11. PinSlip Use-Case Guides

8/1/2026

11. Use-Case Guides

This chapter is about using PinSlip to get something done, not about individual features.
Follow a scenario end-to-end for the fastest way to get going.

11.1 Create Your First Note

30 seconds to start:

  1. Install PinSlip and pick a vault directory.

  2. Press Ctrl+Shift+N (macOS Cmd+Shift+N).

  3. Write your first item.

  4. Press Ctrl+Enter to save (without closing the window — keep going).

  5. Find it in the main window's list.

11.2 Organize Notes With Folders and Tags

Categorize by topic and tag each note with 1–3 tags:

  1. Create subfolders under notes/ (drafts / work / study / personal).

  2. Tag notes (use 🏷 in the note's bottom toolbar).

  3. Switch the main window tab to Folders or Tags to browse.

11.3 Group Related Notes on the Desktop

PinSlip's signature feature — turn scattered notes into a squad:

  1. Pin all the relevant notes.

  2. Drag one onto another with ≥ 50% overlap → they form a group.

  3. Drag the group's blue pill at the top → the whole group moves.

  4. Collapse one note → the others below slide up to close the gap.

Great for: project boards / meeting notes / topical research.

11.4 Keep a Daily Journal With PinSlip

One note per day, Quick Capture as your scratchpad:

  1. Settings → Quick Capture → Save target = daily.

  2. Whenever something crosses your mind, press Ctrl+Shift+N and jot it down — it's auto-appended with a timestamp.

  3. In the evening, sort the whole note into the appropriate folder.

Or:

  1. Leave the save target as note (the default).

  2. Review inbox/ every evening and move anything useful to notes/journal/2026-07.md.

Pick whichever mode suits you.

11.5 Use Note Groups as a Lightweight Kanban

Treat PinSlip as a Kanban:

  1. Create three groups: To Do / In Progress / Done.

  2. Drag notes between groups as their status changes.

  3. Drag a group's handle to move the whole column (great when switching screens).

Going further: attach "card" properties (due date / priority) to each note using tags.

11.6 Sync Across Devices With Git

For technical users:

  1. Prepare an empty repo (GitHub / GitLab / cnb).

  2. Settings → Git Sync → fill in repo URL + username + token.

  3. On a new device: fill in the same repo → PinSlip clones automatically.

Great for: switching computers / secondary devices / multi-user collaboration.

11.7 Capture Inspiration Fast With Quick Capture

When you don't want to open the main window:

  1. Press Ctrl+Shift+N to summon the floating window.

  2. Write → Ctrl+Enter (save without closing) → keep going.

  3. Everything lands in inbox/.

  4. Tidy up in the evening.

You can also enable clipboard bring-in (on by default). For example:

  • Copy some web content → Quick Capture brings it in automatically → Ctrl+Enter to capture it.

11.8 Take Meeting Notes on the Desktop

One meeting, five or six notes by topic:

  1. Agenda

  2. Decisions

  3. Action items

  4. Risks

  5. Scratchpad

How to do it:

  • Before the meeting, create a group.

  • During the meeting, drag notes around by the handle.

  • Decisions and action items can be pinned individually.

  • After the meeting, archive via screenshot / sync to Git.

11.9 Let an AI Assistant Search and Write Notes

With MCP enabled, your AI assistant can:

  • Search notes

  • Read full content

  • Write new notes

  • Edit / delete notes (still goes through the recycle bin)

Use cases:

  • Daily report: ask AI to summarize the day's notes.

  • Tidy inbox: ask AI to classify notes for you.

  • Find a forgotten idea: ask AI to search for a fuzzy keyword.

  • Collect info: ask AI to write notes while you browse.

11.10 Share a Vault With Obsidian

Point both at the same vault directory:

  • PinSlip on desktop for fast capture

  • Obsidian on mobile / desktop for deep reading

  • Tags are recognized both ways (both use frontmatter)

  • Images read both ways (both use attachments/)

Great when you want your notes on your phone too.

Caveats:

  • Editing the same file from both at once → last-writer-wins risk.

  • Use Git sync to resolve conflicts.

11.11 Collect Web Content With PinSlip

Browser extension workflows:

  1. See a sentence you like → select it → right-click → Save selection.

  2. Want to keep an entire article → right-click → Clip article (auto Markdown conversion).

  3. Want a full-page screenshot → right-click → Save page screenshot.

  4. Toolbar icon → popup window → annotate → Enter.

11.12 Share a Vault Across a Team

Put the vault on OneDrive / Dropbox / iCloud so multiple people can share the directory:

  • Pro: everyone sees everyone's changes.

  • Risk: PinSlip doesn't lock files, so concurrent edits have last-writer-wins risk.

  • Recommendation: use Git sync + branches + PRs.

11.13 Manage Work With Task Checkboxes

Each note can hold - [ ] task checkboxes — click to tick them off:

# This Week's Work

- [x] Finish requirements review
- [x] Submit code
- [ ] Integration testing
- [ ] Deploy to production

Combine with AI:

  • Ask AI to search for "- [ ]" and find every unfinished task.

  • Ask AI to break your weekend plans into actionable steps.

11.14 Turn PinSlip Into a Personal Knowledge Base

For long-term use:

  1. Design a folder structure (PARA / GTD / your own).

  2. Treat Quick Capture as an inbox and review regularly.

  3. Use Git sync for version control / backup.

  4. Use the AI assistant for fast retrieval.

Great if you want to turn scattered thoughts into systematic notes.

11.15 Daily Logging With the Browser Extension

Start every workday in the browser:

  1. Toolbar icon → popup window.

  2. Title and URL auto-fill (from the current page).

  3. Jot down a sentence or two → Enter.

  4. One note is captured, tagged with source.

Every note's frontmatter carries source: browser-extension, so you can trace it back later.

11.16 Let AI Tidy Up Your Inbox

Mode A: batch processing

  1. Open the AI assistant on the weekend.

  2. Ask it to "sort today's notes from inbox into the right folders by topic."

  3. AI calls update_note(folder=target) in bulk.

Mode B: real-time archiving

  1. Set Quick Capture to daily mode.

  2. Write the thought and close the window.

  3. In the evening, ask AI to archive the "Quick Capture YYYY-MM-DD" note into the right folders.