New in 0.3.0Shared lessons now remember each student's progress. What's new
Study notes that do something.
Build lessons from live cards: sliders, formulas, charts, quizzes and practice problems that react to each other. Then share one file that opens offline on any device and remembers each student's progress.
Free · MIT licensed · No account · No cloud
At 5%, $1,000 grows to $1,629 in 10 years and $4,322 in 30.
02 — The problem with notes
Rereading feels like studying. Testing yourself is studying.
Learning research is unusually clear about what works. Static notes support almost none of it.
Practice testing and spaced practice were the two techniques rated most useful, out of ten common study techniques reviewed. Highlighting and rereading rated low.
Dunlosky et al., 2013 · Psychological Science in the Public InterestSimulation-based learning showed large effects across 145 studies in higher education, and helped most when the simulation was guided.
Chernikova et al., 2020 · Review of Educational ResearchStudying worked examples improved mathematics performance, especially when learners explain each step to themselves.
Barbieri et al., 2023 · Educational Psychology ReviewSo the built-in card types are those techniques, ready to drop into any lesson:
03 — How it works
Twelve building blocks. Endless lessons.
A card is a small stack of slots. Slots in the same card share variables, so a slider drives a formula, the formula drives a chart, and the text quotes the result. Tap the blocks to build a card.
Cycles and missing values are caught when you import, before anyone sees the lesson.
04 — New notebook from AI
Any chat AI drafts it. You stay the author.
- Copy the promptNoteBuilder writes it for you: the format, every slot with an example, the formula rules.
- Paste the replyCode fences and chatter around the JSON are fine.
- See what to fixEach problem says where it is, what is wrong and how to fix it, with a fix request to paste back.
- Review the draftsEvery AI-made card arrives as a draft. Share reminds you while drafts remain.
A price rises from $40 to $50. By what percent did it rise?
05 — Practice problems
Fresh numbers, every attempt.
- You write the problem once with ranges and a formula. Every attempt draws new numbers, so students practise the idea, not the answer.
- Each student gets their own sequence, so one shared answer list doesn't help anyone.
- Peek at an answer and those numbers earn no credit. Done means done for real.
06 — Sharing
One file. Opens anywhere. Remembers everything.
- No install, no account, no internet. Email it, drop it in your course page, put it on a USB stick. It opens in any browser on any phone or laptop.
- Progress stays with the student. Answers, ticks and practice streaks are saved in their browser and come back when they reopen the file.
- My results for the teacher. Students copy or download a summary of their progress and graded answers, and send it to you.
- Nothing is sent anywhere. The file itself makes no network requests, not even for fonts.
same file, every screen
07 — Live demo
This is the real thing. Go ahead, break it.
Below is an actual shared lesson made with NoteBuilder. Make a prediction, drag the slider, solve a problem, then reload the page: your progress is still there.
The live lesson loads here. If it doesn't, open it in a new tab.
08 — Built to last
Your notes live on your machine.
No account, no server, no tracking. A desktop app that keeps your work safe and your format open.
Local and private
Notebooks sit in a database on your Mac. Nothing to sign up for, nothing that phones home.
Saves you can trust
Every save is one atomic transaction, flushed when you switch away, close the window or quit.
Version history
Versions are kept as you work. Restore any of them, and undo the restore if you change your mind.
An open format
Export plain JSON that follows a published schema, so your lessons outlive the app.
2,718 tests
Run on every change, including real-SQLite tests of every database migration.
MIT licensed
Open source on GitHub. Read it, fork it, keep it.
09 — Where it fits
Not another flashcard app. Not another chatbot.
| What you need | NoteBuilder | Flashcard apps | AI chat tutors | Slides and docs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sliders, formulas and charts that react | Yes, in every card | No | In the chat, then gone | No |
| Self-checking quizzes and fresh-number practice | Yes | Quizzes, fixed numbers | On request | No |
| Share one file that works offline | Yes, any browser | Needs their app | Needs a login | Static only |
| Student progress without accounts | Yes, saved in their browser | On their device | In the provider's cloud | No |
| Drafting with any AI you choose | Yes, then you review | Via add-ons | Their own model only | Varies |
| Spaced-repetition scheduling | Coming next | Yes, their core strength | Rarely | No |
We list what NoteBuilder doesn't do yet, too. A spaced-repetition review queue is the next thing we're building.
10 — Get NoteBuilder
Make your first living lesson tonight.
Free, open source and private by design.
For Apple silicon Macs (M1 or later) on macOS 11 or newer.
NoteBuilder isn't notarized yet, so the first launch takes one extra step. On macOS 15 or later, click Done, then Open Anyway in System Settings → Privacy & Security. On older macOS, right-click the app and choose Open. Install guide
git clone https://github.com/YuZh98/notebuilder && cd notebuilder/v2 && npm ci && npm run tauri devNeeds Node 20+, Rust and Xcode Command Line Tools.
- In NoteBuilder, choose ＋ then From AI… and describe your topic.
- Copy the prompt into ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or any chat AI.
- Paste the reply back. NoteBuilder shows exactly what to fix.
- Review the drafts, then Share.
Got a .html lesson from a teacher? Just open it in any browser, on any device. No install, no account. Your progress is saved in that browser, and My results lets you send your answers back.