Why do lecture notes come out messy?
Because you're doing two jobs at once: listening and writing. You either write everything and stop understanding, or listen and miss half of it. Then the notes you do take are half sentences and arrows that only make sense for a day or two.
The fix is to split the jobs. Let the recording catch every word, write only what matters to you, and tidy the result while the lecture is still fresh.
Step 1: Start a recording session
Open a page and start recording:
- From anywhere: Start New, then Lecture. Nibit makes a new note and starts recording.
- On a page: press the microphone in the toolbar, keep the mode on Generate notes, and press Start recording.
- On an empty page: press Record audio.
Pick the audio source before you start: your microphone for a lecture hall, system audio for an online lecture, or both. The Mac and Windows apps can record any app's audio, Zoom and Teams included.
Choose a note format, Lecture or class, or leave it on Auto-detect and Nibit works out what kind of session it is.
Step 2: Write only what matters to you
The screen splits in two. On the left, the page, where Nibit adds structured notes every five minutes from what it heard. Press Transcribe now if you don't want to wait. On the right, Your notes, where you type.
Each paragraph you type is a timestamped note, so Nibit knows when you wrote it. Use that pane for what a recording can't capture:
- What the lecturer stressed. "This will be on the exam."
- Your own questions. "Why does this only work at constant pressure?"
- Connections. "Same idea as last week's lecture on enzymes."
- Photos. Add up to six images of the whiteboard or a slide.
To attach a note to one exact part of the AI notes, right-click that block and choose Comment here (session note).
Step 3: Merge your notes in at the end
Press Stop and generate notes, then End session. Nibit finishes the last batch and tidies the session's notes automatically. The version from before the tidy is kept in version history, so nothing is lost.
If you typed notes, Nibit asks what to do with them:
| Choice | What happens |
|---|---|
| Keep split | Both panes stay side by side, with no merge |
| Merge as-is | Each of your notes goes in after the AI notes from the moment you typed it. No AI is involved. |
| Merge with AI | Nibit places your notes by meaning first and timing second, and turns follow-ups like "look this up" into comments on the right passage |
Either way, you review every change before anything is written, accepting or rejecting each one.
Step 4: Polish the page
Now make the page something you'd want to revise from. Press Polish on the page, or right-click a selection and choose Polish Selection, and pick a mode:
| Mode | Use it when |
|---|---|
| Standard | You want grammar, spelling, clarity and obvious factual errors fixed |
| Organize | The page needs headings, categories and bullet points |
| Summarize | It's too long to revise from |
| Elaborate | The ideas are there but the connections between them aren't |
| Custom | You want something specific, in your own words |
Step 5: Review every change
Polish never edits your page directly. It shows each change on its own, with the words that changed highlighted, and a summary at the top that calls out any factual correction. For each change you can:
- Accept it.
- Reject it, if you disagree.
- Refine it, with an instruction like "make bullet points" or "add an example".
Then apply the changes you accepted, or keep both versions as separate pages. The original is saved in version history either way, and you can restore it whenever you like.
Step 6: Turn the notes into revision
Clean notes are the raw material for everything else:
- Make a flashcard deck from the page.
- Sit a quiz on it.
- Ask Nibit about anything that's still unclear.
- Listen to it as a podcast on the way home.
Tools worth knowing while you write
- Type / for the command menu: headings, checklists, tables, equations, code blocks, diagrams, drawings, and AI tools like Generate flashcards.
- Equations: the equation editor has a symbol keyboard, and you can describe an equation in words, "half m v squared", and have it written for you.
- Sketches: draw a diagram and choose Insert + AI notes to have Nibit explain it underneath.
- @ mentions link to another notebook, chapter or page.
Questions people ask
Is it free?
Partly. The free plan includes 20 minutes of recording a week and one Polish action a week, and the automatic tidy at the end of a session, merging with AI, and each Refine count as Polish actions. Pro removes the limits. Free limits reset every Monday.
What if I don't want AI to rewrite my notes?
Choose Keep split or Merge as-is at the end of a session, and only use Polish when you want it. Every Polish change waits for you to accept it.
Can I undo a Polish or a merge?
Yes. Nibit saves a version before every Polish, tidy and merge. Open Version history from the page's toolbar, preview any version and restore it.
Do I need permission to record a lecture?
Some universities and lecturers don't allow recording, or ask that you check first. Find out before you press record.