Brainstack Blog

How to Get Started with Brainstack: A Beginner’s Guide

Welcome to Brainstack.
If you're someone who constantly has ideas, reflections, half-formed plans, or breakthrough moments—this tool was built for you.

Brainstack helps you capture your thinking fast, and lay it out visually in a way that makes sense to your brain.
No clutter. No structure to master. Just space to think.

We’re early in our journey—thanks for being here.
For now, we’re a simple notes app. Soon, we’ll be cognitive infrastructure.
Sign up to hear what’s next →

What is Brainstack?

Brainstack is a lightweight, desktop-first thinking tool.

You drop in text-based thoughts. The app saves them instantly and lets you arrange them spatially—on a whiteboard that feels more like a mind map than a filing system.

You can:

There’s no right way. Just your way.

Here's a quick video to take you through the basics and there are steps below too.

Enjoy creating your Brainstack!

Step 1: Sign In or Create an Account

Go to brainstack.me and click Sign In (top right).

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If you're new, click Sign Up to create an account.

Otherwise, if you already have a Brainstack account, enter your email and password or use Sign in with Google.

Once you're in, click Go to Whiteboard to start.

Step 2: Add Your First Thought

Click the blue + Add Note button in the toolbar. A blank note will appear on your whiteboard. Just type.

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There’s no need to overthink it. Start with:

Your note autosaves every second.
Click outside the note or press Ctrl + Enter to confirm.

Step 3: Keep Capturing. Nothing Gets Lost.

Every thought you write is saved instantly to your History, located on the left.

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From there, you can:

Step 4: Arrange Notes Visually

Click any note in your History to display it. Then move it anywhere on the whiteboard.

Organise your thinking by:

To move around the board:

Step 5: Zoom and Reset the View

Use the toolbar to adjust your view:

Step 6: Use Shortcuts to Move Faster

Click the keyboard icon next to Zoom controls to see all available shortcuts.

Useful PC shortcuts:

Useful Mac (trackpad) shortcuts:

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Step 7: Delete a Note from the Whiteboard

Want to remove something from view?

  1. Click the note in History
  2. It’ll appear on the whiteboard
  3. Click the red X in the corner of the note to remove it

The note stays saved in your History.

Step 8: Delete a Note from the History

Want to delete a note?

  1. Hover over the note in History
  2. Look for the trashcan to the right of the note
  3. Click the trashcan
  4. Click 'Confirm?'

The note is removed from your History.

Step 9: Share Feedback

Click the blue Feedback button on the right-hand side of the screen.

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Use it to:

Thank you! All feedback is valued by the Brainstack team.

Step 10: Skip These (For Now)

You might see:

They’re in development. No need to explore them just yet—we’ll let you know when they’re ready.

Bonus 1: Add Notes from Your Phone (Sort of)

We’re desktop-first at the moment. You can still bring ideas across from your phone:

  1. Take a photo of your journal, sticky note or whiteboard
  2. Use your phone’s text recognition (like iPhone Live Text or Google Lens)
  3. Copy and paste that text into Brainstack on your desktop

Fast. Lo-fi. It works.

Bonus 2: (On iPhone) Setup Apple Shortcut to Add Notes from Your Phone

Ever setup an Apple Shortcut so you can share links and useful text from online sites? Shortcuts can save a lot of time. Here's how to setup:

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What’s Coming Soon

You’re here early—and helping shape what’s next. We’re working on:

Our goal is to help you move from thought → connection → success (whatever that looks like for you).

Ready to begin?
Click + Add Note, type one thought, and let your ideas unfold.
Start here → https://brainstack.me