tana Outliner. This lets you see a glance how many credits you have remaining, and by opening it you have quick access to the AI credit monitor log for all AI activities, as well as Manage account to buy additional credits.
If you don't want to see the AI credit indicator in the top menu, right-click it and select "Hide". You can bring it back from Manage account or by doing > `Show/hide credits in top bar`
### How to buy extra AI credits?
If you use up the monthly credit quota, you can buy extra top up credits. Go to the user icon in the top right and open **Manage account**, and you'll see a section for AI credits.
Top up credits are valid for 1 year from purchase, and do not follow the same cycle as the monthly quota. If you cancel your paid plan, top up credits will remain in your account.
It is not possible to buy extra credits inside the mobile apps, you must log into Tana Outliner on desktop/web browser.
---
#### Readwise integration
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/readwise-integration
Connects Readwise to a Tana Outliner workspace so your highlights and annotated documents sync automatically. Readwise creates supertags and fields in your workspace on first sync, and you can customize how content is formatted using Readwise's template language. Requires a Readwise subscription and a Tana Outliner API token.
## Overview
Readwise integration with Tana Outliner is available for those with a Readwise subscription or if you started their free trial which allows for export of 10 most recently highlighted documents.
For more on what Readwise is, check out their webpage: [https://readwise.io/](https://readwise.io/)
## Documentation
Before you begin, you must read the following important information about this integration:
**Your documents and highlights will, by default, end up in your Library under a special Readwise node.** There is an option to use your Inbox instead. Either way, do not delete the special Readwise node as it connects Readwise to your Tana Outliner workspace.
**Upon initial export, Readwise will create supertags and fields in your workspace.** Their unique IDs will be saved by Readwise so future exports use the same tags and fields. Once they're created, you can customize them in Tana Outliner, like adding the fields to the supertag definition, changing their names, colour, field type, and so on.
**If you have existing Readwise content in your workspace via alternative solutions, you may want to better understand how the official integration works before you make any decisions.** Details to consider are covered in the Advanced considerations section of the article.
**Readwise can only** **_write_** **new information to your workspace.** It cannot _read_ and connect incoming data to existing nodes in your workspace. It is possible to use AI and commands to do the last mile connection though, more on this in the Advanced considerations section.
**The Readwise integration will stop syncing to Tana Outliner if your workspace is too full (<750k nodes).** If you have a lot of highlights in Readwise, we highly recommend syncing to a fresh/empty workspace that isn't your daily driver.
### Setup
#### Step 1: Connect Readwise to Tana Outliner
Log into your Readwise account and go into Tana Outliner as Export option or head over to this page for the Tana Outliner Export settings: [https://readwise.io/export/tana/preferences](https://readwise.io/export/tana/preferences)
It will prompt you to create a Tana Outliner API and to paste it into Readwise. Do this by opening your profile settings from the top right, going to API tokens, then the Workspace Tokens tab, picking the workspace you want them synced to, and hitting Create. (Note: Do _not_ create an API token via the command line on an individual node, this will _not_ work. The token has to be from the workspace level)
A token is immediately created and copied to your clipboard. Head back to Readwise and plug that into the setup and hit Save.
The Readwise integration is built on top of the [Tana Outliner Input API](/learn/features/input-api) and is governed
by the same restrictions such as a **max. 500k node limitation** per workspace for API functionality. If you know you
have a lot you want to sync from Readwise to Tana Outliner, we recommend using a new, separate workspace dedicated for
this. You can allow access from this workspace to your private space for inter-referencing between the workspaces.
#### Step 2: Review the Export settings
This is an overview of all the options available on the Tana Outliner Export page:
1. **Button to initiate an export:** Press to initiate sync. NOTE: You'll likely want to tweak some of the settings before exporting all your highlights at the same time, so we do not recommend pressing this until you've reviewed at least all of Step 3.
1. **Export Automatically** (when new highlights are added): Turn this on to have Readwise automatically push new highlights to Tana Outliner as they're made. We advise to wait with turning this on until you are satisfied with the export from Readwise.
1. **Use Compact Layout** (Merge multi-lines highlights in one-line, disabling will split lines in multiple nodes.): Tana Outliner doesn't support soft line-breaks in nodes, so this gives you the option to either have highlights with soft line-breaks exported as separate nodes, or to have the line-breaks removed which keeps the highlight as one node.
1. **Send documents to Inbox** (It will send documents to Inbox instead of your Library): New documents and highlights are by default sent to a special Readwise node created in the Library. Turn this on to instead have these forwarded to your Inbox instead. NOTE: Inbox is not recommended for first imports if you have hundreds of documents/highlights in Readwise.
1. **Use Custom Formatting** (Customize the format of your Tana Outliner page using [Readwise templates](https://help.readwise.io/)): Turn this on to customize how content is exported. Readwise has a highly customizable template language that you can use to change how your documents and highlights are exported.
1. **5A. Page title:** This will determine the format of the Document node
1. **5B. Highlight:** This formats the Highlights
1. **5C. Page fields:** This determines the names of the fields. You can turn them on or off.
1. **Select items to be Exported** (Filter which books/articles/tweets to sync to Tana Outliner): Turn this on to select which documents you want to export (6A).
#### Step 3: How to fine tune your export until it's perfect
We know Tanarians care a lot about how incoming information is structured when it comes from elsewhere! Below are instructions on how to responsibly tweak your export settings without making a huge mess in the process that will need a lot of cleanup.
**1. When fine tuning your settings, turn on the following settings, and the rest keep off:**
**2. For your first export, pick a few documents to export at the time to see what they look like in Tana Outliner:** Pick ones with many different features used, like document tags and notes, highlight tags and notes and images, books and videos, etc. so you're testing every possibility you're likely to see in your highlights.
**4. Find the exported node and take a look:** Look in Library, or try to @-mention a node called "Readwise". Reminder that upon initial export, Readwise will create supertags and fields in your workspace, saving them in the Schema. From this initial export, you may want to change some things in the export settings, and try again. Hard-delete () the document nodes in Tana Outliner before re-exporting. Do NOT delete the main Readwise node.
**5. Tweak export settings:** Make adjustments in Readwise based on what you saw.
**6. To make a fresh export of a document after making adjustments:** You must tell Readwise to "refresh" a document which will reset Readwise's memory of having synced that particular document before. (This essentially makes Readwise forget the nodeID associated with this document)
**7. Repeat steps 3 to 6 until you're happy!**
**8. Once you're satisfied, feel free to turn "Export Automatically" ON and "Select items to be exported" OFF**. This will make Readwise sync everything in the next sync cycle, and every other document and highlight that gets added thereafter. If you have many highlights, this may take some time and occasionally freeze Tana Outliner. The work happens in the background, so it's safe to close it or leave it open while it's doing a big sync.
#### Step 4: Once it's in Tana Outliner
**Properly making the supertags:** You can promote the fields to the supertags, rearrange them anyway you see fit, pick a colour, and even add fields of your own.
**Ideas for surfacing your Readwise content:** By default, Readwise will sync to a special Readwise node in the Library. Below is some inspiration on how you can surface this content:
- To see your whole Readwise Library:
- Make a Reference to the Readwise node somewhere prominent or memorable
- Pin the Readwise node
- To see parts of your library:
- To see your highlights by the day they were synced
- Highlight tag
- Created on day node: parent
- To see your latest documents from the past 30 days:
- Readwise tag
- edited last 30 day
**Got too many highlights?** Tana Outliner will only return max 2500 nodes through a search node. If you have more
than that many highlights, try narrowing down the search by when it was created, or what tags are used.
### Advanced considerations, or if you have existing Readwise content in your workspace
If you have previous imports to Tana Outliner from Readwise, either through Reader Export via clipboard or other custom implementation from our very inventive community such as Brandon's readwise.toolsfortana, you may be wondering whether to merge your existing information with the new setup, or not.
The following section will be important to read for your considerations.
**Readwise does not retrieve any information from your workspace, other than the nodes, tags and fields that it creates and saves the nodeID from.** For the first iteration of this integration we've decided to only permit Write permissions and limit Read permissions. From a security perspective it's good because it means that Readwise has no access to your workspace content other than the nodes it creates. From an automation perspective it may leave a bit to desire because your imports will not automatically link to nodes that exist in your workspace. That said...
**Tana AI and commands can fill a lot of last mile connections:** A workaround is to use AI to connect plain text with nodes in your graph once the content is there.
**It's currently not possible to create multiple nodes inside of a field:** This means that a highlight Tag field for instance will export tags as just words in a single node. However, if you use AI in Tana Outliner, this info can be extracted (see point above).
**Merge direction is super important:** When merging your tag/field/node with a Readwise-equivalent object, always merge in the direction of what Readwise had created. This ensures that the Readwise-synced nodeID is preserved so it can send updates to it in the future.
**Above is important because deleted nodes still get synced to:** If you delete a document node that Readwise creates, Readwise will continue to push changes to it because it looks for a nodeID match, no matter where it is in the graph. See Step 3 on how to properly disassociate document nodes created by Readwise.
**For a full reset, make a new API token:** Replacing the API token with a new one will prompt a fresh export, no matter what was exported to your workspace in the past. Readwise relinquishes all previous nodeIDs it has saved, and all new tags, fields and nodes will be created. Useful if you want to do something like change which workspace it gets synced to, or start from scratch.
---
#### Related content
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/related-content
Related content sections are panels that appear beside or below a node, showing additional information. They can contain search nodes that dynamically query your data, or references to other nodes. You can add related content to individual nodes or include it in a supertag template.
## Overview
**Related content is a handy feature for displaying content that is related to a node, placed adjacent to its main content.** Like the reference section, it is meant to be a way to provide easy access to contextually-relevant information without taking up space in the main content area of a node.
They show up as floating boxes to the bottom or to the right of the main content. You can simply plug in a reference as static content, or a search node to make it dynamic.
Say for example, you want to start your day by triaging bugs. In your day tag, you could create a related content area that contains a search for all new #bugs filed on that day. This is a search you might have had as part of your supertag template. Now, it can live in the Related content section instead, removing clutter from the main content of the node.
## Basics
- Related content can be configured on any node, and in a supertag so it appears on any tagged node.
- Related content can contain search nodes and references. Plain nodes will _not_ render in Related content.
- Related content can appear either to the right of or on the bottom of the node content. Default is to the right.
## Detail
### Content supported
Related content only accepts **search nodes** and **references.** Plain nodes will not be rendered.
#### Content type: Search nodes
_Useful for adding content that changes based on search conditions or is specific to the instance._
To add a search node, use any method:
- slash `/` -> `Search node`,
- `?` -> `Create search node`, or
- command line `Find nodes`
Search nodes that live in the node/supertag config are expanded by default.
#### Content type: References
_Useful for adding dashboard-type content._
To add a reference, use any method:
- `@`-mention any reference
- Copy-paste a reference
- Write a plain node → move it to Library (or elsewhere) and leave a reference in its place
References are collapsed by default, even if it is a reference to a search node. If you turn on heading on the reference, it should expand by default.
### Setting up related content
#### Create a new related content section
If you want to add a dynamic search in related content, you can simply create a search node inline, and then right-click and choose "Move search to related content":
1. Go to a node tagged with the supertag that you want to add a related content search to the template.
1. Create a search node through typing /, selecting "Search node
2. Select the supertag you want to create a search for.
3. Apply any filters you want to narrow your search with, or change the view and what info is displayed.
4. Once you're happy with how the search is set up and displayed, right-click on the title and select "Move search to related content":
To change the position of the related content widget, or remove it, click the three dots option menu:
#### On a supertag
Right-click on a tag > Configure tag > Advanced options > Related content
If you change a search node in related content on the supertag, how that change reaches existing instances depends on whether their search node has _materialized_. An instance that hasn't materialized its search node inherits the change automatically. Once an instance materializes it (for example because you changed the view options on that instance), Tana Outliner stops updating it automatically so your local changes aren't overwritten. To push the supertag's change to those materialized instances, run > `Refresh search node on all instances`.
#### On a node
- Run the command `Configure node` on the node
- Go to the field Related content where you can set it up and add content
#### Ideas for configuring your search node
**Note on PARENT:** When setting up searches, if you want to reference the instance of the supertag you are on (for example, the #day node), you need to add the searches on the top level in the Related content and use `PARENT` where you want to use the instance as a field value. `GRANDPARENT` won't work because that means your search node is nested within a plain node, which won't render in Related content.
- **Meetings of the day:** This search is on the #day tag. If you're configuring a supertag, use `PARENT` as a field value to refer to the instance. In the example below, `PARENT` is used in the Date field to refer to the day node. This will show meetings happening only on that day ("FT" is the workspace node):
- **Alternative Reference section:** With related content, you can for instance create a custom reference section that displays references to a page, but with the flexibility offered through searches and view options to tailor it to your needs. Use this to search: `LINKS TO:: PARENT` (doesn't include unlinked mentions). See the image [here](#on-a-node) for a visual example of the search query.
- **Other search ideas:** Bugs related to a feature, thoughts related to a topic, tasks related to a project
**Calendar search stuck on one date?** If your related content search shows the same date on every calendar day, the search node has a saved `currentViewDate` that overrides the dynamic date. To fix this: > `Debug node` on the search node inside Related content, find `currentViewDate` under "Views for node", delete it, then run > `Refresh search node on all instances`.
### To change the placement of related content
If you want to re-order the way multiple related content sections appear in, go into Supertag config > Advanced > Related content and simply move the nodes in the order you would like them to appear (drag and drop, or Cmd/Ctrl+arrows)
#### Changing content position
When you have added nodes to the related content section, they appear to the right of the node by default. Hover over the related content, and you'll see a button with three dots/ellipsis appear on the top right corner (1). Click it and go to `Prefer area` to change its default position (2).
#### Other changes
If related content is set up on the supertag and you change it on an instance, the change is not pushed to the other instances automatically. To save it back to the supertag and apply it everywhere, run > `Update search node on tag and refresh all instances`. Instances that have already materialized their search node keep their own version until you run this, so a refresh never silently overwrites view options or other tweaks made on an instance.
### To move related content from one context to another
If you want to move a related content node from one config to another, copy a reference of it to the new location and use the command `Bring referenced node here`
### To remove related content
Hover over the related content, and you'll see a button with three dots/ellipsis appear on the top right corner (1). Click it and select Remove from <tag>/node to remove it (2).
Alternatively, go to the Supertag advanced options/Configure node and delete the nodes in the configuration.
### Deep dive into related content
Brage is here to share some tips on cool stuff you can do with related content:
### Related content in Tana Outliner paid subscriptions
If you upgraded to a Tana Outliner paid subscription and synced your calendar, your daily notes will show a related content area called Agenda. This gives you easy access to all the calendar events you have for the day.
If you already had a related content area called Agenda, the existing one will be called "Agenda (old)" with the new one installed underneath. You can choose which one to keep and remove the other.
For more on the calendar sync, see [Calendar integration](/learn/features/calendar-integration)
---
#### Search nodes
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/search-nodes
Search nodes are live queries that find and display matching nodes from across your workspaces. You build queries with conditions in the query builder, and results update whenever you expand the search node. Results appear as references, so editing a result edits the original node.
**Live search retrieves nodes from any workspace you have access to.** Results show up as references to nodes. Editing these nodes will edit the original and every reference of it.
**What a live search retrieves is based on the search query.** The query specifies what you are looking for, and is made in the [Query builder](/learn/features/search-nodes#query-builder).
**Live searches have a magnifying glass as a bullet icon.** So they're recognizable even when collapsed.
- **Live searches run queries on your Tana Outliner data.** Examples of queries include:
- Look for recipes with specific ingredients: Find all nodes tagged `#recipes` with the field `Ingredient==Tomatoes, Peppers`
- Look for filled-out Feedback fields under a draft: Find all nodes with field `Feedback==Set` that is `descendant of` the node `Q4 workplan draft`
- Look for unfinished tasks with a date older than a specific date: Find nodes tagged `#todo` that is `NOT DONE`, and with a date that is `older (less) than January 10`
- **Queries are composed in the Query builder.** The builder uses search operators that come in the form of Tana Outliner objects. All operators are listed here: [Search operators](/learn/features/search-nodes#search-operators). For an explainer on how to read queries, check out [this article](https://tana.inc/articles/how-to-read-live-searches-in-tana).
- **Live searches only run when expanded.** This means they are not running live in the background while collapsed.
- **You can add nodes via the list of results.** These nodes end up on the daily page of the workspace the search node lives in. It will try to create a node that follows the conditions of the query. If it isn't able to, it will show as a "mismatch".
- **You can add a view to a live search.** You can apply views to all nodes that have children, including search nodes.
- **Returned results are limited to a maximum of 2500 nodes.** If you run searches that return more than 2500 nodes, it will not run and you'll be prompted to change your query to narrow your search even further.
## Creating a live search
### Create a live search with a basic query
`Find nodes` in the command line guides you through a simple set of search terms:
- Press > `Find nodes`, then hit Enter and continue following the menu to specify what you're looking for.
- Once you're done, choose the "as outline" option which will create the live search with the query pre-populated and as an outline.
You can always modify the query after it's been created through the command line by opening the [Query builder](/learn/features/search-nodes#query-builder).
If you want to create an empty live search to have access to all options immediately, see the next section:
### Create a live search with empty query
- On any node, type `?` , then click on the `✨Create search node` button.
- The [Query builder](/learn/features/search-nodes#query-builder) will open immediately upon creation.
### About queries
- A live search filters results based on its query.
- A query consists of one or more conditions that must be met in order for results to show up.
- The queries can be seen by opening the [Query builder](/learn/features/search-nodes#query-builder).
## Deleting a live search
- Like with regular nodes, to delete a search node use right-click on the node and select "Delete node/reference", or use
- Treat a live search like you would [deleting nodes and references](/learn/features/nodes-and-references#deleting-nodes-and-references).
## Query builder
1. The query builder (formerly "search expression") popup
1. Area for composing the query
1. Easy access to search operators, field values, system fields and more
1. Linter that shows current query written out as plain code
1. "Run once" refreshes results while the builder is still open, and "Done" closes builder and refresh results)
### AND wrapper
The entire query is wrapped in an AND operator, so by default every search criteria on the the query will return results that match every condition. For example, the screenshot below is looking for all nodes tagged `#todo`, AND it has to be `NOT DONE`, AND with a date that is `older (less) than January 10` . Nodes have to meet all criteria listed.
[ Guide to reading queries.](https://tana.inc/articles/how-to-read-live-searches-in-tana)
### Search operators
Below is the full list of all operators that work in the query builder.
#### Nodes and text
Tana Outliner objects that can be used in the query builder:
| OPERATOR | DESCRIPTION | LINTER |
| ---------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------- |
| A reference | Inserting a reference will return only descendants of the reference. Tip: Reference a Workspace to limit results to nodes that live in that Workspace only. | DescendantOf:nodeName |
| A supertag | Inserting a supertag reference will return only instances of that supertag. Type # and a list of supertags will pop up. | Tag:tagName |
| A field definition | Inserting a field definition will return only nodes that have this field, and a value set for it. | hasField:fieldName |
| A field with one or more values | Inserting one or more plain text or reference values in a field will return nodes with this field that contain any of these values. | fieldName==Hello world |
| A plain text node | Inserting a plain text node that is not a reference will return nodes that match the text. | StringMatch:"hello world" |
| A node with a date | Inserting a date will return nodes whose name contains a date | DateWithin:date |
| A regular expression between /.../ | Inserting a regular expression between the two forward slashes will return nodes that match the regular expression. | RegexpMatch:/yourRegEx/ |
#### Keyword operators
Type these keywords into a first-level empty node in the query builder.
#### _Checkbox_
| OPERATOR | DESCRIPTION | LINTER |
| -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------------- |
| TODO | A keyword that finds all nodes with a checkbox, regardless if it is checked or not. | is:Todo |
| DONE | A keyword that finds any checked todos. | is:Done |
| DONE LAST [num] DAYS | A keyword that finds any todos that were manually checked within a certain number of days. Replace [num] with a number. Example: DONE LAST 7 DAYS. | DONE LAST 3 DAYS |
| NOT DONE | A keyword that finds any "not done" nodes, and unchecked todos. Combine with TODO to only find unchecked todos. | NOT is:Done |
| OVERDUE | An old keyword that finds any unchecked todos 1. using the system-defined Due Date field, and 2. with a date value that is older than today's date. For a more robust overdue search query, see Examples section below. | is:Overdue |
#### _Created/edited_
| OPERATOR | DESCRIPTION | LINTER |
| -------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------- |
| CREATED LAST [num] DAYS | A keyword that finds any nodes created within a certain number of days. Replace [num] with a number. Example: CREATED LAST 7 DAYS. | CREATED LAST 3 DAYS |
| EDITED BY [user email] LAST [num] DAYS | A keyword that finds any nodes modified by a Tana Outliner user within a certain number of days. Replace [user email] with the email of the workspace member, and [num] with a number. Example: MODIFIED BY olaf@tana.inc LAST 7 DAYS. | EDITED BY USER@TANA.COM LAST 3 DAYS |
| EDITED BY [user email] ANYTIME | A keyword that finds all nodes modified by a Tana Outliner user. Example: MODIFIED BY olaf@tana.inc ANYTIME. | EDITED BY USER@TANA.COM ANYTIME |
| EDITED LAST [num] DAYS | A keyword that finds all nodes edited within a certain number of days relative to today. Example: EDITED LAST 7 DAYS. | EDITED LAST 3 DAYS |
#### _Node type_
| OPERATOR | DESCRIPTION | LINTER |
| ---------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------- |
| IS TAG | A keyword that finds any supertag definition. | is:Tag |
| IS FIELD | A keyword that finds any field definition. | is:Field |
| IS CALENDAR NODE | A keyword that finds year/week/day nodes under the calendar. Useful for excluding these from searches. | is:CalendarNode |
| IS SEARCH NODE | A keyword that finds any search node. | is:SearchNode |
| IS COMMAND | A keyword that finds any command node. | is:Command |
| IS PUBLISHED | A keyword that finds any published node. | is:PublishedNode |
| IS CHAT | A keyword that finds any AI chat | is:chat |
| IS ENTITY | A keyword that finds any node that is an entity | is:entity |
#### _Node contents_
| OPERATOR | DESCRIPTION | LINTER |
| --------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------- |
| HAS FIELD | A keyword that finds any node with a field. | has:Field |
| HAS TAG | A keyword that finds any node that has a supertag applied. | has:Tag |
| HAS MEDIA | A keyword that finds any node with a media attachment (audio, video, or image). | has:Media |
| HAS AUDIO | A keyword that finds any node with an audio attachment. | has:Audio |
| HAS VIDEO | A keyword that finds any node with a video attachment. | has:Video |
| HAS IMAGE | A keyword that finds any node with a image attachment. | has:Image |
| FOR DATE [yyyy-mm-dd] | A keyword that finds all nodes with an inline reference to the date specified. | FOR DATE 2023-10-18 |
**Searching for PDFs:** There is no dedicated `HAS PDF` operator. PDFs are included in `HAS MEDIA`, so you can find them by process of elimination: use `HAS MEDIA` combined with `NOT HAS AUDIO`, `NOT HAS VIDEO`, and `NOT HAS IMAGE` — anything left must be a PDF.
Alternatively, you can filter by mime type directly: debug a node that has a PDF attached ( > `Debug node`), scroll to the bottom to find the hidden `mime type` system field, then copy that field and its value into a search node. This lets you search for PDFs (or any specific file type) without the NOT clauses.
#### _Scope_
| OPERATOR | DESCRIPTION | LINTER |
| --------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | -------------------------------- |
| PARENTS DESCENDANTS | A keyword that finds nodes that are descendants of the parent of the search node, excluding references. | DescendantOf:parentnodeName |
| GRANDPARENTS DESCENDANTS | A keyword that finds nodes that are descendants of the grandparent of the search node, excluding references. | DescendantOf:grandparentnodeName |
| PARENTS DESCENDANTS WITH REFS | A keyword that finds nodes that are descendants of the parent of the search node, including references. | InTreeUnder:parentnodeName |
| GRANDPARENTS DESCENDANTS WITH REFS | A keyword that finds nodes that are descendants of the grandparent of the search node, including references. | InTreeUnder:grandparentnodeName |
| PARENTS DESCENDANTS WITH NON SEARCH REFS | Same as PARENTS DESCENDANTS WITH REFS, but references that a search node produced as its results don't count. | InTreeUnder:parentnodeName |
| GRANDPARENTS DESCENDANTS WITH NON SEARCH REFS | Same as GRANDPARENTS DESCENDANTS WITH REFS, but references that a search node produced as its results don't count. | InTreeUnder:grandparentnodeName |
| IN LIBRARY | A keyword that finds direct children of a Library node. The Library is a default node in each workspace. | in:Library |
| ON DAY NODE | A keyword that finds direct children of calendar day nodes. | on:DayNode |
| SIBLING NAMED "[name]" | A keyword that limits the search to descendants of the named sibling. Example: SIBLING NAMED "Meeting notes". | DescendantOf:siblingnodeName |
**WITH REFS vs WITH NON SEARCH REFS:** A node counts as being in the tree when it lives under the target node, or when any of its references does. Live search results are references too, so a search node's own results place every node it finds inside that tree. This matters most when you negate the clause: the search starts excluding the nodes it surfaced on its previous run, and results come and go between runs. The NON SEARCH variants skip references produced by search nodes, so only references a person actually placed in the tree count.
```
#task
NOT DONE
>NOT PARENTS DESCENDANTS WITH NON SEARCH REFS
```
Placed on a project node, this finds open tasks that neither live in nor are referenced into that project, without the search node's own results counting as "in the project".
Two caveats: these variants aren't offered in the keyword picker, so type the full keyword yourself (case doesn't matter). And the query linter renders them exactly like their WITH REFS counterparts, so the text view of a query can't tell the two apart.
#### Field operators
Add values to these fields to configure them.
| OPERATOR | DESCRIPTION | LINTER |
| --------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------- |
| >AND | All of the clauses in the field values should match. AND is implied at the top level of the query builder as well. | AND |
| >OR | Any of the clauses in the field values should match. | OR |
| >NOT | Negates a single clause (if you want to negate multiple, you need multiple NOT statements). | NOT |
| >LT | LT = Less than. The LT field value should be the field you want to query with a field value (a number/date). This finds nodes that have a value less than the value provided. Also works with dates. | fieldName < fieldValue |
| >GT | GT = Greater than. The GT field value should be the field you want to query with a field value (a number/date). This finds nodes that have a value greater than than the value provided. Also works with dates. | fieldName > fieldValue |
| >LINKS TO | The LINKS TO operator finds all nodes that link to the reference in the field value. Only takes references or PARENT/GRANDPARENT. Similar to what is shown in a node's reference section. | LinksTo:nodeName |
| >CHILD OF | If the field value is a reference, the CHILD OF operator finds nodes/references that are children of the reference. If the field value is a field definition, the operator finds nodes/references that are children of this field. | ChildOf:nodeName |
| >OWNED BY | The OWNED BY operator finds nodes that are children of and owned by the reference in the field value. | OwnedBy:nodeName |
| >COMPONENTS REC | Walks a _Part of_ semantic field recursively. Add the top node of a part-of hierarchy as the field value, and the search returns every node connected beneath it at any depth. The queried field must have the _Part of_ semantic function. Experimental and slow on large hierarchies; see [Part of](/learn/features/fields#part-of). | WithComponentsRecursive:nodeName |
| >DATE OVERLAPS | Matches a date range that overlaps with the date provided | |
**The difference between OWNED BY and CHILD OF:** All nodes have a single permanent location in Tana Outliner. The
location can be described as the Owner, or the parent of a node, not a reference. Nodes can only be **OWNED BY** one
other node. Every node has one owner only. A node can have children that are a mix of both nodes owned by the node,
and references that are not owned by the node. These first-level children are what will be returned when using **CHILD
OF**. In summary, a node/reference can be the **child of many** nodes, but only **owned by one.**
#### Field values
Use these as field values:
| OPERATOR | DESCRIPTION | LINTER |
| ------------------------ | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- |
| PARENT | Use in any field. Inserts the parent node relative to the search node. Useful for finding nodes with fields that use the parent/grandparent node as a field value, such as every #author node finding all #books they're the >Author of. | fieldName==parentnodeName |
| GRANDPARENT | Use in any field. Inserts the grandparent node relative to the search node. Useful for finding nodes with fields that use the parent/grandparent node as a field value, such as every #author node finding all #books they're the >Author of. | fieldName==grandparentnodeName |
| FOR RELATIVE DATE [term] | Use on its own or in date fields. Inserts a date relative to today. Valid terms: yesterday, today, tomorrow, last/this/next week, last/this/next month, NEW: last/this/next year. Example: FOR RELATIVE DATE next week. | Date==RelativeDate:term=yyyy-mm-dd [timezone] |
| "Set" | A system node you can use in any field. Finds nodes where this field exists and has a value. | fieldName==Set |
| "Not Set" | A system node you can use in any field. Finds nodes where this field does not exist, or has no value. Warning: will find many nodes. | fieldName==Not set |
| "Defined" | A system node you can use in any field. Finds nodes where the field has actually been added to the node, either because the supertag template gives it a default value or because the field has been edited at least once. A field with no template default is not defined on a freshly tagged node until you set its value, so those nodes are not matched even though the field exists on the supertag. | HasField:fieldName |
| "Not Defined" | A system node you can use in any field. Finds nodes where a field has never been added to the node (no template default and never edited), or does not exist at all. Warning: will find many nodes. | NOT HasField:fieldName |
#### PARENT/GRANDPARENT (P/GP) field values
Other than inserting the parent/grandparent node relative to the live search, these values have additional features that apply to fields and dates:
**They can point to a field on the P/GP node using _dot notation_.**
Example 1: `PARENT.Description` will point at the Description field on the parent.
Example 2: On a meeting node you could have a search to find other meetings for the related project of this meeting:
- #meeting
- > Related project==PARENT.Related project
**They can be used for date comparisons under any calendar node**
Using `PARENT` in a live search under a week or year node can now be used for date comparisons such as “find all tasks completed this week”. These date items will get the right granularity (day vs. week/month/year)
Also, PARENT that points at a date or a day/week/year node can do simple arithmetic. `PARENT-7` on a day node would get the day 7 days earlier, `PARENT+3` on a week node will get a date 3 weeks in the future.
**_Dot notation_ and _date arithmetic_ can be combined in a field value**
You can combine fields with date arithmetic, so `PARENT.Due date+3` will be replaced with a date 3 days ahead of the date in the Due date field.
##### Reading field values from any ancestor
PARENT and GRANDPARENT only reach one or two levels up. To read a field value from further up the tree, use a title expression instead: add `${sys:owner.Field}` to the title of the node you're searching on, repeating `sys:owner` once for each extra level up you need, then search on that node's title. This bakes the ancestor's field value into a title you can search directly.
This came up in the context of the Readwise integration, where highlights usually need to reach two levels up — but the pattern works anywhere you need an ancestor field value that's out of reach of PARENT/GRANDPARENT.
#### Search operator examples
Our Navigators have created a Tana Outliner Template full of search examples that allow you to interact with many of the operators below to see how they work. They cover the basics and will continuously be updated as we surface more useful examples from the community. Click below to save the resource in one of your Tana Outliner workspaces (opens a new tab):
[Install: Tana Outliner Live Search Examples](https://app.tana.inc/?bundle=emi2eN1vNo.VFNHIFVV54)
### Linter
#### About the linter
In the [query builder](/learn/features/search-nodes#query-builder), see marker 4 for the location of the linter.
The linter uses simple "code" to display the query logic without the fluff of the query builder interface.
By reading the output of the linter, you'll be able to tell if your query is configured as intended or not.
You'll know because all search operators show up in the linter in very specific ways. For instance, the linter will often "transform" from one state to the other as you're adding or typing out the operators. These provide clear clues on whether the operators are correctly setup or not.
See the column "Linter" in the list of [search operators](/learn/features/search-nodes#search-operators) for what they should appear like in the linter if properly added.
#### Reading the linter structure
- A condition is a question you're asking of Tana Outliner.
- Example: Find all tasks that are not done, and due today.
- Search operators are used to compose these questions, using one line for each condition. In the linter, they will look like this:
- `TODO`
- `NOT DONE`
- `Deadline < (RelativeDate:TODAY)`
- All conditions get wrapped in parentheses:
- `(TODO)`
- `(NOT DONE)`
- `(Deadline < (RelativeDate:TODAY))`
- Every top-level condition gets separated by the AND operator, because it wraps the entire query builder:
- `(TODO) AND (NOT DONE) AND (Deadline < (RelativeDate:TODAY))`
- To use the OR or NOT operators, they are added within the top-level AND operator, nested queries with OR and NOT operators will appear like this:
- `(TODO) AND (NOT DONE) AND (Deadline < (RelativeDate:TODAY)) AND ((Priority==P2) OR (Priority==P3)) AND (NOT Assigned to==Fei)`
- The above query is asking the following: Find nodes that are unchecked, with Deadline before Today, P2s or P3s, and are not assigned to Fei.
### Search results
Tana Outliner will return results up to 2500 nodes. You can adjust the Result limit through the command line with -> Set result limit to. to adjust how many live search results to show.
You can also add more clauses to narrow down the results, and here are a couple of different ways of doing it:
- **Limit by text match:** Type the text you want to find and it will filter the results based on node name match. This shows up as `(StringMatch: "xyz")`
- **Limit by most recently created/edited:** Type `CREATED/EDITED LAST X DAYS` to only get nodes that have been recently created/edited.
- **Limit by field value:** A _Status_ field can help you get only tasks that are `Next up`; an _Attendees_ field can help you find all meetings that had a specific `#person` in them; a _Dietary restriction_ field can find all your `vegetarian` recipes.
### Examples
#### Searches in day supertag template
Put a live search in a day supertag template that has a field referencing the PARENT (will show up as "Date: Today, Wed, Oct 18" in linter). This will create searches that find nodes with dates that refer to that day like events, tasks, birthdays.
#### Searches in supertag template
Put a live search in a supertag template that has a field referencing the PARENT (will show up as INSTANCE in the linter). This will make searches adapt based on the instance. Example: a #person supertag with a live search that looks for all meetings where this #person has attended.
#### Find overdue tasks (using any field)
If your #tasks have checkboxes and a date field that signifies a due/do date, or deadline, you can build a query in your daily page (important) to find all tasks that are 1. unchecked, and 2. older than today. It will look like this:
- #task
- NOT DONE
- > LT: >Date: PARENT
#### Show only today and future items
The inverse of overdue tasks — hide anything in the past. Useful for meeting lists, event calendars, or any view where past items just add clutter. Use `GT` with `PARENT-1` to include today:
- > GT: >Date field: PARENT-1
`PARENT-1` means "yesterday," so `GT: yesterday` returns today and everything after it. Adjust the number to shift the window (e.g. `PARENT-7` to include the past week).
---
#### Sidebar
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/sidebar
The sidebar is the left panel you use to navigate Tana Outliner. It contains shortcuts to daily notes, search, supertags, and AI chat, plus your pinned nodes and workspaces. You can pin any node to the sidebar for quick access.
**The sidebar is where you can immediately access the most important parts of your graph.** Most often you'll be reaching for the daily notes page (Today), Pinned items, and all the workspaces you have access to.
- **Today:** Access your daily notes instantly. Use as a keyboard shortcut from anywhere.
- **Supertags:** Search all supertags across all workspaces.
- **AI chat:** Start an AI chat directly from the sidebar.
- **Create new:** Create a new note instantly, default saved to Today.
- **Global Search:** The sidebar search (accessed via ) shows everything you have access to across all workspaces, unlike workspace-specific searches which are limited by access/visibility settings.
- **Inbox:** An option if you want to process notes captured from mobile manually. Can be selected as destination for captured content in the mobile apps, will appear on desktop when there is content in it.
- **Pinned Items:** Bookmark important nodes for quick access, whether they're active projects you frequently visit or commonly used resources.
- **Workspace Management:** View and access all your workspaces, including both those you've created and those you've been invited to join.
## Tips for getting more out of the sidebar
- Keep your most important nodes or workflows in the top section for quick access.
- Use pinned searches to monitor evolving lists like open tasks, team notes, active deals, or research topics.
- Collapse the sidebar during focused writing or deep work to reduce visual noise.
- Resize the sidebar when you need more room to scan long titles or large sets of pinned items.
- Expand/collapse things in a pinned node or a workspace to find a sub-node.
## Overview of Tana Outliner core navigation
1. Back/Forward button (navigation)
2. Toggle sidebar open/closed
3. Today: go Today's daily note
4. Supertags: Overview of all supertags
5. Inbox: Things that are sent from Tana Outliner mobile app (only shows if you send something to it)
6. AI chat: Chat with AI. On Tana Outliner paid subscriptions only
7. Create new: sends new nodes to Today
8. Go to node: a global search for going to any node
9. Pinned nodes: pin nodes appear here
10. Workspaces: a list of workspaces for easy access
11. Manage workspaces: choose which workspaces to show on the sidebar
12. Notifications: nodes you have been notified on
13. Help: A shortcut to help content
14. Keyboard shortcuts: list of basic shortcuts
15. Account settings
16. Content width
17. Main node gripper
18. Node options (ellipsis).
## Sidebar navigation
### Resize the sidebar
You can now adjust the sidebar to the exact width you prefer.
**How to resize:**
- Drag the vertical divider between the sidebar and the editor
- Make the sidebar narrow for focused writing or wider when you need to browse more items
- To revert to the default width, open > **Reset sidebar width**
### Collapse the sidebar for full focus
For uninterrupted writing, research, or meeting notes, you can collapse the sidebar completely.
**How to collapse:**
- Click the sidebar toggle button once to minimize it
- Click the toggle twice to fully collapse it
- Click again to bring it back when you need it
You can also use the command line:
- **Show sidebar** - opens the full sidebar
- **Show mini sidebar** - minimizes the sidebar to only show icons
- **Hide sidebar** - hides the sidebar completely
- **Toggle sidebar** - switches to the next state; Full sidebar -> Minimized sidebar -> Hidden sidebar
## Customizing the sidebar
### Hide sidebar items
The top of the sidebar is where you keep your most important places in Tana Outliner: your Daily Page, key projects, or any node you return to often.
You can now control which items appear here.
**How to customize:**
- Right-click any item in the top section you want to hide, click "Hide"
- If you want to bring an item back, type > `Toggle (item) in sidebar` or go to Settings and check "Show (item) in sidebar".
This helps you keep the sidebar focused on the things you use daily.
### Pin nodes and searches
Pinning lets you keep pages or live searches one click away. Anything you pin appears in the sidebar under the Pinned section.
**Pinning options:**
- Pin any node from its right-click menu
- > `Pin to sidebar` or `Open pinned node (select node)`
- Pin a saved search to monitor tasks, meetings, topics, or any structured view that updates automatically
Pinned items are ideal for projects, dashboards, or recurring workflows.
### Progress bars now visible in the sidebar
When you pin a node that contains a [progress bar](/learn/features/checkboxes-and-progress-bars), the sidebar now displays a small circular progress indicator next to it. This makes Tana Outliner a fast and reliable task hub for managers juggling multiple projects.
You'll see:
- A circle showing how many subtasks or checkboxes are complete
- A tooltip on hover with exact numbers (completed vs. total)
- Live updates as tasks are checked off anywhere in your workspace
This means you can use the sidebar as a lightweight project tracker without switching views.
## Sidebar items
### Today
Press on the Today button to navigate to your daily note. You can also use the shortcut from anywhere to do the same.
In addition, you can also:
- Cmd/Ctrl+click it to open in a new tab (native tabs in [Tana Outliner Desktop
app](/learn/features/tana-for-desktop))
- Shift+click to open in a new panel next to existing content you have open
### Supertags
This is an overview of all supertags in your workspaces. You can search for a supertag, and then click to see all content tagged, or right-click to configure the tag, pin or unpin it.
- Pinned tags will appear as large tiles on the top for easy access.
### Create new button
`Create new` adds a new node to your daily note. You'll see a blank slate and can start writing, with a few suggestions to help you do common actions:
- **Suggested tags:** Shows the most used supertags from all workspaces you have access to.
- **Start live transcription:** Begins to transcribe using your microphone. Requires a Tana Outliner paid subscription.
- **Create a search node:** Creates a simple search node from here.
PS: The Quick Add modal still exists via the shortcut
### Quick Add (hidden)
Quick add is the fastest way to add things to your daily notes without context switching.
- Press **Quick add** in the sidebar, or use the keyboard shortcut
- Type in your note. Press **Add to today**, or press again to send to your daily note
Tip: If you want to keep working on it, Esc will close the pop-up and leave the content in Quick Add window. The next
time you open Quick Add, it will still be there in case you had more to add.
To capture from outside Tana Outliner entirely, use the [Global Clipper](/learn/features/tana-for-desktop#global-clipper) (). It opens a system-wide modal on top of any app. Requires [Tana Outliner Desktop](/learn/features/tana-for-desktop).
### Global Search
This search has access to all nodes that you have permission to view, from all workspaces.
To start a search:
- Access it via the sidebar, or by hitting
- You only need to type two letters to start a search
- Type `#(tag name)` and continue typing if you want to limit the search to only tagged items with a certain supertag
To open a result:
- Use your arrow keys to navigate to desired result
- Then hit Enter to navigate to that node
- Hit Ctrl/Cmd+Click to open a result in a new tab
- Hit Shift+Click to open a result in a new panel
- Or, hit to take you to a search list of the item you are on.
You can also search within any node you find:
- To search within a node, navigate to it with your mouse or arrow keys, then hit Tab. This will run the search again only looking within the node you specified.
- > Search within if you want to search inside a node you are viewing.
### Recents
If you need to find a node you were recently working on, Recents will show you the 100 most recently edited nodes that you have created/edited.
When you, or someone you collaborate with in a shared workspace, make changes to a node you have edited or created, this will update the "Last edited time" of the node.
Recents will only show top level nodes ("Entities") to avoid having all individual nodes inside other nodes show up.
A node is considered an entity if:
- It has a supertag
- It lives on top level in the library (direct child of the library)
- It was captured from mobile apps
#### How Recents work
When someone changes a node you have ever edited/created, it will surface in Recents. Recents is grouped by date, and sorted by the system field `Last edited time` with most recent on top.
- Changing or setting a field value will update the last edited time
- Changing the node contents will update the last edited time
- It will show content from all workspaces
- If a node in Recents has a Supertag with [pinned fields](/learn/features/fields#pinned-fields), these will automatically be displayed on the node
Recents is a system view that may be updated by Tana Outliner and can't be customized ([but you can re-create your own version and pin it](/help/search-and-finding#can-i-customize-sidebar-search-recents-or-supertags)).
### Inbox
This button takes you to an Inbox where you can choose to send things from Tana Outliner mobile apps if you want to manually process it.
- If you have AI enabled in Tana Outliner, a Transcribe button next to the Inbox appears, where you can run transcription on all voice memos in the Inbox that haven't been transcribed yet.
### Pinned nodes
This is the place where you can pin nodes for easy access.
To pin a node:
- Option 1: Drag any node from the window into this area
- Option 2: Run the command `Pin to sidebar`
To open pinned nodes:
- Option 1: Click on them in the sidebar
- Option 2: Run the command `Open pinned` and select the node you want to open
To unpin:
- Hover over the pin until you see an x to the right, and click it.
### Workspaces
Every workspace you have access to will show up here.
- To go to the home node of a workspace, click on the workspace.
- To go to the daily page of that workspace, Alt+click on the workspace.
- When you've been invited to a workspace, go to **Manage workspaces** to add it to the sidebar.
- Expand the workspace node by clicking the arrow node to the left of it
- Add a new item to the home node by hovering over the workspace and click on the + icon when it shows up
### Notifications
When someone in a shared workspace uses the command `Notify` to notify you on a node, that notification will appear here.
### Help
Opens a little in-app help box where you can quickly search for answers and access the entire Tana Outliner Learn help center. You can also find the Tana AI help chat here, that can help you find answers to how features in Tana Outliner work, or how you can configure something.
### Keyboard shortcuts
Opens a cheat sheet of common shortcuts in the side panel. If you're looking for your custom keyboard shortcuts, go to [Account Settings](/learn/features/account-settings).
### Account settings
See [Account Settings](/learn/features/account-settings) for more.
---
#### Supertags
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/supertags
Supertags turn a node into a typed object with a template of fields. All nodes with the same supertag form a collection you can search, filter, and view as a table. Supertags are how you define the types of things in your workspace and give them consistent structure.
## Overview
**Supertag = Turns a node into an object.**
**Use supertags to identify objects in your notes:** Examples include **Task**, **Meeting**, **Trip**, **Subscription**, **Person** and so on. A good way to check if a supertag is right, is thinking "**is a**" when adding the tag to a node. A node with the contents "Marisha" _is a_ **Person**. Oslo _is a_ **City**. With an eye for "what _things_ come up in my notes that need to be remembered, organized or actioned", these are good candidates for a supertag.
**Supertags are the beginning of creating collections of objects, like a database**: Anything you would make a list, collection or database for, these are good supertag candidates. Each row in a database represents one node. Each column represents the Fields of those nodes.
**Supertags give you tools to structure the information of the object:** Every time you apply a supertag to an item, it populates with default Fields and Nodes of your choice, to help you organize all important and related information regarding this item. If it is a person, adding a Field for their Phone Number and their Preferred Name might be handy. If it is a todo, you may want a Field with the Due Date. See more under Supertag configuration panel.
## Basics
- When you tag something, unlike traditional tags that signal that the content is _related_ to the tag, in Tana Outliner the content _is_ the tag. For example, "buy milk" _is_ a **Task**. Therefore, supertags apply to the _whole_ node.
- This means that you can define objects in your notes, and give them special attributes based on what they are. Tasks can have _Due dates_. People can have _Nicknames._ Projects can have _Statuses._ These attributes are saved as **Fields** in the Template.
- Supertags can be used on any node, and gathered at any time using **Search nodes**. If you remember to supertag your important stuffs, our powerful search nodes will ensure that everything resurfaces again in an instant, no matter where they are in the **graph**.
- Click on a tag and you’re taken to a **Supertag page.** By default it creates a search looking for all nodes with this supertag in the graph, shown as a table. That said, you can adapt the Supertag page however you want by adding tabs and additional views of relevant information.
- In the Supertag page, click on the wrench button on the top right to get to the **Supertag configuration panel**. (Note: you can also get to it by holding on any supertag)
## Create a supertag
On any node, typing `#` will bring up the Supertag menu. Continue typing the name of the supertag to either make a new supertag (always the top answer), or find an existing one that matches what you’re typing.
On any node, use the command line and type Convert to supertag. This converts the node to a Supertag definition turning the node name into the supertag name. This command will also take the child fields and nodes and make them into template items.
When you create a supertag, by default it sends the original Supertag definition to Schema.
## Add/remove a supertag
To add a supertag, anywhere in a node, type `#[name of tag]` and hit `Enter` to apply it to the current node.
To remove a supertag, hover over the tag and click the `x` that shows up, or right click the tag and pick "Remove tag"
Both actions can be done via the command line ():
- "Add tag"
- "Remove tag"
**To bulk add or remove a supertag:** select multiple nodes first, then use the same `#`, "Add tag", or "Remove tag" actions — they apply to every selected node at once.
## Delete a supertag
Before you delete a supertag, consider whether it has been applied to any nodes. In the Supertag configuration panel, scroll down and see the stats on how many nodes it’s been applied to.
- If you have used it on 0 nodes, it’s fine to just delete the supertag.If you have used it on 1 or more nodes, consider finding all those nodes and untagging them before deleting, or if it’s being replaced by another tag, merging the old tag with the new tag.
- When you delete a supertag that is applied to other nodes, these nodes will show a trash can icon. This follows our principles about Deleting Nodes, Supertags, and Fields that have references elsewhere, which states that Tana Outliner will never delete data that is indirectly associated with another element that you delete.
How to delete a supertag:
- Option 1: Go to Supertag configuration panel. At the bottom there’s an option to Delete the tag.
- Option 2: Find the original Supertag definition and delete it.
## The supertag page
When you click on a supertag, you’re taken to the Supertag page.
This page by default will be set in [Tabs view](/learn/features/views#tabs-view), and show you a table of all supertagged nodes on the first tab.
You can do basic configuration of the supertag here like adding columns (which are fields) and saving them to the supertag template using the `✨Suggestion` that pops up.
You can also add other tabs with different views that you want accessible on the supertag page, such as instructions on how to use the supertag, search nodes with different default views, or a reference to any node you might find useful to access while looking at the supertag page.
## Configure a supertag
To open the configuration panel of a supertag:
- **Anywhere you can see a supertag:**
- Option 1: Right-click it and choose `Config supertag`
- Option 2: on a supertag
- **On the supertag page:** go to the node options (ellipsis button) > `Configure supertag`
- **Use the command line on a tagged node:** `Configure supertag`
Tip: If you do this often, bind a custom keyboard shortcut to the command line action.
### Colors
There are 12 colors available for supertags, plus colorless (grey).
### "Used X times"
How many nodes the supertag has been added to. Clicking it creates a search node looking for all the nodes.
### Delete
This deletes the supertag definition. If the tag is still in use elsewhere, the name will appear with a trash can icon. We recommend either 1. untagging everything before deleting, or 2. using the command Hard delete including references on the supertag definition.
### Supertag config: Content template
The content template is where you add fields, search nodes and regular nodes that will show on every node with this supertag.
#### 1. Default content
Below is where you can construct the content template for the supertag. Every time you apply the supertag to a node, this template gets applied.
##### Fields
Fields are attributes that describe the object that the supertag represents. Examples:
- a **Task** can have fields like Status, Deadline, Priority, Team, Assignee
- a **Client** can have fields like Company name, Email, Point of contact
- a **Project** can have fields like Timeline, Lead, Team, OKRs, KPIs, Stage, Priority
**To add fields to the supertag template:**
- **Add fields directly in config:** Type `>` at the beginning of a new node to add a new or existing field.
- **Add fields ad-hoc:** Add a new or existing field under any tagged node (that isn't already part of the template), then right-click the field name > `Add to template`
**To set default values for fields:**
- Fill out the field value in the supertag template. Example: New **Task** always has **Status**: Inbox
**To set auto-initialize rules in fields:**
- Each field has to be set up separately. Go into the field config by clicking the field bullet.
For a more in-depth description on how field initializations work, see: [Auto-initialize](/learn/features/fields#auto-initialize).
##### Pinned fields
Pinned fields are fields marked as important dimensions for your data - the fields you want to use most frequently for filtering, sorting, grouping, and displaying. The Supertag configuration panel is where you configure which fields should be pinned.
This makes the field appear:
- On top of supertag instances
- At the top of all view option menus (Filter, Sort, Group, Display)
- Automatically in the filter toolbar when viewing nodes with this supertag
When viewing nodes from multiple supertags, all pinned fields from all represented supertags will show.
For more details on pinned field behavior, see [Fields](/learn/features/fields).
##### Add search nodes
A search node can customize its results based on the supertag instance. Examples:
- a **Project** that looks up related **Task**s
- a **Person** that looks up related **Meeting**s
- an **Author** that looks up related **Book**s
**To make a search node:**
- Command line () > `Find nodes`
- Type `?` and click on `✨Create search node`
See [Query Builder](/learn/features/search-nodes#query-builder) for more on customizing your search.
##### Add nodes
Add nodes just by typing them in. You can also add references to nodes.
Tip: Use descriptions on both fields and nodes to add instructions or reminders to yourself or your team on how to use
them
#### 2. Extend
Pick a supertag from the list and the default content will populate with template objects from that tag. Think of it as a projection. You cannot move or delete content that originates from an extended tag, but you can add more fields/nodes, and you can specify different default values to the fields.
Example: A basic **Task** tag has the **Due date** and **Project** fields.
- You can create a **Design task** that is extended by the **Task** tag, then set the default **Project** value to "Office Renovation".
- You can also add a new field, **Reno team**, so you can add individuals and teams that these tasks be assigned to. This will not appear on the **Task** tag.
#### 3. Optional fields
Optional fields allow you to specify which fields you use _sometimes_ in a supertag.
This means you can add only the most important fields to your supertag template, while you move the rest to _optional_, ready to go when you need them.
**To add optional fields:**
- **Supertag config:** Add a field in the Optional fields section right beneath the Supertag template
- **Add an ad-hoc field - twice:** Add a field under any tagged node. If you add it again a second time under another node with the same tag, it automatically gets added as an optional field.
- **AI-enabled suggestions:** If you use AI in Tana Outliner, fields will be automagically suggested for any new supertag you create.
- **Demote from template:** Right-click on a field that is part of a supertag template, and choose `Make optional`
Once optional fields have been added, whenever you use that supertag again, the optional fields will be suggested in the following ways:
- Button next to the tag
- Suggested fields widget (appears only for a little while, then disappears after 24h)
- Slash command inside tagged node
#### 4. Show as checkbox
Turn this on to show a checkbox on all tagged nodes.
#### 4a. Done state mapping
Optionally map the checkbox state to one or more field values. This creates a two-way connection between a field value and the checkbox state. If you check/uncheck the box, the field value changes to the value you specify for either state.
Insert fields using `>`, and select the values for each state.
#### 5. Base tags
You can select a “base” type for your supertags. These are a fixed set of familiar object types, mainly to help AI distinguish the type of object a node is regardless of its name.
By setting the base type for a supertag, you may get different options in the supertag config.
**The base types are:**
- **Meeting:** A type of event you want to transcribe and create meeting notes from
- **Task:** An action item that needs to be done
- **Organization:** A group or corporate entity
- **Person:** An individual (from a contact list perspective)
- **Location:** A place in the world, like a city, state or country
- **Project:** A larger effort than a single task
- **Topic:** A subject, category, area, etc
- **Event:** Something that happens at a specific time
- **Article:** A piece of written content, blog post, etc
- **Memo:** A short internal note or communication
- **Reflection:** A personal note capturing thoughts, insights, learnings, etc
- **Day:** A daily note or journal entry
- **Week:** A weekly note or journal entry
**Examples of how they are currently used:**
1. **Audio-enabled tag:** if you set a supertag as base type "meeting", toggling audio-enabled tag will also toggle the sub-option needed to record system audio and create a transcript as output. This enables one-click [botless, live meeting transcription](/learn/features/tana-meeting-notetaker) on this supertag.
1. **Meeting agent:** Setting base type "meeting" on a supertag will make a new section called "Meeting agent" appear, where you can configure the [meeting agent](/learn/features/meeting-agent).
1. **AI-generated meeting notes:** By default the meeting agent will auto-detect things like Persons, Organizations/Companies, Tasks, Locations, and Products. The default tags that are generated for these objects all have the appropriate base tag applied.
1. **Calendar sync:** When you select a tag (other than the Meeting tag) to use for your events and tasks, they will get those base tags respectively.
This feature is a work in progress.
#### AI and Commands
The AI and Commands section is where you can configure all AI functions and add Commands to the supertag, either to be manually or automatically triggered.
#### 1. Custom autofill behaviour
This custom AI feature allows you to use AI to autofill the title, the fields, or the description, based on the incoming prompt. Autofill applies to all fields, except the ones you add to the "Fields to exclude" section.
#### 2. Audio-enabled supertag
This custom AI feature allows you to add content to a node by doing a voice memo to transcription. A record button appears on every node that has this tag. You can simply receive the raw transcript, or you can add your own `post process command` to take the transcript and turn it into something else using AI.
#### 3. Command palette
The command palette allows you to add commands that will appear as button on all nodes with this tag. Commands that are triggered on a tagged node will use that node as their primary context, and cannot be made to act on an adjacent context.
#### 4. Trigger commands on events
You can trigger custom commands to run around several events on a tagged node:
- **On capture:** when a node is captured with this tag
- **On added:** when the tag is added to a node
- **On removed:** when the tag is removed from a node
- **On checked:** when a node with this tag is checked
- **On unchecked:** when it is unchecked
Use case examples:
- When added, send a notification to a member of the workspace
- When added, move the node to a specific place
- When removed, change the status of a field to Archived
Limitation: If a supertag is added or removed via API, it will not trigger, because actions taken by the API are not currently recorded as a user action.
#### 5. AI instructions
These are clarifying instructions you can give if AI is used to identify objects that should be tagged this.
#### Voice chat
Configure how AI behaves during mobile voice chat conversations with this supertag. Set a voice greeting and detailed instructions to create specialized AI assistants for different content types. Found in the "Voice chat" section of supertag configuration. Early Access feature on iOS. See [Mobile voice](/learn/features/mobile-voice-memos) for details.
#### Advanced options
The Advanced options section has functions that are a bit more involved in setup, or are less common to reach for.
#### 1. Build title from fields (title expression)
Build the title of a node from the values of its fields. Title expression are set in a supertag called "Build title from fields", and will apply to all its instances.
Title expressions composes field values from the node into a title using this the format: `${field name}`
The title expression uses the actual name of the attribute.
You can also write between the fields, it could look like this; **`\${Objective}` with the team at** **`\${Date}`**
The existing name of the node can be accessed through `\${name}`. Note that if the title expression begins with `\${name}`, you will be able to edit the first part of the title directly on the node. In any other case, the node title will be locked for editing (even if `\${name}` appears later in the expression)
You can also specify a max length using `\${field name|30…}` which will show only the first 30 characters of a value.
Choose whether you want the placeholder to appear if the field is empty by appending a ? - either `\${field name|?}` or `\${field name|30…?}`.
In fields that have a list of nodes as values, we include all field values, not just the first one.
**System attributes available in the title expression:**
- `\${cdate}` and `\${ctime}` - Created date and time in UTC, i.e. not local time
- `\${mdate}` and `\${mtime}` - Modified date and time in UTC, i.e. not local time
- `\${sys:description}` - Description field
- `\${sys:createdAt}` - Time of creation
- `\${sys:lastEditedAt}` - Time of last edit
- `\${sys:lastEditedBy}` - User who last edited the node
- `\${sys:editedBy}` - All users who ever created/modified the node
- `\${sys:owner}` - Parent node
- `\${sys:dateFromCalendarNode}` - The calendar node this node belongs to (Calendar date system field)
- `\${sys:doneTime}` - Date and time this node was marked done
Finally, you can use simple html formatting like `` and `` to make things appear bold or in italics. An example:
- Title expression: `${Title} by ${Author}, ${Year}`
- Node title: **Pride and Prejudice** by Jane Austen, _1813_
#### 2. Default child supertag
If you want to have a default supertag applied to all child nodes of any instance of this supertag, you can set the supertag you want here. This supertag will be applied to all new children.
Tip: you can set a default child supertag to any node, not just supertags. Run "Configure node" and set the supertag
in Child supertag field.
#### 3. Related content
Related content makes it possible to customize the layout of the tagged item to show references or search nodes next to the node's main content. This can be used to show for example tasks or meetings on the Today page, or action items next to a meeting.
See [Related content](/learn/features/related-content) for more.
#### 4. Shortcuts
Nodes here reflect the same nodes that exist on [the supertag page](#the-supertag-page). You can manually add nodes here and they will show up there.
## Supertag definition
#### What is a Supertag definition?
When you create a new supertag, a node is created that stores the configuration of this supertag. This is the Supertag definition and includes its name, template, and commands that show up as buttons, among other things. You access the settings of the supertag via the Supertag configuration panel.
#### How to find the Supertag definition?
There are two situations where you’ll encounter needing to use supertag nodes:
- Creating a [Search node](/learn/features/search-nodes)
- To find it here, just type “#” in the search expression editor and Tana Outliner will look for every supertag in accessible workspaces
- Creating a [Tana Outliner Template](/learn/features/tana-templates)
- To find it anywhere else, type “@#” and the name of the supertag. Supertag definitions show up in their color and hashtag at the front.
## Merging supertags
See [Merging duplicate nodes](/learn/features/nodes-and-references#merging-duplicate-nodes)
---
#### Tana AI
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/tana-ai
Tana Outliner includes AI across the product: meeting transcription without a bot, chat that can reference your notes, image generation, voice memos, and live dictation. AI credits are included with paid plans.
**Since the beginning, Tana Outliner was always meant to work with AI.** Tana Outliner lets you build a knowledge graph where you can add information to help AI understand what content means and how it's connected, through [Supertags and fields](/learn/features/supertags).
**Tana AI provides access to the best LLMs in the world out of the box.** We pair each task with the ideal model for the job. Every model will already be fine-tuned for use in Tana Outliner, so you don't have to worry about that.
**Included AI credits:** AI in Tana Outliner requires a [paid plan](https://tana.inc/pricing), which includes a monthly quota of AI credits. If you need more than the quota, you can buy top-ups.
**All savings we receive on volume pricing are yours.** When you sign up to a Tana Outliner paid subscription, you get access to not only all the fine-tuned AI models we subscribe to, but also the volume pricing we receive.
**AI should be like electricity: you turn it on, and it just works.**
## Tana Outliner has powerful built-in AI features
- **Botless AI meeting notetaker:** You can import your meetings into Tana Outliner with the Google Calendar integration, then Tana Outliner will send you notifications where you can start transcribing system audio with one click - then get an auto-generated summary and ability to chat with the meetings notes with AI.
- **Chat with your knowledge:** AI chat is integrated on all Tana Outliner notes, and can be started with one click or by pressing Space below any note. Choose if you want plain AI chat (like using ChatGPT/Claude/Gemini directly) or include your notes as context (pull them in with [@ mention search](/learn/features/ai-chat)).
- **Image generation:** turn your notes from meetings, workshops, user interviews or your voice memos into infographics, or build out consistent brand images from your prompt library in Tana Outliner.
- **Voice memos:** Get your thoughts transcribed straight into notes. Start live transcription with / on any node on desktop. Enable audio-enabled fields and supertags get a recording button to easily start dictating.
- **AI actions require credits to run.** Monthly AI credits are included in both free and any paid plan. Credits can be topped up as you need.
- **Multi-model** (_paid plans only_): select from leading models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, to build powerful workflows.
- **AI in Tana Outliner gives you multiple models out of the box.** But if you want to use your own Open API key for some things, we have left two commands (Ask AI + Ask AI (non-streaming) that you can use with your own OpenAI key.
## Transcribe meetings without a bot with the Meeting notetaker
The new, botless meeting notetaker lets you record and transcribe your meetings in real time, directly from Tana Outliner Desktop. It captures **system audio**, meaning it records not just your voice, but also everyone else's - perfect for meetings, lectures, live streams, and shared audio.
This feature is ideal for situations where inviting a bot isn't possible or preferred, and you still want to capture everything in one place. See more in [Meeting notes in Tana Outliner.](/learn/features/tana-meeting-notetaker)
## Generate images with Nano Banana Pro
In Tana Outliner, you can generate AI images on the fly while working on your notes, without needing to switch to a different tool like Midjourney or Google Gemini.
Go from note-taking or meeting transcripts to sharing whiteboard sketches, infographics, cartoons or napkin drawings in minutes. Tana Outliner lets you experiment with finding your style for prompts, and build up your own prompt library for image generation.
You can access image generation from two places:
- Use _Generate banner image_ at the top of any node
- Type / and select "Image/file", then select "Generate image"
- Or simply write your prompt, then type > **Generate image with AI** on the node
You can also build your own custom [command nodes](/learn/features/ai-command-nodes) for image generation or [download these templates with pre-built commands](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/Image%20generation) you can add to your supertags.
[Read more about image generation in Tana Outliner ->](https://tana.inc/articles/ai-image-generation-in-tana-with-gemini-nano-banana-pro)
## Mobile voice memos
Instantly capture ideas, thoughts or plan your day by talking to your phone. Tana Outliner will transcribe your memo and turn it into structured content by autofilling fields if you apply a supertag. See more in [Voice memo](/learn/features/mobile-voice-memos)
## Live transcription (desktop)
Start dictating and see the notes in real-time as you talk. Great for hashing out an idea for a blog post or article, drafting feedback, writing emails or capturing fleeting thoughts. 60 languages supported.
See more in [Live transcription](/learn/features/live-voice-transcription).
## AI chat
Access AI chat by clicking AI chats in the sidebar, which displays all your conversations and lets you start new chats. You can also press Space below any note to start a chat with that note as context. Or click `Ask AI about this content` on any panel.
- Easily include any context using [@ mention search](/learn/features/ai-chat).
- Edit AI responses and apply Supertags to integrate parts of responses into your workspace.
- Select from multiple AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic, Google) and reasoning levels within you chats.
- Automatic prompt caching for all model providers reduces token usage in ongoing conversations.
- Web search across all models for up-to-date information.
Tana Outliner's integrated AI chat is available on any note to help you iterate on, rewrite or get insights from your content. Read more in [AI chat](/learn/features/ai-chat).
## Meeting agent (in-call bot)
Records, transcribes and extracts tasks from you meetings, and generates a shareable summary.
- If you are not able to join a meeting in person, or need to join from mobile, Tana Outliner offers a meeting agent that you can add to your calls.
- It will show up in the meeting as a bot, provide a transcript of what each participant is said, create a summary and suggest action items.
- This is recommended in situations where it's important with high accuracy in speaker detection. In most situations or if you do not want a bot in the meeting, you should use the [Meeting notetaker](/learn/features/tana-meeting-notetaker).
See more in [Meeting agent](/learn/features/meeting-agent).
## Calendar integration with classification
The Google Calendar integration will import your meetings, classify them with the right supertag and show them in a calendar on your Today page, so you can start taking notes with one click. Get notifications for upcoming meetings to take notes with one click. See more in [Calendar integration](/learn/features/calendar-integration).
## AI commands and events
#### AI commands
Several new AI commands have been added that provide powerful AI tools to a Tana Outliner near you:
- **Add meeting bot**: Sends a meeting agent to a video call to transcribe what participants are saying
- **Text processing agent**: Takes a transcript, extracts information and puts it in a target location.
For more on command nodes, see [AI command nodes](/learn/features/ai-command-nodes)
#### Events
We have added a new way to trigger commands to happen when nodes are added or removed from another node. They are called Events, and can be set up for any node and supertag.
**For nodes**: Run Configure node and go to On child added/On child removed:
**For supertags**: Go to Supertag config > AI and Commands > On added/on removed
## Manage how you use AI in Tana Outliner
Tana Outliner comes with several tools for managing AI work:
### AI credits
All Tana Outliner paid subscribers get 5000 credits every month to spend on AI actions. This translates to the following:
- **22x30** min meetings
- **125** AI generated images
- **570** blogposts generated
- **25** hours of transcribed voice transcription
If you are out of credits, you can buy more from the AI credits section here.
### AI credit monitor
The command line `AI Credit Monitor` will open a monitor that shows you how many credits are being used for various AI queries. Prompt caching automatically reduces token usage in ongoing AI chat conversations. You can monitor input, cached, and output tokens, and click on the line items to expand and see the payloads.
### AI for builders
The Tana Labs experiment _AI for builders_ is what kickstarted the work on AI in Tana Outliner over a year ago. All the things you were able to do with AI for builders, you can do with a Tana Outliner paid subscription, without the need to bring your own key.
For more detail, read the [AI for builders](/learn/features/ai-for-builders) page.
---
#### Tana Capture
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/tana-capture
Tana Capture was a mobile app for sending text notes, voice recordings, photos, and links to your Tana Outliner inbox. It has been deprecated and replaced by Tana Mobile.
## Overview
The Tana Capture apps are now deprecated, use [**Tana Mobile**](/learn/features/tana-mobile) instead.
Tana Capture is a mobile companion app designed for quick capture of thoughts and moments of genius on your mobile, sending them straight to your Tana Outliner inbox.
The Tana Capture apps have been deprecated, use [Tana Outliner mobile](/learn/features/tana-mobile) instead:
[Get Tana Mobile](/learn/features/tana-mobile)
## Basics
- 🌊 **Seamless Text Capturing**: Jot down ideas, notes, or tasks on the go with Tana Capture's intuitive and user-friendly interface. Stay organized and never miss a vital piece of information again.
- **💬 Talk and transcribe**: Record voice memos, interviews, or meetings quickly and effortlessly. Tana Capture ensures that you can recall spoken information with the tap of a button.
- **📨 Share to Tana Outliner**: Share media and links super-fast, from all over the web.
- 📷 **Snap and Send**: Take pictures or record videos and instantly send them to your inbox in your workspace. Document your progress or capture inspirational moments right at your fingertips.
- **📖 Scan with Precision**: Transform any physical document, business card, or receipt into a digital format with Tana Capture's powerful text-scanning capabilities. Eliminate paper clutter and efficiently store all your documents in one location. Oh, and did we mention locked screen widgets and quick action?
## Voice memo on Tana Capture: Overview
(Relocated from [Voice memo](/learn/features/mobile-voice-memos) docs and will eventually be deprecated)
**Voice memos are a fast way to get your thoughts out of your head and into Tana Outliner for further processing.** Tana Capture's voice memo is perfect for when you're on the go and all you want is a quick and friction-less way to capture your thought in as much fidelity as possible. Voice memos are also great for moments where you can't thumb-type it down fast enough or you're in the middle of making dinner.
**When a voice memo is recorded, it gets sent to your current daily note** via the Inbox and instantly transcribed and enriched by entities in your Tana Outliner.
**You can further process voice memos using Rewrite**, an AI feature for rewriting transcripts into other types of content.
We're looking for feedback on voice memos! Please use [this
link](https://ideas.tana.inc/posts/584-request-for-feedback-on-voice-memos) and leave your thoughts there.
## Basics
- Make voice recordings in [Tana Capture](/learn/features/tana-capture), and they will be sent to your daily notes page (via the Inbox) and processed there.
- Speak in a single task, and it will be automatically tagged and added to your list of tasks.
- For longer recordings, zoom into it and you'll see a full transcript that you can use the Rewrite action on.
- This does not work with the voice recording feature on the desktop app, as those do not send the voice file via the Inbox for processing. You can process it manually by running the command _`Inbox Audio Processing Command`_
- The **Rewrite** action helps you transform a rambling set of thoughts into a fully written piece. Current options include _Summary_, _Pros and cons_, _Article_ and _Tweet_, with more to come. Rewrite is present on all voice recording files in Tana Outliner.
- When you rewrite as Article, a `Publish` button appears that opens the preview window for [Tana Publish](/learn/features/tana-publish). In one click you can share the piece externally, with password protection or freely.
## Details
> Below is only applicable to voice memo workflows for Tana Capture on Android
### How to use voice memos
- Make sure you are subscribed to a paid Tana Outliner plan (or activated a trial at least) and that voice memos are installed in your Tana Outliner
- Get the Tana Capture app on your phone and record a voice memo. If you don't have it yet, you can download it here. Note: You can also drag an audio file into the Inbox and it'll start processing.
- The recording will be sent to your daily notes immediately and transcribed.
- For any voice memo, you can zoom into it to see a full transcript that you can use the Rewrite action on. If it found items like tasks, it will put them in the Items tab.
### Rewrite
All voice recordings now have a new feature called Rewrite
You can find the Rewrite options on the top-right of the voice recording.
**Summary**: Generates a summary of the transcript
**Pros and cons**: Generates a list of pros and cons. Tag the title with #article to publish and share immediately with Tana Publish
**Article**: Generates an article you can publish and share immediately with Tana Publish
**Tweet**: Generates drafts of short-form social media posts
These are just the beginning, more to come!
### Voice memo setup for existing users
If you're an existing user, you'll see a blue prompt on the bottom of the sidebar to try out the new voice memo.
This guides you through a short setup which will confirm which #task tag you want to use, and replaces all On added commands currently on your Inbox.
If you want to save these commands, we recommend moving them out before running the setup as it will replace everything with the new command (see below).
### New command node: Inbox Audio Processing Command
The `Inbox Audio Processing Command` is a new command specifically to process audio coming through the Inbox. It transcribes, then sends the voice memo to your daily notes page.
The only available parameter is `Tag candidates`. By default, this is set with your chosen Task tag.
To find it, run the command `Configure node` on the Inbox node and scroll down to `On child added`.
#### To change the default task that gets used by voice memos
Follow the instructions above to open the `Inbox Audio Processing Command`.
In the `Inbox Audio Processing Command`, open the configuration and there you can change the default tag that gets applied
#### To change the target location for voice memos
Follow the instructions above to open the `Inbox Audio Processing Command`.
In the `Inbox Audio Processing Command`, open the configuration and add the parameter called `Target location for voice memos`. There you can choose from options or paste a reference to any node you want them sent to. If it's empty, the voice memo is not moved anywhere.
---
#### Tana Intermediate Format
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/tana-intermediate-format
A JSON format and open-source toolkit for building importers from tools that Tana Outliner does not natively support. Community contributors have built converters for formats like Logseq and Obsidian. The code and documentation live in a public GitHub repository.
See the Github repository: [https://github.com/tanainc/tana-import-tools](https://github.com/tanainc/tana-import-tools)
Check out [this video](https://vimeo.com/753899150) (goes to Vimeo) about Tana Intermediate Format to see an early version of community-supported importers for Logseq and Obsidian, and how you could contribute to build an importer for your favorite format.
---
#### Tana Mobile
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/tana-mobile
Tana Outliner's mobile app for iOS and Android. Browse and edit your workspace, capture text and voice notes, take photos, and search across all your content. Includes home screen widgets and iOS integrations like Siri, Shortcuts, and lock screen access for one-tap capture.
Tana Outliner mobile allows you to capture your thoughts to the graph, and view all your information from the app.\*\*
\*\*
[Download Tana Mobile on iOS](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tana-notes-ai-voice-memos/id6499428869)
[Download Tana Mobile on Android ](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tana.android)
The below screenshots and instructions are for iOS, the Android experience may slightly differ. Not all functionality
may be available in Android yet, but is being rapidly implemented for parity.
- Tana Outliner mobile has five main **tabs**:
- **Browse**: Shortcuts to your home node, your most current daily notes, and your pinned nodes.
- **Supertags**: Access all your supertags in Tana Outliner.
- **Capture**: Quick capture to Tana Outliner in different formats: Write, Voice, Camera, Media and Files.
- **Search**: Rapidly find any node in Tana Outliner, across all workspaces.
- **Manage**: See account info and settings
- **Navigating nodes**: Tap on any node to navigate to that node. Long-press for all options.
- **Editing nodes:** Tap on the content of a node to go into edit mote. You can then edit existing content, add content, tag and create references.
- **Instant capture:** Configure **lock screen and home screen widgets** for easy access to your favorite capture workflows.
- **iOS:** Set up **native integrations** with Siri, Spotlight search and Shortcuts
## Browse and edit on mobile
Access common places in your Tana Outliner from the Browse tab:
1. **Home**: Takes you to the home node of your workspace
1. **Today**: Takes you to your current day page
1. **Pinned**: Shows you any node you've pinned. These usually appear in the sidebar.
**On browsing nodes**: [See below](#browsing-the-graph)
### Viewing nodes on mobile
Tap on a node to open it/zoom in.
Tap the > to the right to expand/collapse the node in the current view
### Navigating nodes on mobile
When you navigate to a node, it will look like this:
1. **Go back**: navigate to the previous view
1. **Breadcrumbs**: navigate to a higher part of the tree
1. **Ellipsis menu:**
1. Copy link copies the URL to that node
1. Pin adds node to pinned list
1. **Edit**: Available as an Early Access feature in iOS version 1.4.3.
1. Go to the "Manage" tab and toggle the Early Access option on to use it
1. Node header with title, banner and tags (if applicable)
1. Node contents
1. Capture button
#### Fields
Tap the symbol to the right of the field to add content to the field
#### Search nodes
- **Refresh**: Reload results from the server.
- **View options**: Not available yet. We are still working on bringing all the view settings to mobile.
Currently not all search queries are supported on mobile, as some complex searches requires all the data in your graph to be loaded, which is not possble on mobile for performance reasons.
### Editing nodes on mobile
If you need to change existing notes, add new notes, add a tag or create a reference, you can navigate to the node you want to change and then tap on the content to go into Edit mode. You can also tap the "Edit" button on the top of the menu.
You will see a "**Done**" button on the top, that you can tap when you are done editing. When you are not in Edit mode, you tapping nodes will zoom in to them.
While in edit mode you can
- indent/outdent
- Create checkboxes
- Add, remove or change supertags
- Create references - you'll be able to search for the nodes you want to reference
### Copy links to Tana Outliner nodes on mobile
**Grab a link**: Copy a link to any node via long-tap menu, or ellipsis.
**Clicking a link**: When you're on mobile, tapping a link to a Tana Outliner node in another app will open the node in the mobile app
## Supertags on Mobile
Access all your supertags in Tana Outliner
1. **Filter**: Find the tag you're looking for with the filter
1. **Pinned**: Pinned tags are up top
1. **Tiles**: Tap on the tiles to go to the supertag page
1. **Voice**: Tap on the voice icon to record a memo using this supertag
## Capture directly into Tana Outliner
Menu for capturing content to Tana Outliner
**Destination**
Select **Today, Tomorrow, Inbox, or Pinned nodes as the destination** for the captured content.
- Choose between **Today, Tomorrow and Inbox** as the default destination by long-pressing on the option you want
**Supertags**
Choose the supertag you want to add to your captured content
For voice memos only (paid plans):
- **Autofill fields**
- If you select a supertag with fields, Tana Outliner will auto-fill the fields based on what you capture (see below for how to exclude fields)
- **Language Auto-Detection**
- Automatically detects transcription language.
- Manually select language if auto-detection is inaccurate.
- Open Voice in the Capture tab, tap the language button to change language.
- **Control Buttons**
- **Cancel**: Left button discards the memo.
- **Send**: Blue button sends memo to Tana Outliner.
- **Pause**/**Resume**: Right button pauses/resumes recording.
Read more about [how to use mobile voice memos](/learn/features/mobile-voice-memos) to get content structured.
### Voice
Use voice for capture and conversation on mobile.
**Voice memos**. Turn your recordings into structured notes. Speak naturally and Tana Outliner transcribes and auto-fills fields based on your selected supertag. Perfect for quick capture, journaling, meeting notes, or dictating content in any language.
**Voice chat (Early Access, iOS).** Enables two-way AI conversations using voice. Talk through ideas with an AI assistant configured for your specific supertag. The AI responds with voice, creating an interactive thinking partner.
See [Mobile voice](/learn/features/mobile-voice-memos) for documentation on both features.
## Search
Search for any node in your Tana Outliner
- Tap the search result to look at it
- See recent searches
- If you have multiple workspaces, narrow the search to one workspace
You can clear the search history from the Manage tab.
## Manage your account
The "Manage" tab contains your account info, preferences for light/dark mode and more.
### Your account options
Tap on your email to see the following:
- **Subscription:** Shows you which plan you are subscribed to. Allows you to upgrade to a paid plan (will use Apple In-app purchases) and cancel your subscription - see instructions below.
- **Sign out:** Logs you out of Tana Outliner mobile
- **Delete account:** This deletes your account and all your data. You will not be able to log into Tana Outliner again, nor create a new account again.
#### Theme
Select Light mode, Dark mode, or sync to System
#### Sync history
A history of all captured content from the app and from elsewhere
#### Version
The version of the app you have installed
#### Report bug
Let's you submit a bug report if you have problems in the app.
### How do I manage a Tana Outliner subscription through Apple?
If you have started a trial or subscription from the Tana Outliner iOS app, you will have a subscription through Apple In-app Purchases. You can have to [edit this in the iOS preferences](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/iphone/iph4e3e7324f/ios):
1. Go to the **Settings** app on your iPhone.
1. Tap your name, then tap** Subscriptions**.
1. Do any of the following:
- _Cancel a subscription:_ Tap an active subscription, then tap Cancel Subscription or Cancel All Services.
- _Change a subscription:_ Tap an active subscription, then choose a different option.
- _Renew a subscription:_ Tap an expired subscription, then tap Renew.
- _Share a subscription:_ Turn on Share with Family to automatically [share eligible subscriptions](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/iphone/share-subscriptions-iph6e7917d3f/26/ios/26#iph6f8d8ed1c) with other members in your Family Sharing group.
- _Get Renewal Receipts:_ Turn on Renewal Receipt Emails to receive a receipt each time one of your subscriptions renews.
The Tana Outliner team will not be able to make change to this subscription. If you want to request a refund, you will need to [submit the refund request to Apple](https://support.apple.com/en-us/118223).
Apple subscription does not support purchasing top-up AI credits, if you have used up your monthly quota. You will need to buy these on web or desktop, and will then use Tana Outliner's web-based billing system. It is possible to purchase AI credits with this web system, even if your subscription is billed through Apple.
## Widgets and native OS integrations
### Configurable Home screen widgets (iOS and Android)
Add Tana Outliner capture widgets to your iPhone or Android home screen for one-tap access to your favorite capture modes; write, speak, or snap a photo.
[Check out the voice-enabled Tana Outliner templates ->](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/Mobile%20voice)
### How to add home screen widgets on iOS
On the home screen, long press, tap "Edit" in the top left corner, then select Add widget. Long press each widget and select "Edit", to configure it.
### How to add home screen widgets on Android
To add an Android home screen widget, touch and hold an empty spot on your home screen, or pinch the screen. Then tap **Widgets**, find Tana Outliner, and then drag the widget to your desired location.
Once the widget is added, you can tap the Settings icon to configure the destination and supertag:
## iOS native integrations
### Lock screen widgets
On your lock screen, you can add widgets for one-tap access:
- Write a note
- Record voice memo
- Take photo with camera
To add lock screen widgets, long press on the lock screen, tap Customize select the lock screen and then tap the widget area, find the Tana Outliner widgets and tap to add them into the widget area.
### Control Center widget
Access Tana Outliner in one swipe; add it to your **Control Center** (iOS) for instant recording and note capture, even while your phone is locked.
Swipe down from the top-right of your iPhone, long press, tap "Add a Control", search for Tana Outliner, and select between these options:
- Write a note
- Voice memo
- Camera (to take and upload images)
Perfect for when you want to capture a thought mid-conversation or note an idea during a walk.
### Spotlight search
Spotlight on iOS is the system-wide search you open by swiping down on the Home Screen. With this update, typing “Tana Outliner” in Spotlight now shows **quick actions** like _Write Note_, _Camera_, or _Voice Memo_.
Tap one to open that capture mode instantly, without even launching the full app.
### Shortcuts integration
You can now create multi-step **Tana Outliner shortcuts** in Apple’s [Shortcuts app](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/shortcuts/apdfea15680b/ios).
A shortcut is a series of actions, and for Tana Outliner, these actions can include:
- Write note
- Record voice memo
- Open camera
Use these shortcuts in automations, widgets, or even assign them to your iPhone’s **Action Button** (available on iPhone 15 Pro and later).
#### Action Button integration
On supported models (iPhone 15 Pro or later), you can map the **Action Button** to run a Tana Outliner shortcut, for example, start recording a voice memo with a single press.
To set it up:
1. Go to _Settings > Action Button_.
1. Swipe to _Shortcut_ → _Choose a Shortcut_ → select a Tana Outliner action (Voice memo, Write Note or Camera).
### Siri integration
Use **Siri** to capture notes, photos, or voice memos in Tana Outliner hands-free.
Make sure Siri is enabled on your device ([setup guide](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204389)). Then try voice commands like:
- “Tana Outliner write note” — open text capture.
- “Tana Outliner camera” — take and save a photo in Tana Outliner.
- “Tana Outliner voice memo” — start recording an audio note.
See the full list of supported voice commands:
`"Tana Outliner write note"`
`"Write note in Tana Outliner"`
`"Tana Outliner note"`
`"Write in Tana Outliner"`
`"Tana Outliner write"`
`"Tana Outliner camera"`
`"Open camera in Tana Outliner"`
`"Tana Outliner photo"`
`"Take photo in Tana Outliner"`
`"Tana Outliner capture photo"`
`"Tana Outliner voice memo"`
`"Voice memo in Tana Outliner"`
`"Tana Outliner memo"`
`"Record in Tana Outliner"`
`"Tana Outliner recording"`
---
#### Tana Outliner for desktop
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/tana-for-desktop
A standalone desktop app for Mac, Windows, and Linux. Works offline, loads faster than the browser version, and adds native tabs and split panels so you can view multiple pages side by side. Capture from anywhere with the Global Clipper.
## Overview
Tana Outliner's dedicated desktop app does everything your Tana Outliner on a browser does, but it doesn't require the browser to stay open in order to work. Tana Outliner loads all data each time you open it in a browser tab, so we recommend using Tana Outliner Desktop for daily use.
Desktop-exclusive features:
- **[Work offline](#work-offline)** — read, write, and search without an internet connection
- **[Global capture](#global-capture)** — capture from anywhere on your computer without switching to Tana Outliner
- **[Tabs and panels](#tabs-and-panels)** — open multiple nodes side by side with native tabs and split panels
- **[Desktop notifications](#desktop-notifications-for-meetings)** — get notified before meetings start
**Download here:**
[Download for Mac](https://desktop-update.tana.inc/download/dmg)
[Download for Windows](https://desktop-update.tana.inc/download/exe)
[Download for Ubuntu/Debian](https://desktop-update.tana.inc/download/deb)
[Download for Fedora/Redhat](https://desktop-update.tana.inc/download/rpm)
## Work offline
Use Tana Outliner for desktop without an internet connection. Read, write and edit, search your workspace, and access most features even when traveling or experiencing network issues.
### How it works
#### Temporary disconnection
When you lose connection briefly, you'll see a spinning icon followed by a warning message. Tana Outliner lets you keep working in all workspaces, and your changes sync once you're back online. You can also click "Work offline" to enter full offline mode.
Changes made in shared workspaces while disconnected may overwrite other edits when you sync back online.
#### Full offline mode
Access through the user menu or by clicking "Work offline" during a disconnection. You can also reload Tana Outliner while disconnected.
When entering offline mode, Tana Outliner builds search indexes locally so features like inline references work without a connection. The search index builds in the background after loading and may take a few minutes to be functional in large workspaces.
When loading finishes, you'll see an offline indicator in the top bar. When working offline, you can write and edit in all personal workspaces, and you have read access to all shared workspaces.
#### Going back online
When your connection returns, a green dot appears on the offline indicator in the topbar. Click it to go back online.
Tana Outliner will reload and sync all changes made while you were offline. Depending on how many changes you have made, this may take a few minutes.
#### What doesn't work offline
Most Tana Outliner features work even when offline. These features require an internet connection:
- Commands
- AI features (chat, commands, agents)
- Publishing pages
- Calendar sync
- Third-party integrations
- Search in workspaces with over 750,000 nodes
## Global capture
The desktop app provides system-wide shortcuts for capturing content into Tana Outliner from any app on your computer.
### Customizing capture shortcuts
Both the Global Clipper and Global voice recording shortcuts can be changed under: **Options** menu > **Customize keybindings**. See [Desktop app options](#desktop-app-options) for how to access the Options menu.
### Global Clipper
Capture nodes from anywhere on your computer. Hit and a small modal opens on top of whatever app you're in. Captured notes are sent to your [daily note](/learn/features/daily-notes) (Today).
What you can do in the clipper:
- Paste links and content from your clipboard
- Apply [supertags](/learn/features/supertags) — type a space then # to add a tag
- Set [fields](/learn/features/fields) — use Tab to cycle through them
- Use [@mentions](/learn/features/nodes-and-references)
- Move the modal around on the screen
There is currently no option to send to the Inbox instead.
#### Known limitations
- Custom keyboard shortcuts and the [command line](/learn/features/command-line) are not available in the clipper
- Not all field option variants are supported yet
- Some issues may occur with extended tags and advanced field configuration
- Requires the Tana Outliner desktop app to be running
### Global voice recording
This is an older feature. We recommend using [Live transcription](/learn/features/live-voice-transcription) or the
[Meeting notetaker](/learn/features/tana-meeting-notetaker) for most voice workflows.
The desktop app also has a system-wide shortcut for recording voice notes to Tana Outliner. The default is . Like voice recordings from [Tana Capture](/learn/features/tana-capture), recordings end up in the `Inbox`, transcribed and ready to be actioned.
## Tabs and panels
The Tana Outliner Desktop app offer native tabs, allowing you to open **multiple tabs** in a single window to keep projects, notes, and meetings side-by-side.
Use **panels** to split your screen and compare or work across pages without losing your place. Whether you're deep in planning or jumping between meetings, the Desktop app makes it easy to stay organized, reduce tab fatigue, and move faster across your graph.
**Open a node in tab**:
**Open a node in new panel:**
[See full list of keyboard shortcuts](/learn/features/navigation) to use with Tabs and panels.
## Desktop app options
Access to the app _Options_ (which is different from your Tana Outliner account settings) depends on which platform you're using:
- Mac: Always visible in the top bar
- Windows: Unhide it by hitting the Alt key
### Desktop notifications for meetings
By default, desktop meeting notifications will be enabled. Notifications will be sent before scheduled meetings (from [Google Calendar sync](/learn/features/calendar-integration)) or when you enter a meeting link and your microphone becomes active (meeting detection).
You can disable them in Options for Tana Outliner Desktop. You can also choose to only get notifications for scheduled meetings by disabling "Meeting detection".
### Spell check
Turn this on or off by going to the **Options** menu > **Toggle spellchecker**
### Open Tana Outliner link defaults
To change whether Tana Outliner links open in the app or in browser by default, run the command `Reset "Always open in..." preference` and the next time you click on a Tana Outliner link, the browser will prompt you to choose.
## System requirements
The requirements for Tana Outliner Desktop app are the same as for Chromium. You can check out the most up to date system requirements [here](https://support.google.com/chrome/a/answer/7100626?hl=en).
---
#### Tana Outliner templates
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/tana-templates
Pre-built configurations you can install into your workspace with one click. Each template includes a combination of supertags, fields, commands, and views designed to work together for a specific use case. You can modify everything after installation, and there is no ongoing connection to the original template.
[Browse and install Tana Outliner templates](https://tana.inc/templates)
Templates are a great way to explore what can be done with Tana Outliner, without having to configure everything yourself. If you are a new user, you can install templates for a specific use case or workflow, to get started instantly.
You can install a template into your primary workspace, or [set up a new workspace](/learn/features/workspaces) as a "sandbox" to test templates in. If you have more than one workspace, on desktop you'll be asked to select a workspace once you click on "Get template".
Installing a template will copy all the configuration (supertags, fields, commands, views) into your workspace, and you are then free to modify them as you want.
There is no connection to the original after installation, and currently no way to update templates. You can delete the main template node (will also delete all the content in it) and re-install it.
You can browse the collection of templates [on the web](https://tana.inc/templates) or inside Tana Outliner.
If you are an advanced user and would like to build your own template to share, please see [this guide for creating templates](https://tana.inc/articles/create-your-first-tana-template).
## How should I use templates?
Templates can help you go from idea to structure without having to build it all yourself. They're a great way to learn by example, get inspired, and save time when setting up your own workflows.
They are also a great way to explore more advanced Tana Outliner functionality, like AI agents or commands, without having to learn how to build them yourself.
You can filter templates to find the ones that are AI-enabled. These will still work without AI, but to test the AI functionality you need to be on a [paid plan](https://tana.inc/pricing) or in trial.
## Template building blocks
Each template will contain Tana Outliner building blocks, for example:
- Supertags
- Fields
- Commands
- Search nodes
- Views
These may be configured to work together, so you should read on the template page how the template works and is intended to be used. You can see which building blocks are included on the template page, and you'll also find a "Building blocks" tab in the installation instructions after the template is installed:
Once the template is installed, you are free to change the names of building blocks, but changing the configuration of them may break the template's functionality.
## Installing a Tana Outliner template
Inside Tana Outliner, you'll find a collection of templates tailored for common use cases.
### On desktop
Click **"Supertags"** in the sidebar. Here you'll see a "**Browse templates**" button on the right side.
Click "Browse templates" to see all the available templates, and click on the tiles to read more about the template and it's building blocks
1. Click "**Get template"** on the one you want to try
1. A preview modal will open in Tana Outliner, where you can **select which workspace** to install it in (if you have multiple workspaces)
1. Click **Install** and the template installation node will open
1. **Read the instructions** in the Get started tab.
1. **Expand the example node** to see how the template will look when applied to a node (if the template contains a supertag).
### On mobile
It is possible to install templates on mobile as well, but there are some limitations:
- The template store is **not available inside the mobile app**, so you have to visit [tana.inc/templates](https://tana.inc/templates) (available in the footer on tana.inc) and start the installation from there.
- It is not possible to select which workspace the template will be installed in, **it will be installed in your personal/primary workspace**.
- It is not possible to integrate templates with existing supertags on mobile, you'll have to do this on desktop after installing the templates.
## How to integrate a template with my existing supertags?
Some templates may require that you connect them with existing tags you have.
In the instruction node that opens after installation, you might see a section for **"Connect with existing supertags"**.
**It's important to read the instructions here, to make sure you get it right and it's easy to start using the template.**
Depending on what supertag the template needs to integrate with, it will include **a search that shows all your supertags with the base type** that the template needs.
- If you don't see a supertag you want to integrate with here, you may need to set the base type for it (in Supertag config > Building blocks), or you can pull it in manually by typing @ # and the tag name.
For example, for the [OKR template](https://tana.inc/templates/okr-template), you can connect your existing #task tag with the new #Objective supertag from the template, and not create a new duplicate #task supertag.
When you have found the supertag you want to connect the template with, read the instructions for the template.
For templates that offer extensions to existing supertags;
1. Right-click the supertag you want to connect with
1. In "Extensions", find the template extension and select that.
Using the OKR template as an example, this will then add a new field to your #task tag, ready configured to work with the #objective supertag from the template. You can easily link tasks to the objectives you create.
## Deleting templates
- If you decide you don't want to use a template after all, you can delete the main template node and all the supertags, fields and searches inside it will be removed.
- To find the main template node, navigate to the Home node of the workspace you installed it in, and the template should be there unless you moved it (then you can try searching for it).
- NB! Before doing this, **check that there are no tagged nodes you want to keep** located under the template node.
- To delete, put your cursor on the title node either do , type > `Delete`, or open the menu to the right in the head and select "Delete".
- If you delete a template with all its building blocks, tagged items will still exist in Tana Outliner, but the supertags and fields from the template will appear as deleted. You can choose to remove them or restore the building blocks.
## Best practices
- You may be tempted to install ALL the templates you find so you can explore what's out there. If you are just exploring, **it's wise to create a separate workspace for testing**, so you avoid cluttering your actual workspace with building blocks you don't use.
- Once you have found a template you like and want to start using regularly, you can install it again into your primary workspace.
- Some templates are more complex and will have supertags, fields and nodes with interconnected relationships. If you decide you want to use the template, follow the author's installation instructions. If you modify these templates, the functionality may break.
- If you move any of the building blocks out from under the main template node, they will not be deleted if you delete the template node.
---
#### Tana Paste
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/tana-paste
Tana Paste is a plain-text syntax that creates structured content when pasted into Tana Outliner. Text starting with %%tana%% is automatically converted into nodes with fields, supertags, dates, and other structures. It can only create new content, not update existing nodes.
## Overview
Tana Paste is a way of creating rich Tana Outliner structures like fields, tags, dates, checkboxes etc, through a simple plain text paste.
It is not designed for inputting large amounts of information, and rather for automating one-off, small, generative results. For heavy lifts, use import tools, API or other scalable solutions.
It is also not designed to update or change existing information on nodes and fields. While you can specify existing template supertags and fields to use, it can only only generate new information within them.
The syntax is loosely modelled on Markdown.
## Detail
### Head
A Tana Paste is a plain text paste that begins with the string `%%tana%%`.
### Nodes
Nodes are prepended by `- ` (a dash and a space) and indentation indicates children.
### References
References are defined with double brackets `[[ ]]`
- This will look for a node in the Library of the current workspace matching that name. If none exists, a new node will be created and linked to. Multiple links with the same string will always point at the same node.
- You can also specify a node target using `[[link name^nodeID]]`. If the `nodeID` does not exist, it will fall back to using the link name.
- If you only supply a `nodeID`, and it does not exist, it will create a link to "undefined", which you can later rename.
- If you also specify the tag of the link, like so: `[[Wes Anderson #person]]`, it will find a node named Wes Anderson and tagged #person anywhere in your graph, and link to that, or create a new node in the library with the provided tag.
We do not support more than one inline reference to a given node, from a given node.
### Fields
Fields use `::` between the field name and the value.
- Fields will look up by string, but if they are nested underneath a supertag which has any fields with that name, Tana Outliner will prioritize the field from the supertag definition.
- `✨New` stricter requirements for matching existing fields:
- `^nodeID::field value`
This will work if `nodeID` is a field that exists in a loaded workspace
- `someTitle^nodeID::field value`
If `nodeID` is a field in a workspace that is not loaded this will not work, use `[[someTitle^nodeID]]::field value` instead
- `foo^bar::field value`
This will not work, since `bar` is not an actual `nodeID` that exists
- If the field has a type of option or instance, and the provided value matches perfectly with an existing option or instance, the existing option or instance will be linked even if the text in the Tana Paste is not a link.
- Fields with multiple values can be specified through `- [[field name]]::` and then the values nested and indented underneath (also prepended with dashes)
### Supertags
Tags use `#`, and multi-word tag names can optionally be wrapped in `[[]]`, so either `#bug` or `#[[my ideas]]`.
- If no tag exists, a new one will be created.
- If you want to specify a specific tag, use `^` like `#bug^nodeID`. It will fall back to the string name, and if no string is provided and the `nodeID` doesn't match, the tag will not be created.
- You can link to a tag using `[[#tag]]` (especially useful in search nodes)
### Views
You can set the view of a node, using `%%view:table%%`, `%%view:cards%%`, `%%view:tabs%%`, or `%%view:calendar%%`. See search node example below for a demo.
### Search node
Add `%%search%%` to a node to make it a search node, with the search expression indented under.
In a search expression, we recognize system nodes like `Set/Not set` and field operators like `LINKS TO`, `OWNER` etc.
For field names, it's looking for a name match. To minimize confusion, add or replace the name with `^nodeID` to specify the exact field you mean.
Example:
```
%%tana%%
- %%search%% Todo with start-date within next month %%view:table%%
- [[#task]]
- LT::
- Due date^B_QE7GpJBP :: [[May 10th, 2024]]
- NOT DONE
```
### Dates
Simple dates look like this: `[[date:2021-02]]`.
- They can include time `[[date:2021-02-01 20:30]]`, or only include the week `[[date:2021-W02]]`, month `[[date:2021-02]]` or year `[[date:2021]]`
- Durations are written like `[[date:2021-02/2021-04-05]]`.
- We also still support the old format `[[August 22nd, 2020]]`.
### Checkboxes
Checkboxes use `[ ]` and `[x]` at the beginning of a node to indicate checked or unchecked.
- For fields/nodes which already have a checkbox, providing the `[ ]` will not change anything, but for other nodes/fields it will insert a checkbox.
- In all cases, `[x]` will correctly set the checkbox as checked.
### URLs
To add a URL, use this syntax: `[name](url)`. Example:
```
%%tana%%
- [Tana Outliner website](https://tana.inc)
```
The link needs to include the `https://` prefix.
### Other
- There is support for Markdown tables and code blocks.
- Images use the syntax ``
- Formatting: `**bold**`, `^^highlighted^^`, `__italic__`
- `✨NEW` Headings: Start node with `!!`
- You can find examples of scripts that output text in the Tana Paste format here [https://github.com/tanainc/tana-paste-examples](https://github.com/tanainc/tana-paste-examples)
- [Watch a demo by Stian that walks through Tana Paste](https://www.loom.com/share/6fd81ff1ab364acf9f448ffdedfeb57f).
---
#### Tana Publish
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/tana-publish
Turn any node into a public web page that anyone can view without a Tana Outliner account. Choose Tana Outliner View to publish an interactive version of your workspace content, or Article View to render a formatted reading page. Published pages are read-only and can be password-protected.
Publish a Tana Outliner node and share its URL with anyone. Viewers do not need a Tana Outliner account. Published pages are read only.
You can choose between two formats:
- **Tana Outliner View.** Shows the content as it appears in your workspace, including outline, supertags, fields, and views.
- **Article View.** Renders a static reading page with simple formatting.
Published pages are read only and do not require a Tana Outliner account to view.
## How publishing works
### Open the publish preview
On the node you want to publish, open the preview in one of two ways:
- Right-click the node, then choose `Publish -> Open publish preview`
- Run the command `Publish (open preview)`
This applies publish settings and adds a globe menu with options:
- **Open preview preview** (opens the preview panel)
- **Republish** (update the live version after edits)
- **Copy published link** (copy URL to clipboard)
- **View on the web** (open URL in your browser)
- **Unpublish** (remove content from the internet)
- **Remove publish settings** (clear publish settings for unpublished nodes)
You cannot delete a node while it is published. Unpublish it first, then delete.
### Publish, update and unpublish
**Publish a node.** Open the preview and press the `Publish` button in the bottom right. A confirmation appears and the link is copied to your clipboard.
**Republish a node.** After you edit a published node, press `Publish changes` in the publish preview to update the live page.
**Unpublish a node.** To remove a published page from the internet:
- Right-click the node, then choose `Publish -> Unpublish`, or
- Run the command `Unpublish`
Edits in Tana Outliner are not live until you decide to publish the changes.
### Password protection
- Apply a custom password to the published content.
- When visiting the public URL, viewers need the password to get access to the published content.
- Accessible only on Tana Outliner's paid plans.
### Indexing
- Published pages are not automatically indexed by search engines
- However, pages may be indexed if links are shared publicly (social media, forums, etc.)
- Images within published pages are blocked from indexing
## Tana Outliner View
Tana Outliner View enables you to publish any node from your workspace as an interactive, read-only web page.
Published content maintains the same appearance and structure as in your workspace, allowing viewers to experience your Tana Outliner content exactly as you see it.
The publish preview shows exactly what viewers will see, allowing you to test navigation and visibility settings before sharing.
### Managing references
References to content outside the published node require special attention to control what viewers can access.
- References to external nodes display only the title and description – not the content within – unless explicitly made visible.
- To include content within references, open the publish preview and select the `Make visible` on that reference.
- Search nodes with 3 or more results include a `Make all content visible` button which makes all search results accessible to viewers.
- Previously visible references can be hidden again. Click the hide button in the preview to remove access.
### Viewer experience
#### What viewers can do
- Navigate freely within the published content.
- Expand and collapse nodes, zoom into nodes with content, and use breadcrumbs and related content.
- See and interact with embeds and media, such as videos and images.
#### What viewers cannot do
- Edit, add, or delete any content.
- Rearrange or reorganize nodes.
- Change view or view options. Search nodes are converted to plain nodes with view options applied upon publishing.
- See or run commands.
## Article View
Article presents your published content as a static page with formatting options.
### Automatic thumbnails
- In places that show link previews, these will be populated by an auto-generated thumbnail based on the title and banner of the page.
### Formatting options
#### Font
- Articles have two text options: _Serif_ and _Sans serif_
- To set this, open the page formatting options by clicking on the `TT` button on the right side of the top bar, then select the option you want.
#### Banner image
- The banner image set for the published node appears at the top of the article and in the automatic thumbnail generated for the published link.
- To remove: right-click the banner image and select `Remove banner image`**.**
#### Node display
Nodes with children become headings (up to 6 levels by indenting)
Options for nodes with children:
- **Paragraph**: show node as heading, children as paragraphs
- **Heading + list**: show node as heading, children as bullet list
Options for nodes without children:
- **Paragraph**: show as paragraph
- **Quote**: show as quote
Node descriptions appear below the node in smaller, lighter text
#### Field display
Fields can be displayed in several ways:
- **Label + value:** Shows the field name and value in a column each (default).
- **Heading + paragraph:** Shows the field name as heading, and field values as paragraphs.
- **Heading + list:** Shows the field name as heading, and field values as a bullet list.
- **Quote:** Shows the field values as quotes
- **Paragraph:** Shows field values as paragraphs.
- **Move to top:** Moves the field to the top of the page.
#### Supported views
The following views work when publishing as article:
- List
- Table (parent node/field names as headers; each child node is a row)
- Cards (parent node as heading; children as cards with fields)
- Tabs (parent node as heading; children as tabs)
Other views are not supported in Article View.
#### Horizontal line
If you type three dashes, they turn into a horizontal line.
#### Images, embeds and media
**Images**
- Images will show up full-width within the content.
- Text on the image node becomes the caption of the image.
- Dozens of images should be fine, hundreds of high-res, heavy images will likely not publish.
- Images are not indexed.
**Audio and video**
Publishing audio and video files is currently not supported. Consider embedding videos from YouTube and Vimeo.
**Embeds**
We support the following links:
- Youtube
- Vimeo
- Figma
- Spotify (playlists/albums only)
### Article view limitations
Publishing as Article has some limits:
- There's a limit of 5000 nodes that can be published in one page.
- Published pages do not show the values of contextual content/columns.
- Published pages do not show related content or reference sections.
- If a published node is part of the content of a published page, it won't appear when published.
---
#### Views
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/views
Views control how a node's children are displayed. The same data can be shown as an outline, table, cards, calendar, list, tabs, or side menu. You can filter, sort, and group by fields. Switching views does not change the underlying data.
**Views = Different ways to arrange and visualize your information.**
**Switching between views is like toggling the same data between a Microsoft Word to Excel document:** Changing views happens in a snap, and is effortless. Changing views doesn't undo the settings from the previous state; you can have several saved view states on the same set of information.
**Views replace the traditional document:** Tana Outliner stores your information in an outline form—a document-agnostic way—that allows you to add views whenever you want and wherever you need it at the moment.
Outline, Table, and Cards views let you directly edit and manipulate nodes in place. Navigation views (List, Calendar, Side menu, Tabs) provide structured ways to browse and navigate the information in your workspace.
- Views work on nodes with children: This means they also work on [Live searches](/learn/features/search-nodes), as well as [Fields](/learn/features/fields).
- **Add a view to any plain node**: Go to the node options (ellipsis button) and turn on "Show view toolbar". This will visualize its child nodes in the selected view, and show the different view options available for that view.
- **Available views include**:
- Outline, Table, Cards
- Navigation views: List, Calendar, Side menu and Tabs
- **Granular control of what you see**: Customize your views through view options like Filter, Sort, Group and Display. These options give you a lot of control over what you see, and how you see it. Bonus: for long lists, use pagination (see [Page size](#page-size-pagination)) to limit how many results you see at the time.
## View types
### Change/remove view type
Change the view type using one of these methods:
- Right-click the node -> `View as` -> `[View type]`
- Click on node menu (ellipsis) button -> `View as` -> `[View type]`
- Command line: > `View as [view type]`
To remove all view options and return to the default Outline view, choose > `Remove all view options`.
You can switch between any of the view types below.
### Outline view
**Outline view shows nodes in a bullet list**, with all the benefits of the [outline editor](/learn/features/outline-editor).
Available View options:
- [Filter](#filter)
- [Sort](#sort)
- [Group](#group)
- [Display](#display)
### Table view
**The table view shows child nodes as rows and their fields as columns.**
Add child nodes using the empty placeholder row at the bottom of the table, or add in-between rows using Enter at the end of any node on the left-most column like you're adding a node underneath it.
Adding a column to a table adds a field to the node. If the table is showing results based on a supertag search, Tana Outliner will suggest incorporating the new field into the supertag definition.
You can move columns around by:
- Using the keyboard shortcut to move to the left; to move to the right
- Right-click the field header and choose `Move column left/right`
**Column calculations**
Calculations are allowed in columns with numeric field type. Turn on by right-clicking on the field and choosing one of the options in the Calculation menu. When turned on, calculations show up on the bottom row. Filtering values will change the calculated value.
Choose between the following calculations:
- Sum: Adds all values up.
- Average: Adds all values and divides by count.
- Median: Sorts values and displays the value of the one that appears in the middle
- Min: Shows the smallest value in the list
- Max: Shows the largest value in the list
- Count all: Counts all rows and returns this value
- Count values: Counts all rows with numbers in them and returns this value
- Count unique: Counts number of unique numbers and returns this value
Available View options:
- [Filter](#filter)
- [Sort](#sort)
- [Display](#display)
### Cards view
**Cards view shows each child node as a card.**
Add child nodes via the `+Add` button.
Group by a field that contains data like Status, Dates, or Categories will arrange the cards in grouped columns, and you can drag cards between columns to change their Status, Date, or Category.
Use Display to choose which fields are always shown on the bottom of the card. If a field contains an image, the image will fill the bottom of the card.
Tip: Cards will show an image if there is a banner on the node. See Nodes and references on how to add banners to
nodes.
Available View options:
- [Filter](#filter)
- [Sort](#sort)
- [Group](#group)
- [Display](#display)
### Navigation views
#### List (navigation) view
**List view is a navigation view that displays content in two linked panels.** The left panel shows a list of items, and clicking any item displays its full content in the right panel.
This view works on any node or search node, making it ideal for building app-like navigation, browsing categories, exploring wikis, or creating dashboards where you want to browse through items while viewing their full content side-by-side.
Create new child nodes using the + button at the top.
Available View options:
- [Filter](#filter)
- [Sort](#sort)
- [Group](#group)
- [Display](#display)
#### Calendar view
**The Calendar view shows nodes in one of three different time granularities: day, week and month.**
It looks for a date field in each child node and plots it in the month/week/day view.
Add child nodes by clicking in the calendar and creating a new entry.
Flip between month/week/day by using the navigation arrows on the top right of the view. The calendar symbol in the middle takes you to Today's date.
Child nodes without date information are set aside in a list called "[number of] nodes with no date >" at the bottom left of the calendar view. You can drag-n-drop these nodes into the calendar and this will add a date to an existing date field, or add a system date field if none other date field exists.
Child nodes with two or more date fields will show in the calendar twice. You can control which dates to use in the "Date fields" view option.
Available View options:
- [Filter](#filter)
- **Date fields:** Choose which date fields to turn on/off for all child nodes.
- **Day length:** Choose the time range for agenda views. Default is 00:00 -> 24:00.
- [Display](#display)
#### Side menu view
**Side menu shows each child node as a menu item to the left that you can click on to see its contents.**
Add child nodes via the `+Add` button.
Move menu items around using the usual shortcuts for moving nodes: /
Open menu items in a new panel by holding Cmd/Ctrl when you click on it.
If child nodes are part of a supertag template, they will be fixed and not able to move like normal nodes.
Each child node can have their own view options applied to show their contents differently.
Applying Filter settings will change which items show up on the menu bar.
Available View options:
- [Filter](#filter)
#### Tabs view
**Tabs show each child node as a horizontal tab on the top that you can click to see its contents.**
Add child nodes via the `+Add tab` button at the end of all the tabs.
Move menu items around using the usual shortcuts for moving nodes: /
Open menu items in a new panel by holding Cmd/Ctrl when you click on it.
If child nodes are part of a supertag template, they will be fixed and not able to move like normal nodes.
Each child node can have their own view options applied to show their contents differently.
Applying Filter settings will change which tabs show up on the top bar.
Tabs view can not be applied to a supertag template to always show template nodes in tabs view.
Available View options:
- [Filter](#filter)
## View options/toolbar
View options allow you to customize how you see and organize your information using Filter, Sort, Group, and Display. You can access view options in the node menu on all nodes and through the view toolbar.
The view toolbar is a horizontal bar that shows right under your node, displaying all view options available for the view. It provides quick access to filter, sort, group and display menus. View option buttons show turn blue when an option is applied. The view toolbar is hidden by default, but can always be shown and hidden through:
- Click node option `⋯` or right-click -> `Show/Hide view toolbar`
- Command line: > `Show/Hide view toolbar`
This will bring up the View toolbar under the node. The view options apply to the child nodes, and the parent node becomes the "frame" that contains this view.
You can also add specific view options directly from keyboard. Open the command line () and use these commands:
- `Filter by`
- `Group by`
- `Sort by`
- `Display`
The commands will open the menu for each option, and you can then use the keyboard to navigate to the value you want to apply with the arrow keys. To close the menu and return to the node title, press ESC.
If nodes in your view have supertags with pinned fields configured, those fields will appear at the top of these menus for quick access. See [Fields](/learn/features/fields) for more.
- Click on a field to open a dropdown and select filter values
- Active options are highlighted in blue and show the selected value
- Active filters show as blue pills in the toolbar, click it to configure, or click the X to remove it
### Filter
- Available for all views.
- A quick way to filter child nodes based on certain requirements.
- **Filter by name:** Text string filter to filter nodes based on matches in node names. Doesn't look at field values or node contents.
- **Field names**: Filter nodes based on their field values.
### Group
- Available for Outline, Cards, and List view.
- Allows you to group nodes based on values in user-defined fields or system fields.
We currently do not support showing nodes in two groups when the field contains two or more values that match. Only
the top value will be used to determine which group to show the node in.
### Sort
- Available for Outline, Table, Cards and List view.
- Lets you to sort child nodes based on any user-defined field or system field, in ascending or descending order.
- Press the `+add sort` button to further apply sort criteria. Tana Outliner prioritizes sort requirements from the top going down the list.
- Remove sort settings by pressing the minus button to the right of each sort.
- Sorts will always reapply when navigating away from and back to a node. If you stay on the node and make changes to sort it may require you to hit the `Reapply sort` button to see changes.
- Hit the Reset button to remove all sort settings.
### Display
- Available for Outline, Table, Cards, List, and Calendar view.
- Lets you pick which fields you want to have values displayed from.
- Values are displayed in the same style as Node descriptions: smaller grey font under the title of the node.
### Page size (pagination) and Result limits
**Page size**: Adjust how many results to display before entering pagination. Default is 100.
Any collection of child nodes have a limit of displaying 100 nodes before it turns on pagination. This is on by default to ensure speed and performance. You can adjust the number if needed, though this might affect performance. Set page size through:
- > `Set page size to [number]`
- > `Configure node`, then enter the number in the _Page Size_ field.
- Clear page size with: > `Clear page size setting`
**Result limit**: Adjust how many results you want the node to return. Max is 2500 results.
Result limit is a filter that can be applied to limit the number of results a live search should return. The max and default number of results is 2500 nodes, but this can be adjusted with Result limits to return a smaller amount of nodes. Set result limit through:
- > `Set result limit` > `[number]`
- Clear result limit with: > `Clear result limit` or X out the filter pill.
### Remove all view options
You can remove all view options, including the view type using: > `Remove all view options`.
## Save for everyone
If you're in a Workspace with two or more members, you have the option to save default view settings that all will see as default.
If any changes are made to the default setting by any member, they will see the green button to "Save for everyone", which will change the default saved view for everyone.
You can change the view as much as you want without clicking on the "save for everyone" button, and Tana Outliner will remember your personal settings for next time.
## Content widths
Tana Outliner shows content using different width settings based on the active view. You can override these per node or set a default for your entire workspace.
**Access:** Click the width button at the top of any panel, or use > `Set content width`
**Options:**
- **Auto** (default): Medium for outline and list views, Full for table, cards, calendar, side menu and tabs views
- **Medium**: Focused writing with generous margins
- **Full**: Maximum width, filling the view
**Set workspace default:** Shift+click any width option to make it your default across Tana Outliner. Or use > `Set content width default to [option]`. Per-node overrides of the workspace default persist.
Your default applies to your view only, so collaborators can set their own.
---
#### Workspaces
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/learn/features/workspaces
A workspace is a top-level container for your content. Every user has a private workspace that only they can see. You can create additional workspaces and invite members to collaborate. Each workspace has its own home page, daily notes, schema, library, and settings.
- **Everything you create in Tana Outliner is in _a_ workspace:** The workspace is a node with settings such as a list of its members, avatar, move targets, separate daily notes, library, trash, and workspace publish settings.
- **Everyone has a private workspace:** all nodes that live here can only be seen by you and no one else.
- **Other workspaces can be places where big projects and collaborative efforts happen:** Workspaces allow you to create separation between efforts that require their own space and schema in Tana Outliner.
- **See your workspaces in the sidebar**: Workspaces have a separate section in the sidebar. You can also manage workspaces there and you can reorder the list as you like.
- **Add members to collaborate**: Workspaces have rudimentary collaboration tools like adding members to a workspace, seeing the edit history is (time and user), and being able to notify users within a workspace of a node.
- **Export a workspace:** You can export the content of a workspace in Markdown or JSON.
- **Workspaces can be published as read-only:** This allows any Tana Outliner user with a HTML link to a node in this workspaces top open and view it.
## General workspace features and options
### Workspace nodes
All workspaces come with the following nodes of their own:
- Home
- Daily notes\*
- Schema
- Library
- Settings
- Trash
#### Home node
The home node is the _first node of every workspace_. It's the place you end up when you click on any of the workspaces in the sidebar, or if you click on the avatar of your workspace in the breadcrumbs.
> Curious to know how others organize their home nodes? Check out the [Home node showcase](https://tana.inc/articles/showcase-home-node) showing different entries from the community!
#### Daily notes
Your private workspace has Daily notes created by default. New workspaces you create have the option to activate Daily notes.
You can navigate to your private daily notes by:
- Going to `Today` in the sidebar
- Using the shortcut
See [Create daily notes](#create-daily-notes) on how to set them up in new workspaces.
#### Schema
The schema node is the place Tana Outliner will store any supertags and fields that are created ad-hoc, or sent to be "discoverable". It's a bit of a legacy node at this point, and the conventions for how to use this are currently in flux.
To go to the schema node:
- **Option 1:** On the home node, go to the node options (ellipsis `...` button) > `Open Schema`
- **Option 2:** Run the command `Open schema`
#### Library
The library node is used for nodes that don't have a "place", either under the Home node or the Calendar nodes:
- Nodes are created in the Library if they're made inline using @-mention and they don't exist yet.
- Nodes created during an [import](/learn/features/import-data-into-tana) are also [placed under the Library](/help/troubleshooting#where-is-my-imported-content-the-new-workspace-appears-to-be-empty).
To go to the library node:
- **Option 1:** On the home node, go to the node options (ellipsis `...` button) > `Open Library`
- **Option 2:** Run the command `Open library`
#### Settings
Each workspace has settings of their own.
To go to the workspace settings:
- **Option 1:** On the home node, go to the node options (the ellipsis `...` button) > `Open settings`
- **Option 2:** Run the command line `Open settings`
#### Trash
Each workspace has its own trash.
To go to the trash of the workspace:
- **Option 1:** On the home node, go to the node options (ellipsis `...` button) > `Open Trash`
- **Option 2:** Run the command `Open trash (deleted)`
### Allow content from...
This controls which adjacent workspaces can populate the results of search nodes and autocomplete actions like @-mentions within a particular workspace context. This setting can be custom set from all workspaces. Examples:
- You can set it so all content from every workspace you're a member of is available to you from within your private workspace by allowing content from everything there.
- You can keep Workspace A completely isolated from retrieving anything from other workspaces you're a member of by unchecking everything there, while allowing Workspace B to find things from Workspace A still.
### Export workspace
Each workspace can be exported in Markdown or JSON format. The Markdown export is intended to be used for export to other tools, or for browsing the files, and should be used in most cases. The JSON export is for technical use cases, where you want the full export with all metadata.
If you only want to export a subset of content, see [Download options](/learn/features/copy-paste-and-export#download-a-subset-of-nodes).
**To export the Markdown of a workspace:**
- On the home node, go to the node options (ellipsis `...` button) > `Export workspace as Markdown`, or use the command `Export workspace in markdown/JSON` in the command line.
- You will then see a modal with information about the download process. Things to be aware of:
- The export typically takes a few minutes and runs locally on your machine. **Please don't close your computer or reload Tana Outliner while it's exporting.**
- If your workspace is too big, or if you don't have enough available memory or CPU the export might fail.
- You can speed up the export by closing memory intensive programs and unnecessary tabs in your browser.
- You can see a count of the nodes in the workspace on the bottom of the information modal.
- _If you experience consistent issues with exports, please file a bug inside Tana Outliner._
- You will see a loading screen while the export is running, and you will not be able to use Tana Outliner during this time.
The export will be a zip file with all the markdown files (.md) of your workspace. You will be able to browse the files in a file manager, or upload the files to another service that supports Markdown (e.g. Github, Obsidian).
- References in your graph will be represented with markdown links, making it possible to click between files in the export.
- Tagged nodes will get their own file, with the field contents inside.
- For Calendar nodes the hierarchy will be maintained in the markdown file system, and you can navigate to a daily note to find the contents inside.
- Image/video files will not be included in the export file, but the markdown files will have download links to the items, so you can view them or download them individually.
**To export the JSON of a workspace:**
- On the home node, go to the node options (ellipsis `...` button) > `Export workspace as JSON`. It will immediately prompt you to enter a name for the file and will proceed to download if you accept.
This is a raw JSON export of your workspace. For technical reasons, there is currently no way for users to import these files back into Tana Outliner again. They can be used by our engineers to restore a workspace if need be, but our servers also take frequent backups of all workspaces so even if you don't download a JSON of your workspace and think that data has gone missing that used to be there, we can look at backups to find it again.
## Your primary workspace
Your primary workspace is also called your "root" workspace. All settings and many user-related features are tied to this workspace, such as Inbox, Quick Add, your timezone, keyboard shortcuts and much more.
If you look at the Workspaces section in your sidebar, you can always see your primary workspace at the top. This is _your_ private workspace, and content that lives here cannot be accessed by anyone else, even if you leave references to your private content on shared workspaces.
Your primary workspace needs to be personal, and can't be shared with other users.
### Settings in your primary workspace
The settings in your primary workspace are a mix of workspace and global user settings. Usually they contain the following:
- Journaling: For managing the tags applied to your journal/calendar nodes
- Date/time settings: To save your default timezone, time format and first day of the week preferences
- Private keyboard shortcuts: If you have made a custom keyboard shortcut, they will appear here
- Preferences: Global user settings are located here
- Move targets: A legacy setting. If you have set move targets, they will appear here.
There are other settings that might appear here for users with a Tana Outliner paid subscription, or for experimental purposes.
### Resetting your primary workspace
Resetting your primary workspace will give you a clean slate Tana Outliner account. You can access this by going to the home node options and selecting **Reset primary workspace**:
Doing this will:
- Allow you to do the onboarding and receive our most current default starter content again
- Not delete your existing content, it will move your old primary workspace to the list of other workspaces which you can access afterwards
- Reset all your user settings, pinned content etc.
## Multiple workspaces
You can create additional workspaces, and they will appear underneath your private workspace.
### Creating a new workspace
To create a workspace:
- **Option 1:** In the sidebar, go to `Manage workspaces` and click on `Create workspace`.
- **Option 2:** On any node, use the command `Convert to workspace`. All nodes that are owned by this node will be associated with this new workspace.
There are some considerations to keep in mind when working with multiple workspaces:
### Create daily notes
New workspaces come without the default daily notes. You can create them by
- **Option 1: from your private day node.** Go to `Switch workspace` and select the new workspace to navigate there. By virtue of having navigated there, Tana Outliner will create the necessary structure for the daily notes to exist in that workspace.
- **Option 2: command line.** On the workspace title, run the command `Set up calendar for workspace`
Then, you may want to create a new default day tag. On a day node, press the ellipsis `...` button > `Create default day tag`
### Schema setup
You just created a new workspace and now you want to use the same `#task` tag from your private workspace in this new shared environment. First let's talk about what _not_ to do:
**Why is it not simple to move supertags over from one workspace to another?** When you create new supertags and fields, there are _many_ hidden dependencies that get created in the background. This links them to the current workspace context. It's very hard and time-consuming to ferret them all out by deleting them or bringing them to live within the container of the supertag/field. In most cases it is easier and faster to recreate the supertags and fields in the new workspace.
If you really want to try to move an existing supertag, [read this FAQ](/help/organizing-workspace#how-do-i-share-a-supertag-from-my-private-workspace-to-a-shared-one) for some guidance.
### Date/Time settings (timezones)
A new workspace will be set to the timezone of the user that created the workspace. This means that if other members are added that are in other timezones, the way the dates and times appear to them will be adjusted based on their local timezone.
Example: If a workspace is set to an APAC timezone, 5pm EST will still appear as "Today" in AMER timezones even though it is technically "Tomorrow" in APAC time.
### Workspace limitations
Currently you can only use Input API on a workspace that has less than 750k nodes. [See this for more.](/help/organizing-workspace#does-tana-outliner-have-a-500k-node-limit) While the Input API won't work on this workspace, you can still continue entering content into the workspace using the keyboard, AI or live transcription.
### Moving nodes between workspaces
Use the `Move to [workspace]` command to move a node from one workspace to another. This changes which workspace _owns_ the node, and with it who can access the node (see [Node access and visibility across workspaces](#node-access-and-visibility-across-workspaces)).
1. Select the node to bring up the node editor toolbar. It is sometimes easier to toggle selection with `Esc`.
1. Choose `Move to [workspace]:` and pick the destination workspace.
The node and everything owned beneath it move with it. Members of the destination workspace can then open and edit the node, while anyone who only had access through the old workspace will see it as an alias they can't open.
This is the same command that moves drafts from your private workspace into a shared one (see [How nodes flow from private to shared workspaces](#how-nodes-flow-from-private-to-shared-workspaces)), and it is how you merge two workspaces by hand.
### Merging two workspaces
There is no simple way of doing this. The work is basically to manually [move nodes](#moving-nodes-between-workspaces) from one workspace to another, and then leaving/deleting the one you don't want anymore.
### Deleting a workspace
**Your private workspace:** You are not able to delete your main private workspace. You can, however, swap your old private workspace with a new one, and then you can delete it like a regular workspace. To do this:
- Create a new workspace, and in the title of the workspace, run the command `Set [workspace name] as new root workspace`
Any default tags and setups you had in your old workspace will not be brought over to the new workspace.
The old workspace can still be accessed via the sidebar.
**Other/shared workspaces:** You can delete a workspace by being the last person to leave it. It becomes completely unavailable, nobody has access to the encrypted data and it is queued for deletion.
## Working collaboratively in a workspace
### Workspace membership
You can invite members to a workspace you create:
- Go to the workspace home, then click on the "members" in the top right. You can invite another Tana Outliner user here.
Once a member is added, all the things you can do in the workspace, they can do too (like removing any of its
members).
### Node access and visibility across workspaces
Everyone who is a member of a workspace can access the nodes that are _owned_ by that workspace. This also applies if the reference appears in a different workspace that you also are a member of.
For example: let's say your company has a _company_ workspace for all staff, and one for _management_ only. If a manager copies meeting notes from the management workspace into her _standup_ in the _company_ workspace:
- Managers will be able to see it because they are members of the management workspace. Meanwhile,
- Staff will only see an _alias_ of the node. They can't open or interact with it because it is owned by a workspace that they're not a member of.
In summary, whether a user can see a node depends on 1. where the node lives, and 2. if the user is a member of that workspace. Anything that lives inside your private workspace can never be referenced to anyone else.
### How nodes flow from private to shared workspaces
This is how most of the Tana Outliner team collaborates in Tana Outliner:
1. For a fluid work experience, we make sure that our private workspace has `Allow content from...` the team workspace we work collaboratively in. This means that all content from the team workspace is available to be referenced from within our private workspace.
1. We use supertags from the team workspace to draft nodes in private. On your Today page, start with the supertag (like, your team's task/meeting/bug/standup tag) and fill what you need. When ready, select the node to bring up the node editor toolbar (it's sometimes easier to toggle selection with `Esc`). The first suggestion should be to `Move to [workspace]:`
This is the basic flow going from private to the shared workspace, and very handy for those of us who work primarily from our private spaces. You can of course go to the shared workspace and work from there too, which means you don't need to move anything to make your work visible to your teammates.
---
## Blog
### Tana Current May 2026
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-current-may-2026
Published: 2026-05-27
The new Tana is now in the hands of the community. This month, a first look at building agents, voice-driven meetings, and a new identity, plus continued improvements to Tana Outliner.
## The new Tana opens to the community
The new Tana is live for community members. Not a public launch. A community launch. The product is still moving fast, changing daily, and not yet where we want it to be. But you can feel the magic now, and we wanted you to be the first to try it.
We've always built Tana with the community. When we started, there were four people in the community and we met with them every other week. That hasn't changed. This is a feedback round: use it for a few days, do your meetings there, build your first agent, and tell us what works and what doesn't.
We've deliberately launched early so we can start exploring and refining the product. That means you'll encounter rough edges. We know. Some parts of the product haven't received focused attention yet, and others are actively being rebuilt. Bugs and feedback on the current state are welcome and expected. The T2 channel in Slack is the place for it.
## For users coming from Tana Outliner
Three key differences:
1. **Block editor, not outliner.** A modern block-based editor with headings, tables, embeds, and rich content, better for long-form writing.
2. **AI configures things for you.** Instead of manually setting up supertags, fields, and views, describe your workflow and the AI builds the structure.
3. **Types replace Supertags.** The concept is preserved. Supertags are now called Types, and Fields are called Attributes. The mental model carries over, now with AI doing the heavy lifting.
## Meetings as work sessions
Meetings are the most information-dense place in a company. That's where decisions are made, where context is shared, and where the most important discussions happen. The new Tana treats meetings as a working surface, not just something to record and summarise.
The meeting experience has been a major focus of the Tana 2 team. The tile system, the navigation, the overall experience of being in a meeting have been where much of the effort has gone. It's the place where you get the most distinctive sense of Tana 2's new identity and what the product is becoming.
In practice, this means the AI is present during the conversation. It listens, captures, and acts. You can ask Tana to find a document and pin it to the meeting, surface your open tasks related to a client, or pull up notes from the last time you met with someone. All by voice, mid-conversation. No searching, no tab-switching.
### The live meeting digest
The live meeting digest has a status line from the first second of a call: "Waiting for conversation…" before audio, "Following Along" once words arrive, and "Thinking…" while extracting a new topic section. Status is broadcast to every participant. Topic sections start appearing after roughly thirty seconds of transcript. Every call ends with a structured summary (Key Takeaways, Topics Discussed, and Next Steps) written and pinned automatically.
A few things you can do inside a meeting:
- **Voice-driven context.** Ask Tana to find and pin documents, tasks, or notes to the current session. It searches your workspace and brings what's relevant in, so the information is there when you need it.
- **Storyboards and capture.** The AI watches what's being said and, optionally, what's on screen. You can ask it to create a storyboard from an anecdote, capture a quote for later use, or generate a summary of a specific segment of the conversation. You decide what gets pulled out and how.
- **Screen sharing as context.** When you share your screen, Tana sees it. The AI can reason about what's shown alongside what's being discussed. Useful for handing off issues to a coding agent or capturing annotated screenshots with relevant context attached.
- **Canvas.** A fully collaborative infinite canvas, available inside any meeting. Draw, write, map out strategy together in real time. The AI has access to it too, and can base its outputs on what's been drawn or written.
- **Solo sessions.** These don't have to be group meetings. A solo session with Tana is just as powerful: talk through a slide deck before a board meeting, wake up on Monday and ask what happened last week, or reflect on your day with a personal agent. Olav uses a daily reflection agent that reviews what he planned, what he did, and where things stand. The first time feels like magic. The third time, it's just how you start your day.
### Voice agent and "Hey Tana"
Tana has a voice agent activated by saying "Hey Tana" in any meeting, with wake words in nine languages. No new interface to learn, just talk. The voice agent control lives in the meeting toolbar action pill. When two participants say "Hey Tana" simultaneously, whoever starts first keeps the agent; the other must explicitly unmute to take over. The voice agent tile uses a shader-based animation that reacts to speech with motion across three brand colors.
### Guest experience
Guests who open a meeting link see the full meeting experience (live digest, pinned docs, and approved outcomes) right from the link. Before the host starts, guests wait in a lobby and join automatically when a Tana user begins the call. Cross-org guests see a "Join meeting as guest?" prompt instead of a dead end.
### Capturing external meetings
Tana captures meetings from Google Meet, Teams, and Zoom. From the Today page, calendar event cards show a "Capture Meet", "Capture Teams", or "Capture Zoom" button when Tana detects a matching meeting on the user's computer. Captured external meetings auto-generate a tagline, summary, and outcome proposals when the recording ends, with no manual step needed. A live screen-share tile updates in real time during capture. Transcript, screen shares, and action items all flow into the Tana workspace automatically.
### Hand off to coding tools
Context from a meeting or chat can be sent directly to Claude Code, Cursor, Codex, Lovable, or v0. Discuss a feature in the meeting; the work starts moving in your engineering tool of choice.
### Shareable artifacts
Storyboards, customer journeys, and slides can be shared via public link with all images and layout intact. These are fully rendered artifacts produced by the AI from meeting content, not ephemeral chat messages, but lasting knowledge artifacts you can share and act on.
### Default content language
Set it once, and the AI writes in your language regardless of what's spoken on the call. Non-English organizations get AI output in the configured content language across all surfaces: live meeting digest headings, post-meeting tagline, summary, Key Takeaways, Topics, Next Steps, screenshot alt-text, annotation labels, and auto-titles on uploaded files. Meeting transcription itself stays multilingual.
### AI-managed workflows and types
Ask the AI to add a workflow to a type, rename or reorder states, add new states like "Blocked", or remove a workflow entirely. Each change goes through the standard proposal-approval flow. Renames preserve a state's identity so existing items keep their progress. When the AI proposes creating a typed item in one space but the type is scoped to a different space, the proposal shows a yellow Location callout and approval places the item in the type's home space. Post-meeting outcomes route to the right type: a user observation can be classified as Feedback, Friction, or Pain Point instead of defaulting to Bug.
Over the weeks and months ahead, more effort will expand to other parts of the Tana 2 feature set. Tasks, people, hierarchy and overview, navigation, and more will start to become more aligned with the vision that meetings have established. The meeting experience is the leading edge, and the rest of the product will follow.
## Building agents
Agents in the new Tana let you automate repeatable work by describing what you need in natural language. They can use skills and tools, run on a schedule, and operate across your meetings, documents, and workspace.
In May's Tana Current, Brage gave a demo of his meeting prep agent that runs every morning at 8 a.m. It goes through his calendar, checks who he's meeting with, reviews his past meeting history with each person, pulls their HubSpot record if they're a client, and generates a prep document with talking points, key context, and relevant pinned documents, all attached to the meeting before it starts.
Creating an agent like this takes minutes. You describe what you need to the AI in the agent creator, review the proposed workflow, and set it to run on a schedule. Adjusting how it works is the same process: talk to the AI again and tell it what to change.
If you have repeatable tasks, whether that's prepping for meetings, updating project tracks after a call, or running a weekly review, you can build an agent to handle it. You can create them in the general AI chat or through a dedicated agent creator, and they can be triggered manually or scheduled to run automatically.
The team are actively working on the final stages of our first MCP connection tool that will allow you to bring in other tools and connect to them during your meetings. This is going to be a dramatic shift in the potential and use of T2.
## The collaborative knowledge graph
Apart from a new meeting experience, what makes the new Tana different from a meeting recorder is the knowledge graph, or context graph, as some are calling it.
Every meeting, every document, every captured item feeds into a shared graph that the AI can traverse. This is what allows it to answer questions like "what are we working on today?" or "what did we discuss with this client last time?" with real answers drawn from your actual history.
The key innovation is branching: like git for knowledge workers. When the AI proposes changes based on a meeting (updating a project status, filing a new issue, revising a strategy doc), those proposals go through review before they enter the graph. You see what the AI wants to commit, and you approve, edit, or reject it.
You may not feel the importance of this with a handful of documents. But at scale, with a million docs, it becomes essential that the graph contains things you actually need and that the AI isn't traversing noise. The review step keeps the graph clean. Directing the AI to specific spaces and points in the graph also keeps token costs manageable.
## A new identity
Tana Outliner and the new Tana are separate products that are both important to the team. Each has its own team, its own roadmap, and its own future. We wanted to keep the Tana name for the new product largely because it represents our team and everything we are. But we recognise that sharing a name introduces overlap with the existing Outliner.
The way the team planned to address this was by creating a distinctive visual identity for the new Tana, while keeping the original Tana branding with the Outliner. Tana Outliner retains the existing logo and identity it's always had. The new product gets something new.
Mathias Hovet, a Norwegian designer, was brought in to lead the new identity. He got an introduction to the product, tried it, and landed on the metaphor immediately: a prism. Everything you need is already in your conversations. The decisions, the context, the next steps. The new Tana pulls them out, separating the clear light into colors. That's the role it plays, and the prism captures it.
The new logo, colour palette, and visual language will carry across the app, marketing, and content. When you see the prism, it's the new Tana. When you see the original logo, it's the Outliner. Two products, two identities, clearly separated: in the app, in content, on YouTube. You'll start to see this reflected across our channels in the coming weeks.
### The brand story: ending meeting debt
The core brand narrative centers on "meeting debt", the gap between the meeting and the work. Work went remote, then hybrid, then async. Organizations added Zoom, Slack, Notion, Linear, dozens of tools to stay connected. But the fundamental problem got worse: the meeting and the work became two separate things. Teams meet to decide, then scramble to document the decision. They meet to plan, then rush to write the plan. The meeting ends, the work begins, except there's no time left to do it. Decisions get re-litigated, action items forgotten, context lost across tools and time zones.
The tagline: Tana is the prism for your work. It joins meetings the way teams already work, through video calls and natural conversation, with no new interface to learn. While you talk, AI listens, understands, and acts. What comes out isn't added complexity. It's the same conversation, separated into its true colors: the insight buried in the discussion, the action nobody wrote down, the decision that would have saved three follow-up meetings. Tana reveals what was always there, separated into clarity.
The vision statement: we're entering an era where talking about the work equals doing it. Your team discusses the feature, the PRD writes itself. The call ends, the follow-up is drafted, the CRM updated, the tasks filed. Intelligence refracts from conversation to finished work without the scramble in between.
### Domain and product separation
On March 16, 2026, the team decided to claim tana.inc for the meetings product and move the outliner to outliner.tana.inc. The meetings product owns the original Tana brand and app icon. The outliner gets a white icon with "Outliner" branding. This was timed for GTC week in San Francisco, so visitors to tana.inc see the new meetings-focused messaging. Two products, two identities, one company.
## What's coming next
The product is still early. The editor needs more work. Task management is being rethought. The external MCP server is ready but being optimized so users don't burn through credits in ten minutes. When it ships, it will bridge the two products. You'll be able to connect your own Claude agent or any external tool.
Updates are shipping daily. The pace from here only accelerates.
## Tana Outliner
The Outliner team has its own roadmap and its own momentum. Q2 remains focused on improving the everyday experience: core reliability, paper cuts, and long-requested features.
### Recently shipped
- Set fields by dragging in grouped outline view
- Backup audio recording for the meeting notetaker. Retranscribe from audio files or in different languages after network drops
- Copy node ID command for MCP workflows
- Formatting preserved when pasting code
- Improved autocomplete for fields with thousands of options
- Several MCP fixes, shipped continuously
### New documentation site
A major overhaul of the docs and help center, led by Theo. The new site is built closer to the codebase, so documentation updates more automatically when features ship. It includes better search, feedback buttons, and a related content section. The site is also built for agents as well as humans: asking Claude or the built-in Tana helper about Tana should now return better, more accurate results.
### Semantic field breadcrumbs
A big one for power users. The semantic function lets you map relationships between nodes, for example: Oslo is a city in Norway, which is a country in Europe. The first half of this feature (the underlying function) shipped earlier. The second half, the visualization, is now landing. Navigate to any node and see breadcrumbs showing its place in the semantic hierarchy. Useful for topic maps, feature hierarchies, geographic relationships, and more. Set it up in the field config under the advanced section.
### Mermaid diagrams from AI chat
You can now ask for mermaid diagram output from the AI chat and get rendered diagrams directly in Tana. This has been in internal testing and is shipping to the community in the next few days. Feedback welcome.
### Coming next
- Collapsible fields. Much requested, tricky to get right, but close
- Continued grouping improvements
- Startup speed improvements for the desktop app
- MCP improvements, a long list of smaller fixes
- Quality of life improvements from community feedback
- Option to opt out of in-app popup guides
- Ability to hide empty related content
## Hiring
The Outliner team is adding a senior software engineer, ideally based in Sydney, Oslo, or Trondheim, for proximity to existing team hubs. If you know someone or are interested, the role will be posted soon.
## Community events
Mark's MCP Workshop continues every two weeks. The focus is on thinking in terms of processes and objects, which lets you build workflows with the MCP that can route things and give you real power. It's not just the techniques of Tana in these workshops, it's how to build systems and how to do them well. Always recorded and shared in the community.
MCP Help Sessions run every second week: unscripted, hands-on help with setup, troubleshooting, and workflow design. Two sessions are scheduled for next week. Check Luma for details. The MCP setup is straightforward once you've done it once. If you haven't, these sessions are the fastest way in.
## What's ahead
The new Tana is in the community's hands. It's early, it's changing fast, and it's not finished. But the direction is clear, and we're building it together.
- The new Tana is live for community members. Use it, break it, tell us what works
- Agents, voice commands, and the knowledge graph are the core of the new product
- The external MCP is soon ready and will bridge the two products when it ships
- Tana Outliner has a dedicated team shipping improvements every week: semantic breadcrumbs, mermaid diagrams, a new docs site, and more on the way
- We're hiring on both products
Keep sharing feedback and ideas in the community, it's where everything starts.
[Watch the live recording on Youtube](https://youtube.com/live/6K7W1poXb2A)
_Next Tana Current: to be announced in Slack_
---
### Tana Current April 2026
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-current-april-2026
Published: 2026-04-21
The Outliner team is focused on improving the day-to-day experience. The community continues to push the boundaries of what's possible with the Tana MCP. And Theo gave a first live walkthrough of the new Tana, showing meetings where AI captures and creates work during the conversation itself.
## Improving the core, building what's next
The April Tana Current covered a lot of ground. Ingrid walked through what's shipping and what's next for Tana Outliner. Olav shared an update on timing, pricing, and the two-product strategy. Theo gave the community a walkthrough of where the new Tana is heading. And navigator David Delgado showed how he's combining the Tana MCP with Claude Code, NotebookLM, and Linear into a daily workflow.
If you missed [the stream,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heP8kFHsABs) here's what matters.
## Tana Outliner: What's shipping
The theme for Q2 is improving the day-to-day experience. Core reliability, long-standing paper cuts, and the features people use most. Ingrid and the Outliner team have been working through the community's feedback lists. Some fixes are quick, others take disproportionate time because of how connected Outliner is, but the focus is steady.
### Recently launched
- [MCP and local API](/learn/guides/ai-assistants-mcp) fixes and improvements, shipped continuously since launch
- [Global web clipper](/blog/global-clipper-capture-to-tana-from-anywhere-on-your-desktop) in the desktop app (Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+Space to capture from any app)
- New AI models available: Claude Sonnet 4.6, Claude Opus 4.6, OpenAI GPT 5.4, Gemini 3.1 Pro
- Default AI chat model upgraded to GPT-5.4 (cheaper, faster, large context window)
- Option to set the default AI chat model across all chats
- Reference section can now default to collapsed
- `parent.field` search expression now works with multiple values, a significant fix for anyone using it with meetings and attendees
- Alphabetical sorting no longer affected by formatting
- Undo now tracks only content changes
[See full release notes](/changelog)
### Shipping now and next
- **Transcription reliability.** We'll soon roll out the option to save backup audio for transcription (both live transcriptions and meeting notetaker), so you can always recover the original audio if needed.
- **New Copy node ID command.** For MCP users who need to reference specific nodes.
- **Drag and drop in grouped views.** A long-requested improvement.
- **MCP concurrency fixes.** Addressing issues found as usage scales.
- Continued work on paper cuts and bug fixes from community feedback.
### Coming next
- Grouping improvements (collapsible groups, hide empty, relative dates, better drag behavior)
- Trash restore to original location, which is especially important now that MCP usage can lead to accidental deletions
- Desktop startup speed improvements
- Search improvements
- MCP access to full transcript with speaker and timestamps. Exposing the source material as requested by the community.
The Outliner has a dedicated team and [its own roadmap](/blog/tana-current-march-2026). If there's something you want to see prioritized, share it in the community.
## Community MCP workflows
The recently released new Tana MCP is a big idea and unlocks a lot of possibility. We think it still remains an under-explored feature for building dramatically new and different workflows with your Tana setup, and the April session featured two standout workflows in the community.
**David's three-layer context system.** David, one of the longest-standing community members, showed a daily workflow built around Claude Code with the Tana MCP, the SuperTag CLI, Linear, and Google's NotebookLM. He organizes context into three layers: an operating layer (global instructions and skills), a project layer (Tana as structured task and knowledge management via MCP), and an execution layer (Linear for code work, NotebookLM for research). The result is a system where each tool does what it's best at, with Tana as the connective tissue.
**Yasuhisa's semantic map.** The final MCP competition winner built a tool that creates a 2D map of your Tana nodes based on semantic similarity. Not just a visualization of your notes, but a meaningful spatial layout of ideas by how they relate. Built entirely through the MCP and Claude Code.
We'll also be sharing Mark's video on five levels of MCP usage in the community, from initial setup through to advanced workflow composition.
## A first look at the new Tana
Theo gave the community a walkthrough of where the new product is heading. It's still very much in flight, moving fast and changing daily, but the session gave a sense of the direction.
The focus is on meetings as a place where work actually happens. In the walkthrough, Theo joined a live call, ran an AI skill that looked at what was shared on screen and what was said, and produced an annotated storyboard, all during the conversation. Team members captured issues mid-meeting using a simple capture button, each with context pulled from the discussion and any screen shares. After the meeting, an AI skill summarized decisions, generated follow-up tasks, and updated existing context documents based on what was discussed.
A few things stood out from the walkthrough:
**Knowledge that stays current.** The AI didn't just create new items. It also went through existing context documents and updated them based on what was discussed. That's an interesting pattern: meetings keeping your knowledge base current as a side effect of the conversation.
**Structuring output.** The core idea from Supertags has been carried through in the new Tana as "types", making it easy to create and configure them in natural language in the AI chat or directly inside a meeting. Meetings let you capture types with one click, AI will create a proposal based on what was said and shared in the last minutes of the meeting, and you can review or edit before saving.
**Deeper context.** When you share your screen, the AI sees it and can reason about what's shown in combination with what's being discussed. In the demo, an issue captured during a screen share included an AI-annotated screenshot with relevant context, useful for handing off to a coding agent later.
**Collaboration throughout.** Documents, canvas, meetings, and AI chats are all collaborative with live cursors and presence. Access control works at the level of individual documents and spaces, not just the workspace. External guests can join via a link. External meeting platforms like Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams can also be captured.
**Skills and artifacts.** Skills are reusable workflows that tell AI how to process specific types of work, from generating storyboards to filing bugs to running research templates. You can create your own skills, import from other tools (like Claude Code) and they can be triggered during a meeting or anytime in the workspace.
**Mobile.** The new product is being designed for mobile from the start, with the goal of full feature parity.
All of this is still being built. Things are changing rapidly, and what Theo showed won't look the same by the time people get access. But the direction is clear.
## Timing, pricing, and naming
Olav addressed the three things the community has been asking about most.
**Timing.** The team has taken extra time to get the experience right. Access will begin rolling out in the coming weeks, with group onboarding sessions across time zones. No one will be pushed to move. If you like to test early, you can opt in. If you prefer to wait, that's fine. The product is expected to change rapidly during the early phase, as user feedback comes in.
**Pricing.** The new product will have a free plan. The full experience is planned at around $20 a month for early access. If you're already a paying Tana subscriber, you'll get access to the new product as part of your existing subscription for the rest of the year. Before the year ends, we'll share a clear path forward. No surprises.
**The name.** Some in the community had strong reactions to the Outliner rename, and Olav acknowledged the rollout could have been handled better. The new product is aimed at a broader audience (teams, collaboration, ease of getting started) so it carries the main Tana brand. **Tana Outliner** reflects what makes the current product distinctive.
**Compliance.** The new Tana is launching with SOC 2 and GDPR compliance. HIPAA is expected within a couple of months.
## What's Ahead
The Outliner team is focused on making the product you use every day better. Faster, more reliable, with fewer rough edges. That work is already underway and shipping.
The new Tana is taking shape and getting closer. We'll share more as it firms up.
- Tana Outliner has a dedicated team with a clear roadmap focused on reliability, paper cuts, and long-requested improvements
- The MCP is opening up workflows we didn't anticipate, and the community is leading the way
- The new product is still being built, with access coming in the next few weeks for those who want to try it early
- Existing subscribers get access to both products for the rest of the year
Keep sharing feedback and ideas in the community, it's where everything starts.
_Next Tana Current: to be announced in Slack_
---
### Tana Current March 2026
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-current-march-2026
Published: 2026-03-31
This March the team revealed a new knowledge graph product built for collaboration and agentic work, and announced continued investment in Tana Outliner for existing users. Two products, two audiences, one mission.
## Introducing the new Tana
We're excited to share something we've been working on: a new Tana product built from the ground up for collaboration, agentic work, and a more familiar text editing experience.
At the same time, the product you know today is staying and evolving as **Tana Outliner**. We're not replacing the outliner. We're expanding Tana into two products, each built to serve a different job well. Both products have an important place in Tana's future.
If you love the outliner, keep using it. It's not going anywhere and will continue improving. The new Tana opens up a different way of working, one that's easier to get started with, better for teams, and rethinks what meetings can be.
If you're new to this news, we've written a longer piece about why we're building a new Tana and what it means for the product.
### Two products, one vision
From day one, our mission has been to reinvent how humans, teams, and computers work together.
Tana Outliner proved that unstructured information can become a structured, living knowledge graph. For many people, it is already the best way to think, organize, and build a personal system around notes, tasks, and knowledge.
But we also learned something important: the same qualities that make the outliner powerful can make it harder to get started, and harder to use as a shared workspace for teams.
We learned that every time we simplified for new users, we risked taking away the power existing users rely on. So instead of forcing one product to do both jobs imperfectly, we made a clearer choice:
- **Tana Outliner** will continue as the powerful, flexible tool for people who love working in an outliner and building a deep personal knowledge graph.
- **The new Tana** is designed to be easier to get started with, better for teams, and built around meetings and conversations that produce output.
Two products, each serving their audience well, rather than one product that compromises for both.
### Meetings as work, not just coordination
The new Tana is also a knowledge graph, built from our expertise over the last 6 years, but with a new approach to how knowledge gets captured. It uses meetings and conversations as a way to build and update your knowledge.
Knowledge workers spend **tens of thousands of hours** in meetings over the course of their careers. Too often, those meetings produce discussion but not momentum. Notes get buried, transcripts go unread, and the actual work happens later, if it happens at all.
We want meetings to become a place where work moves forward immediately.
In the new Tana, meetings are not just something you summarize afterward. They are a place where you can:
- **capture bugs, decisions, action items, and follow-ups** into your knowledge graph during the conversation, send them directly to tools like Github where Copilot can start work on them
- **generate rich artifacts** such as storyboards, customer journeys, mind maps, and documentation from the discussion itself
- **collaborate with teammates and AI agents in real time**, with the meeting becoming part of the work rather than a detached record of it
- **use skills** to process meetings and work on notes, with a simpler UI that enables real collaboration in teams.
The new Tana includes its own video meeting experience, and it is also being built to capture context from external meeting platforms such as Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams.
This is not a meeting bot layered on top of another tool. It is a new kind of workspace that brings together voice, structured knowledge, graph actions, skills, and agents in one system.
## Built for collaboration from the foundation
Starting from a blank page also allowed us to build the new product in a way that delivers several features that the community has long requested, built into the foundation this time:
**Canvas**
A real-time collaborative canvas for diagrams, drawing, and visual thinking, with live cursors and linked graph content. It also opens the door to AI-generated visualizations from conversations and documents. This was challenging to deliver well in the outliner architecture, so we designed for it from scratch.
**Fine-Grained Access Control**
Control access at the level of spaces, documents, and shared work, not just the workspace as a whole. Teams will be able to share information with specific collaborators or external viewers with much more precision. Enterprise customers will be able to select which SSO provider team members can log in with.
**A more familiar editor**
Clearer boundaries around documents and entities, with support for outline-style work inside documents without forcing every interaction into bullet mode. LaTeX, math blocks, and richer block types are available out of the box.
**Full revision history and version control**
Every meaningful change can be understood semantically, not just as lines added or removed. That makes it easier to review edits, collaborate with AI, and work with suggested changes in a more deliberate way, closer to lightweight version control, without the overhead of Git. Instead of "removed 10 lines and added 5," you'll see "removed two requirements, rephrased the introduction, and changed the due date". This is critical for AI collaboration: agents commit suggested changes rather than editing directly.
**Powerful agentic AI Chat**
A general-purpose AI chat modelled after best-in-class tools. It supports custom skills, can create, update, move, and research content across your graph, and replaces many ad hoc search node use cases with natural language queries, while still supporting structured, persistent views of your data.
**Integrations and API/MCP support**
GitHub, Slack, Linear, coding agents (Claude Code, Codex), and MCP connectors for anything else. The new architecture makes thoughtful integrations much easier to build.
**Mobile from the start**
Designed for mobile from the very beginning, addressing the challenges that made the current mobile experience difficult to evolve. Join meetings from mobile, use the full AI chat and editor on mobile with fast loading time.
### What Stays the Same
Even as the product surface changes, the core ideas remain intact.
The new Tana is still grounded in the principles that made Tana valuable in the first place:
- a knowledge graph at the core
- structured content through types
- domain-agnostic flexibility rather than a single fixed workflow
- outline-style editing where it makes sense
- creating and finding things in context across the graph
## Tana Outliner: Continued Development
While we are excited about our new ideas, we also want to express that we still love the Tana you currently know and love.
We are renaming the current product to reflect what it already does uniquely well, and we will continue developing it actively. That includes both new capabilities and continued polish, especially around performance, reliability, and everyday friction points.
### Focus for Q2 2026
- MCP API fixes and improvements
- Desktop performance improvements (loading, navigation, rendering)
- Grouping improvements (collapsible grouping, hide empty, relative dates, better dragging)
- Core editor bug fixes (cursor jumping, merge behaviors, keyboard shortcuts)
- Better export (building on export as markdown)
- AI chat improvements and updated text processing agent for meeting summaries
- Mobile app improvements (write note option, voice memo improvements, voice chat capture)
### On the horizon
These are things we want to explore, but still have unknown complexity. They are candidates for next quarter's roadmap:
- Support for local AI models
- Canvas exploration
- Better notifications
- Presentation mode
- Search improvements (global search, @mentions, autocomplete, inline references)
- LaTeX and math blocks
- Recurring tasks
- Date field reminders and overdue task support
- Calendar sync improvements (source calendar fields, default duration)
- Transcription custom vocabulary
- NOT filter in searches
- Build title from field improvements
- URL and web previews
Tana Outliner has a dedicated team and will continue to be actively developed with new features. It's been our heart and soul over the last 6 years, and that's not changing. If you love Tana Outliner for its distinct set of features, there's no reason to switch. Lots of the journey still to come.
### How the two products fit together
We're working toward one-click migration from Tana Outliner to the new product, hopefully before summer.
The two products will also be able to talk to each other, so you can use Tana Outliner as your private PKM tool and the new Tana for meetings and collaboration. Use one or both, whatever fits your workflow. Both products will offer an MCP too, so it will be possible to develop custom ways to work with data from both products.
Our goal is for the new Tana to eventually offer everything Outliner can do and more. Until it does, Outliner remains the right choice for users who need those capabilities. We will not force a migration.
We'll share pricing details for the new product before public launch, but existing Outliner subscriptions are not changing. What we can also say, is that we will offer existing subscribers a way to try the new Tana without additional cost.
We know many people also have questions about **timeline, pricing, and the data model between the two products**. Those details matter, and we plan to share more as we get closer to launch, but our goal is that there should be no disruptive, surprising changes.
**How can we develop two products with the same team?**
In the recent months, the quality of AI for development processes have made strides, and unlocked what can be done with a small team. Our team have long explored who to leverage AI to move faster and build with high quality and security, and we are now at a point where AI augments our engineering workflow, letting us move faster without sacrificing quality. We're also hiring senior engineers, including frontend and deep systems roles.
## The next chapter for Tana
This is a big moment for Tana.
We are preserving what makes Tana Outliner special while creating a new product that opens Tana up to collaboration, agentic workflows, and a fundamentally better meeting experience.
- Tana Outliner is here to stay with active development and exciting features ahead
- The new Tana is built for collaboration and ease of use, extending what Tana can do without taking anything away
- You don't have to switch. Use either product, or both, depending on what works for you
- We'll have more to share soon as the new product gets closer to launch
Keep sharing feedback and ideas in the community, it's where everything starts.
_Next Tana Current: to be announced in Slack_
---
### The next chapter for Tana
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/the-next-chapter-for-tana
Published: 2026-03-31
We built Tana to reinvent how humans, teams and computers work together. Now we are launching a new product designed for teams to work better together with AI, while keeping the current product under a new name, Tana Outliner.
## Introducing a new Tana
For the past four years, Tana users have helped prove something important: when information is structured well, work gets better. You showed us how powerful a living knowledge graph can be.
You also showed us something else. The version of Tana many of you use today can be incredibly powerful, but it can also be hard to learn, hard to roll out across a team, and hard to bend toward the next generation of AI-powered work.
**To bring the power of Tana to teams, we'll soon be launching a new Tana, designed for real-time collaboration.**
**The current version of Tana will continue as one of two products and will from now on be called Tana Outliner.**
## Tana in its current form worked. But not for enough people.
If you're reading this, you've probably felt what makes Tana different.
It helps you connect ideas. It lets your knowledge compound over time. It turns scattered notes into something you can actually use. Users said that it "works like my brain".
It also showed us that the same flexibility that power users love can become friction for everyone else. Too much setup. Too much manual configuration. Too much that had to be understood before a team could get value.
It's powerful, but hard to get into. It works best solo, not across a team. And it takes time to really "get it" and keep it maintained.
That's on us. We attempted to redesign Tana several times, but were then faced with the risk of also reducing core features that many power users love and rely on.
That tradeoff became impossible to ignore. We could keep stretching the existing product, or we could build a new foundation that makes Tana more natural for more people.
## The real problem isn't note-taking
Over the past year, something else became clear.
The problem isn't how we take notes. It's how work itself is structured.
Today, your work is split across:
- meetings where decisions are made
- documents where ideas are written
- chats where context is isolated
- AI tools where collaboration requires technical skills
Even with AI, most of your work is still fragmented. And adding AI on top of that doesn't fix it.
We've always been on a mission to reinvent how humans, teams, and computers work together. And the most important word in that sentence is **together**.
**We believe real innovation should happen in the way people and AI work together.** People will keep working together. Increasingly, they'll work together with AI. And that has to feel natural.
That is why we built a new Tana.
## Why we didn't just keep adding on to the existing product
The way people work with information is changing fast. Old problems are now easily solved, and new problems arise daily.
AI is getting better at turning messy input into useful structure. That creates a new opportunity, but it also changes what the product needs to do well. It is no longer enough to help people capture and organize notes after the fact. Increasingly, people want AI to help while the work is happening.
We also learned that collaboration is not a layer you can simply bolt on at the end. Shared work needs a stronger foundation: better real-time collaboration, an integrated way to work with AI, clearer guardrails, a more natural editing experience, and a product that does not ask every teammate to learn an internal system before they can contribute.
Starting over was the fastest way to build that foundation well.
## So we decided to rebuild Tana.
Not as a better note-taking app. But as a different kind of workspace.
One where meetings, documents, and AI share the same context, and work gets done in the conversation, not after it.
In the new Tana, your graph is the context and conversations are your prompts. You don't start from a clean slate every time. The system already understands what you're working on.
### Why meetings became such an important part of the new product
Most work doesn't start in documents. It starts in conversations.
That might be a team meeting, a customer call, a planning session, a review, or even a solo session where you talk through an idea. This is where context appears for the first time. It is where decisions get made, tradeoffs are discussed, and next steps start to take shape.
But today, meetings are where work gets lost:
- decisions are forgotten
- action items are missed
- context disappears
In most tools, that context disappears as soon as the conversation ends. Then the real work begins somewhere else: writing the spec, filing the bug, updating the project, sharing the decision, assigning the task.
We wanted to fix that at the root. So we built meetings directly into Tana.
Not as recordings. But as part of your knowledge system.
That means:
- your meetings produce finished work, not notes
- having a conversation is all the prompting AI needs
- your knowledge graph builds itself every time you talk
- agents act during the meeting, not after it ends
The goal is simple: Meetings that don't just capture work. They finish it.
The new Tana is built around the idea that conversations should turn into finished work more directly. Instead of simply recording what happened, Tana can help turn it into something useful while you are still in the flow. And for the first time, all of this works on mobile from day one.
## What stays the same
The original Tana was built for people who love thinking tools.
The new Tana is built so your whole team can use it.
That means:
- less setup
- less need to understand structure
- more happening automatically
AI helps with the complexity, so more people can benefit from the system.
Or put simply:
We're taking what made Tana powerful, and making it usable.
This is not a rejection of what made Tana valuable.
The new Tana still builds on the same core belief: unstructured information becomes much more useful when it can turn into structured knowledge. Types (Supertags) still matter. Links still matter. Context still matters.
What changes is how much of that structure needs to be built and maintained manually. In the new Tana, more of that work can happen with AI, inside the product, with review and approval built in.
## What this means for current users
Tana Outliner is staying. Nothing is being taken away.
The Tana you use today will continue as **Tana Outliner**.
- It will still be supported
- It will still improve
- Your workflows will keep working
If it works for you, you can keep using it.
At the same time, we are building a new Tana for a different job: making the power of Tana easier to access, easier to share with a team, and better suited to a world where humans and AI work side by side.
There will be a period when the new Tana does not yet do everything Tana Outliner can do. That gap will be real. But we believe this foundation will let us move faster, build more naturally for teams, and bring more of Tana's power to more people over time.
## Why we are making this change now
This is a bigger shift than a product update. Because we do not think the future of work will be built around more disconnected tools.
We're moving toward something we've believed in from the start:
A shared system where:
- knowledge is structured
- context is always available
- AI helps you act, not just think
A system where your team doesn't just store information. It builds intelligence over time.
Or as we think about it internally:
From a second brain...to a company brain.
We think the next generation of knowledge work will happen in a shared context, with AI close to the conversation, close to the documents, and close to the decisions that matter. We think the best tools will not just store information. They will help turn it into action.
That is the product we are building.
Not because the old Tana was wrong, but because it taught us what had to come next.
## A new chapter
Tana Outliner showed what was possible.
The new Tana is our attempt to make that power more collaborative, more natural, and more useful in the flow of real work.
If you love Tana Outliner, keep using it. If you want a simpler, more collaborative Tana built for the way teams and AI now work together, we are excited to show you what comes next.
We recently showed the new product to our community in a live demo and AMA. The response helped us understand what excites people and where questions remain. We'll continue sharing progress through live events, early access, and our [community Slack](https://outliner.tana.inc/community).
[**Sign up now**](https://tana.inc?utm_source=blog&utm_content=new_chapter_blog) to try the new Tana for yourself.
---
### Global Clipper: Capture to Tana from anywhere on your desktop
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/global-clipper-capture-to-tana-from-anywhere-on-your-desktop
Published: 2026-02-27
You should not have to switch apps to save a thought. With Global Clipper, you can capture ideas, tasks, and links into Tana without leaving what you are working on. This is one of our most requested features, and it is finally here.
If you have ever had a great idea while writing an email, reviewing a doc, or sitting in a meeting, you know the cost of context switching. You either ignore the idea or break your flow.
Global Clipper fixes that.
## Capture without breaking focus
With the Tana desktop app running, press:
**Shift + Cmd + Space**
A small capture modal appears on top of any app. Type your thought, paste a link, add a task, and continue your work.
(video coming here)
You can customize the shortcut under:
Tana desktop > OS menu > Options > Customize keybindings
Options"}
/>
This makes Tana your always-available inbox for ideas, commitments, and insights.
## Structured from the first keystroke
Global Clipper is not just a quick text box. It understands your system.
You can:
- Apply supertags
- Use @mentions
- Expand and set fields (tab through fields)
- Use basic extended tags and inherited fields
- Paste links and other content directly from your clipboard
That means you are not just capturing raw notes. You are capturing structured, actionable information that flows directly into your existing workflows.
For example:
- Add a new task with a deadline and owner while reading Slack
- Capture a client insight from an email and tag it with the right project
- Save an article link and immediately apply your Research supertag with relevant fields
Your graph becomes richer with every capture.
## Built for managers and operators who move fast
If you run back to back meetings, juggle multiple projects, or manage a team, the real bottleneck is not thinking. It is friction.
Global Clipper reduces the friction between noticing something important and saving it in the right place.
No more sticky notes.
No more temporary docs.
No more promising yourself you will "add it later."
You capture once. Tana handles the structure.
## Known limitations
This is the first version, and there are a few things to be aware of:
- Not all field option variants are supported yet
- Some issues may occur with extended tags
- Tana desktop must be running for the clipper to work
We will continue improving support for more advanced field types and edge cases.
## From long standing request to reality
Global Clipper has been one of the [most upvoted and discussed feature requests in our community](https://ideas.tana.inc/posts/16-tana-web-clipper).
Thank you to everyone who pushed for this.
Tana is designed to be your second brain. With Global Clipper, it becomes available wherever you think.
Download the latest desktop version, try the shortcut, and start capturing from anywhere.
---
### Tana is Product of the Year on Product Hunt. Thank you.
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-product-of-the-year-producthunt
Published: 2026-02-03
Tana was awarded Product of the Year on Product Hunt after hundreds of users shared how it has changed the way they work and think. From better meetings to lasting clarity, the stories behind the votes matter more to us than the ranking itself.
## Community at the core
This recognition belongs to our community. Hundreds of you showed up, shared stories, left thoughtful comments, and explained in your own words why Tana matters in your work and lives. We are deeply grateful.
When we launched Tana on Product Hunt, we did not know what to expect. We knew we were building something opinionated and different, and we knew it would resonate strongly with some people. What we did not anticipate was the depth of the conversations that followed.
Hundreds of comments and reviews came in, not just about features, but about how people think, work, and live with Tana. Many shared stories about finally feeling on top of their work, about finding calm in complexity, and about building systems that actually grow with them instead of breaking.
A few moments that stayed with us:
"Every meeting I take in Tana makes the next one easier. I am no longer starting from scratch."
"Tana is the first tool that matches how my brain works instead of forcing me into someone else's structure."
"I stopped worrying about losing important ideas. They are all there, connected, when I need them."
These are not outcomes you can fake with a launch or manufacture with marketing. They only happen when people invest time, curiosity, and trust into a product and help shape it through feedback, critique, and shared experiments.
What made this Product Hunt launch special was not just the votes. It was the quality of discussion. People compared setups, shared workflows, challenged our decisions, and pushed us to explain why we believe in structured knowledge, connected thinking, and AI that works inside your own system rather than replacing it.
In my post-launch reflections, I wrote that this award feels less like a finish line and more like a signal. A signal that there is a growing group of people who want tools that respect their thinking, protect their agency, and compound their knowledge over time. Tools that are built for real work, not just polished demos.
Tana is still early. There is a lot we want to improve, simplify, and unlock next. But this moment matters, because it confirms that we are working on an important problem, together with a community that cares deeply about doing better work.
To everyone who commented, reviewed, voted, shared feedback, or simply followed along: thank you. This one is yours as much as it is ours.
Olav Sindre Kriken
Co-founder of Tana
---
### From voice memo to slide deck: introducing the Tana API and MCP
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-api-mcp-voice-ai-workflows
Published: 2026-01-30
Most AI workflows still start with a blank text box. You paste something in, hope the model understands the context, and then move on. With Tana's new Local API and Model Context Protocol (MCP) support, we are taking a significant step toward a future where AI tools work inside your thinking system, not outside it.
## A long-standing request becomes reality
For a long time, users have wanted a way to _read from_ Tana programmatically, not just write into it. People have asked for an API that lets them query, search, and build on their data from outside the app. They have built their own MCP-like tools in the community to fill the gap, and they have asked why integrations were so limited.
This launch answers that directly: your Tana workspace is now accessible via a local API and the Model Context Protocol so that AI tools, agents, and your own code can interact with the _real structured knowledge_ you have in Tana.
[Set up Tana's local API and MCP](/learn/guides/ai-assistants-mcp)
## The workflow starts with how humans actually think
A lot of valuable work happens away from the keyboard: in meetings, on a walk, or between calls. That is why voice is such a powerful input.
In Tana, you can capture a voice memo or [have a voice chat directly in the mobile app](https://tana.inc/articles/ai-voice-chat-on-android-and-ios-can-now-search-tana-and-the-web). That raw input is immediately part of your workspace, and can transformed and connected to everything else you have already captured.
From there, the most important step is not "asking the AI." It is _structuring your thinking._
Tana's outline editor is built for this. Instead of forcing you into a long plain text document or a chat-style input field, you work in bullets. You can reorder ideas, break them down, collapse and expand sections, and shape your thoughts as they evolve. This is closer to how people actually reason and plan.
AI then works on top of that structure. It helps you summarize, rephrase, extract key points, or turn rough notes into a clean outline, all while keeping control in your hands and applying your style and intentional structure to it.
## From structured notes to real output
Once your thinking is structured, entirely new workflows become possible.
One example that shows this clearly is turning voice notes into presentation slides.
Here is how it works:
- Capture a voice memo in Tana.
- Use the built-in AI in Tana to extract a summary or key points.
- Edit it to shape the key ideas into a clear, connected bullet-point structure.
- Use an MCP-connected tool like Claude Code to generate a slide deck directly from that structured content.
The slide deck is just one example. What matters is that AI is working from _your real notes, your real structure, and your real context._ There is no copy-pasting, no re-explaining, and no loss of intent in the process.
## Why structure matters more than prompts
Most web-based AI tools assume the prompt/response _is the work._ You type a request, get a response, and the content is not re-usable across sessions.
Tana takes the opposite approach.
Your notes are the work. The structure you build over time is the context. Prompts are just one way of interacting with that system.
Because everything lives in an outline-first workspace, AI can operate on meaningful units of thought instead of raw text blobs. This leads to better results and far less friction. You are not fighting interfaces or retyping the same ideas. You are refining and reusing the structure you have already built.
## A permanent knowledge base that compounds
Another key difference is where knowledge lives.
In many AI workflows, inputs and outputs are temporary. You paste something in, get something out, and then move on. When you need something similar later, you start from scratch.
Tana is designed as a _permanent knowledge repository._ Voice notes, meeting takeaways, outlines, prompts, and AI outputs all live in the same connected system. Over time, this builds a knowledge base that _compounds instead of decays._
This also unlocks a powerful use case: treating prompts and workflows as reusable assets.
Instead of keeping complex prompts in text files, chat histories, or your head, you can store them in Tana as structured notes. You can improve them over time, pull them in when you need them, see the contexts where they are used, and reuse them across workflows. With the Local API and MCP, tools like Claude Code can access and use these prompts directly.
## Extending Tana into AI-native tools with MCP
With support for the Model Context Protocol, Tana now acts as a _native context provider_ for AI tools.
This means tools like Claude Code can:
- Understand what is in your Tana workspace.
- Read structured notes, not just plain text.
- Use your outlines, prompts, and knowledge as input.
- Write results back into Tana as structured content.
You are not exporting your data or flattening it into a prompt. AI tools are working directly with your real system of record.
If you are new to Claude Code, we recommend [learning the basics from the Claude Code docs](https://code.claude.com/docs/en/overview) or [this great intro article by Teresa Torres](https://www.producttalk.org/claude-code-what-it-is-and-how-its-different/?srsltid=AfmBOoqxnS9w6vei6EXh-4TU6sUEGX8QDWFA1i5nkWYXqkXOfRE-D6A6).
[Read the full documentation for Tana Local API/MCP](https://tana.inc/docs/local-api-mcp)
## Tana skills
We are also shipping a set of optional skills for Claude Code that make this easy to get started:
- A workspace understanding skill that helps the AI see what is in your Tana.
- A schema visualization skill that shows how your supertags relate.
- A natural language search builder for creating Tana searches.
- A slide deck skill that turns Tana content into presentations.
[You can get the Tana skill pack by joining our community on Slack](https://tanacommunity.slack.com/archives/C02DAHZAM9R/p1769781902432199?thread_ts=1769778754.053889&cid=C02DAHZAM9R)
These are early examples of what becomes possible when AI tools can operate inside your knowledge base instead of around it.
## This is just the beginning
This launch is not about a new API for its own sake. It is about moving toward a different model of work.
One where:
- Capture is fast and natural, often through voice.
- Thinking happens in structure, not long documents.
- Knowledge accumulates in one place instead of being scattered.
- AI tools plug into your system and amplify it over time.
The more you use Tana, the more context there is for both you and the AI to build on. This release is an early but important step toward that future. We look forward to seeing what you build with it.
[Set up Tana's local API and MCP](/learn/guides/ai-assistants-mcp)
---
### AI voice chat on Android and iOS can now search Tana and the web
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/ai-voice-chat-on-android-and-ios-can-now-search-tana-and-the-web
Published: 2026-01-29
Your ideas deserve a conversation. Today we're making that possible across every mobile device: Tana's AI voice chat on mobile is now fully released and available on both iOS and Android. Instead of just dictating notes, you can talk through problems with an AI coach, capture the outcome as structured data and even turn messy thoughts into polished presentations.
## Supercharged voice conversations
The new AI voice chat on mobile builds on Tana's voice capabilities, which already lets you turn spoken notes into structured content with supertag workflows. Now the AI listens and responds in real time, just like a colleague.
If you're new to Tana, [here's an intro](/blog/talk-through-your-ideas-with-tana-ai-voice-chat-for-ios).
[Download Tana for iOS](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tana-notes-ai-voice-memos/id6499428869?utm_source=blog)
[Download Tana for Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tana.android&hl=en&utm_source=blog)
#### How to start a voice chat
- **Capture tab:** Tap "Voice Chat" for a general conversation
- **Supertag:** Start from a Supertag (via Supertag tab or home screen widgets) to have a conversation tailored to that tag. The AI knows about its fields and any custom instructions you've set, and will autofill fields when the chat ends.
- **Any node:** Long-press a pinned node in Browse, or long-press the + button on any node. The AI will have the context of that node immediately. Send to save the transcript under that node.
Supertags still do the heavy lifting, their fields and AI instructions inform the assistant, and when you finish chatting Tana auto-fills fields with the transcript and any extracted tasks. On iOS you even get a review screen with an AI summary and charts before saving (coming soon to Android).
During the conversation the agent can now pull more information on the fly. Ask it to search your workspace, zoom into pinned nodes, fetch details from referenced nodes or even look up external facts. It's like having your entire knowledge graph and the web on speed dial, with voice-only interactions.
#### Key features
- Two-way AI conversation that asks questions and helps you refine your ideas.
- Easy to start from multiple entry points: from the Capture tab for general chat, via a supertag, or from any node to discuss its context.
- Home screen widgets: Tana lets you add home screen widgets customized with a selected supertag, allowing you to start a voice chat in one click.
- Structured outcomes: transcripts become notes with fields filled in automatically; tasks and items are extracted and linked to projects.
- Context on demand: the agent can search your workspace, zoom into pinned nodes or find information from references and the web.
- Voice chat currently only supports English language (mobile voice memos support 60+ languages).
## Build presentations in Tana with voice chat and AI image generation
To showcase what voice chat can do, we're launching two new templates that together turn voice chat into a presentation engine.
### Plan presentations with voice chat
The **[presentation workshop template](https://tana.inc/templates/speech-to-presentation)** helps you shape a story from a messy brain dump. Start a voice chat using the `#Presentation workshop` supertag, talk through your topic, audience, and key messages, and let the AI guide you through the narrative. When you return to the page you'll see an organised outline instead of raw notes, ready to refine. This approach follows presentation principles: make the audience the hero, contrast "what is" with "what could be", and craft strong openings and closings. You can revisit the supertag any time to continue the conversation and iterate your story.
### Generate slides in one click
To turn your outline into visuals, we've added an **[image generation slides extension template](https://tana.inc/templates/image-generation-slides)**.
You can then create presentation-ready images for your narrative beats and export them for your deck. Use these slides separately or pair them with the workshop template for a complete storytelling workflow.
For repeated use, extend a supertag (such as `#Presentation workshop`) with the slides extension; this adds a _Slides_ dropdown on all nodes with that tag.
- Right-click on a supertag you use to plan presentations (e.g. #Presentation workshop from this template)
This will give you a slides button on nodes tagged with this tag, to easily select styles:
## Use cases for busy managers
Try these things with voice chat:
- **Plan a presentation from scratch:** brainstorm your message with voice chat, let the presentation workshop template organise it into a narrative, then generate slides for each section.
- **Debrief a meeting:** talk through your notes with voice chat, have tasks and decisions extracted automatically, and save the transcript under the meeting node for follow-up.
- **Brainstorm product features:** discuss ideas with AI, ask it to search your workspace for relevant references and create tasks or research notes as you go.
- **Prepare a project update:** voice chat with the AI to outline the update, auto-fill fields like status and priority, then generate slides to present to stakeholders.
- **Reflect on your day:** use voice chat as a journaling partner, summarise wins and challenges, and capture insights that feed into tomorrow's tasks.
## Getting started
1. **Pick an entry point:** open the Capture tab and tap _Voice Chat_ for a generic conversation, choose a supertag in the Supertag tab or widget for a tailored chat, or long-press a pinned node or the plus button on any node to start chatting in context.
2. **Set up your supertag:** add fields and AI instructions so the assistant knows what to capture and how to format the output.
3. **Speak freely:** let the AI guide you through the process, whether you're planning a deck, extracting tasks or just thinking out loud.
4. **Review and save:** on iOS, review the AI summary and graphs before saving; on Android, the transcript and filled fields are saved immediately.
5. **Try the templates:** open the `#Presentation workshop` supertag to start shaping your story, and use the slides extension to create visuals.
Voice chat has matured from early access into a fully supported feature. With deeper context and new templates, it's the most human way to capture ideas and act on them. Update your Tana app, start talking and watch your messy thoughts turn into polished presentations.
---
### Talk through your ideas with Tana: AI voice chat for iOS (Early Access)
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/talk-through-your-ideas-with-tana-ai-voice-chat-for-ios
Published: 2026-01-16
Tana's new voice chat for iOS lets you talk directly to an AI assistant, tailoring the conversation using custom supertags while instantly capturing your ideas and tasks via home screen widgets.
Have you ever wished your notes could talk back? Tana is an all-in-one workspace built for thinking and collaborating with AI. It combines note-taking, tasks, daily planning and AI into a connected knowledge graph so your ideas, projects and people stay linked.
The mobile app already lets you quickly capture thoughts as voice memos, text or photos. With the new **voice chat for iOS**, you can go one step further, have a two-way conversation with AI and steer the discussion toward what you need.
[Download Tana for iOS](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tana-notes-ai-voice-memos/id6499428869?utm_source=blog)
[Download Tana for Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tana.android&hl=en&utm_source=blog)
## What is Tana and how does it work?
Tana is a collaborative text editor that lets you take connected notes in a knowledge graph, rather than having to place them in pages or folders. It lets you build out structure as you need it to organize notes, rather than having to define a structure upfront. Simply start writing and then apply a Supertag to make the note searchable, add structured info with fields. You can add live search widgets that pull in tagged notes, and filter these to get an excerpt of notes accessible where you need them.
Supertags can turns a notes into a structured object, like a `#Task`, `#Idea` or `#Project`. You can configure Supertags to have fields for structure information, like "Due date", "Topic" or "Priority". You can then view the tagged notes in different Views like a table, board, calendar or outline.
In the mobile app you can **capture notes or voice memos on the go** and have them automatically structured using these supertags. Supertags also let you set AI instructions for how AI should process something that you tag, and settings for how it should auto-fill content in fields on the Supertag - for example a voice memo for #ideas should fill in a field for which area it's related to, and make a short summary in the title or description.
With the Tana mobile apps, you can even start your favourite workflows with one tap using home screen widgets configured with a custom supertag and destination. Voice memos are instantly transcribed, auto-detect the spoken language and can auto-fill fields based on what you said.
## Meet voice chat: your personal AI conversation
Voice memos are great for capturing a stream of thought, but sometimes you need a coach, brainstorm partner or challenger. **Voice chat** enables real-time, two-way conversation with an AI assistant.
Instead of just transcribing your recording, the assistant listens and **asks questions, challenges your thinking and shapes your ideas**. The AI adapts based on _voice instructions_ you add to a supertag, so your chat feels like talking to a supportive colleague, writing partner or quiet listener. Without voice instructions, the assistant behaves like a generic chat bot, so the magic lies in customizing your tags.
### Customize voice chat with supertags
Each supertag in Tana can include **AI instructions and post-processing commands**. [For voice memos and voice chat you can add instructions](https://tana.inc/docs/mobile-voice-memos#adjust-mobile-voice-processing) that tell the AI what the content is about, how you want the output formatted and any specific guidance. For example:
- Give your `#WritingPartner` tag instructions like: _"Ask follow-up questions to clarify my argument and suggest angles I haven't considered."_
- Create a `#MeetingDebrief` tag that tells the assistant to summarise key action items as bullet points.
- Use a `#Brainstorm` tag with instructions to generate three creative options and their pros/cons.
You can also enable [**custom autofill behaviour**](https://tana.inc/docs/mobile-voice-memos#custom-autofill-behavior), specifying how the AI should fill the title, description or body of a note or extract multiple items from a single recording. This makes voice chat not only conversational but actionable: the output is structured so you can link it to projects, people or follow-up tasks.
## One-tap capture with home-screen widgets
Voice chat becomes even more powerful when combined with Tana's **configurable home screen widgets**. [See how to set up widgets](https://tana.inc/docs/tana-mobile#widgets-and-native-os-integrations).
- The widgets let you capture notes, photos or voice memos directly from your home screen without opening the app.
- You can set up multiple widgets for different supertags or destinations, for example a widget for `#task` to record action items, `#idea` for creative sparks, and `#memo` for voice notes.
- You can add both voice chat and voice memo in a widget, and will then have two buttons.
- **Long-press the widget to edit** its supertag, destination and **input type**. Selecting **"voice chat"** as the input type gives you a one-click button to start talking with your customised AI coach.
## Getting started with voice chat (Early Access)
Voice chat is launching in **Early Access** on iOS, so you'll need to enable it in the mobile app settings.
**Here's a step-by-step guide to get started:**
1. [Download one of the voice-enabled templates](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/Mobile%20voice)
2. **Enable voice chat** in the iOS app: Go to the **Manage tab**, then select **Early Access** and enable it.
3. **Add a widget**: long-press your home screen, choose _Add Widget_, pick Tana and select your customised supertag. For iOS, deep system integration means you can also start Tana capture from Siri, Shortcuts or Control Centre.
4. **Tap to talk**: tap your voice chat widget or open the Capture tab and choose Voice. As you speak, the assistant listens and responds according to your supertag instructions.
### Voice chat with supertags
A supertag can have a description and fields for structuring data. Voice chat will know how a supertag is set up, and can ask you about or refer to fields for filling them in.
#### Tailor your supertags for voice chat
1. [Read this tutorial for how to set up your own supertags for voice chat](https://tana.inc/articles/set-up-mobile-voice-chat-for-a-supertag)
2. **Create or choose a supertag** that will power your conversation.
3. Go to the supertag's configuration on desktop and add voice instructions under **AI and Commands**.
4. Set any custom autofill or post-process commands you want.
[Download one of the voice-enabled templates for inspiration](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/Mobile%20voice)
## Why voice chat? A few use cases
- **Writing partner:** talk through an outline and have the assistant ask clarifying questions, suggest angles and produce a structured outline.
- **Meeting debrief:** summarise a client call by chatting it through; the assistant extracts tasks and notes, ready in your daily note.
- **Daily reflection:** at the end of the day, have a conversation about what went well and what needs work; the assistant captures your insights as structured notes.
These are just examples. Because the AI follows the instructions on your supertag, you can design **custom voice agents** for any workflow, product design, coaching, project planning or creative brainstorming.
## FAQ and known limitations
- **Where is it available?** Voice chat is in early access for **iOS**. Android support will follow; until then you can use voice memos and other capture modes on Android.
- **Do I need to configure anything?** Yes. Voice chat only works as expected if your supertag has voice instructions. Without them the chat behaves like a generic AI conversation. [Check out these voice chat-enabled templates for inspiration or to try it.](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/Mobile%20voice)
- **Which languages are supported?** Voice chat currently only supports English.
- **Are there known issues?** Voice chat does not yet have access to any of your existing data in Tana, nor is it able to read your supertags if you haven't configured them for voice chat. [Here is the full list of known issues and limitations.](https://be.tana.inc/shared/voice-chat-limitations-and-known-issues/NUwyTEhJRmFMM2pxL2EtSW5qUWVicWthMw==)
Ready to talk to your ideas? **Sign up for Tana or update your app** and start designing voice agents that work the way you think. Your notes deserve a conversation.
---
### What's new in Tana: 2025 wrapped
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/whats-new-in-tana-2025-product-updates
Published: 2025-12-22
It has been a big year with public launch and lots of new features in Tana. Here is a rundown of the most important updates you might have missed.
---
### Tana Advent Calendar December 2025
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-advent-calendar-december-2025
Published: 2025-12-17
A complete recap of every episode in the Tana Advent Calendar 2025, covering new features, product improvements, and templates released throughout December.
Every workday from Dec 1st to 19th in 2025, we released a new video with letters from Tanarians, a template, thought of the day and not least: gift of the day.
In [this Youtube playlist](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvCHO3dkfnE&list=PLJRltYlxkjN7vw00RUHfnY452k0AuYrv7&index=14) you'll find all the episodes, or read on below for links to all templates and blog posts/documentation pages.
---
### Importing your Notion workspace into Tana: how to move your knowledge into a more flexible, connected system
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/importing-your-notion-workspace-into-tana-how-to-move-your-knowledge-into-a-more-flexible-connected-system
Published: 2025-12-16
If you have been managing projects, meeting notes or documentation in Notion and are ready for a more flexible, AI-native system, you can now import your content directly into Tana.
Switching from Notion to Tana is now simple with the new Notion import feature. You can export selected Notion pages or databases as Markdown or CSV, upload the zipped file, and Tana will recreate your content in a new workspace. This guide walks you through the process and explains the key differences between Notion and Tana so you can get the most out of your imported material.
## Why people move from Notion to Tana
Notion is excellent for structured documents and databases, but many use cases eventually outgrow the rigidity of its setup. When your work spans multiple projects, clients, tasks and meetings, maintaining templates and database connections becomes time-consuming. Often you end up adopting separate tools for project or task management, leading to disruption and manual work when switching between tools. It's easy to lose context and hard to keep information connected over time.
Tana offers a different approach. Instead of rigid databases, everything becomes part of a flexible knowledge graph. Instead of having to organize your notes in pages, and having to navigate to a certain place to add something, in Tana you can simply write on your Daily notes page or in any note, and add a Supertag to make the content searchable.
### Some of the core features in Tana that Notion doesn't offer:
Supertags add structure when you need it, and lets you classify a note as a task, meeting, person or any other category you want to track.
Live searches are widgets that let you pull in a list of e.g. tagged notes, and apply filters, sorting, grouping and view it in different ways (as a table, calendar, cards etc.)
References are mirrored/linked notes that make it easy to connect tasks, meetings, people and projects, to avoid duplicating information by simply doing @ mention to pull in an existing note. Doing this build out connections between your content, so it becomes a knowledge graph that you can navigate to find related content.
Powerful AI features like AI chat and command nodes allows you to customize workflows with advanced prompts. Include your notes as context for AI simply by doing @ mention.
Importing from Notion into Tana lets you start that transition without losing your previous work, so you can use it for context in your work or for AI.
## Key differences between Notion and Tana to understand before you migrate
Migrating content is one step. Adopting Tana's way of thinking is where the real shift happens. Below are the most important conceptual differences, framed so your transition feels smooth rather than confusing.
### Pages vs connected nodes
Notion organizes content into nested pages, and you have to place that page somewhere for it to be easy to find and navigate to.
Tana organizes everything as nodes in a **knowledge graph**, allowing items to appear in multiple contexts without duplicating data. This makes recall easier and keeps related material connected automatically. There are two ways you can store your notes in Tana:
1. **On Daily notes** - every day, Tana gives you a fresh notepad to work on that day. Use it to make a plan with task you want to complete, write a journal, or simply draft the things you are working on. The Daily note page can be customized as a dashboard, to show you meetings, tasks or other relevant content. When you create a new note in Tana, it will default be stored on your Daily note page for Today.
1. **In a "Wiki-style" hierarchy** - Tana supports building out a "wiki-like" structure where you place notes in a hierarchy. This is useful for e.g. company wikis, client portals, project pages or when you want to structure complex information in one place.
Where you store something in Tana doesn't matter as much, since you can find it again with supertags and live searches.
### Capture first, organize later
Notion encourages you to design your schema early.
Tana encourages fast capture followed by light, gradual structuring. This is especially useful for users with busy meeting schedules who need to take notes quickly and refine later.
Tana's mobile apps also let you [quickly capture](/learn/features/tana-mobile#capture-directly-into-tana-outliner) ideas, links, notes or images with a dedicated tab that sends things directly to your daily note for today or tomorrow. If you want to process captured things manually, Tana also has a built-in Inbox.
### Databases vs supertags and live search widgets
Notion databases are fixed containers with set properties and predefined views.
Tana uses **supertags** to define types (Meeting, Task, Person, Project) and fields to store structured attributes. You can then build **Live searches** anywhere you need them that pulls out e.g. tagged notes with filters, sort or grouping. You can create live search widgets anywhere in your notes, and they can appear seamlessly in between text content, images or videos.
Instead of maintaining multiple databases, the same set of nodes can appear in multiple views depending on context.
### Properties vs fields
In Notion, database rows are structured by **properties** you define upfront.
In Tana, structure comes from **fields**, which appear when you apply a **supertag** to a node. You can also structure nodes without supertags using fields, for example in a table.
A key difference is that Tana doesn't require you to set up a database to view notes as a table, you can seamlessly switch back and forth between table view and other views.
Tana has two types of option fields; plain **Options** and **Options from Supertag**. Plain options lets you simply write the values you want. Tana doesn't restrict you to select between single select and multi-select like Notion does. Another difference is that Tana always allows you to write manual text in field values, even if it's an option field. So you can select an option, but also write a note below it with additional information. You can also set an options field to auto-collect values you write into a field as values, and they will be displayed as options automatically. Learn more about fields in Tana.
This means you can capture information quickly, then add structure later. It reduces friction during fast-paced work like meetings or project planning.
### Voice-first
Tana has integrated live transcription on desktop and voice memo recording on mobile. Supertags let you turn rambling voice memos into tasks, articles, memos, emails and more.
The Tana mobile apps lets you set up home screen widgets for capturing voice memos with custom supertags. [Check out templates for voice memos](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/Mobile%20voice)
## How workspaces differ in Tana vs Notion
When you move from Notion, one of the most helpful mindset shifts is understanding how Tana handles workspaces.
### You always have a personal workspace
Every Tana user starts with a **personal workspace** that is private and always available. It's your home environment, regardless of how many shared or team workspaces you participate in.
### You can pull in content from any workspace
Instead of jumping back and forth between workspaces, Tana lets your personal workspace **pull in content** from other workspaces using the **Allow content from** setting. This means:
- you can draft content in your personal workspace before moving it into a shared one
- you can reference shared nodes in your private notes
- you can build views that combine personal and shared information
- you stay in one uninterrupted surface rather than switching contexts
For managers working across clients, teams or projects, this dramatically reduces friction.
## Command nodes and AI workflows: a capability you won't find in Notion
One of the biggest shifts when moving to Tana is discovering that your workspace can **run workflows designed by you**, not just store information.
### Command nodes
Command nodes let you build custom workflows inside your graph. Command nodes can be set up to show as buttons or menus on nodes with Supertags. They can help you do things like:
- generate images, summaries or reports
- create new tagged items
- set/change status with one click
- transform nodes
- set due dates
- move notes to a specific location
- run multi-step operations
These workflows operate directly on your content, not outside it.
### AI command nodes
AI command nodes take this further. They let AI read a node, understand its surrounding context, and take action based on your instructions. Examples include:
- preparing a meeting brief from related documents and past decisions
- extracting tasks from transcripts, voice memos or raw notes
- generating follow-ups based on recent activity
- analyze meeting transcripts with specific instructions (e.g. user interview, investor meeting)
This is a fundamental difference from Notion's automations or third-party integrations. In Tana, **your knowledge graph is the workspace and the data source**, giving AI the context to work intelligently
[Check out AI-powered templates to see what's possible](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/AI)
## Why this matters for your Notion import
Your imported Notion content goes into a new workspace, but you don't have to "switch" into it to work with it. You can:
- surface its content inside your personal workspace
- reorganize imported material privately
- gradually move items into your main system
- work continuously without breaking flow
This is one of Tana's core strengths: separating data boundaries from your personal working surface.
## How to prepare your content in Notion
Tana supports Notion exports in **Markdown (.md)** and **CSV**, up to **1500 markdown files** per import (or ca. 500 MB). For best results, we recommend exporting only the sections you plan to continue using rather than your entire workspace.
### How to export correctly from Notion
1. Open the page you want to export.
1. Click the options menu in the top right corner.
1. Select **Export**.
1. Choose **Markdown and CSV**.
1. Turn on **Include subpages** and **Create folders for sub-pages**.
1. Download the zipped file.
These toggles are required for Tana to rebuild your hierarchy and preserve relationships between pages.
### How to import a Notion export file into Tana
1. In Tana, open the user menu in the top right corner.
1. Select **Import content**, then choose **Notion import**.
1. Review the import limitations in the dialog.
1. Upload your zipped Notion export.
1. Keep your computer awake until the process completes.
If you later want to move items into your personal or shared workspace, use **Move with finder** to place them where they belong.
[Full tutorial for Notion import](https://tana.inc/articles/tutorial-import-content-into-tana-from-notion)
## What to expect after importing
Your imported content appears in a **new Tana workspace**, giving you a clean environment to explore and reorganize it without impacting your main system.
Tana recreates as much of your Notion structure as possible, but because the systems work differently, a few adjustments are normal:
- **Page structures** is replicated with hierarchical outliner structure, but you can re-organize as you want.
- **Database relationships** won't be recreated automatically; replacing them with supertags and fields often simplifies things
- **Custom Notion views** like galleries or timelines will appear as outline lists; you can switch to boards, tables or other views manually
For many users, this cleanup step is where Tana starts to feel powerful, because structure becomes something you refine naturally, not something you maintain rigidly.
## Start your migration
You can import your first Notion export in minutes. Once your material is in Tana, you'll be able to explore faster workflows, richer connections and AI-powered systems that help your knowledge compound instead of scatter.
[See full tutorial for importing your Notion content](https://tana.inc/articles/tutorial-import-content-into-tana-from-notion)
---
### Loom videos and X posts, embedded directly in Tana
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/loom-videos-and-x-posts-embedded-directly-in-tana
Published: 2025-12-15
Links are useful. Context you can act on is better. With native embeds for Loom videos and X posts, Tana now lets you view, play, and interact with external content without leaving your workspace.
If your team relies on async video, social signals, or shared references to make decisions, this removes one more layer of friction from everyday work.
#### From feature request to feature shipped
Many of our users have shared a simple frustration: Loom videos are central to how their team communicates, but in Tana they showed up as plain links. YouTube embeds worked beautifully. Loom did not. That extra step of context switching broke flow and slowed teams down.
That request stuck with us. And today, we've solved it.
Paste a Loom or x.com link into Tana, and it now renders as a rich, interactive embed automatically.
#### What works out of the box
**For both Loom and X**
- Paste a link and it instantly expands into an embedded view
- Remove the embed at any time using the X in the top right if you prefer a clean link
- Keeps the original URL intact, just with more context when you want it
**Loom embeds**
- Play videos directly inside Tana
- Full playback controls including speed, captions, quality, and skip forward or back
- Leave emoji reactions
- View and write comments without leaving Tana
This is especially powerful for teams using Loom for documentation, SOPs, client projects, onboarding processes, or decision tracking. The video lives right next to the tasks, notes, and follow-ups it relates to.
**X post embeds**
- See the post inline, without opening a new tab
- Click reply to continue the conversation directly in your browser
Perfect for tracking inspiration, industry conversations, saving customer feedback, or anchoring internal discussions to public context.
#### Why this matters for knowledge work
Most teams already communicate across tools. Videos live in Loom. Signals live on X. Decisions live somewhere else entirely.
By embedding this content directly into your notes, projects, and meeting records, you reduce context switching and preserve intent. A Loom walkthrough is no longer just a link, it's part of the system your team builds knowledge in. An X post is no longer a bookmark, it's a reference you can think and act from.
This is another small but important step toward a workspace where information doesn't just get stored, but stays usable.
#### Try it now
Just paste a Loom or x.com link into Tana and see it expand. No settings to toggle, no setup required.
And if there's another workflow that feels one click more annoying than it should be, keep telling us. This improvement started exactly that way.
---
### Reorder tabs in Tana desktop for faster focus
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/reorder-native-tabs-in-tana-desktop-for-faster-focus
Published: 2025-12-12
Reorder tabs in Tana desktop using drag and drop or keyboard shortcuts to shape your workspace and move faster without losing focus.
Small improvements in navigation can have an outsized impact on how focused and fluent your work feels. With this update, tabs in Tana desktop gets even more support for keyboard shortcuts. You can now reorder tabs freely, using drag and drop or precise keyboard shortcuts, to move fluently while you work.
## Tabs in Tana are part of your thinking surface
[Tabs and panels](https://tana.inc/docs/navigation#tabs-and-panels) in Tana are designed to let you work in parallel without losing context. You might have a daily note open next to a project, a meeting note, or a reference you keep coming back to. For many users, especially those doing deep or complex work, tabs are not temporary. They are part of an intentional layout that supports focus and flow.
This update builds on that philosophy by letting you decide not just which tabs are open, but also the order they appear in.
## Drag and drop to shape your workspace
You can now reorder tabs directly by dragging them left or right in the tab bar. This is ideal when you want to quickly group related work, bring the most important tab closer, or visually mirror the structure of what you are working on.
For example:
- Keep your daily note as the first tab, followed by the projects you are actively working on today.
- Group meeting notes next to the project they belong to.
- Move a reference tab out of the way without closing it.
This makes tabs feel less like browser history and more like a flexible workspace.
If you need to close a tab, you can always find it again by opening the global search with `Ctrl/Cmd+S` - this will show you recently viewed notes. You can also find the 100 most recently edited notes that you have created or edited in the Recents view in the sidebar.
## New keyboard shortcuts for power users
For users who prefer staying on the keyboard, we have added shortcuts for both navigating between tabs and reordering them. This means you can adjust your workspace without breaking your flow.
### Jump to tabs
- Tab 1-8
- Mac: Cmd + 1 ... Cmd + 8
- Windows/Linux: Ctrl + 1 ... Ctrl + 8
- Last tab
- Mac: Cmd + 9
- Windows/Linux: Ctrl + 9
### Move between tabs
- Next tab
- Mac: Cmd + ] or Ctrl + Tab
- Windows/Linux: Ctrl + Tab
- Previous tab
- Mac: Cmd + [ or Ctrl + Shift + Tab
- Windows/Linux: Ctrl + Shift + Tab
### Reorder tabs with the keyboard
- Windows/Linux
- Move tab left: Ctrl + Shift + Page Up
- Move tab right: Ctrl + Shift + Page Down
- macOS (including laptops where Fn is required for Page Up/Down)
- Move tab left: Ctrl + Shift + Fn + Up
- Move tab right: Ctrl + Shift + Fn + Down
If you rely heavily on keyboard navigation, this gives you full control over both where you are and how your workspace is arranged.
## Why this matters if you are evaluating Tana
If you are comparing tools, tab behavior often sounds like a minor detail. In practice, it says a lot about how a tool treats focus and context.
In Tana, tabs are not just a way to open multiple documents. Combined with [in-tab panels](https://tana.inc/docs/navigation#how-to-use-panels), structured content, and [keyboard-first navigation](https://tana.inc/docs/navigation#navigating-with-keyboard), they support working across tasks, notes, and knowledge without constant context switching. Being able to reorder tabs reinforces that model. Your workspace adapts to your priorities, not the other way around.
Tana Desktop loads your whole knowledge graph, making it fast to open notes in tabs or panels, search and mention existing notes. Tana Desktop also supports offline for longer periods of work without WiFi.
This is especially relevant if you:
- Work with multiple projects in parallel.
- Take frequent meeting notes and need to move between context quickly.
- Prefer tools that reward keyboard fluency and speed.
- Want a desktop app that feels like a thinking environment, not just a document list.
## A small change that supports long-term flow
Reordering tabs is a small feature on the surface, but it supports a deeper goal. Tana aims to reduce friction between what you are thinking about and what you see on screen. When your tabs are ordered the way your mind is working, you spend less time navigating and more time actually doing the work.
This update is available now in the Tana desktop app.
---
### Tabs and panels in Tana Desktop: stay in the flow and find what you need
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tabs-and-panels-in-tana-desktop
Published: 2025-12-12
Tabs are now enabled by default in the Tana Desktop app, giving you a more flexible, focused way to navigate your work without breaking your flow.
## What are tabs in Tana?
Tabs work just like they do in your browser:
You can open multiple notes, searches, people pages, or projects - each in its own tab, all within a single window.
This makes it easy to:
- Keep your **daily journal, meeting notes, and project board** open together.
- Stay in the flow by keeping your view with panels in one tab, while switching to a meeting in another tab.
- Work across multiple teams, spaces, or workflows in parallel.
**Tabs are available now** in the [Tana Desktop app](https://tana.inc/desktop).
## How panels work within tabs
Tana already supported **panels** (split views), and these will continue to work as before inside a tab.
Here's how the two interact:
- **Tabs**: Let you keep multiple views open in a single window and switch between them.
- **Panels**: Let you view notes side-by-side within a tab
- You can open one or more **new panels** inside a tab
This means you can:
- Keep a transcription open while taking manual notes in a meeting
- Compare two meeting notes side-by-side
- Write while referencing another node
- Revise a project plan while making notes in a meeting
## Keyboard shortcuts
We've aligned tab behavior with familiar patterns used in browsers and IDEs, so it just works:
- `Cmd/Ctrl + Click`: Open in new tab
- `Shift + Click`: Open in new panel
- `Cmd/Ctrl + T`: Open a new tab
- `Cmd/Ctrl + W`: Close current tab
- `Ctrl + Tab`: Switch between tabs
Updated Dec 12th, 2025: Now Tana Desktop also supports jumping to specific tabs, moving between tabs and re-ordering tabs with mouse and keyboard.
[See the full list of keyboard shortcuts](https://tana.inc/docs/navigation#navigating-with-keyboard) ->
## Switch without losing your views
The biggest benefit of tabs? **You can stay in flow.**
No more:
- Opening the same search over and over
- Losing your place during meeting notes
- Jumping between views with a single back button
With tabs and panels, your context stays put - so you can work how your brain works.
## Use cases we love
- **Daily plan:** Plan your day on the Today page, and keep it open to check items off and find the next task during the day.
- **People leads**: Prep for 1:1s in one panel while viewing the previous meeting or someone's profile in another
- **Project managers**: Open team notes, tasks, and strategy docs across tabs
- **Content managers:** Review multiple drafts quickly by opening them in tabs
- **Researchers and writers**: Write in one tab, reference sources in another, search in a third
## Try it now
**Tabs are enabled by default** in the Tana Desktop app (no action needed).
If you haven't yet, [download the app](https://tana.inc/desktop) and start working across tabs like a pro.
---
### Custom colors for your Supertags
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/custom-colors-for-your-supertags
Published: 2025-12-11
Many users have asked for it, and now it is here. Set any custom color on your supertags. Choose from the full color spectrum to make Tana feel more like yours.
Whether you want to add personality to your workspace, align your tags with brand colors, or make structures visually easier to parse, the color picker for supertags now gives you the freedom to design a system that feels natural to you.
## What's new in the supertag color picker
The new picker gives you full control while ensuring colors stay accessible and look great across Tana's light and dark themes.
- **Choose any hue from the full color spectrum**, then fine-tune the shade using the color canvas to adjust brightness, saturation and contrast.
- **Work with precise HEX, RGB or HSV values,** whether you want to match brand colors or build a consistent visual system across your workspace.
- **Preview how your color adapts** in light and dark mode, ensuring it remains readable in all contexts. Tana automatically applies subtle adjustments so **colors remain readable** no matter where they appear.
- **Or generate a random color** for fast experimentation.
The supertag color will be applied on the supertags shown on content, set as a gradient on the supertag home page (click the tag to see all tagged content), and in the node bullet of tagged items, so they're instantly recognizable.
## What makes supertags so powerful
Supertags already sit at the heart of how Tana works. They turn raw notes into structured knowledge, allow patterns to emerge over time, and make your information findable and actionable.
Colors add a new layer of meaning to those structures, helping your brain skim, group and recall information faster. The ability to shape your system visually is a small but powerful step in making Tana a workspace that thinks with you and adapts to how _you_ process information.
If you are just getting started, supertags are one of the biggest reasons people choose Tana over traditional note-taking or database tools. They:
- Evolve structure as your thinking evolves rather than locking you into rigid templates
- Let you view the same information in different contexts
- Make tasks, meetings, projects, people and ideas instantly searchable and connected (with the [options from supertag field type](https://tana.inc/docs/fields#options-from-supertag-field-type))
- Configure custom workflows and processing of information with AI instructions for voice memos, meeting summaries, tasks and more.
This flexibility aligns with how your brain actually works. You capture first, then shape structure later. Supertags become your personal scaffolding for thinking, acting and deciding.
This is part of Tana's larger philosophy: a workspace that adapts to you, not the other way around.
## Why color matters for thinking
Color is one of the fastest ways the brain encodes meaning. When used intentionally, it reduces effort, speeds up scanning and lowers the mental load of navigating complex information.
Here are creative ways users can use color to make Tana calmer, clearer and more supportive of different cognitive styles:
### 1. Reduce overwhelm by signaling category at a glance
Assign consistent colors to your core supertags: #Meeting, #Task, #Person, #Project, #Idea, etc.
Create a predictable mental map so your eyes find what they need before you consciously think about it.
### 2. Ease transitions between contexts
Executives, managers and neurodivergent users often struggle with rapid context switching. Color can act as a visual anchor so your brain instantly knows "what mode" you're in.
For example:
- Warm colors for action-oriented tags (tasks, priorities)
- Cool colors for thinking-oriented tags (ideas, research)
- Neutral colors for reference information
### 3. Surface urgency and status
Even without reading text, you can communicate state:
- High-priority tasks in a saturated color
- Upcoming meetings in a softer tone
- Completed or dormant items in more muted shades
### 4. Create a brand-aligned workspace
For consultants, creators and teams, matching brand colors can make your workspace feel cohesive and professional. If you run a client workspace, their color palette can become a cue that you're in the right place.
### 5. Support neurodivergent workflows
Many neurodivergent users rely on color to regulate attention and reduce cognitive friction. They've told us Tana's structure already helps them capture fast-moving thoughts and think more clearly. Color builds on that by:
- Improving scannability
- Creating strong memory associations
- Reducing the need to re-evaluate every line
- Making large outlines less visually dense
Color becomes not decoration, but a subtle guide rail for staying oriented.
## How to start using custom colors
Open the supertag configuration, select the color picker, and choose any color that fits your system. You can adjust easily as your workflows evolve.
---
### Capture to tomorrow: a faster way to unload your mind in Tana mobile
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/capture-to-tomorrow-a-faster-way-to-unload-your-mind-in-tana-mobile-ios-android
Published: 2025-12-10
Sometimes your best ideas do not arrive during work hours. And the tasks you remember at 22:37 rarely survive until morning. Tana mobile now lets you capture to Tomorrow, giving you a simple, reliable way to offload thoughts the moment they come up and have them waiting for you in tomorrow's daily note when you start your day.
Tana's mobile apps for iOS and Android are designed for fast, structured capture from anywhere, and now takes one more step in helping you stay on top of your tasks, ideas and knowledge.
## Capture to tomorrow: start your mornings already prepared
Daily notes in Tana give you a clean notepad for each day. With **capture to tomorrow** in the mobile apps, you can now send ideas, tasks, reminders, or voice memos directly to _tomorrow's_ daily note with a single action.
It's designed for the moments where you suddenly remember something important after work, but don't have time to start navigating to add it in the right place. Capture it, close the app, and Tana will have it ready for you in the morning.
This small change has a big effect on cognitive load. Instead of juggling loose thoughts, you get them out of your head immediately and return to your evening with peace of mind. This is one of the core principles of the Getting Things Done (GTD) methodology. Tomorrow, your daily note opens with everything already laid out, so you can plan your day and avoid dropping any balls.
## Supercharged mobile capture with widgets
Tana's mobile widgets for iOS and Android let you start capturing instantly from your home screen or lock screen. Whether you prefer text, voice, or images, you can create widgets tuned to your workflows.
You can configure widgets to:
- Capture a **voice memo** into a specific supertag
- Add a **quick written note** to a project or pinned node
- Snap a **photo** and and add a supertag
- Capture directly into **today or tomorrow's daily note** using the new option
For managers juggling many roles and responsibilities, this gives you "one-tap capture" for the workflows that matter most.
## A better way to manage tomorrow's tasks
When your tasks land directly in tomorrow's daily note tagged with a supertag, they instantly connect into your wider system. They become:
- Searchable
- Filterable
- Linkable to people, meetings, or projects
- Ready for AI-powered summarization or follow-up
This fits perfectly with how Tana is designed to support thinking and execution:
a connected workspace where tasks sit in the right context, instead of scattered across apps.
For busy professionals, this means fewer loose threads and a smoother start to the day. Use the daily notes page to map out tasks you want to get done today, and check off things as you completed the. Tana support checkboxes and dynamic progress bars to help you keep track of progress.
## Longer voice memos for real thinking
We've also increased the voice memo duration limit from **1 hour to 2 hours**, giving you more room to capture lectures, brainstorm sessions, long-form thinking, walking meetings, and deep reflections. Voice memos remain one of the most powerful features of Tana mobile, thanks to their structured capture capabilities.
When you record a voice memo in Tana:
- You can apply **supertags** to categorize it.
- [**Fields auto-fill**](/learn/features/mobile-voice-memos#custom-autofill-behavior) based on your transcript
- [Customize fields to link to existing notes, people and projects](https://tana.inc/docs/mobile-voice-memos#ai-instructions)
- The memo becomes **structured data** in your graph, not a dead-end audio file.
Combined with the new option to capture to tomorrow, this means you can record a long voice memo after a client meeting, tag it with the right supertag, and have it waiting in tomorrow's daily note ready for action or review.
If you want to set Tomorrow as the default for captured content, open the capture tab, tap voice or write, open the destination option and then long press of the option you want to set as default:
## A calmer way to end the day, and a smarter way to begin the next
Capture to tomorrow makes end-of-day capture frictionless. Instead of holding mental to-dos overnight or scattering them into multiple apps, Tana becomes a single place to unload everything confidently.
In the morning, you open Tana and everything you captured is already organized, tagged, and waiting in tomorrow's daily note.
It's simple, but transformative for users who rely on Tana as their second brain.
[Check out ready-made templates for voice memos in Tana ->](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/Mobile%20voice)
---
### A better AI chat experience in Tana: new design, full chat history, and smarter storage
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/a-better-ai-chat-experience-in-tana-new-design-full-chat-history-and-smarter-storage
Published: 2025-12-09
Tana's AI chat is now faster to use, easier to navigate, and more powerful for long-running work. With a redesigned chat interface, chat history in the sidebar, and improved storage that keeps your graph clean, this update makes AI a more reliable partner in your daily workflow.
Busy managers, project leads, and individual professionals rely on AI inside Tana for meeting prep, decision support, writing, and research. This release makes those workflows smoother, easier to revisit, and better connected to your knowledge graph.
## A new sidebar view for all your AI chats
Finding past conversations is now simple. The new AI chats view appears automatically at the top of your sidebar and shows up to 100 chats per page. You can filter, sort, and search across all chats, making it easy to revisit earlier thinking, find a summary you generated last week, or pick up a long-running research thread.
For users researching productivity apps, networked note-taking tools, or second brain systems, this solves a common problem: AI conversations usually live in isolated chat silos. In Tana, they are part of a connected knowledge graph, searchable and contextualized alongside your meetings, tasks, and documents. You can reference any AI chat in notes where you want to include it as context or reference material. This makes Tana a strong alternative to standalone AI assistants or traditional note-taking tools.
The AI chats view in sidebar is a system view in Tana, similar to Recents. It cannot be edited by users as it may be updated with design changes.
## A cleaner, more focused AI chat interface
Across Tana, the chat interface has been refreshed with a clearer layout and better separation of context and messages. The new UI is shown on all AI chats, whether they are created from the sidebar, inline on nodes, and in expanded views. Long chats are easier to follow, prompts remain visible as context grows, and the overall interaction flow feels faster.
This update supports the way knowledge workers think: moving between quick prompts, deeper analysis, and drafts of real work. Instead of switching to a separate AI tool and losing your context, you stay inside Tana's knowledge graph where everything remains connected.
## Smarter storage for new chats
AI chats created from the sidebar view now live under a single node in your Library called AI chats. This replaces the old behavior where chats appeared on Today, which made it harder to manage or exclude them from searches.
This change gives users more control over their workspace structure. If you regularly filter your graph for tasks, meetings, or research, you no longer have stray chat nodes polluting your results. You can use [the search operator IS CHAT in live search queries](https://tana.inc/docs/search-nodes#node-type) to search in AI chats or exclude them from results.
Inline AI chats still behave exactly as before. When you create a chat inside a node, it remains attached to that node, preserving the full context of your work.
If you want to consolidate older chats into this new structure, you can do so by creating a [search for IS CHAT](https://tana.inc/docs/search-nodes#node-type), dragging it into the Library node, then running Bring referenced node here from the command menu.
## Lower token costs with prompt caching
AI chats with large context now benefit from prompt caching. When you send follow-up messages that reuse earlier parts of the conversation, the model can read from cache instead of recomputing everything from scratch. This reduces token usage significantly for managers who work with long meeting transcripts, research documents, or iterative strategic discussions.
Caching happens automatically in Tana. You can read more about the underlying mechanism in our AI chat documentation.
For users comparing AI workspace tools, this matters. Unlike generic chat UIs, Tana's AI is built to work with your knowledge graph, not a blank prompt. With caching applied to structured, context-rich conversations, Tana delivers both smarter outputs and more efficient token consumption.
## Why this update matters for teams and professionals
Across our user interviews, managers and executives consistently described a familiar challenge: AI chats are valuable in the moment, but unmanageable afterward. They disappear into history, become disconnected from the real work, or can't be retrieved when decisions need context.
This update solves that by making AI chat a first-class part of your workspace:
- Chat becomes a navigable, searchable asset rather than an isolated interaction
- Long-form strategic or research conversations stay easy to revisit
- Your graph stays organized and clean, with AI chats stored in a predictable location
- Token spend decreases for long context discussions
- The UI becomes a smoother environment for thinking, drafting, and decision-making
For anyone researching tools for connected note-taking, second brain apps, AI-powered knowledge management systems, or meeting intelligence platforms, these changes reinforce Tana's differentiator: AI that works inside your knowledge graph, not outside it.
## Start exploring the new AI chat experience
Open Tana today, check the sidebar for AI chats, and try out the redesigned interface. If you want to organize your historical chats, use the IS CHAT search to move them into the new structure.
This update is part of our ongoing work to make Tana the most powerful thinking workspace for individuals and teams. More improvements are already in progress, and we look forward to seeing how the new chat experience supports your meetings, projects, and strategic work.
---
### A flexible alternative to rigid databases: meet Tana's new view toolbar
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/a-flexible-alternative-to-rigid-databases-meet-the-new-view-toolbar-in-tana
Published: 2025-12-08
The new view toolbar gives you instant control over how you see and organize information in Tana. Filter, sort, group and change display with a single click or keystroke, so you can shift perspectives quickly and stay focused on the work that matters.
## Why we built a view toolbar
Tana's power comes from the way it combines structured notes, tasks and connected knowledge into one system. Searches update live as your workspace changes, surfacing the information you need in real time. Views then let you choose how to look at that information: lists, tables, boards, calendars or plain outline.
Until now, switching between these options required opening the node options menu each time. For users managing complex projects, tracking many tasks, or exploring search results, this created unnecessary friction.
The new view toolbar makes these controls available exactly where you work, so you can move between different lenses without breaking focus.
## A horizontal toolbar that adapts to your context
When you open a node, expand it inline, or view related content, the view toolbar appears right beneath it. It adapts to the space available, keeping controls within reach without taking over your screen.
The toolbar includes:
- Search on title
- Filter
- Sort
- Group
- Display options (field values shown below the node)
Buttons turn blue when an option is active, so you always know that some options are applied.
Everything you could previously configure through the node options menu is still there, but now with a faster path. The view toolbar makes it easier to change values many times, if you are looking up things or updating something. If you need to add a new field, you can do that directly in the content, and immediately use it for filtering, sorting or grouping. This gives you the flexibility of a database tool without the setup overhead.
## Instantly shift perspective with one click
Tana is designed for users who think fluidly: managers jumping between meetings, knowledge workers switching between themes, and project leads tracking many moving parts.
The view toolbar lets you:
- Sort tasks by priority or due date on the fly
- Filter a research database to see only items that match key fields
- Group meeting notes by date, client or topic
- Adjust display settings to highlight the metadata that matters
- Search within long lists instantly with Search on title, now always visible
You keep the underlying data the same; only the view changes. It is the fastest way to understand what needs your attention in the moment.
## Pin the fields you use the most
If your nodes use supertags with [pinned fields](https://tana.inc/docs/fields#pinned-fields), those fields automatically rise to the top of the filter, group, sort and display menus. This means the attributes most important to your workflow are always within reach.
Pinned fields are configured inside each supertag, making it possible to tailor the toolbar menus to your team's processes or your personal system.
## Show or hide the toolbar whenever you want
The toolbar stays out of the way until you need it. It is hidden by default, and you can toggle it in three ways:
1. Right-click > Show/Hide view toolbar
2. Node options menu (... icon)
3. Cmd/Ctrl+K > Show/Hide view toolbar
This lets you keep a clean writing surface when you want full focus, while still making view controls instantly available when you switch into organizing mode.
## Fully keyboard-driven for fast operators
For users who prefer speed and minimal mouse usage, the toolbar works seamlessly with the command line. You can now type Ctrl/Cmd+K and then:
- Filter by
- Group by
- Sort by
- Display
Each command opens the relevant menu so you can navigate with your keyboard. Press ESC to close and return to the toolbar. You can also use arrow keys to move between the toolbar buttons themselves.
This gives Tana the speed and ergonomics of an outliner combined with the power of a flexible database.
## A unified system for managing tasks, notes and knowledge
The new view toolbar strengthens one of Tana's core differentiators: the ability to move from raw notes to structured knowledge to actionable workflows without switching tools.
Existing users will find it easier to explore their graph, refine dashboards, and shift between detailed and high-level views.
New users coming from tools like Notion will notice the difference immediately: no rigid databases, no heavy setup, no context switching between pages. Views adapt to your thinking, not the other way around.
Combined with Tana's live searches that update automatically as your workspace grows, this creates a more fluid and responsive system for managing everything from daily tasks to long-term research.
## The fastest way to understand what your work is telling you
With the view toolbar, Tana becomes even more effective at helping you see patterns, make decisions and take action. Whether you're managing projects, synthesizing research or running a full knowledge system, you can shift perspective without breaking your flow.
A workspace that adapts to your thinking should feel simple, powerful and fast. The new view toolbar delivers exactly that.
---
### Easier context switching with a new Recents view in Tana
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/easier-context-switching-with-a-new-recents-view-in-tana
Published: 2025-12-05
Your fastest path back to the work that matters
Finding your way back to something you just worked on should be effortless. With Recents, now available at the top of the sidebar for all users, Tana automatically surfaces the 100 most recently edited entities across all your workspaces. It's the quickest way to resume work, switch context, or recover important notes without digging or searching.
This update reflects a simple idea: when your knowledge lives in a connected system, you shouldn't need to remember where anything is. Tana should remember for you.
## What Recents shows you
Recents displays the 100 most recently edited notes you've created or edited. It updates whenever you or a collaborator changes something in the note:
- Editing content
- Updating or setting a field value
- Checking/unchecking checkboxes
- Adding new or editing notes in the mobile app
This makes Recents especially powerful for users who work across many projects, collaborate in shared workspaces, or use Tana for meetings and fast-moving decision cycles.
To keep the list focused and useful, Recents only includes top-level nodes ("[entities](https://tana.inc/docs/node-types#entity-nodes)"), not every nested bullet or child node inside your documents.
A node will be treated as an entity if it:
- Has a supertag
- Lives at the top level of your Library (direct child)
- Was created from the Capture tab in the mobile apps
There is now also a dedicated search operator, **`IS ENTITY`**, making it easy to build your own live searches that filter down to entities only. If some nodes are not treated as an entity, but you would like them to be, you can do Ctrl/Cmd+K > Set entity override to entity
## A smarter way to track your recent work
Recents groups items by date and sorts them by **Last edited time**, with the newest activity at the top. It surfaces changes across all the workspaces you have added in the sidebar, so you can see movement in shared documents as soon as teammates update them.
**Changing field values now updates the system field `Last edited time`, not just content changes like it has been before.**
- If the note has a Supertag with pinned fields, they will be automatically displayed on the note in Recents
- Calendar nodes are excluded so your daily notes don't flood the list
This gives you a clean, high-signal feed of what actually changed in your world.
## Easy access in the sidebar
Recents is a system view, designed to be consistent and predictable for everyone, and can't be customized. But you _can_ hide it, reorder items in the top of the sidebar, and restore them at any time.
- Right-click Recents to hide it
- Bring it back via _Settings > Preferences_ or **Cmd/Ctrl+K > Toggle Recents in sidebar**
If you want your _own_ customized version of Recents, you can always [recreate it as a search and pin it to the sidebar](/help/search-and-finding#can-i-customize-sidebar-search-recents-or-supertags).
## Why this matters for users managing meetings, projects, and fast-changing work
Recents gives you instant recall of where your attention has been, without relying on memory or search queries. For users who run many meetings or switch between clients and projects, this means:
- Faster context switching
- No more losing track of important nodes after a long day
- A way to stay up to date on what others have changed
- A lighter cognitive load because Tana handles the remembering
It reflects what Tana is uniquely good at: bringing structure and intelligence to your knowledge without requiring extra effort from you.
---
### A more flexible, customizable sidebar with resizing for faster work in Tana
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/a-more-flexible-sidebar-with-resizing-and-customization
Published: 2025-12-03
The Tana sidebar just got a major upgrade. It is now fully resizable, can be collapsed for complete focus, and gives you more control over what shows up at the top.
This update makes the sidebar a more powerful command center for your day, whether you're managing meetings, tracking tasks, or navigating your knowledge graph.
## Resize the sidebar to fit your workspace
You can now drag the divider between the sidebar and the editor to make the sidebar exactly the width you want. Make it slim when you're writing, or widen it when you need to navigate directly to projects, dashboards, or to view long node titles.
Tana allows you to expand/collapse nodes directly in the sidebar to navigate your tree, and resizing the sidebar makes this even easier.
If you ever want to return to the default width, open **Cmd/Ctrl+K** and select **Reset sidebar width**.
## Collapse the sidebar for full-focus work
Some moments require zero visual noise, especially when writing, reviewing meeting notes, or mapping out a project.
The sidebar can now be fully collapsed:
- Click the sidebar toggle once to minimize it
- Click again to collapse it completely
- Click once more to bring it back
You can also use the command line:
- **Show sidebar** - opens the full sidebar
- **Show mini sidebar** - minimizes the sidebar to only show icons
- **Hide siderbar** - hides the sidebar completely
- **Toggle sidebar** - switches to the next state; Full sidebar -> Minimized sidebar -> Hidden sidebar
This transforms Tana into a clean, distraction-free outliner editor while keeping navigation just one click away.
## Customize the sidebar top items
The top of the sidebar is where your most important places in Tana live; your Daily Page, Supertags, AI chats and the Inbox (optional). Since people have different workflows and preferences, we have now made it possible to control exactly what shows up there.
**Right-click an item in the top section to show, hide, or reorder what's pinned to the top**.
This helps new users get oriented faster, and gives power users a simple way to shape their command center.
## Pin nodes and searches for quick access
Pin anything you return to often: projects, reference material, meeting hubs, or live searches. Pinned searches update automatically, which makes them ideal for dashboards like:
- upcoming meetings
- open tasks
- follow-up lists
- active projects
- research topics or reference material
Expanding nodes in the sidebar also works for search nodes, allowing you to navigate directly to a task from a pinned project task list for example.
## See progress directly in the sidebar
If a pinned item contains a progress bar, the sidebar now shows a circular progress indicator next to it.
You'll see:
- a quick percentage view of task completion
- a tooltip with exact numbers when hovering
- live updates as tasks are completed anywhere in your workspace
This turns the sidebar into a lightweight project tracker, perfect for managers and knowledge workers who want quick insight into what's moving and what needs attention.
## A sidebar that can fit the way you work
The new sidebar makes Tana faster to use and easier to shape around your workflow. It supports quick navigation when you need it and disappears when you want full focus. You decide what shows up, how it's sized, and how you track progress.
Whether you're managing a busy meeting schedule, running complex projects, or building a connected second brain, the new sidebar gives you more control and clarity than ever.
---
### Tana Current Monthly Update (November 2025)
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-current-monthly-update-november-2025
Published: 2025-11-27
These monthly updates give you a window into what is happening at Tana, features we are building, improvements we are making, and the thinking behind where we are taking the product. This November we are delivering on navigation improvements, shipping a game-changing image generation capability, and continuing our work to make Tana the best place to work with AI.
## Major Releases Coming
Several major updates are ready to ship in the next few weeks:
### 1. Recents
A new sidebar item that automatically shows your 100 most recently edited nodes.
No more hunting for that thing you were working on. Recents gives you quick access to work in progress without building search nodes or trying to remember where you left things.
This uses a new "entity" concept. Tana now distinguishes between important objects and nodes that are simply parts of larger entities. Entities include tagged nodes, direct library children, and anything captured from mobile. The result is that you see meaningful items in Recents instead of 100 small nodes nested inside a single note.
Behind the scenes, this represents a meaningful shift in how Tana understands and organizes your content.
### 2. Sidebar Upgrades
The sidebar improvements we previewed last month are now live.
**Fully collapsible sidebar**
Click one more time to completely hide the sidebar (beyond the mini bar) for distraction-free work. One click brings it back. This gives you a clean canvas when you need to focus.
**Resizable sidebar**
Drag the sidebar edge to make it wider or narrower. Your preferred width saves automatically and persists when you reload. Use Command: "reset sidebar width" to return to the default. Useful when you want to see deeper into your tree structure without leaving the sidebar.
**Hide hard-coded items**
Remove items you don't use from the sidebar (AI chats, super tags, etc.). Restore them anytime with Command+K > `Toggle (item)` in sidebar or find them in Settings > Preferences. Customize your sidebar to show only what matters to you.
### 3. UI Facelift
The whole Tana UI has gotten a facelift with a more modern and elegant color palette. We've improved the contrast on buttons, menus and tabs.
- Dark mode now has a darker shade on the background for content, for better readability. The sidebar and buttons is now slight lighter.
- Light mode has a lighter shade on the sidbar/background, and better contrast on menus and buttons.
### 4. Filter Toolbar Improvements
A streamlined one-line toolbar that puts filtering controls right where you need them.
- Search and filter by title always visible
- Changing search is now straightforward (previously required menu navigation)
- Dedicated buttons for group, sort, and display options
- Applied filters shown in a separate button
- Active filters highlighted in blue
- Toggle visibility from the context menu
- Filters are now accessible without diving into menus
Small changes like this add up to a noticeably smoother daily experience.
### 5. Nano Banana Pro Image Generation
We've upgraded image generation in Tana to use Nano Banana Pro, the best image generation model on the market.
**What You Can Do:**
Set banner images for projects and notes
Create infographics and visual summaries
Generate whiteboard explanations
Make comics and visual explanations
Create napkin sketches and hand-drawn style visuals
Generate meeting summaries as images
Visualize complex knowledge instantly
**Why This Is Powerful:**
Nano Banana works with Tana's context system, so you can send entire meeting transcripts, book notes, or complex knowledge structures. It understands information deeply and turns it into accurate visualizations while also writing text with minimal mistakes. It is cost-effective because sending large context is cheap and the difference between a short sentence and a long transcript is small. You can generate images in 1K for in-app use or 4K for external use, and then download them for use anywhere or in Tana Publish.
**Custom Commands:**
Build your own image generation commands
String together different models (use Opus to generate prompts, then send to Nano Banana)
Create prompt libraries that improve over time
Template pack coming with pre-built commands for infographics, banners, and graphic design
Easy to edit prompts- just edit the command like any other Tana command
**Use Cases:**
Meeting summaries as visual infographics
Book notes turned into personalized visual summaries
Marketing assets generated from launch content
Project banners that make your workspace beautiful
Complex concepts explained visually
This feature represents the power of having AI models integrated into Tana's context system rather than as separate tools. It's transformative for how you can visualize and work with your knowledge.
### Where We're Headed
We're working on two parallel tracks: refining what Tana does today, and building toward a future where AI works seamlessly with your knowledge.
**Refining Today's Experience**
After a period focused on new user experience, we're shifting attention back to power users and the day-to-day experience of using Tana. That means addressing paper cuts, fixing bugs, and making small improvements that add up.
Some recent fixes that have shipped:
- Checkbox state visible in search results
- Select multiple nodes and pin them all at once
- Tana credits now visible in GPT log monitor (see exactly how many credits each prompt uses)
We're systematically tracking and triaging bugs reported by the community. Because Tana is a complex system, some fixes require careful work - changing one thing can affect many others. But we're identifying quick wins that can ship fast, and you'll see more of these rolling out regularly.
**Building the Best AI Experience**
Our above improving day to day useability in Tana is straightforward with AI: make Tana the best place to work with AI while keeping everything in context. No copy-pasting, no switching between tools.
**Areas we're exploring:**
Making context easier to use - Better ways to pull your notes into AI conversations and get exactly the context you need
- Smarter token usage - More efficient handling of large context nodes and multi-message conversations
- Prompt engineering workflows - Leverage Tana's structure to build reusable prompts and prompt libraries
- Model selection - We're adding new models (like the three that just shipped) and improving how you choose between them (reasoning levels are now visible)
- Media support - Exploring ways to support more media types in AI workflows
- Voice features - Continuing to invest heavily in voice capabilities
- AI for your workspace - This is the big one everyone's waiting for. We're taking our time because we want to get it right, avoiding the trap of creating something that burns tokens without delivering real value. We're choosing the harder path that leads to something genuinely useful.
The vision of AI that understands everything and can build anything is compelling, and we're building toward it. You can already see glimpses of this future in features like Nano Banana Pro, where your full context connects directly to AI capabilities, not as a separate tool, but as an integrated part of how you work.
### The story of November 2025
This month we delivered some long-awaited features- offline mode finally shipped, new AI models are available, and mobile workflows are getting more powerful. But more importantly, we're starting to see how the pieces fit together.
And as a recap, these are all the things that went out the door in November:
### What's Shipped in November
#### 1. Offline Mode
Offline mode is now live and working. Most users may not need it daily (connectivity keeps improving), but it's there when you need it; on flights, in remote areas, or during network outages. Delivering this long-requested feature was great!
#### 2. New AI Models from Google, OpenAI and Anthropic
Three new models are now available in Tana:
GPT 5.1 - OpenAI's latest
Gemini 3 - Google's newest release
Opus 4.5 - Anthropic's latest Claude model (shipped yesterday)
All three are available in the model picker, grouped by cost tier. We've also added reasoning level controls (low to high) so you can adjust how deeply each model processes your queries.
To use: Press space anywhere in Tana to start a chat with context from that part of your knowledge, or click the model picker to choose your model. Since everything in Tana is a node, you can chat about specific nodes or start a general AI conversation.
#### 3. Customizable mobile widgets for home screen
New mobile widgets enable quick capture, including a one-tap meeting super tag widget for starting meetings instantly.
iOS Shortcuts and Automations - Create shortcuts and automations that trigger Tana actions based on location, time, or actions in other apps. For example: automatically prompt Friday questions at 3 PM to ensure they get answered on time. Capture directly to specific super tags based on context, tasks during work hours, ideas when you're out walking, book notes when reading.
This unlocks automation workflows: start Tana actions when you arrive at a location, complete tasks in other apps, or at scheduled times throughout your day.
#### 4. Checkbox state in Global Search
Global search (Command+S or sidebar search) now shows checkbox states in results. You can quickly see which tasks are done and which aren't across your entire workspace. (Direct checkbox interaction in search is coming soon.)
#### 5. Progress Wheel in Sidebar
A visual progress indicator you can pin to your sidebar:
- Displays completion status for any node containing checkboxes
- Progress bar and wheel update as you check off subtasks
- A checkmark icon appears when everything is complete
- Pin multiple progress wheels to track different areas at once
Beyond tasks, use this to monitor bug reports, track launch checklists, or visualize any checkbox-based workflow. Multiple progress wheels give you a dashboard view of what's happening across different parts of your workspace.
## Upcoming events
In December we will have our annual Founder AMA which will cover roadmap items. Tana Current will return in January.
We are currently weekly free events for both beginngers and advanced users:
- [**Weekly beginners drop-in session**](https://luma.com/tanadropin?k=c) with Ev Chapman
- [**Tana Learn Live**](https://tana.inc/articles/tana-learn-live) - deep dive introductions into core feature
- [**Tana Live Build Sessions**](https://tana.inc/articles/tana-live-build) - we build out complete systems to solve use cases
Learn live and Live build sessions are recorded and the recordings are made available after the event:
[See all upcoming and past events](https://tana.inc/community)
---
### AI image generation with Gemini Nano Banana Pro in Tana
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/ai-image-generation-in-tana-with-gemini-nano-banana-pro
Published: 2025-11-26
Forget switching between apps. Generate professional images directly in your notes using Google's latest Gemini model in Tana. From meeting sketches to presentation graphics in seconds. This changes how professionals and teams can create visual documentation forever.
No more tab switching. No more copy-pasting. No more breaking your flow to create visuals. Just type, generate, and keep working where your notes already live.
Go from note-taking or meeting transcripts to sharing whiteboard sketches, infographics, cartoons or napkin drawings in minutes. Tana lets you experiment with finding your style for prompts, and build up your own prompt library for image generation.
[Download the new templates for banner images, infographics and graphic design](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/Image%20generation)
## A faster, more capable image model
Tana's image generation just got a major upgrade. You can now generate sharper, more accurate, and better-fitting images directly inside your workspace using Google's Gemini Nano Banana Pro model. The result is a smoother workflow for creating banner images, visual summaries, and illustrations that can summarizes and actually fit your documents.
When using command nodes, Tana now gives you more control over aspect ratio, resolution and style, so your visuals match the story you're telling, without jumping out to a separate tool. This creates higher-quality images across creative, conceptual, and realistic use cases.
## Generate images instantly where you need them
In Tana, you can generate AI images on the fly while working on your notes, without needing to switch to a different tool like Midjourney or Google Gemini. You can include much more
You can access image generation several places in Tana:
1. Use _Generate banner image_ at the top of any node
1. Type / and select "Image/file", then select "Generate image"
1. Write our your prompt as a normal note and then do **Ctrl/Cmd+K > Generate image with AI**
1. You can also build your own custom command nodes for image generation
## Generate banner images on any note
All banner images are now generated in 21:9 format, ensuring banner images line up cleanly with your notes, guides, and documentation. The image will be cropped on top/bottom to fill the width when you scale the panel up and down.
Right-click on the header of any node, or simply click the "Banner" button and then select "Generate image". This will open a modal where you can write your prompt and select a stryle.
## Flexible style control
You can now include style direction directly in your prompt. Whether you want a photorealistic image, a soft illustration, line-art, or a cinematic still, Gemini 3 Pro responds reliably to stylistic cues.
Example styles:
- Watercolor illustration
- Minimalist line art
- Film still / cinematic composition
- Infographic-style diagram
- Vintage book engraving
Example prompt for the image above: `"Generate an image in aquarel style, of a company christmas party, looking in from the outside where it snows."`
[Download these templates to try creating images ->](https://tana.inc/templates)
## Turn your notes into infographics
**Gemini Nano Banana Pro excels at reading and including text in images.** When plugged into a powerful note-taking app like Tana, this unlocks powerful use cases like visualizing your road map, summarizing a user interview or a brainstorm session, or a map of goals.
How a user interview could look:
Or a feature road map:
Record a team brainstorming session and get a easy-to-read whiteboard diagram:
[**Get started now by download these pre-made templates for infograpics ->**](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/Commands)
## Generate consistent images with Tana's command nodes
If you are a consultant, marketer, content creator or creating images is part of your workflow, Tana lets you set up commands that give you the same style, size, resolution output every time, but makes it easy to edit the content that will feature in the image.
Tana lets you create powerful command nodes, that can be configured to perform structured actions and can also generate or reformat content using AI, with custom prompts. [AI command nodes](https://tana.inc/docs/ai-command-nodes) combine the power of automation with Tana's built-in AI. Tana also offers advanced functionality to build AI commands that reference specific parts of your content as context for AI queries.
This makes it possible to create command nodes that generate images, using a specific prompt every time to give a consistent style. By running a command node on a specific node, AI will use the node's content as context to generate the image.
The built-in command **Generate image(s) with AI** now supports Gemini 3 Pro Nano-banana, and lets you define the aspect ratio and resolution you want.
[Download these image generation packs of command nodes to get started ->](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/Commands)
### 10 aspect ratios supported in command nodes
One of the biggest changes is support for precise aspect ratios. You now have full control over the format of the image you want generate. Tana now supports 10 aspect ratios:
**1:1, 16:9, 9:16, 21:9, 3:2, 2:3, 4:3, 3:4, 5:4, 4:5**
Simply include the desired ratio inside your prompt.
This means no more awkward crops or stretched images, what you ask for is what you get.
### Higher resolution options
You now have three output quality levels for image generation command nodes:
- **1K/Standard**
- **2K (default if nothing is specified)**
- **4K for ultra-crisp detail**
Higher resolution is helpful when creating:
- Banners for presentations or reports
- Visual explanations
- Illustrations for larger screens
- Images for physical printing
## Build your own prompt library in Tana
Compared to using image generation services in Gemini or elsewhere, Tana lets you use your existing notes as input. You can also store and evolve the prompts you use over time, ending up with a comprehensive prompt library that is easy to re-use for consistent style and high-quality output.
- Write out your brand values or style guide and use that as a reference into command nodes for a consistent image style.
- Then pull this in as context for AI simply by typing @ and then searching for the node you want to include.
**Pro-tip:** We recently added support for the latest models GPT-5.1, Gemini 3 Pro and Claude Opus 4.5 in the built-in AI chat in Tana. Use these with AI chat (Opus is particularly good!) to **draft prompts** to put into image generation commands.
## How to generate images in Tana
You can create images from scratch anywhere in your workspace.
### Generate an image from a node:
1. **Write your prompt inside a node**
Include any aspect ratio, style, or resolution in plain text.
Example:
_Generate an image of a 1890s sailboat struggling in the northern sea in storm._
1. **Open the command bar**
Press **Ctrl/Cmd+K > Generate image with AI**.
1. **Wait for the output**
It may take one to two minutes for the image to appear directly below the node.
1. **Use the image however you like**
- Download it
- Move it to another place in your workspace (right-click > Move > Select location)
- Press **Space** to view it fullscreen
- Attach it as a banner image at the top of a node
This keeps your visual assets structured and accessible inside your knowledge graph, perfect for briefs, presentations, and project documentation.
### Create your own command node
Before embarking on this, we recommend learning the basics of command nodes first.
## Why this matters for your workflow
Working with image generation can be tedious and require repeated attempts to get the result you want. The prompt and instructions matter, and most image generation tools aren't designed to handle large amounts of information. Nor is their UI designed to help you store and iterate on prompts that work, evolving them into a prompt library that becomes your superpower. This is where Tana shines, by combing a powerful note-taking app with native image generation.
With Tana's outliner knowledge graph, your notes can be linked together and pulled in where they are needed, so your information stays updated and connected. The same note can be referenced as context in any AI chat or command node, saving the manual work on copy-pasting back and forth. Supertags let you build custom workflows where image generation buttons can be part of the template, allowing you to generate images with one click.
For managers or consultants juggling meetings, tasks, and projects, visuals help make information stick. This upgrade makes it easier to:
- Give notes a consistent visual identity
- Create polished documents for sharing with clients
- Produce quick visual explanations without leaving Tana
- Support AI-generated workflows with accompanying imagery
And because everything sits inside your connected workspace, you keep context intact, no more lost assets across folders and apps.
### Start Creating Today
Gemini Nano Banana Pro is available now for all Tana users.
Sign up for free to try it and explore pre-built templates with image generation prompts:
---
### Tana now supports Gemini 3 Pro, GPT-5.1 and Claude Opus 4.5: faster reasoning, web search in all models
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-now-supports-gemini-3-pro-and-gpt-5-1-faster-reasoning-web-search-in-all-models
Published: 2025-11-21
Tana now supports the newest frontier AI models from Google, Anthropic and OpenAI, and makes them available across commands, chats, agents, and your knowledge graph workflows. You can choose the exact model and reasoning level you want, compare models side by side, and use web search in every model for fresh, reliable information.
> Updated November 29th with Claude Opus 4.5 added.
## The latest frontier models inside your outliner and knowledge graph
Working in a knowledge graph is perfect for AI, letting it explore relations between content. This release brings the latest models to Tana:
You now have:
- **Gemini 3 Pro** in both low-reasoning and high-reasoning modes
- **GPT-5.1** with no-reasoning, low-reasoning, medium-reasoning, and high-reasoning modes
- **Claude Opus 4.5** with low-reasoning, medium-reasoning, and high-reasoning modes
- **Unified support for web search across all models** (OpenAI GPT, Anthropic Claude and Google Gemini models)
These are available in core AI features inside Tana: AI chats, prompt workbench, AI commands, agents, and custom supertag workflows.
If you want creative ideation, structured analysis, deep reasoning, or rapid transcription, you can now select the model that matches the task, directly within your workspace.
## Web search now available for every model
Every AI model in Tana can now use real-time web search.
This upgrade is designed for users who manage fast-moving information: product leaders processing user interviews or feedback, managers preparing for upcoming meetings, and researchers synthesizing new content into their knowledge graph.
With web search enabled, Tana's AI can:
- Look up recent facts or data points
- Answer questions about things not covered in your notes
- Pull in external context for decision-making
- Write or summarize with current information
- Support workflows that depend on fresh inputs
Because search works across all models, you don't have to choose between "best model" and "most up-to-date answer." You get both.
NB: web _fetch_ for URLs is not yet supported in Tana. This means that you can instruct AI to read/summarize a particular URL. Web search will just search the internet for answers to a question, and summarize the information into a response.
## Smarter model selector with reasoning controls
Reasoning models consume more tokens upfront but handle complex tasks significantly better. To make this easier to understand, the Tana model selector now shows:
- Whether a model supports reasoning
- What levels are available
- An indicative level of cost
This helps you choose the right tool for the job. For example:
- **Low reasoning**: fast brainstorming, rewriting, lightweight tasks
- **Medium reasoning**: summaries, meeting notes, multi-step transformations
- **High reasoning**: long-form analysis, complex logic, strategic tasks across your knowledge graph
For users building custom AI commands or workflows using supertags, this clarity makes it much easier to pick the right model and reasoning level.
## Cleaner model list: older models removed
To ensure consistency, reliability, and performance, we removed several older models that no longer meet our bar for quality.
If you have commands or AI workflows that reference deprecated models, Tana automatically redirects them to the closest fallback model, ensuring nothing breaks. You can update them at your own pace, or continue using the fallback for now. [See full list of which models are deprecated and which ones are now supported](/help/ai-and-automation#what-ai-models-are-supported).
## Why this matters for users researching AI-native outliners and knowledge-graph tools
Tana offers an integrated workspace where you can combine manual note-taking with voice and meeting transcription, and integrated AI functionality:
1. Your notes, tasks, meetings, and knowledge graph relations (references) give AI rich context, without needing to copy-paste.
2. You can choose from the strongest models across OpenAI and Google.
3. You can enable reasoning only when the task genuinely needs it.
4. You can use web search on every model.
5. You can build out powerful custom workflows with AI, that processes content in the way you need.
For users evaluating tools like Notion, Obsidian, Logseq, or Roam, this kind of model-level flexibility plus structured data is unique to Tana.
## Practical examples for users managing complex work
If you're struggling with juggling projects, meetings, and information overload this is how Tana can help you:
- Use **GPT-5.1 high reasoning** to synthesize patterns in complex information
- Use **Gemini 3 Pro low reasoning** to draft quick ideas or restructure documents.
- Use **Claude Opus 4.5** for writing or analysis
- Use web search within any model to research or brainstorm topics.
- Use reasoning-enabled models to create better action items from transcripts.
- Build supertag-specific workflows where different models handle different steps.
Tana becomes a flexible AI operating system for your thinking, not just a place to store notes.
---
### Track progress at a glance with sidebar progress bars
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/track-progress-at-a-glance-with-sidebar-progress-bars
Published: 2025-11-19
Tana now shows progress bars directly in your sidebar, giving you a fast visual signal of how your work is moving forward. This update builds on Tana’s core task management model, where every checkbox lives inside a connected outliner and progress bars automatically will update for sub-tasks.
It’s a lightweight feature with a big impact: whether you’re managing multiple projects, planning your week across meetings, or building a second-brain system, progress bars make it easier to stay oriented and act on what matters next.
## How task management works in Tana
Tana handles tasks in a unique way compared to traditional apps. Instead of creating a special “task database” or rigid table, **any node can instantly become a task**.
You simply hit Ctrl or Cmd + Enter to turn a node into a checkbox. Toggling a checkbox updates the node’s system fields (Done and Done time), which gives you clean, structured data without any setup.
Because Tana is an outliner with a knowledge graph underneath, tasks naturally stack into larger structures. When you add checkboxes under a node, **the parent node above automatically becomes a progress bar**, showing how many of its subtasks are complete. No configuration. No formulas. No database schema. You just outline your work and Tana turns it into structure.
This system is what enables the new sidebar indicators.
## Smarter progress bars that reflect real work
Progress bars in Tana aren’t static counts. They reflect the structure of your work in real time.
Here’s how they work:
• **Any node with checkbox children gets a progress bar**, showing a completion ratio.
• **Progress rolls up through the hierarchy.** A project with sub-projects will show a single, accurate progress bar for the entire tree.
• **Nested bars always contribute upward.** If a task list sits several levels deep, its state still affects your top-level project.
• **Search results are included.** If a search node returns items containing checkboxes, those also contribute to the progress. This makes dynamic lists feel alive.
• **Everything updates the moment you check something off.**
This design allows Tana to express progress the same way you think about work: nested, contextual, interconnected.
## Now visible in your sidebar
With the new update, any node with a progress bar can be dragged into your sidebar. Tana will show a circular indicator next to it, updating instantly as subtasks are completed.
Hover over the indicator to see a breakdown of completed items, or expand the node in place to work through your outline without losing your place.
You can also pin search nodes to the sidebar. Because Tana counts progress inside search results, you get an always-up-to-date indicator for things like:
• tasks due this week
• meetings missing summaries
• content pieces still in draft
• action items assigned to you
• tasks created in the last 24 hours
This makes the sidebar a powerful command center, especially if your work spans many projects and meetings.
## Why this matters for people choosing a productivity app
Most productivity tools force you to choose between two extremes:
• list-based task apps that separate tasks from context
• database tools that require upfront structure, templates, or formulas
Tana takes a different approach: **structure emerges from the outline you’re already writing**.
This means:
• You can take notes freely during meetings and mark tasks inline.
• Tasks automatically roll up into progress bars without extra setup.
• You can organize later without losing context.
• You can build powerful dashboards simply by pinning nodes or searches.
For managers juggling multiple projects and back-to-back meetings, this creates a workflow that stays fast while still giving you clarity across everything you're responsible for.
## Try it out
1. Turn any node into a checkbox with Ctrl or Cmd + Enter.
2. Add subtasks under a project node.
3. Watch the parent turn into a progress bar automatically.
4. Drag that node into the sidebar to see a real-time progress indicator.
5. Pin any saved search to track dynamic sets of tasks as they appear.
This system grows with you: start with a simple outline, and the structure becomes richer as your notes, tasks, and projects evolve.
## Task management that reflects how you think
Tana’s progress bars aren’t just another UI convenience. They’re a natural extension of the outliner and knowledge graph underneath the workspace. They help you see progress where it really exists: inside your notes, inside your projects, and across all the dynamically generated lists that shape your work.
For anyone comparing productivity apps or researching tools for structured note taking, task tracking, or networked thinking, this feature shows what makes Tana different. You capture your work in the moment, and Tana turns it into meaningful structure you can rely on.
---
### Tana iOS and Android gets native widgets for instant capture and voice memos
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-ios-and-android-gets-native-home-screen-widgets-for-instant-capture-and-voice-memos
Published: 2025-11-17
Tana for iOS and Android now lets you add widgets to the home screen for instant capture of voice memos, notes and images - with the supertags you use the most. In addition, the iOS app now includes deep integrations with Siri, Shortcuts, Spotlight search, and Control Centre, letting you record, write, and organize thoughts instantly from anywhere on your phone. Turn quick notes, voice memos, or tasks into connected knowledge with zero friction.
[Download iOS app](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tana-notes-ai-voice-memos/id6499428869)
[Download Android app](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tana.android&hl=en)
### Quick capture on the go with the Tana mobile apps
The new **Tana mobile apps for iOS and Android** is built for people who want to capture important thoughts, ideas or notes, and organize them in their knowledge graph. You can now **capture tasks, ideas, or voice memos** directly from your phone’s native tools, no app switching required.
Whether you’re between meetings or walking to the train, capture tagged items to Tana with** one click from the home screen**, use **Siri**, or tap an **iOS Shortcut** to capture instantly.
Each tagged capture automatically syncs and structures itself in your Tana knowledge graph, where you can organize and reformat it. So you’re not just taking notes, you’re building a system of lasting knowledge.
## Configurable Home screen widgets for iOS and Android apps
Add Tana capture widgets to your iPhone or Android home screen for one-tap access to your favorite capture modes; write, speak, or snap a photo.
You can set up multiple widgets for different supertags or destinations, for example:
- **#task** – capture your next action item
- **#idea** – jot down creative sparks
- **#memo** – record voice notes hands-free
### How to add home screen widgets on iOS
On the home screen, long press, tap "Edit" in the top left corner, then select Add widget. Long press each widget and select "Edit", to configure it.
### **How to add home screen widgets on Android**
To add an Android home screen widget, touch and hold an empty spot on your home screen, or pinch the screen. Then tap **Widgets**, find Tana, and then drag the widget to your desired location.
Once the widget is added, you can tap the Settings icon to configure the destination and supertag:
On newer Android versions you can even add multiple widgets in the same spot on the home screen and scroll sideways between them.
## **iOS native integrations**
#### Siri integration
Use **Siri** to capture notes, photos, or voice memos in Tana hands-free.
Make sure Siri is enabled on your device ([setup guide](https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204389)). Then try:
- “Tana write note” — open text capture.
- “Tana camera” — take and save a photo in Tana.
- “Tana voice memo” — start recording an audio note.
See the full list of supported voice commands [here](/learn/features/tana-mobile).
### Lock screen widgets
On your lock screen, you can add widgets for one-tap access:
- Write a note
- Record voice memo
- Take photo with camera
To add lock screen widgets, long press on the lock screen, tap Customize select the lock screen and then tap the widget area, find the Tana widgets and tap to add them into the widget area.
### Control Center widget
Access Tana in one swipe; add it to your **Control Center** (iOS) for instant recording and note capture, even while your phone is locked.
Swipe down from the top-right of your iPhone, long press, tap "Add a Control", search for Tana, and select between these options:
- Write a note
- Voice memo
- Camera (to take and upload images)
Perfect for when you want to capture a thought mid-conversation or note an idea during a walk.
### Spotlight search
Spotlight on iOS is the system-wide search you open by swiping down on the Home Screen. With this update, typing “Tana” in Spotlight now shows **quick actions** like _Write Note_, _Camera_, or _Voice Memo_.
Tap one to open that capture mode instantly, without even launching the full app.
### Shortcuts integration
You can now create multi-step **Tana shortcuts** in Apple’s [Shortcuts app](https://support.apple.com/en-gb/guide/shortcuts/apdfea15680b/ios).
A shortcut is a series of actions, and for Tana, these actions can include:
- Write note
- Record voice memo
- Open camera
Use these shortcuts in automations, widgets, or even assign them to your iPhone’s **Action Button** (available on iPhone 15 Pro and later).
#### Action Button integration
On supported models (iPhone 15 Pro or later), you can map the **Action Button** to run a Tana shortcut, for example, start recording a voice memo with a single press.
To set it up:
1. Go to _Settings > Action Button_.
2. Swipe to _Shortcut_ → _Choose a Shortcut_ → select a Tana action (Voice memo, Write Note or Camera).
## Capture ideas with purpose: use cases and templates
You’re walking between meetings, and tap a home app button for #task voice memo:
> “Follow up with Alex about the Q4 launch deck.”
Tana records your voice, **transcribes the memo**, applies the `#task` supertag, and saves it to your workspace. By the time you open your laptop, it’s already waiting in your daily note so you can remember it.
Here are a few other ideas for how you can use Tana’s new mobile voice capture system, along with **ready-to-use templates** you can open right now:
- **Draft memos:** Draft emails, feedback to share, or reporting updates using the [**#Memo supertag**](https://tana.inc/templates/memo). Use the _rewrite command_ button on desktop to instantly reformat your transcript, before it can be shared with the Tana publish feature.
- **Reflect on your week of or plan your day:** Record reflections while walking using the [**#Weekly reflection template**](https://tana.inc/templates/weekly-reflection).
- **Draft blog posts or articles:** Dictate ideas with the [**#Article template**](https://tana.inc/templates/article). Tana transcribes and structures your thoughts automatically.
- **Investor updates on the go:** Record updates using the [**#Investor update template**](https://tana.inc/templates/investor-update) while heading to the kitesurfing beach.
- **Brainstorm new ideas:** Use the [**#Brainstorm template**](https://tana.inc/templates/brainstorm) to team sessions or your own ramblings and have AI break it down in ideas or questions you can follow up on.
- **Record lectures or study sessions:** The [**Student hub template**](https://tana.inc/templates/student-hub) helps students capture lectures and automatically transcribe and tag them for later review.
All templates use **Tana’s supertags** to give instant structure and context to what you capture.
### From talk to action
Instead of juggling multiple apps for voice recording, formatting, organizing your notes and managing tasks, Tana lets you **capture, organize, and manage tasks in the same place**.
- Record voice notes and get customized** transcription workflows with different supertags**.
- Use **Tana iOS widgets** and **Shortcuts** for lightning-fast capture.
- Turn fleeting thoughts into structured, searchable knowledge.
- Build a living knowledge system where your knowledge compounds over time, and your tasks have context from meetings or notes.
With capturing in **Tana mobile apps**, every idea, voice memo, and task becomes part of a connected network, one that helps you think faster, act smarter, and stay in flow.
### Share your captured thoughts with Tana Publish
Once you’ve rewritten or refined your recordings, share them directly with **Tana Publish**. Add passwords for extra security (_requires paid plan_). Publish your memos, reflections, or ideas as public pages in one click.
[Watch how it works →](https://tana.inc/articles/share-your-thinking-not-just-your-documents-with-tana-publish?utm_source=tana.inc&utm_medium=blog)
### Ready to try it?
Download the latest **Tana app for iOS and Android**, add your widgets, and try capturing your next idea by voice. Check out Tana Mobile documentation to learn more.
Your phone just became the fastest way to build lasting knowledge.
[Download iOS app](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tana-notes-ai-voice-memos/id6499428869)
[Download Android app](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tana.android&hl=en)
---
### Work anywhere with Tana Desktop: Offline now available
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-desktop-now-works-offline-your-knowledge-graph-anywhere
Published: 2025-11-07
Yes, Tana now works offline. You can now use Tana even when you’re completely offline. Whether you’re traveling, in a meeting with poor coverage, or just want to stay focused without Wi-Fi, your knowledge graph is always with you.
Tana is an collaborative outliner text editor that lets you build out a knowledge graph from all your knowledge. A system where meeting notes become tasks, tasks link to projects, insights connect across time, and your knowledge compounds instead of scattering.
With Tana Desktop’s new offline support you can now keep capturing ideas, updating notes, and working in your personal workspaces without interruption. When you reconnect, everything syncs seamlessly.
This feature has been months in the making; our most-requested addition to Tana Desktop. Tana Desktop's new offline mode automatically downloads all your sidebar workspaces so you can access your entire knowledge graph without internet.
## Keep working, even when the network drops
If you lose connection briefly, Tana keeps working in the background. You’ll see a notification that we’re attempting to reconnect. Once you’re back online, your changes sync automatically. No data lost, no interruptions.
If you reload with no connection you can enter into offline mode. As long as you have loaded the Tana Desktop app before, you're data is already available.
## How does Tana's offline mode work?
Unlike other tools that require pre-selecting specific pages, Tana gives you full access to your interconnected notes, tasks, and projects offline.
For longer offline sessions, you can now manually switch to **working** **offline**. The offline experience is built for longer sessions of work.
Tana will reload and build local indexes of your workspaces so that features like **inline references and search** still work, even without a connection.
### What you can do offline
- **Write and edit** everything in your **personal and non-shared workspaces**
- **Read shared workspaces**
- **Search** across your workspace (for workspaces up to ~750k nodes)
- Use **inline references** and navigate your graph
- Capture ideas, notes, and tasks exactly as you would online
### What you can't do offline
- Use AI features or transcription
- Use commands that require AI
- Publish is disabled
## Good to know before you go offline
When working in shared workspaces offline, you’ll have **read-only access**. You can still browse and review content, but to avoid conflicts, we disable editing shared nodes while offline.
Going in and out of offline mode **require reloading** of Tana. If you have made many changes offline, reloading to go online may take a few minutes. You'll see a loading screen while your changes are being synched. You'll have to actively choose to go back online:
Offline mode can last as long as you need, whether for a flight, a long commute, or days without internet. Just note that very large workspaces or workflows that create thousands of nodes may give longer reload times when going back online, as everything has to be synched.
You’ll see an indicator in the top menu showing when you’re working offline.
## How to start working offline
1. Make sure you’re on **Tana Desktop app version 1.0.49 or later**
2. In the user menu, click **Work offline**
3. Confirm and reload: the first reload may take a few minutes while Tana builds your local index
4. You’re now offline!
When you’re ready to reconnect, click the indicator in the top bar to go back online, Tana will reload and sync all your changes.
## Why offline matters
For many users, being tethered to a network was the one thing holding them back from using Tana as their central workspace. That changes today.
Now, Tana is your **always-available second brain:** ready whenever inspiration strikes, no matter where you are.
Offline mode brings us closer to our long-term vision: a workspace that helps you focus and do your best work.
## Download it now:
---
### Tana Current Monthly Update (October 2025)
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-current-monthly-update-october-2025
Published: 2025-10-10
Each month we share what we’re working on, what’s about to ship, and where we’re headed next. These updates represent our current work in motion along with reflections about Tana’s direction. This October brings offline mode, navigation updates, expanded free plan features, and a look at our long-term thinking on the role of AI agents.
## Major Releases Coming Soon
We’re rolling out several major updates in the coming weeks. Here’s what’s on the way:
### 1. Offline support in Tana Desktop
_This was launched on November 7th. \*\*Go to announcement blog post._
After extensive testing, offline mode is in the final stretch and soon ready to launch. We’ve been shaping how Tana works without Wi-Fi in two important ways.
**Better handling of temporary network connection drops**
- Tana now handles temporary network connection drops smoothly (like driving into a tunnel, or WiFi blips).
- Tana Desktop will automatically attempt to reconnect.
- You can keep working, your changes will be synched when the connection is restored.
**Working offline**
- You can now work in Tana during flights or extended periods without network connection.
- _All_ your workspaces are available when offline (no need to pre-select any workspaces or specific notes).
- You can edit any notes in your personal workspaces
- You can view shared workspaces (any workspace with invited collaborators), but won't be able to edit notes in these workspaces
- You can use search and use @ mentions as normal. Tana will build out search indexes when you go offline (_NB: not supported for very large workspaces over 300K nodes_).
- Switching between offline and online requires a reload, which may take a few minutes. You’ll be asked to confirm before going back online to ensure all your changes are synced.
You can enter into offline from the user menu, or from the loading screen if you reload when there is not connection.
This is a significant improvement over other services where you have to decide upfront which documents you want offline access to.
### 2. Tana Free gets AI credits
**Free users will now get monthly AI credits** to test out Tana's AI features.
**What This Means:**
- New users can sign up directly to the free plan (no trial or credit card required).
- Free users can now regularly use core AI features: AI chat, meeting notetaker, live transcription, and mobile voice memos.
- Everyone gets to experience new AI features as they launch
**Updated limitations on the Free plan:**
- Max. 3 additional [workspaces](/learn/features/workspaces) beyond your personal workspace
- Can only use the [default model in AI chat](/learn/features/ai-chat) (GPT-4o at the moment)
- Limits on file uploads remain in place (5MB per file, 0.5GB total file storage)
- Creating new command nodes now requires a paid plan
- Mobile voice memos will save as audio if credits run out (can be transcribed later)
- The existing paid features **Google Calendar sync, password-protected publishing, publishing templates, and Input API integrations (like Readwise)** are still reserved for Plus and Pro.
For a full overview of all the features in plans, see [the pricing page](https://tana.inc/pricing).
The free plan provides real value while paid plans unlock all the power features for advanced users who use Tana daily and want to optimize their workflows.
### 3. New Importers
**Notion Importer** - Currently in testing
- Makes it easier to migrate from Notion
- Brings over content structure (databases convert to Tana tables)
- Some manual work needed for views and field types
- Great for using existing content as AI context
**Looking for Testers:** Check the #import-tools channel in Slack or DM Ingrid to get early access.
### 4. Meeting Notetaker Improvements
Ongoing work to improve reliability:
- Better handling of connection drops
- Improved resilience and stability
- Fallbacks for network or provider issues
**New fallback option in Tana Labs**
- Automatically records audio as backup during meetings
- Retranscribe if needed or change the output language
- To enable: go to User menu → Tana Labs
### 5. Updated Navigation and UI
> The launched functionality will likely differ from what was shown here.
A significant update that simplifies navigation, making Tana more accessible for new users while adding power for experienced ones.
**New Customizable Sidebar:**
- New **home apps** that come preconfigured:
- Recent view showing recently edited notes (auto-sorted)
- Recently edited: Shorcut to the three last edited nodes
- AI chats overview
- All supertags overview
- Published content
You will be able to design your sidebar so it only show what you care about - by hiding sidebar items you don't use.
**Global Create Button:**
- Quick shortcuts: new node, AI chat, checklist, super tag
- Tagged node templates from starter content
- Makes creating super tags less confusing for new users
**New List Navigation View: \***Launched, see *[*Tana Learn documentation \*](/learn/features/views#list-navigation-view)
- Quick browsing with click-to-view panel
- Easy navigation between nodes
- Perfect for dashboards
- Improved fiter/view toolbar
**Note:** The current "list view" is being renamed to "outline view" (this may cause some initial confusion during the transition).
**Focus Mode: fully collapsible sidebar**
- Fully collapsible sidebar for a clean canvas
- Feels like a dedicated app view
- Much more powerful for focused work
**Mobile Updates:**
- Browse tab renamed to Home (mirrors desktop sidebar exactly)
- All sidebar items available as capture destinations
- Long press to capture directly into any item
- Easier navigation throughout the app
All your existing data will remain intact - this changes how you navigate, not your content or workflows. All the power features you love remain exactly as they are.
## Agent Vision
While many platforms rush to add AI features, we’re taking a more deliberate path based on what we have learnt from seeing users use our AI agents. In the latest Tana Current session, Olav shared how we’re rethinking the role of agents as powerful collaborators, not just chatbots.
### The Challenge with AI Agents
We've had agents in Tana for almost two years, but they've been challenging to set up, and we've noticed some patterns based on our experimentation. There's a fantastic feeling seeing an agent get work done in your graph. But we've now seen the opposite too- the hours lost to reconstructing things when the agent makes accumulative decisions. The main challenge we see is being sure that the agent is not going to mess up the information around the task. We're confident on the role of the knowledge graph to solve some challenges, but we also can see that when agents roam around your graph, assessing what they change and why is a big issue. And we are even more convinced that a measure of progress is not tasks done any more particularly by the agent. More words, more tasks, mean you are getting closer to the outcome you want. It's even worse when you put it in the context of collaboration. As Olav put it: "We're destroying teamwork when everyone's using AI to write long emails and everyone else is using AI to summarize those emails so they don't have to read them."
### Tana's Approach
Tana's vision for agents goes back to 2021 when the team committed to building an AI-powered knowledge graph.
We’re not there yet, but we’ve learned more than we expected over the past few years. After a long stretch of experimentation, we understand much better what works, what doesn’t, and what people actually find useful.
Our focus now is to move beyond adding AI for its own sake, to create agents that do real work, making thoughtful decisions and producing content that genuinely helps you make progress, even while you sleep.
This is where the team is exploring and we will have more to say about this soon.
### How the Team Uses AI
The engineering team now requires using AI tools like Claude Code for everyday work. It's getting teams from zero to 80 super fast with the real engineering work happening from 80 to 100. This approach has given the team velocity not seen in the last three years.
## Student Focus
The team has focused on supporting students with new resources and pricing.
**50% Student Discount** - Makes Tana even more affordable for students
**New Templates by Theo:**
- Student Hub with video tutorials
- Lecture recording and automatic summarization
- Course management with linked learning
- Networking template (for tracking who hosts the best parties!)
- Study schedule by Matty from Koi
Find all templates at [**tana.inc/students**](https://tana.inc/students) or in the template store.
## Community Events
The community team has launched a series of events to help users learn Tana, see Tana in action and connect with other Tanarians:
**Regular Sessions:**
- **Time to Learn Live** with Theo (fortnightly)- Deep dives on specific Tana features
- **Live Build Sessions** with Mark (fortnightly) - 60-minute themed builds from scratch
- **Drop in Sessions** **for Beginners** with Ev Chapman (Weekly) - Relaxed opportunity to see Tana demo'd and ask any questions
**In-Person Events:**
- [**Tana Cafe at UC Berkeley**](https://luma.com/tana-berkeley-25) - October 18
- [**Dreamforce Cafe Takeover**](https://luma.com/tana-sf-25) - San Francisco, October 22-24
- Free coffee, Tana conversations, giveaways
- Team members: Brage, Aurora, Theo, Olav
## The story of October 2025
October 2025 will be the month our offline era begins. It's exciting to get one most-requested features out to users.
At the same time, the team is thinking more deeply about where Tana is headed and where we can take the product next. The AI work Olav discussed represents longer-term thinking about how to make AI truly useful in a knowledge workspace, not just another chat interface, but agents that can meaningfully help with your work.
**Next Tana Current:** early November 2025, will be announced in Slack
---
### Introducing AI credits in Tana Free
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/introducing-ai-credits-in-tana-free
Published: 2025-10-01
We’re excited to share that all Free plan users now get 500 AI credits every month - enough for around 100 minutes of meeting transcription. With this change, every Tana user can experience the power of AI in their daily workflows, from transcribing meetings to turning rough notes into structured insights.
## What’s new for Free users?
Users on Tana Free will now have **500 monthly AI credits included.** We’re continuously improving the AI features in Tana, and we want everyone to have a chance to test them regularly.
This quota will renew every month. If you use up the credits, you will have to upgrade to a paid plan to continue using AI features.
New users signing up from the website and mobile apps, will now start on Tana Free without having to add a credit card. When you are ready, you can choose to start a trial of Plus or Pro.
Alongside this, we’re also adding a few new limitations on the Free plan:
- Max. 3 additional workspaces beyond your personal workspace
- Can only use the default model in AI chat (GPT-4o at the moment)
- Limits on file uploads remain in place (5MB per file, 0.5GB total file storage)
- Creating new command nodes now requires a paid plan
- Mobile voice memos will save as audio if credits run out (can be transcribed later)
- The existing paid features **Google Calendar sync, password-protected publishing, publishing templates, and Input API integrations (like Readwise)** are still reserved for Plus and Pro
## What can I do with AI in Tana as a user on Free?
With this change, Free users can now try AI features like real-time transcription, AI chat, and mobile voice memos. Usage of these features will required AI credits.
Let's say your managing one or more teams; use real-time voice transcription to record your feedback, use AI chat to reformat it for easy sharing in slack or elsewhere, then transcribe the review meeting with the team, so you have the full context of what was discussed. All of this will live in your notes, you can easily go back to it later.
You can also try recording voice memos on mobile while on the go, to have them ready transcribed when you get to your desk. If you apply a supertag to a mobile voice memos, Tana will try to auto-fill the fields.
## What does upgrading to a paid plan in Tana give me?
The Free plan is the easiest way to start using Tana with AI, but the **real power of Tana lives in Plus and Pro**. Paid plans give you unlimited room to grow and connect your workflows:
Get all your meetings imported with **Google Calendar sync.**
Start transcribing meetings with one click from **desktop notifications**.
Protect and share with **password-protected publishing.**
Automate with **command nodes** and advanced AI workflows
Choose your AI model for **tailored results**, from leading providers like OpenAI (GPT), Anthropic (Claude) and Google (Gemini).
Connect external tools like **Readwise and custom APIs.**
Higher monthly AI credit quota (2000 on Plus, 5000 on Pro) with option to buy top-ups if you run out.
These are the features that make Tana not just a note-taking app, but a **thinking environment where humans and AI work side by side**.
## Getting started
New users will automatically begin on the Free plan and can upgrade anytime from the pricing page to unlock Plus or Pro. If you’d like to try the full experience right away, you can also start a trial directly from [tana.inc/pricing](https://tana.inc/pricing) (credit card required).
We can’t wait to see what you build with AI in Tana.
---
### Tana for students: transcribe lectures, take smarter notes, and stay organized
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-for-students-transcribe-lectures-take-smarter-notes-and-stay-organized
Published: 2025-09-02
Most student tools capture information but don't help you connect it or make it useful when you need it. That's where Tana comes in. It's a free workspace designed to be your study hub, where AI helps you transcribe lectures, organize research, and keep deadlines on track.
## Why students choose Tana
Being a student today means managing a flood of lectures, readings, projects, and deadlines. Traditional note-taking tools capture information, but they don't help you connect it, act on it, or keep track of everything across courses. Tana is built to solve this. It's more than a note-taking app, it's a connected workspace where you can transcribe lectures, capture ideas, manage assignments, and let AI help you study smarter.
- **Transcribe lectures instantly**: Turn spoken content into searchable, structured notes.
- **Organize assignments and deadlines**: Track every task with due dates and reminders.
- **Connect your knowledge**: Link readings, concepts, and projects across subjects.
- **Study with AI support**: Summarize readings, generate flashcards, and create study guides.
- **Work better in groups**: Share workspaces for team projects while keeping personal notes private.
- **Free to get started**: Students can use the free version of Tana at no cost, or optionally upgrade to the student plan with 50% discount with included AI credits.
## Start fast with the Tana student hub template
You don't need to spend hours setting up your workspace. The [Student hub template](https://tana.inc/templates/student-hub?utm_source=blog) gives you a complete out-of-the-box system for tracking courses, assignments, and reading resources.
- Add your courses, lectures and assignments automatically organized by course and due date.
- Record and transcribe lectures directly into your workspace, so you never miss key details.
- Get help from AI to ask questions or extract info from transcribed lecture notes, and get help from the Lecture agent to prepare for exams.
With the template, you get structure from day one, and you can still customize it as your semester evolves. [Try Student hub in Tana now for free](https://tana.inc/templates/student-hub).
## Take better notes with lecture transcription and AI support
Typing fast enough to keep up with lectures is nearly impossible. With Tana, you can record and **transcribe lectures in realtime**. Every word becomes searchable and editable, so you can focus on listening and engaging in class. You can take your own notes on the side, and link to quotes from the transcript while it's running!
AI goes beyond transcription: it can summarize readings, extract key concepts, and even generate exam or practice questions. Messy notes turn into structured study guides, saving you hours of prep time and making your knowledge compound.
## Organize your assignments and deadlines in one place
As a student, you have to juggle multiple courses, each with its own assignments, exams, and readings. Instead of using separate apps, Tana lets you manage it all inside one connected system.
With **Supertags in Tana**, you can add fields like due date, course name, and priority to any note. This means your assignments automatically flow into dashboards, weekly planners, exam calendars, or project trackers, without extra effort. Draft your assignments directly in the list - Tana's outline editor is perfect for starting with high level structure, then filling in details as you work deeper. Get help from AI by triggering an AI chat with any note simply by pressing Space beneath it, or hitting the AI chat button.
## Move beyond traditional note-taking apps
Students often ask: _How is Tana different from tools like Notion or Obsidian?_
Unlike apps that rely on folders or databases, Tana is powered by a **knowledge graph**. Notes, readings, and tasks are connected automatically. For example, a lecture transcription tagged with "History 201" can be added directly in the course, any exam questions derived from the lectures in the course can easily be aggregated for the whole semester. In Tana, you can tag notes anywhere, and make live searches that automatically updates with newly tagged items. To pull inn existing notes, resources or link notes together, you can simply type @ and select the note you want to link to.
This flexibility means you can shape your study system around the way you think, rather than bending your workflow to fit rigid templates.
## Collaborate better on group projects
Group projects often suffer from scattered information across email threads, chat apps, and documents. In Tana, you can create a shared workspace, install the Student hub template into it, and build a shared hub with classmates, keeping everyone on the same page in real time.
Collaboration happens directly in your connected knowledge system, so updates, resources, and tasks are always in context.
## Study anywhere, securely
Tana works across desktop and mobile. Use the Tana mobile app [for iOS](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tana-notes-ai-voice-memos/id6499428869) or [for Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tana.android&hl=en&pli=1), to capture ideas, record voice memos or review upcoming assignments on the go. Tana's Supertags let you go from rambling voice memo to shareable article or summary in minutes. [Explore templates for mobile voice memos.](https://tana.inc/templates/categories/Mobile%20voice)
All your data stays private to your workspace unless you choose to share it, and you can publish any notes you want to share, either in a reader-friendly Article view, or full interactive Tana view. With Tana Publish, you can let others browse your connected notes
## Get started for free
The best part? **Tana has a free version, and a generous discount for students.** You can sign up today, apply the [Student Hub template](https://tana.inc/templates/student-hub?utm_source=chatgpt.com), and have your entire semester organized in minutes. To test all the paid features, you get a 14 day free trial with no committment or credit card required.
As you grow into more advanced features, you can upgrade for deeper AI support and collaboration, with student discounts available on premium plans. To get the student discount, email student@tana.inc from your student email or attach a copy of your student ID.
## The student's second brain
Tana is more than a note-taking app. With the Student Hub template and built-in AI, it's your **second brain for studying**, a place where lectures, readings, assignments, and group work all come together in one connected system.
---
### Share your thinking, not just your documents, with Tana Publish
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/share-your-thinking-not-just-your-documents-with-tana-publish
Published: 2025-08-26
Tana Publish now lets viewers interact with your shared content exactly as it appears in your workspace, seeing supertags and fields, expanding bullets, zooming into details, and navigating hierarchical structures, all without needing a Tana account. This transforms static knowledge sharing into dynamic thought exploration, allowing the reader to explore the relationship between notes.
## What is Tana Publish and how does it work?
Publish is the simplest way to share your Tana content with the outside world. With just a few clicks, you can make a part of your workspace accessible through a public link.
Tana Publish preserves your thought structure in two powerful ways:
- **Tana view**: Your content exactly as it appears in your workspace, complete with outliner navigation, supertags and fields, tables, lists, and card views. Viewers can expand and collapse bullets to control information density, zoom into any node to read it as a full page, navigate through breadcrumbs to understand context, and follow links to explore the content.
- **Article view**: A clean, reading-focused layout, perfect for long-form text content like essays, articles or prose. Your nested thoughts become headings, fields transform into formatted sections, and everything flows naturally for readers expecting traditional documents.
Readers don’t need a Tana account — they can open your link in any web browser and explore right away.
## Tana view: A new way to interact with content
With the new release of Tana view, your readers can:
- Expand and collapse bullets to see the level of detail they want
- Zoom into a bullet to view it as its own page
- Navigate hierarchies using breadcrumbs
- Explore dynamic structures like tables, lists, and cards
- View embedded Youtube, Vimeo, Spotify or Figma links.
Instead of just reading your notes, people can step into your thinking and working environment. Think of it as inviting someone into a piece of your actual workspace, where they can explore your organizational system and discover insights through the same structures you use daily - while you are in control of what you want them to see.
## The sharing paradox
Traditional document sharing forces linear consumption — readers start at the top and scroll down, missing connections and losing context. As digital tools have been evolving through the last 30 years, there's always been an uncomfortable gap between how we organize information for ourselves and how we present it to others. We've accepted a strange reality: our personal knowledge systems look nothing like what we share.
We take our carefully crafted notes, our thoughtfully structured outlines, our interconnected ideas — and then we flatten them into static documents, presentations, or simplified exports that lose all the richness and context that made them valuable to us in the first place.
When building a publish feature for Tana, we faced a unique challenge: Tana is a knowledge graph, not a document store with folders and pages. Every node can be viewed as it's own page, and can reference other nodes, creating a rich web of interconnected information. When you want to share one piece of this graph, where do you draw the line? Share too little, and viewers miss critical context. Share too much, and you might expose information you didn't intend to make public.
#### Control what you want to share
Tana Publish solves this with the new **"Make content visible"** button on references in Tana View. This gives you precise control over your knowledge graph boundaries. When you publish a node, referenced content appears as linked titles. Viewers can see the connections, but not the content — until you explicitly choose to reveal it.
Here's how it works: When preparing your published page, you can click "Make visible" on any reference. This shares the content inside that specific node, but maintains privacy for any references within it. It's like opening specific rooms in your house to visitors while keeping other doors closed—you control exactly how deep into your knowledge graph viewers can explore.
For complete security, you can set a password (paid feature).
## What makes Tana Publish different from Google Docs or Notion sharing?
### The Knowledge Graph advantage
Tana isn't built on documents or pages — it's built on a knowledge graph where every piece of information connects to others through references and relationships.
Traditional tools sidestep this by forcing you to copy and flatten content into standalone documents. You lose the connections, context, and ability to navigate between related ideas. **It's like photocopying one page from a wiki and losing all the hyperlinks.**
Tana Publish maintains your knowledge graph structure while giving you surgical precision over what's shared. Viewers see the connections and can explore what you've chosen to share, but your private knowledge remains protected.
When sharing meeting notes, stakeholders can zoom directly into their action items while maintaining visibility of strategic context. Project documentation lets team members drill into technical specifications without losing sight of business objectives. Research findings preserve the web of connections between insights, allowing readers to discover patterns you might not have explicitly documented.
### Zero friction for viewers
The biggest barrier to knowledge sharing isn't creating content—it's the friction of access. Tana Publish removes every obstacle:
- No account creation required
- No access requests
- No app downloads
- No permission management
Anyone with the link can immediately explore your content, whether they're a client reviewing a proposal, a community member accessing documentation, or a colleague catching up on project status.
Tana Publish offers the ability to** set a password** if you want to limit who can view a published page (_paid feature_).
## How Tana Publish fits your workflow
### For knowledge workers: From scattered to structured
Knowledge workers spend a lot of their time searching for information and rebuilding context. Tana can transforms personal knowledge management into team knowledge assets. Your meeting notes and transcripts become referenceable context documents for decisions. Your user interviews becomes actionable tasks or insights. Your plans become living documentation that updates as you refine your thinking.
👉 Try Tana's meeting notetaker to get the full context of your meetings preserved and available to use as context in the future.
### For Team leaders/Project managers: Alignment without overload
Be the superhero that keeps your team focused and on track with deliverables, and keeps stakeholders aligned. Tana's interactive format lets you easily share up-to-date information while allowing each team member to explore what's relevant to them.
Leaders can publish strategic plans where the CEO sees metrics and vision, managers explore departmental objectives, and individual contributors drill into specific tasks—all from the same published document.
👉 **Build a Tana dashboard that shows progress on your OKRs or projects**, share a link to stakeholders. Try Tana's [Project](https://tana.inc/templates/project) or [OKR template](https://tana.inc/templates/okr-template) or [see an example of a published project board](https://app.tana.inc/shared/current-sprint/NW8xcFNXcEZlMi8yZmlzQTV0OXlTaGU=?wsid=4LriGC8qOLD2).
### For consultants and creators: Showcase your process and thinking
Your value isn't just in your conclusions—it's in your process and the way you manage clients. Allow lets clients and audiences explore your frameworks, methodologies, and mental models interactively. They discover insights at their own pace, understanding not just what you recommend but why.
This transforms static deliverables into dynamic knowledge products that clients can reference, explore, and build upon long after the engagement ends.
👉 Build a client portal to share with clients, showing them updated tasks lists, documentation and invoices. Try Tana's [Project template](https://tana.inc/templates/project) or [see a live example of a published client portal. ](https://app.tana.inc/shared/client-portal/NW8xcFNXcEZlMi9rN1VjQWljTnBuQXo=?wsid=4gpYJubVGHjL)
### For Product managers or designers: make PRDs from a voice memo
Take a walk while you're thinking through a new product idea, and have a ready Product Requirement Doc on your laptop when you come back. Build it out with numbers, customer insight, documentation from testing and Figma sketches, before sharing with developers or stakeholders.
👉 Try the [PRD template in Tana](https://tana.inc/templates/product-requirement-doc-prd) now (optimized for mobile!) or [see a live PRD example.](https://app.tana.inc/shared/smart-notifications-for-mobile-app/NW8xcFNXcEZlMi9wYkVCVXh2SzJ1Y1g=?wsid=w37bDx8YGymw)
### For Operations, Business support or Admin roles: Share information about events, procedures or information
Whether you're organizing an offsite, a panel debate or trying to get people to follow a process, Tana let's you structure various types of information the way that makes sense for you, and share it with a simple link that people can access without having to log in.
👉Try Tana's [Project template](https://tana.inc/templates/project) or see a live example of an [offsite information pack](https://app.tana.inc/shared/acme-inc-2025-fall-offsite/NW8xcFNXcEZlMi9Ua3pwNUI2d1plZnM=?wsid=1dLTOfDmE7mW).
## Easy publishing in 3 clicks
Publishing from Tana takes less than 60 seconds:
1. Find the node you wan to publish, right-click it and select "Publish", or press Cmd/Ctrl+K, the type "Publish (open preview)
2. Preview your content in the right panel to ensure formatting looks right
3. Click the "Publish" button in the bottom of the page to go live instantly
You can copy the sharing URL to your clipboard, the paste it wherever you want to share. When you update the source content, simply click "Publish changes" to sync updates live—no need to reshare links or notify viewers of new versions.
#### What can I add in a published node?
- You can publish up to 3000 nodes at a time
- Embed Youtube, Vimeo, Figma or Spotify links
- AI-generate images in Tana (for banner or in text)
- Multiple view formats (tables for data, cards for projects, tabs for categories)
- Video files (.mp4, .mov)
### Publish vs. Workspace sharing
It’s helpful to understand how Publish compares with **workspace sharing** in Tana:
- **Publish** is for public sharing. Anyone with the link can view your content, no login required. Great for publishing resources, documentation, or external collaboration.
- **Workspace sharing** is for private collaboration. You can invite teammates into your workspace with specific roles and permissions. Shared workspaces let you co-create in real time, with full editing rights and structured collaboration. Learn more about workspace sharing.
Together, Publish and workspace sharing give you full control: you decide what stays private, what’s shared with your team, and what’s open to the world.
## Common questions about Tana Publish
### How secure is published content?
Published content is accessible to anyone with the link. Paid subscribers can set a password on pages published with Article view (_coming soon to Tana view as well_!). This makes Publish perfect for public documentation, marketing content, knowledge bases, and non-sensitive project information.
In the interactive Tana view, you have the ability to control which references you want to be visible in the published page, as references to nodes that live outside the node you're sharing will have a "**Make content visible**" button. This ensures that you don't accidentally share information you didn't mean to share.
For sensitive internal collaboration, Tana offers a completely different solution: **Workspaces**. These provide encrypted, member-only environments where teams collaborate in real-time with full access control. You can create separate workspaces for different security levels—a company-wide workspace for general collaboration and management-only workspaces for sensitive strategic planning. Content in private workspaces remains completely invisible to non-members, even when referenced elsewhere.
### Can I update published content after sharing?
Yes — and this is where Tana Publish shines. Changes to your source content can go live instantly with one click. The URL never changes, so bookmarks, shared links, and embedded references all automatically show the latest version. No more "v2_final_FINAL_actually-final.docx" confusion.
### What content types excel with Tana Publish?
**Dashboards and collaborative portals: **Give clients an updated view of project progress, access to meeting notes, documentation and even invoices in one place. This example shows [a client portal](https://be.tana.inc/shared/client-portal/NW8xcFNXcEZlMi9rN1VjQWljTnBuQXo=?wsid=GoBWYAJX3Nra) with full interactive navigation.
**Meeting notes and decisions**: Share collaborative outcomes where readers can explore from high-level decisions down to implementation details.
**Project documentation**: Layer strategic vision with tactical execution. Stakeholders see the big picture while implementers drill into specifications—all from the same published page.
**Knowledge bases and wikis**: Create explorable reference materials where users find answers through natural navigation rather than search. Perfect for customer documentation, onboarding materials, and best practices.
**Research and analysis**: Preserve the connections between data points, insights, and conclusions. Readers can follow your analytical journey or jump directly to findings.
**Strategic plans**: Present vision and strategy with progressive disclosure—executives see key objectives while teams explore implementation paths relevant to their work.
### Is published content indexed by search engines and AI?
Currently, Tana Publish pages not indexed by search engines, though they can be discovered if shared on public forums or social media. This gives you control over distribution while maintaining shareability.
For AI answer engines, Tana's structured format is inherently parseable—the hierarchical node structure, clear field definitions, and semantic organization make published content ideal for AI consumption when discovered.
---
### GPT-5 models now available in Tana
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/gpt-5-available-in-tana-ai
Published: 2025-08-08
The next generation of AI is here. Tana now supports GPT-5, GPT-5 Mini, and GPT-5 Nano , bringing faster, more accurate, and more structured AI assistance directly into your knowledge workflows. Whether you're transcribing meetings, working on ideas, or building complex automations, these new models make it easier to think, act, and stay in flow. Tana lets you use 20 models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google, directly where your notes live.
We’re excited to bring the full GPT‑5 family to Tana AI tools: **GPT‑5**, **GPT‑5 Mini**, and **GPT‑5 Nano**.
These new models power up your workspace with:
- 💬 **Better conversations**
GPT‑5 is more reliable, less prone to hallucinations, and comes with “safe completions” that explain gently when a task can’t be completed.
- ⚡ **Performance that fits your flow**
Choose GPT‑5 for high-stakes thinking, _Mini_ for agile drafting, or _Nano_ for speed and scale.
_“GPT‑5 just works. It rarely screws up and generally feels competent.”_
— [Platformer](https://www.platformer.news/gpt-5-launch-release-reviews-impressions/)
## What are the differences between the new GPT-5 models?
Tana now gives you access to three GPT-5 models, each optimized for different needs:
- **GPT-5**
The most powerful and context-aware model in the lineup. Ideal for complex tasks like multi-step reasoning, transforming raw notes into structured knowledge, and drafting polished long-form content. GPT-5 is deeply integrated with your structured data in Tana, meaning it doesn’t just respond, it understands how your work is connected.
- **GPT-5 Mini**
A balanced model for everyday AI tasks. It's fast, affordable, and capable of summarizing meetings, rephrasing content, or generating checklists without sacrificing coherence or accuracy. Perfect for daily productivity use.
- **GPT-5 Nano**
Lightweight and ultra-fast. Use it for quick queries, simple formatting, or templated responses. It’s great when you want instant results inside a note, without waiting.
The models have different prices, and we recommend starting out with Mini or Nano, reserving use of GPT-5 for tasks that require reasoning or complex work. Be aware of the amount of references you include as context, to avoid triggering excessive charges. [View prices for the models](https://platform.openai.com/docs/pricing).
## How can I use GPT-5 in Tana?
Tana offers a toolbox to help you use AI in your workflows and systems to make your knowledge work for you.
### Chat with your notes directly
[Tana AI chat](/learn/features/ai-chat) is a fast way to use different AI models inside Tana to help you brainstorm, summarize, rewrite, or query your content in natural language.
Press space below any node to start an AI chat with that note as context. Type @ and pull in other nodes to include them in the context. Tana lets you select which model to use amongst 20 models from OpenAI/ChatGPT, Anthropic/Claude and Google/Gemini.
Instead of switching tools or tabs, you can interact with your notes using AI right where your knowledge lives. It speeds up thinking, helps distill complexity, and turns scattered notes into clear next steps.
### Collaborate with custom AI chat agents
Tana lets you build [AI chat agents](/learn/features/ai-agents) tailored to certain use cases or trained on specific content, to give you more relevant results in AI chat. Agents in Tana are built on AI command nodes, but can also be explored by downloading a [Tana Template](https://tana.inc/templates).
An example of an agent that can be built in Tana would be a "User research interview agent" that is trained on best practices for how to process interviews, and will analyze a transcript from a user interview and extract suggested action items for the product team. Try this with the [User research interview template](https://tana.inc/templates/user-interviews).
\*A lot of work is going on to take agents in Tana to the next step - stay tuned!
-
### Command nodes: Your personal automation buttons
Think of command nodes as smart shortcuts that handle your routine work for you. Instead of doing the same steps over and over, you create a custom button that does it all automatically with one click.
**Here's what makes them powerful:**
Command nodes can chain together multiple actions in sequence. For example, you could create a "Process Meeting Notes" button that automatically organizes your notes, extracts action items, assigns them to team members, and adds everything to your project tracker - all in seconds.
You can trigger these automations in three ways: through Tana's command line, as clickable buttons on your notes, or automatically when certain conditions are met (like when you add a specific tag).
**Real-world examples:**
- A "Weekly Review" button that gathers all your completed tasks, upcoming deadlines, and creates a summary report
- A "New Project Setup" button that creates all the folders, templates, and tracking systems you need
- A "Voice Memo Processor" that transcribes recordings, identifies tasks, and files everything in the right places
The magic is that once you build these automations, anyone on your team can use them - turning your best practices into one-click workflows that save hours of repetitive work.
Command nodes can be built with different models, and we'd love to see what you can build with GPT-5! [Read more about command nodes](/learn/features/command-nodes)
## What's unique about AI in Tana?
Tana isn’t just a canvas for notes - it’s a system that helps you take action and _stay on top of everything_. While most apps bolt AI on top of your content, Tana is different. It’s built on a knowledge graph, so AI knows what your notes mean, how they’re connected, and you can build custom AI commands to tailor your workflows. That means smarter outputs with less effort from you.
Tana offers access to more than **20 AI models from OpenAI, Anthropic and Google**, and allows your to include your notes as context with a simple @ mention - no need for export and copy-paste!
These new GPT-5 models can be wired into your workflows, not bolted on. That means:
- **Collaborate with AI on your notes.** AI chat agents in Tana can review or build on your note to create derived works or new ideas. In Tana you can use AI directly on your existing notes, and save AI responses into your structure - without need to copy things back and forth.
- **Semantic Intelligence that compounds.** AI in Tana understands your graph, what information means, and structures outputs accordingly. You can add supertags directly in AI responses, to build on it in the future.
- **Voice memos become knowledge.** Turn voice notes and meeting recordings into structured notes, with decisions, tasks, and insights extracted automatically.
With GPT-5, you can move faster whether you're drafting a doc, processing meeting notes, or turning scattered thoughts into a plan. It’s now easier to:
- Use AI commands on structured content.
- Create tasks, ideas, and dashboards automatically from AI outputs.
- Ask questions of your own data, and get accurate, structured answers.
No need to pre-define structure. Just start typing, and let GPT-5 + Tana’s Supertags do the rest.
## How can I try GPT-5 in Tana?
You can try AI in Tana by [signing up for a free trial](https://app.tana.inc/create-account?utm_medium=blog&utm_source=Tana_blog&utm_campaign=gpt-5) of all the AI features in Tana. To get started, just select a GPT-5 model in any AI chat. You can test different models to see which works best for your needs, or build agents that use different models depending on context.
You don’t have to choose between speed and quality anymore. With GPT-5, GPT-5 Mini, and GPT-5 Nano, you get both right where you work.
---
### What's new in Tana: Every new feature you might have missed from 2024
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/what-new-in-tana-2024-2025
Published: 2025-06-16
2024 was a transformative year for Tana. If you’ve stepped away for a while , or even if you’ve just missed a few updates , now’s the perfect time to dive back in. From deep mobile capabilities to game-changing AI workflows, we’ve shipped dozens of new features to help you think better, move faster, and stay in flow. Here’s a comprehensive look at everything that’s new in Tana.
---
### The Tana AI Meeting Notetaker is here
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/bot-less-ai-meeting-notetaker-in-tana
Published: 2025-05-27
Looking for the best meeting notetaking AI app that helps you stay focused, follow up effectively, and doesn’t clutter your meetings with bots? Meet the Tana Meeting Notetaker - a smarter, faster way to take notes that actually fit into your workflow. Whether you’re a project manager, a team lead, or running interviews, Tana makes meeting notetaking effortless - with AI transcription that works in real time, without needing a bot to join your call.
We've all been there. You're in an important meeting, trying to juggle between taking notes, staying engaged in the conversation, and hoping you don't miss that crucial detail. Or worse, dealing with clunky meeting bots that announce themselves to everyone, create privacy concerns, and still somehow miss half the conversation. Today, we're changing how you capture and act on your meetings forever.
Tana now offers a fully integrated **AI meeting notetaker** as part of the desktop experience. You can use it to transcribe meetings, generate summaries, and link notes directly to your work - without needing to install a plugin or add a bot.
## Meetings are the start of workflows
In Tana, we believe meetings are more than just conversations – they're the start of workflows. Every meeting usually ends with some kind of task that needs to be followed up on, and these easily get lost when juggling multiple systems for meeting recordings and task management. In Tana, you can tailor task management and other workflows so they fit your unique style and needs.
That's why we have now built **botless meeting transcription** directly into Tana Desktop. No more awkward bot announcements. No more missed insights.
## What is the Tana meeting notetaker?
The **Tana meeting notetaker** is an AI-powered tool built into the Tana Desktop app (for both Mac and Windows) that records system audio and generates **live, timestamped transcripts**. You’ll never have to scramble to keep up with the conversation again.
### Key features:
- **AI notetaker that doesn't join meetings** – no bots, no guest links, no disruption
- **Works with any meeting tool** – Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, Slack calls, or even livestreams and videos
- **Works with in-person meetings **- captures audio from all participants in the room, or from lectures, conferences etc.
- **Effective meeting note taking in real time** – follow the live transcript as people speak
- **61 languages supported** – with auto-detect and seamless switching during the conversation
- **Ready-made templates** – for **hiring**, **user interviews**, **investor meetings**, and more
- **Support on both Windows** **and Mac **(Tana Desktop App)
- **One-click on notification** - starts transcription, join the call, and open your Tana meeting note.
- **Speaker separation** - Tana will try to separate speakers (based on voice, best effort).
- **Pause button** - for privacy on sensitive topics or meeting breaks.
- **Summary auto-generated** after the meeting.
- **Suggestion for action items,** so you can easily tag to have them flow into your task system.
- **Integrates with your tasks, people, and projects** – turn tasks from meetings into action instantly.
## One click to start meeting note taking
If you have synched your Google calendar to Tana, [the Desktop app](https://tana.inc/desktop) will send notifications that makes it effortless to start transcribing your meetings:
- **One click on notification: **starts transcription, join the meeting and open Tana, directly from your desktop notifications.
- **Meeting detection**: On Mac, Tana detects when you’re opening a meeting link and offers to start transcribing immediately, so you never miss a moment.
- **Tag any node:** If you have not synched your calendar, you can simply add #meeting to any node, fill in the start time and this will also trigger a notification.
Everything flows directly into your Tana workspace, where AI can help you **summarize, extract action items**, or **link** the meeting content to relevant people and projects.
## Meeting note taking for easy follow-up
Tana isn’t just another transcript tool. It’s designed for people who actually need to **do something** after the meeting. If you have back-to-back meetings all day, the list of follow-ups can become long.
The meeting notetaker will suggest action items from the transcript, that you can easily tag as Tasks to make them flow into your task dashboard.
That’s why the Tana meeting notetaker is especially useful for:
- **Project managers** – Keep a record of decisions, assign tasks, and track follow-ups. [Try the Project template](https://tana.inc/templates/project).
- **Product managers and user researchers** – Record customer calls or product discovery interviews, then analyze the meeting notes and transript to convert insights to impactful product changes. Try the User interview template.
- **Investor meetings** - Stay focused while the meeting notetaker captures all the feedback and signals, so you can follow up like a million dollars. Try the investor meeting template.
- **Busy managers and team leads** – Let AI handle the details while you stay engaged or lead meetings. Tag the action items to get them all in your task dashboard.
- **Consultants** - Capture all the client's needs and instructions, and link them to the project.
Every meeting becomes part of your **structured knowledge base**, not a one-off doc buried in your drive or in a siloed meeting note-taking app.
Tana makes it possible to build AI chat agents (like custom GPTs) that lets you explore and extract information from the meeting note transcript.
## AI transcription that works with headphones
Forget clunky bots or third-party apps. Meeting transcription in the Tana Desktop app uses **system audio recording **to capture everything you hear in real time, even if you’re wearing headphones.
- **Transcribes system audio**, so every voice and shared audio in your meeting is transcribed.
- **Timestamped transcripts **with speaker separation (based on best effort, for highly accurate speaker separation you'll need to use the [Tana Meeting Agent](/learn/features/meeting-agent)).
It’s part of Tana’s core philosophy: making structured information feel as natural as conversation itself.
## Support for 60+ languages
No matter where your team is or what language you’re speaking, the meeting transcription adapts:
- **Supports over 60 languages **from English to Japanese to Spanish
- **Auto-detect mode** - No manual switching needed
- **Dynamic switching** lets the AI flow with your conversation, even when you change language during conversation
### Which languages are supported?
The Tana meeting notetaker supports live transcription in over 60 languages, including Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, Russian, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Arabic, Hindi, Bengali, Turkish, Vietnamese, Polish, Ukrainian, Romanian, Czech, Swedish, Norwegian, Finnish, Danish, Greek, Hebrew, Thai, Indonesian, Malay, Filipino (Tagalog), Swahili, Hungarian, Slovak, Slovenian, Croatian, Serbian, Bulgarian, Lithuanian, Latvian, Estonian, Albanian, Icelandic, Macedonian, Georgian, Armenian, Persian (Farsi), Urdu, Pashto, Nepali, Sinhala, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarati, Punjabi, Burmese, Khmer, Lao, Mongolian, Kazakh, Uzbek, Turkmen, Tajik, Azerbaijani, Basque, Galician, Catalan, Welsh, Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Afrikaans, Zulu, Xhosa, Amharic, Tigrinya, Somali, Hausa, Yoruba, Igbo, Maori, Samoan, Tongan, Fijian, Hawaiian, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Taiwanese.
## Use your meetings as context for AI
Most transcription tools just spit out words. In Tana, your meeting transcripts will be valuable input that can be used to start workflows, or compound your existing knowledge:
- **Link meetings to people, companies, projects**
- **Chat with meeting transcripts:** press `Space` below the meeting notes to start an AI chat with the meeting notes as context.
- Use AI agents to re-format, process or extract information from the meeting
By combining real-time transcription with AI that that understands the data and can be adapted to your workflow, Tana transforms raw meeting data into **readable, understandable information **ready for you to act on. [Explore templates with AI agents](https://tana.inc/templates).
## Try it now
Tana’s **AI meeting notetaker **is now available in the Tana Desktop app for Mac and Windows.
Whether you're looking for **note taking for meetings as a project manager**, want a better way to capture **meeting notes without a bot**, or just want **AI that doesn’t feel generic**, the Tana meeting notetaker is waiting for you.
[Try it free for 14 days.](https://app.tana.inc/create-account)
No bots. No fluff. Just structured, useful meeting notes.
Start every meeting with the confidence that no detail is lost - and let Tana help you turn those conversations into action.
---
### Stop duct-taping your workflows: the Tana Template store is here
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-template-store
Published: 2025-05-23
Tired of piecing together tools just to get a decent workflow? Workflows don’t need to start from scratch every time. The Template Store is a new way to install live, composable workflows inside your Tana workspace.
## **The problem with structure in tools**
Many of our users process enormous amounts of information during their work day, and their work revolves around managing people, projects, tasks and outcomes. Things we frequently hear from users we talk to:
> “Nothing really fits.”
> “I’m duct-taping tools together.”
> “I need workflows I can run without hiring a dev.”
If you’ve ever tried to build a workflow, whether it’s tracking OKRs, managing hiring, or running weekly team rituals, you’ve probably hit the same wall:
- Tools that do too little
- Templates that don’t evolve
- Endless configuration just to tweak a small part of a process
- Rigid systems you can’t customize how you want
**We built Tana to change that.**
In Tana, you build the system around your work - not the other way around.
## **What are Tana Templates?**
Templates is a new way to install **live, composable workflows** inside your Tana workspace. Each template is a fully functional system that can come with:
- **Supertags and fields** designed for real-world use cases
- **Pre-configured views and filters** to help you make sense of your data
- **Custom AI agents** that can help summarize, clean up, or transform your notes
- **Example content** that shows you how to use it effectively
Templates in Tana give you **a good starting point**, but with the power to evolve as your process matures.
With this first set of templates you can:
✅ [Draft and track OKRs](https://tana.inc/templates/okr-template)
🪞[ Reflect on your week ](https://tana.inc/templates/weekly-reflection)(and get smarter doing it)
📝 [Go from voice memo → email, slack post, exec summary ](https://tana.inc/templates/memo)
📲 Draft [a PRD](https://tana.inc/templates/product-requirement-doc-prd) or [investor update](https://tana.inc/templates/investor-update) on the go
🧠 [Extract ideas and questions from your brainstorm](https://tana.inc/templates/brainstorm)
.. and much more!
## **Meet your new AI agent team**
Many of the new templates include **custom AI agents **(but they also work without).
These agents are tuned to the template use case, so they can offer really targeted advice or review the content you make from a relevant perspective.
[**The investor update agent**](https://tana.inc/templates/investor-update) will critically examine if your update is easy to digest and highlighting the things investors care about.
[**The OKR agent**](https://tana.inc/templates/okr-template) will coach you to make your OKRs more specific and measurable, and help you come up with key results.
[**The AI Decision Agent**](https://tana.inc/templates/decision-making) helps you systematically reflect on your decisions and identify key learnings.
It’s the start of your new assistant team. All pre-built. All ready to run.
## Work on the go
Tana isn’t just for your desktop. Templates work on mobile too.
And if you work on the go, **Tana’s mobile voice features are a game changer**.
- Native app for [iOS](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/tana-notes-ai-voice-memos/id6499428869) and [Android](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.tana.android&hl=en&pli=1), with lock screen widgets for voice recording.
- Record voice memos in **91 languages** (auto-detect available if you're switching between multiple language)
- Instantly structure them with **Supertags,** see which fields to talk about while recording (iOS, coming on Android).
- Get supertag fields **auto-filled **from the voice memo, so you get a ready-to-review article, decision doc or investor update when you open your computer.
Several templates in the store are built **specifically for mobile and voice workflows**. They come with predefined instructions, formatting, and agent configuration - so all you have to do is **talk**. Tana handles the rest.
_You can install templates from the template store on web on mobile, but will not be able to select workspace, they will be installed in your primary workspace._
Read more about mobile voice memos in Tana .
## **Build systems that \*\*\***evolve**\*** with your thinking\*\*
Tana’s secret weapon is **composability**. You’re not copying static pages. You’re installing a system you can tweak, extend, and reuse - without writing a single line of code.
Most tools give you rigid templates or throw you into a blank canvas. Tana gives you:
- **Structure when you want it**
- **Freedom when you need it**
- **AI that works inside your system, not outside it**
Templates make it easier to get started, but they never box you in. They’re built on the same primitives (Supertags, Views, Commands) that power everything in Tana, meaning you can customize them deeply or evolve them over time.
On each template page, you can see what building blocks are included with the template, to get a sense of how it works and how you can use it.
## **How to get started**
You can read all about how to use templates on our Learn page.
To browse templates inside the app, open the **sidebar in Tana**, click **Supertags**, and select **“Browse templates.”**
You can also explore all available templates here: [https://tana.inc/templates](https://tana.inc/templates)
### **Help us build what you need**
We’re launching with a small, focused set of templates that help with planning, strategy, tracking, and decisions. But we’re adding more every week, and we’d love your input.
💬 Got a workflow you'd love to see? [Let us know](https://tanainc.typeform.com/to/HPlg11Pz)!
**No more duct tape.**
**No more blank pages.**
Just powerful, evolving systems - **built around how you think.**
[Browse all templates](https://tana.inc/templates)
---
### Yes, you can export from Tana: export workspaces, node downloads and copy options
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/export-data-download-copy-options
Published: 2025-05-16
One of the most common questions we hear from new users evaluating Tana is: "Can I get my data out if I ever leave?" It’s a fair, and important, question. Whether you’re backing up your notes, migrating to another system, or just want peace of mind, you should never feel locked in to a tool. We’re excited to say: Tana now fully supports exporting your content. With flexible options for exporting, downloading, and copying, you can move your data however you need - on your terms.
## Export a workspace as markdown or JSON
Tana now lets you **export your entire workspace** in just a few clicks.
You can choose between:
- **Markdown** – human-readable files, great for use in other tools
- **JSON** – for technical exports or preserving full Tana metadata
When you export as Markdown, Tana gives you:
- A `.zip` file containing all your nodes as individual `.md` files
- Clean formatting, with links and references preserved as markdown links
- Navigable folder structure so you can browse locally or import elsewhere
[How to export your workspace →](/learn/features/workspaces#export-workspace)
## Download a subset of nodes
Don’t need everything? You can also export **specific parts of your Tana graph**—like all items with a certain tag, or the results of a search.
To download selected nodes:
1. Run a search or select the items you want
2. Use **Download as…** from the command menu
3. Choose whether to include or exclude fields and supertags
This is perfect for:
- Sharing content externally (without internal metadata)
- Exporting specific projects, teams, or topics
- Archiving search results or filtered views
[Learn how to download selected nodes →](/learn/features/workspaces)
## Copy Tana content into other tools
Need to paste content from Tana into an email, another editor or tool?
You can always do Ctrl/Cmd+C/V, but the **new Copy options** gives you more optionsl:
- Copy as **Markdown**, with or without supertags and fields
- Copy multiple nodes at once
- For more advanced use cases, you can also "Copy as [Tana Paste](/learn/features/tana-paste)", which can be useful if you want to include Tana-specific formats e.g. for AI use.
Just hit `Cmd/Ctrl + K` and search for “Copy as” to get started.
This makes it easier than ever to:
- Paste clean content into other tools
- Share a structured outline via Slack or email
- Move parts of your knowledge base between systems
[See all copy options →](/learn/features/copy-paste-and-export)
## You own your data
We know that trust is earned. That’s why we’ve taken the time to build export right:
- Structured, reliable Markdown export
- Portable, human-readable formats
- Technical options for advanced use cases
If you’re considering going all-in with Tana:
**You can. And you can always take your data with you.**
---
### Use multiple AI models integrated in Tana
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/ai-models-in-tana
Published: 2025-04-29
At Tana, we believe great tools should bend to your brain, not the other way around. By expanding your model options, you can now tailor the AI's behavior to fit the exact kind of thinking, writing, or problem-solving you need , whether it's deep reasoning, rapid idea generation, lightweight drafting, or high-stakes execution. Each model has its own strengths, and now you’re in charge of choosing the right one for the moment.
## Custom AI workflows
In Tana you can build custom workflows that works exactly how you want it.
This is a game-changer for how you'll work with AI in your daily Tana experience, giving you the freedom to pick the perfect AI brain for whatever you're working on.
Tana now offers the ability to select which AI model to use for AI Chat, AI Command nodes and Agents (beta).
## Here are the new models now available:
**Gemini 2.5** **Flash** - Optimized for rapid responses while maintaining high quality outputs
**Gemini 2.5 Flash with max. reasoning** - Reasoning model with good price-performance and well-rounded capabilities (~25k tokens)
**GPT o3** - Reliable model known for consistent performance across diverse use cases
**GPT o4-Mini** - Fast, affordable model for focused tasks
**GPT 4.1** - The newest generation of GPT, offering even stronger performance on complex tasks.
**GPT 4.1-Mini** - A lightweight, but powerful option that balances efficiency with sophisticated outputs
**GPT 4.1-Nano** - Ultra-light and efficient — ideal for fast, simple operations without sacrificing quality.
In the model selector you can see the price of models, to help you pick the one that matches your budget and needs for the task:
## AI Chat
Tana has an integrated AI chat that you can use in two ways:
- With your notes in Tana as context
- As a normal AI chat, asking general questions (notes not used as context)
You can select AI models for both of these.
#### General AI chat
Start an AI chat directly from the sidebar, by writing a question or prompt. The AI chat will not use any of your notes as context, unless you explicitly include them (type @ and select the note you want). This allows you to test and use different AI models from different vendors - all within Tana (subscriptions starting at $8/mo).
#### Chat with your notes
When viewing a note in Tana, just press SPACE below the note to start an AI chat with that note as context. Write your prompt and then select a model to use.
#### Edit AI responses
Unlike most other AI tools, in Tana you can make edits right in the AI responses. You can also **apply Supertags**, to add parts of the result into your notes.
You can create a `New thread` based on the conversation up until that point, if you want to take the conversation in a new direction. This puts the full chat up to that point into the chat context.
Hover over an AI response, and you can `Insert` the latest response to the parent of the chat (the place you initiated the chat from), `Copy` the response to your clipboard, or continue chatting to it.
You can `Stop/rerun` an AI job if you want to tweak the prompt. This will delete the AI response up to that point. Hold Alt+click to create a branched path of conversation that keeps the history of the previous response(s).
You can also ask for have the results formatted as a table.
## AI Agents in Tana
[AI chat agents](/learn/features/ai-agents) allows you to make AI chat in Tana much more powerful, by letting you customize look and feel, “personality”, how conversations start, and what the user can do with chat content. This feature is still in beta and being developed - join our community to see what people are building!
## AI Command nodes
Command nodes help you get one or more tasks done in Tana. You can create your own command nodes with multiple commands, or steps, within them. For example, build a “Draft email” command node that grabs a voice recording and creates an email draft from it.
Command nodes can be run via the command line, as buttons on a supertag, or via node events. You can also select specific AI models to use for each command node.
Learn more about commands here.
---
### Tana raises $14m Series A to unlock the power of human-AI collaboration
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-raises-usd14m-series-a
Published: 2025-02-03
We're excited to announce our $14M Series A led by Tola Capital, with follow on from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Northzone, Alliance VC, and firstminute capital, bringing our total funding to $25M.
Computers were supposed to be bicycles for our minds. Instead, they've become hamster wheels.
Today, we're excited to announce our $14M Series A led by Tola Capital, with follow on from Lightspeed Venture Partners, Northzone, Alliance VC, and firstminute capital, bringing our total funding to $25M. The funding will further our goal to reinvent how humans, teams, and computers work together, building AI agents and voice-powered workflows to redefine productivity for savvy professionals worldwide.
#### Why Now?
The way we work is broken.
We're drowning in meta-work—endless context switching between documents, spreadsheets, and chat apps. All too often the **knowledge gets stuck**. In heads, in projects, and departments. In legal pads, slide decks and memories we fail to recall when relevant. Information is fragmented across dozens of tools, making it harder than ever to find what we need when we need it.
For humans, information overload its a huge problem. For your AI coworkers its a showstopper. The information they find, the structure they see, and the knowledge they obtain is the foundation for their execution.
This is why we built Tana.
#### Introducing Tana: The AI-Native Workspace
Tana is a new kind of workspace that makes interacting with computers feel natural. We've spent years developing three breakthrough technologies:
**A Knowledge Graph That Thinks Like You Do**
Most tools force you to organize information in rigid hierarchies. Tana's knowledge graph mirrors how your brain works—making connections fluid and natural, helping you and AI discover insights you might have missed.
It's the only way to ensure AI truly functions as an extension of your own intellect and that of your company.
**Proactive Information Surfacing**
Instead of manually hunting for information, our live feeds brings relevant information to you in context, automatically. It's like having a brilliant assistant who always knows exactly what you need, before you need it.
**Supertags: From Chaos to Structure in Seconds**
Our most-loved innovation transforms unstructured information into structured data instantly. Inspired by object-oriented programming, Supertags let you build powerful workflows and AI agents that actually understand your information. It's the foundation for AI moving for copilots to coworkers.
#### The Response Has Been Overwhelming
During our stealth phase, over 160,000 people joined our waitlist—including employees from over 80% of Fortune 500 companies. Our community of 24,000+ Tanarians (thank you!) has helped shape a product that's already transforming how people work.
"_Tana is like having a superpower at work. It is the best tool we currently have to prepare our organization for the inevitable: The increasing rate of change, the need for collaboration, and the information flow that comes with the advent of AI._" Andre Foeken, CTO of Nedap
#### Backed by the Best
“This team's obsession with transforming productivity for our AI-native world sets them apart. They deeply understand that the future of work will be dynamic and personalized, and their voice-first product represents a bold vision for reshaping how teams collaborate globally,” Sheila Gulati, founder and managing director of Tola Capital.
We're honored to have the support of exceptional investors and founders who share our vision. Tola Capital, Lightspeed Ventures, Northzone, Alliance VC, and first minute capital. Lars Rasmussen, founder of Google Maps and Google Wave, was one of our believers, along with Olivier Pomel (Founder Datadog), Holly Branson (Virgin) and more. In our Series A, we welcomed Arash Ferdowsi (Dropbox co-founder), Siqi Chen (Founder Runway), Ali Abdaal (Productiviy Guru), and Phil Morle (Internet OG).
“I’ve loved being an early adopter of Tana and I’m a believer in the team’s incredible vision to revolutionize knowledge work for high-speed organizations. They’ve built one of the most impressive AI agents I’ve ever seen and infused it into every part of the product,” Nnamdi Iregbulem, Partner at Lightspeed Venture Partners.
#### What's Next
This funding will help us deliver on our mission: reinventing how humans, teams, and computers work together.
We will continue to build on our belief in voice-first workflows, Customizable AI Agents, and a new paradigm for sharing and accessing proprietary knowledge in the age of AI.
**Join Us in Shaping the Future**
The computer was supposed to be a bicycle for the mind. With Tana, we're finally delivering on that promise. We're building a world where technology adapts to you—not the other way around.
A special note from us founders: _We're deeply grateful to our Tanarians, investors, and the incredible team that's helped us reach this milestone. This is just the beginning of our journey to transform how humans, teams, and computers work together. - Grim, Tarjei, Olav_
---
### Thinking and doing
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/thinking-and-doing
Published: 2024-09-11
Our vision and background for building Tana, as presentated during the Founder's AMA live stream.
## Manual computing
My journey to Tana began with the dual experiences of being both a programmer and a manager, as I worked at Google and other companies. Over the years, I've observed what I call "manual computing" in corporate environments - the inefficient process where information gets trapped in static documents and presentations and humans are the ones moving data around - instead of the computers.
This led me to realize the following: We need a tool that bridges unstructured and structured knowledge. Something that allows users to start with unstructured data and gradually add structure as needed, without the upfront cost of building a full application.
For computers to do more of our work, we have to include them from the messy origin of information, starting from simple notes or voice recordings, all the way to complex workflows with well understood data flows.
## The Thinking and Doing Cycle
At Tana, our core philosophy revolves around a cycle that connects thinking and doing:
- Capture: Input information quickly and easily.
- Understand: Structure and organize information to gain insights.
- Decide: Make informed decisions based on the organized information.
- Plan: Create actionable plans from these decisions.
- Execute: Perform the required actions and track progress.
- Evaluate: Assess the outcomes and feed back into the cycle.
This cycle exist at all scales, from small personal tasks to large organizational processes. It also exist at all time resolutions, from small decisions in the moment to year long projects.
Our goal is to take users from input to outcome with minimal effort and maximum delight.
## Bridging Unstructured and Structured Information
A key aspect of our vision is the ability to start with unstructured data and gradually add structure as needed. This approach allows our users to begin working immediately without the overhead of setting up complex systems.
As users interact with their information over time, they can incrementally add structure to improve functionality and insights.
## Enhancing Collaboration
My experience working on Google Wave, one of the earliest web-based real-time collaboration tools, greatly influenced Tana's vision.
We aim to unleash the potential of team productivity by creating a shared information space where team members can contribute rapidly and in parallel, while also providing tools to organize and make sense of the resulting information flood.
## Reducing Manual Computing
A primary mission of Tana is to move people away from "manual computing."
We envision a unified information space where all actors can access and view information from different angles, eliminating grunt work and enhancing productivity. We want to stop the endless cycle of copying and pasting between different tools and documents.
## The AI Integration
Looking to the future, we see AI as a key component in enhancing the thinking and doing cycle. Our vision includes using AI for tasks like capturing and structuring information, especially through voice interactions on mobile devices. We're working towards making it effortless to input unstructured information and have useful, structured data emerge automatically.
The automation possible with AI isn't limited to performing operations on data, but as important, the AI can watch the meta-data layer. Monitor and suggest improvements to both workflows and information templates. Just like robotic vacuum cleaners can keep your floors dust free, we can get constantly fine-tuned setups for the work we do.
## Bringing it all together
At Tana, we're creating a tool that seamlessly connects capturing information, understanding it, making decisions, and taking action.
Our aim is to revolutionize how individuals and teams manage their knowledge and workflows. As we continue to evolve and materialize this vision, we hope to bring new levels of efficiency and insight to knowledge workers across various fields.
We're not just building another productivity tool. We're on a mission to fundamentally change how people interact with information, making the journey from thought to action smoother and more intuitive than ever before.
---
### Tana's next chapter - our roadmap
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/Tana-roadmap-Q4-2024
Published: 2024-08-28
Tana's 2024 development focus: Our plans to enhance user experience, develop mobile apps for iOS and Android, improve performance, and expand AI integration.
At Tana, we're on a mission to reinvent how humans, teams, and computers work together. Our vision is to make knowledge-work fast and effortless in an age of AI, remote and async teams, and fast-changing workflows. This vision has been clear since we started building the platform four years ago, and it continues to guide us today.
Many of our users have asked why we don't publish a traditional roadmap.
The truth is, as a startup operating in a dynamic environment, we've found that the classic fixed roadmap doesn't accurately reflect the iterative nature of our work. We know where we want to go, but the route to getting there is rarely a straight line. Some of our experiments don't pan out, and often we need to take a few steps back and try alternative routes as we fill in the white spaces on our map.
We hear that you want to better understand where we're going, and we want you to be part of our journey. So, instead of a traditional roadmap, we've decided to share our next "Chapter" with you. This approach allows us to remain flexible and responsive to the evolving needs of our users and the technological landscape while giving you insight into our current focus and priorities.
## The next chapter: Our focus for the rest of 2024
Our primary goal for the remainder of 2024 is to make Tana smooth, fast, and easy for new users. This involves developing a useful and delightful mobile app (for both iOS and Android), enhancing the core experience of Tana to make it faster, and making the powerful Tana AI accessible to non-power users.
## We're dividing our work into a set of priority tracks:
### Making it easier to get into Tana for new users
**Goal:** Lower the learning curve for Tana and iterate tirelessly on improving the onboarding experience for new users.
**Concrete Areas of Effort:**
- Improved in-context guidance
- Better initial workspace setups
- Enhanced navigation views (side-menu and tabs) to allow more familiar website-like structures in the node tree
- Simplified UX for search nodes and filters
### Providing a delightful mobile experience
**Goal:** Make Tana available on mobile phones with a UX tailored for mobile use cases.
**Efforts**: Develop improved caching solutions and use of server platform for features that require different implementations on mobile compared to the desktop app
### Making Tana faster and more accessible
**Goal:** Improve loading times and overall UX speed.
**Efforts: **Implement support for some offline use (not fully local-first, but a step in that direction)
### Strengthening the core aspects of Tana with focus on workflows
**Fields: **Introduce status fields for workflow definitions
**Search and Search Nodes:**
- Make search faster and easier to set up and use for navigating information in Tana
- Improve understanding of different node types: content, items, spaces
- Implement semantic indexing
**Iterate and Improve: **Enhance existing features, focusing on maximizing impact driven by workflow use cases
### Unlocking AI use in Tana:
**Goal:** Focus on voice interaction from mobile.
**Efforts:**
- Refine our AI offerings to make simple tasks easier
- Develop AI-assisted capturing and structuring of information directly into Tana's structure and processes
- Enable all users to leverage AI in Tana to produce useful derived artifacts
We're excited about this next chapter in Tana's story. While we can't predict everything we'll release for the rest of the year, this overview should give you a good idea of our current focus areas. It also indicates what we probably won't get around to until future chapters.
We appreciate your continued support and feedback as we work towards making Tana the ultimate tool for knowledge work. Together, we're building a platform that adapts to your needs, enabling you to capture, understand, organize, and act on information more efficiently than ever before.
Stay tuned for updates as we progress through this chapter, and thank you for being part of the Tana community.
---
### Our Ideas Philosophy
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/our-ideas-philosophy
Published: 2023-11-09
Feature requests are common in software development. Our process instead has a particular emphasis on problems.
## 💡 The philosophy
### **Community, not audience**
You, the Tana community, are an invaluable part in helping us build and improve Tana. We value every bit of feedback we receive. We believe that any time you spend sharing ideas and feedback about Tana with us is an effort to improve it, and we truly appreciate it.
### **We want** ***problem*** **requests, not feature requests**
Feature requests are super common in software development. Our process instead has a particular emphasis on problems.
The most reliable way we have found to improve Tana, as well as unlock new things Tana can do, is to focus on the detail of _ideas as problems_. Problems help us see surprising connections and helps us apply Tana's unique technical structure to solve them.
Great solutions come from seeing a problem in a new or different way, and it's why we get so much value out of users explaining the reasoning of their ideas as much as the idea itself. Why a particular feature would be useful, what is the mission critical problem it solve help us see more paths towards solutions. Even if an idea is common, an unusual description of the problem can lead to breakthroughs.
We have built this into our process. We want _problems_ to have a prominent role in how we ask for new ideas from the community.
### **The path from problem to idea to feature is complex**
A great idea travels a difficult path in the design process at Tana. It's assessed against a range of criteria such as technical feasibility, resources and time of the team, alignment with vision for Tana, potential impact for users.
This process means that even great ideas for how to improve Tana may end with no, or not right now, or look so different by the end of this process that it's hard to see the idea that they started as.
Your ideas have a larger range of possible outcomes than yes or no, and they will influence Tana in ways that sometimes aren't obvious.
### **Some features won't be built anytime soon, or at all**
We are an opinionated team who are trying to reinvent how humans, teams, and computers work together. We are early on our path, but have strong views and are pushing hard towards making them a reality.
Some ideas don't fit. We will try to communicate clearly why a particular feature is not in our thinking, and why we select the paths we do.
### **Strong opinions, quarterly held**
We work in 3 month quarters. Each quarter has a specific objective set by the Tana founders and leadership team, driven by feedback, data, and our teams collective thinking in our Tana workspace.
This objective converts into projects across the entire team, and we spend the next three months trying complete those projects documenting all our exploration out outcomes in Tana.
At the end of the quarter, we start the process again, with an updated focus and set of objectives driven by feedback and our learning.
## ✅ The Process
### Submitting ideas
1. Go to [ideas.tana.inc](https://ideas.tana.inc/channels/ideas). To submit, vote and comment, and log in via google (more options coming soon)
2. You can submit requests by selecting 'Submit an Idea'.
3. Submitting an idea is built around five steps:
4. Idea title (describe your idea in one sentence)
5. Feature category (what category best describes the idea you are submitting)
6. Explain the problem as you see it (what is the problem that is at the heart of your idea)
7. Why is this a problem for you? (This is a push from us to see if can get more insights into motives, and behaviours)
8. Suggest a solution (Describe a way to solve the problem)
### Browsing and voting
You can browse other ideas, and filter by things such as category, popularity and recently submitted.
You can comment on other ideas, giving extra context to the problem or solution.
You can upvote other ideas. We are experimenting with limited votes per user. We are giving each user 2 votes per month (6 per quarter). The goal of the limit is to help us see clearer prioritization with different ideas.
### Review submissions
Your submission will be available for other community members to vote and comment on.
The team will review submissions and categorise them. We will do this regularly but without a dedicated schedule.
We will also let you know if we need more information for any specific request, by tagging it with the category 'needs more information'.
### Connection to the team
The Tana team work in Tana, and every idea we decide to tackle is sent to the Tana team workspace, and the status gets changed to 'transferred to team workspace'.
If the request has been transferred into the Tana Team Workspace, it means that it's actively in the design conversations, but it doesn't mean we will necessarily release it. The design process is hard, see our Idea Philosophy for more information.
### Communicating ongoing status
We will explore new ways to communicate our thinking on submitted requests. To start we are going to have a quarterly communication, where the team review and discuss particular ideas. The format for this will either be live event, or an AMA style with the product team.
### Expectations
We are early stages in this process and we will continue to iterate to find better ways to use community ideas, and will make changes as we go. We value all effort applied to making Tana better, and we are excited to explore with you all.
---
### Launching: Text selection toolbar!
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/launching-text-selection-toolbar
Published: 2023-11-08
Supertags, References, Formatting and more - within a click.
## A new toolbar is in town!
To improve mouse interactions, we're rolling out a toolbar for whenever you interact with text in Tana.
1. Select plain text to make it appear.
2. Select an inline reference for different options.
For further documentation on the text selection toolbar, [go here](/learn/features/nodes-and-references#text-selection-toolbar).
Got feedback? [Contribute to improving the feature here](https://ideas.tana.inc/posts/398-request-for-feedback-on-text-selections-toolbar)!
---
### Launching: Tana for Desktop!
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/launching-tana-for-desktop
Published: 2023-10-10
Experience Tana at a new level of focus, clarity and speed. Available on Windows, Mac and Linux, scroll for downloads 👇
### Download here:
[Download for Windows](https://desktop-update.tana.inc/download/exe)
[Download for Mac](https://desktop-update.tana.inc/download/dmg)
[Download for Ubuntu/Debian](https://desktop-update.tana.inc/download/deb)
[Download for Fedora/Redhat](https://desktop-update.tana.inc/download/rpm)
> _We are looking for feedback on the new desktop apps._
>
> This feedback will be considered by the product team for our first round of updates in the coming weeks.
>
> [Leave your feedback here](https://ideas.tana.inc/posts/388-request-for-feedback-on-tana-desktop)
### Elevate Tana to the _top_ of your desk
**🤫 Work in a distraction-free environment**, away from tabs, pop-ups, and other distractions.
⏩ **Experience faster performance than ever**, because it's running independently from your browser and tabs.
🧹 **Enjoy a cleaner, more integrated interface** that gives you the purest and simplest Tana experience yet.
### `✨NEW!` Desktop voice recording
Record audio straight into the app using your desktop setup. Use the shortcut Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+E to start and stop recording. Like voice recordings from Tana Capture, recordings end up in the Inbox, transcribed and ready to be actioned.
---
### “Tana makes me feel dumb”
URL: https://outliner.tana.inc/blog/tana-makes-me-feel-dumb
Published: 2022-12-27
2022 was a huge year for Tana. We doubled the team, and transitioned from a stealth prototype used by a handful of people to an early access release with a vibrant community of 6,000 people around it.
- “It feels quite cluttered and overwhelming”
- “I don't see myself switching to this”
- “Building this UI will be as difficult as cold fusion”
- “Tana makes me feel dumb”
- “Remember, I'm not a nerd”
## The initial feedback was brutally honest
These were only some of the things we heard as we were starting to dip our toes into the market with Tana one year ago, even if it was mostly with selected individuals and friends of friends.
It was sometimes like a punch in the face, but looking back, we shouldn't have been that surprised. After all, it didn't exactly _feel_ like 2022 software:
_In the first version of Tana (codenamed Noteboat), we focused solely on mechanics, and it showed._
## Luckily, some people got it (you!)
Despite the retro look of that screenshot, all the core concepts were there: the supertags, the search nodes, the way you can create structured content in a near-plain-text writing experience, and the everything-is-a-node philosophy that is part of why Tana is so powerful.
The small group of people that _really_ grokked Tana in late 2021 confirmed our belief that we're onto something really good.
## We spent the first half of 2022 doing only this 👇
1. Do a one-on-one onboarding with a person that _should_ find Tana really useful
2. Learn where they stumble
3. Go fix it
4. Do it again
We ran hundreds of these loops, with a goal to open up for a wider audience in Q3. We refined the interface, simplified the terminology, wrote documentation and help content, built some new functionality, and removed features that we saw would be premature to include in the initial release.
On the 30th of September, we pressed the button.
_Look at the timestamp. We did launch in Q3, with hours to spare!_
## Tana is now out there!
…and it feels fantastic! The reception has been overwhelming. Our waiting list immediately exploded, and the interest has not slowed down. We are hugely grateful for each and every one who has helped us get to this point (and we apologise to those of you still waiting for your invite — we're working our asses off to get to you!).
We've seen Tana used by university professors for planning out entire research programs, runners for tracking their progression, podcasters for managing their production schedules, engineering teams for planning tasks and meetings, and tons of interesting personal use cases.
Ourselves, we use it for everything we do, from strategic planning and hiring to project management, usability testing and drafting this very blog post.
## Some highlights from 2022
- We grew the Tana community from 100 to close to 6,000 members, with activity around the clock. You people are awesome!
- We strengthened the team with some excellent people! Welcome Erlend, Odin, Seb, Stian, Kim Joar, Rob, Fei, Matt 🥳
- We saw numerous Tana tutorials pop up, recorded in at least five languages (without any participation from us!).
- We stopped making people feel dumb!
## This is what we're now hearing
- “[Tana feels different. It's so effortless.”](https://twitter.com/_KyleCraven/status/1604980431543095301?s=20&t=seY6dtCIduUriqcL5RZr8Q)
- “[Tana is blowing my mind.”](https://twitter.com/adamgordonbell/status/1604502501583388672?s=20&t=seY6dtCIduUriqcL5RZr8Q)
- “[First day using Tana and I don't know how I survived until now without it 😍❤️”](https://twitter.com/alissonprimo/status/1604993042527956993?s=20&t=seY6dtCIduUriqcL5RZr8Q)
- “[Got my invite to Tana last night. My mind is spinning right now (in a good way).”](https://twitter.com/pentekostos/status/1603381018077310976?s=20&t=seY6dtCIduUriqcL5RZr8Q)
- “[Oh my god, Tana is so beautiful. It works like I think.”](https://twitter.com/jbiswriting/status/1590389906555437056?s=20&t=seY6dtCIduUriqcL5RZr8Q)
## So, we'll be spending 2023 at the beach 🏝
This post might sound like we believe we made it, that we're done here. Not even close! We have been involved in enough software projects to know that — even though we have reached some critical milestones — we still have a looong way to go.
We have proven that Tana can add tremendous value in a wide range of use cases, but our ambitions are sky high, and so are our standards for Tana as a product and a company. We still have a lot in store.
In 2023, we will continue to do exactly what we have been doing: talking to users to learn what works and what doesn't work, go fix it, and try again.
Thanks for being here, and happy new year!
All the best,
Team 🌊 Tana
---