Getting Started with TieBase: A Complete Guide

TieBase is designed around a simple rhythm: capture fast, organize later. If you try to build the perfect structure on day one, the system will feel heavy and you will avoid using it. This guide helps you start with the smallest possible setup and grow it into a reliable idea archive.

The goal is not to create a beautiful notebook. The goal is to keep your ideas alive and turn them into action. That requires speed, clarity, and a sustainable habit. This guide walks you through all three.

The mindset: capture first, structure later

Most note systems fail because they demand structure too early. You open a blank page and spend time deciding where a thought should live. That hesitation kills momentum.

TieBase flips the order. You capture a fragment now, then organize it when you need it. This is especially useful when ideas arrive during meetings, while walking, or in the middle of a task.

If you only remember one principle, remember this: capture is not a commitment. You can delete, merge, or reorganize later. The capture moment is about speed, not perfection.

Step 1: Install and open the workspace

Download the latest installer and open TieBase. On macOS, you may need to approve the app the first time you launch it. Once the canvas is visible, you are ready to capture.

Do not customize anything yet. The first goal is to use the system, not to design it. You can tune settings later.

Step 2: Create your first note

Click anywhere and write a single idea. Keep it short. A sentence is enough. This creates an atomic note that is easy to move, summarize, and reuse later.

Good first notes include:

• A question you want to answer this week
• A feature idea you do not want to forget
• A reminder from a meeting you just had

The content matters less than the habit. You are teaching your brain that a thought can be captured quickly and safely.

Step 3: Use one or two tags

Tags help you retrieve notes later, but too many tags create noise. Start with one or two tags you know you will reuse.

Examples:

• A project name
• A recurring meeting
• A theme like research or feedback

Apply the tag to the notes you care about. You can leave other notes untagged. This keeps the system light and prevents tag sprawl.

A simple tag rule

If you will want to find the note again, add a tag. If you are unsure, skip it. You can always tag later.

Step 4: Use search to retrieve context

Search is where TieBase starts to feel powerful. Use it to pull up notes by keyword or tag. The faster you can retrieve context, the more useful your notes become.

Try searching for:

• A topic you wrote about earlier
• A project tag
• A key phrase from a meeting

The point is to teach yourself that capture leads to retrieval. Once you trust that loop, you will capture more.

Step 5: Introduce AI in the right place

AI is not meant to replace your capture. It is meant to help you organize after the fact. The best use cases are:

• Summarizing a week of notes
• Grouping notes by theme
• Extracting decisions or questions

Start small. Ask AI to summarize your recent notes and see how it feels. If the summary is vague, tighten your note titles or ask for a specific format.

Example prompts

• "Summarize my notes from this week and list open questions."
• "Group notes tagged onboarding by theme."
• "Extract decisions from my meeting notes."

The more specific the prompt, the more useful the output.

Step 6: Enable MCP if you use AI tools

If you use Claude Desktop, Cursor, or other AI assistants, enable MCP (Model Context Protocol). This lets your assistant access your TieBase notes in a controlled way.

With MCP, you can ask your assistant to:

• Search notes by tag or keyword
• List available tags
• Retrieve notes for a specific topic

This turns TieBase into a context layer for your AI workflow. You no longer need to copy and paste notes into chat windows.

Step 7: Build a lightweight review habit

Notes are only useful if they stay clean. You do not need a heavy process. A 10-minute weekly review is enough.

A simple review session:

1. Scan notes from the last week.
2. Merge duplicates.
3. Add missing tags to the most important notes.
4. Delete anything that is clearly irrelevant.

This keeps the archive healthy without turning maintenance into a project.

Step 8: Build capture triggers

The easiest way to build a note habit is to attach it to a trigger you already have. Triggers are moments when you naturally pause: after a meeting ends, when you finish a task, or when you open a new project.

Examples of simple triggers:

• After every meeting, capture one decision and one question.
• Before lunch, write a note about the most important thing you learned that morning.
• At the end of the day, capture the top two open loops you want to remember tomorrow.

Triggers turn note-taking into a reflex. You stop debating whether to write a note because the moment itself reminds you.

Step 9: Write titles that survive time

Most notes are read later, not immediately. A note titled "Meeting" will not help your future self. A note titled "Decision: delay launch until onboarding is fixed" will.

When in doubt, write the title as a sentence with a subject and a verb. This takes an extra two seconds and saves minutes later when you search.

Examples:

• "Decision: split onboarding into two tracks"
• "Question: do we need a retry limit for webhooks?"
• "Risk: customers skip step 2 because it feels optional"

Clear titles are the simplest way to improve AI summaries as well. AI reads the title first.

Step 10: Build a small tag vocabulary

Tags are only useful if you reuse them. Start with a small vocabulary and add more only when you are sure you will use them again.

A good starter set:

• One project tag
• One theme tag (research, feedback, or planning)
• One status tag (decision or question)

As your archive grows, you can add tags gradually. The rule is simple: if a tag is not used at least once a week, consider deleting it.

Step 11: Search like a detective

Search is where your notes become a working memory. You can search by keyword, tag, or both. A few small tactics make search more effective:

• Use tags to narrow the scope first, then keywords to find specifics.
• Search for verbs or adjectives that are unique ("failed," "blocked," "urgent").
• If you cannot find a note, rewrite its title the next time you see it.

The goal is not perfect retrieval. The goal is fast enough retrieval that you trust the system.

Step 12: Use AI for different outputs

Most people start with summaries, but AI can do more. Here are practical outputs you can ask for once you have a small archive:

• A decision log for the last two weeks
• A list of unresolved questions
• A one-page project update
• A draft plan or outline

These outputs turn notes into action. The more you use them, the more your archive feels like a partner rather than a storage box.

Step 13: Understand local-first privacy

TieBase is local-first. That means your notes live on your device by default. This matters because it makes capture feel safe. You can write raw, honest notes without worrying about where they go.

If you enable MCP or share summaries, you still control what is exposed. A simple habit is to tag only the notes you are comfortable summarizing with AI. Anything without a tag stays private by default.

Step 14: A day in the life

Here is a simple example of how TieBase can fit into a normal workday:

• Morning: you open TieBase and capture a single intention for the day.
• During meetings: you write short decision notes.
• After lunch: you review the morning notes and tag the two that matter most.
• End of day: you ask AI for a short summary and list open questions.

This workflow takes less than 10 minutes total. The payoff is a clear record of what happened and what is next.

A 30-day growth plan

The first week gets you moving. The next three weeks are about building a habit that lasts. Use this simple progression:

Week 2: Focus on clarity. Rewrite a few titles so they are easy to search. Add a single tag to the notes you care about most. You are building a vocabulary.

Week 3: Focus on structure. Run an AI summary once a week and ask for a specific format, such as decisions and open questions. This is where your notes start to generate output, not just storage.

Week 4: Focus on reuse. Take one summary and use it to create something real: a project update, a planning doc, or a checklist. This is the moment where the system stops feeling like a note app and starts feeling like a workflow.

At the end of 30 days, you should have a lightweight archive and a repeatable routine. If the system feels heavy, remove a tag or shorten your review. The habit matters more than the complexity.

Migrating from another system

If you already have notes in another tool, you do not need to import everything at once. In fact, it is usually better to start fresh and import selectively.

A simple approach:

• Start capturing new notes in TieBase today.
• When you need an old note, import it or recreate it.
• Over time, the notes you actually use will migrate naturally.

This avoids a massive import project and keeps your system clean from day one.

Using TieBase with a team

TieBase works well for individual capture and team sharing when you share outputs instead of raw notes. For example, you can:

• Share a weekly summary with your team.
• Post a decision log in your tracker.
• Send a list of open questions before a meeting.

This keeps personal notes private while still delivering the context the team needs.

Backups and safety

Local-first tools are fast, but you still need a backup plan. Choose a simple method and stick to it:

• Export your notes weekly.
• Use a trusted cloud backup if available.
• Keep a second device synced if you work across multiple machines.

The goal is not to over-engineer. The goal is to know that your notes will survive if a device fails.

Organizing your space without overthinking

TieBase is flexible, which can feel overwhelming at first. The best approach is to keep your space simple:

• Use tags instead of folders.
• Keep notes short.
• Let AI do the grouping when needed.

If you feel the urge to create complex structures, pause. Complex structures are rarely necessary in the first month.

Common pitfalls to avoid

Over-formatting

If you spend too long making notes look perfect, you will capture less. Keep them messy and short.

Tag sprawl

Too many tags make retrieval harder. Keep your tag list small and meaningful.

Skipping reviews

Without reviews, notes pile up and become harder to use. A short weekly review prevents this.

Using AI too early

AI is best after you have a small archive. If you use it on a handful of notes, results can feel generic. Wait until you have some volume.

When the system feels heavy

Every note system eventually feels heavy if you do not prune. The fix is not to work harder. The fix is to simplify.

Try these resets:

• Delete notes you no longer care about.
• Reduce your tag list to the five you use most.
• Shorten note titles to a single sentence.

A lighter system encourages more capture. A heavier system discourages it.

Decide what to keep

Not every note deserves to live forever. If a note is outdated and unlikely to be useful, delete it. If you are unsure, summarize it in one line and delete the raw version. This keeps the archive dense and readable.

Keep the archive honest

If you avoid writing certain notes because of privacy concerns, consider tagging them differently or keeping them local-only. The system works best when it reflects your real work, not just the parts you are comfortable sharing.

How to know the system is working

You do not need analytics. Look for these signals:

• You can find context quickly without scrolling.
• Your summaries lead to concrete actions.
• You capture ideas more often because it feels safe.
• Your notes feel lighter, not heavier.

If these are true, the system is doing its job.

A note on consistency

The best systems are not the most complex. They are the ones you can repeat on a busy week. If a habit feels heavy, shrink it. One note a day is better than none. A five-minute weekly review is better than a perfect monthly cleanup.

Consistency is what makes the archive useful. AI gets better when it has more data. Your retrieval gets faster when titles and tags are consistent. None of that happens if the system is only used sporadically.

If you fall off for a week, restart without guilt. The system is resilient. A fresh capture habit can restart the loop in a single day.

Small wins you can expect

Within the first month, you should notice small but meaningful changes:

• You remember fewer things because your notes remember for you.
• Meeting follow-ups are faster because decisions are already captured.
• Planning feels clearer because summaries are grounded in reality.

These wins are subtle at first, but they compound. The more you capture, the more your archive reflects your real work, and the more you trust it.

Advanced tips for your second month

Once the basics feel natural, you can add more structure.

Create a decision log

Tag decisions with decision. Over time, you will have a searchable record of why things were done a certain way.

Separate questions from ideas

Tag questions with question. This creates a backlog of research tasks and makes AI summaries more useful.

Build a prompt library

Save prompts that work well, such as:

• "Summarize notes tagged project-alpha."
• "List open questions from the last two weeks."

Consistent prompts lead to consistent output.

Using TieBase for writing and research

If you write or research, TieBase becomes a powerful scratchpad. Capture quotes, reactions, and questions as separate notes. Tag them by theme instead of by source. Later, ask AI to group notes by theme or to build an outline from them.

This approach turns scattered reading into a usable knowledge trail. It also keeps your writing grounded in actual notes instead of vague memory. You do not need a separate system for research. A consistent tagging habit in TieBase is enough.

If you are drafting an article, you can ask AI to pull all notes tagged with a theme and generate a structure. Because your notes are atomic, the outline will be sharper and easier to edit. This is a simple way to turn daily capture into long-form output.

FAQ

Do I need to tag every note? No. Tag only the notes you plan to retrieve later. It is better to have a few meaningful tags than dozens of unused ones.

How long should a note be? Shorter is better. One sentence is ideal. Two sentences is fine. If it feels long, split it.

What if I forget to review? Nothing breaks. Just resume next week. The system is resilient as long as you return to it.

Can I use TieBase for personal notes too? Yes. Many people keep personal and work notes together. Use tags to separate them if needed.

Final thoughts

TieBase is a simple tool with a powerful rhythm. Capture quickly, organize later, and let AI help you see patterns and summaries. The system works when it is light, consistent, and human.

If you keep the system simple, it will keep working even when you are busy. That is the real test. A tool that survives busy weeks is the one that will actually change your workflow. Once the habit sticks, your notes become a quiet advantage you feel every day at work consistently.

Start small. Capture one idea today. Add one tag. Run one summary this week. The habits will compound, and the archive will become more valuable than you expect.

Takeaways

• Capture fast and keep notes atomic.
• Start with a small tag set.
• Use AI for summaries and structure, not for capture.
• Review briefly each week.
• Build habits that are easy to repeat.