Capture the moment before it disappears

Open Collect and tap +. Save text, take a photo, choose an image or file, record audio, or capture a short video. Start quickly; you can remove the irrelevant parts later.

1. Choose the lightest useful format. Text is fastest, a photo preserves visual context, and audio or video is useful when timing or pronunciation matters.
2. Do not organize yet. The collection is an inbox, not your permanent library.
3. Process it when you have time. Items remain under To process until you finish them.

Process only the useful part

Open an item and choose Process. This stage removes noise and turns the encounter into a compact knowledge entry.

1. Focus the media. Crop, rotate, adjust brightness and contrast, or highlight the important area. Trim audio and video; processed video is limited and compressed before entering the durable library.
2. Name the target. Enter the word, phrase, sentence, or concept you want to remember.
3. Add an explanation. Write it yourself, or select Meaning, Usage examples, and Pronunciation before asking your configured AI. Use the additional request field when you need a specific style or focus.
4. Review and finish. The result becomes a knowledge entry. The original capture stays local so you can reprocess it, and can be cleared later when no longer needed.

Organize without building silos

Processed entries appear in Kernels. Search the entry text and explanation, add your own notes, or place entries into decks.

• To plan: the entry is not in a deck yet.
• In progress: the entry belongs to at least one deck.
• Mastered: you marked the entry as mastered.
• Decks are scopes, not containers: one entry can belong to several decks, and removing it from a deck never deletes the entry itself.

Choose planned review or free practice

Open a deck, then tap Start. The practice page offers two modes:

Planned review

Follows FSRS. Recall first, reveal the answer, then rate your memory. The next due time adapts to your result.

Free practice

Shuffles every entry in the deck for one round. It records a simple count and does not change FSRS scheduling.

Enable local notifications if you want due-review reminders. A planned practice run completes when every included entry has been marked mastered; closing a run manually is permanent.

Create the key in Google AI Studio

1. Open Google AI Studio · API keys and sign in with your Google account.
2. Accept the Gemini API terms when prompted.
3. Select Create API key. New users may receive a default Google Cloud project automatically; otherwise choose or create a project you control.
4. Copy the new key and keep it private. You only need to paste it into Gleanbox once.

Reference: Google's API key documentation.

Connect the key to Gleanbox

1. Open Settings → AI Settings.
2. Choose Quick. The Gemini provider, endpoint, and model preset are already filled in.
3. Paste the key into API key, tap Test, then tap Save.
4. Back in Settings, choose AI output language. It can follow the interface or use a different language.

Advanced mode is for an OpenAI-compatible endpoint. It can also use one model for image recognition and another for the final explanation. Start with Quick mode unless you already operate another API.

Fix common connection errors

Option A: prepare GitHub

1. Create a new private repository, for example gleanbox-data. An empty repository is simplest.
2. Open GitHub fine-grained personal access tokens.
3. Choose your account as the resource owner, select Only select repositories, and choose only the Gleanbox repository.
4. Under Repository permissions, grant Contents: Read and write. No Issues, Actions, Packages, or administration permission is needed.
5. Generate the token and copy it now; GitHub will not show the complete token again.

Reference: GitHub personal access token documentation.

Option B: prepare GitLab

1. Create a new private blank project, for example gleanbox-data.
2. Open your GitLab avatar menu, then Edit profile → Access tokens.
3. Create a token with the write_repository scope. This scope allows Git pull and push without granting the full API scope.
4. Copy the token and store it securely.

Reference: GitLab access token scopes.

Connect the repository and make the first sync

1. In Gleanbox, open Settings → Git sync.
2. Paste the full HTTPS repository URL, such as https://github.com/you/gleanbox-data.git.
3. Enter your GitHub or GitLab username and paste the personal access token.
4. Tap Test connection. Resolve any permission error before continuing.
5. Tap Save settings, then Sync now. After the first successful sync, edits are queued automatically and the selected interval performs a safety check.

Restore on a new or reinstalled device

1. Install Gleanbox and unlock Premium with Restore purchases if needed.
2. Enter the same repository URL, username, and token in Git sync, then save the settings.
3. Open Settings → Restore from remote Git.
4. Tap Check Git settings. Gleanbox verifies access and validates the remote dataset before touching local data.
5. When the check succeeds, tap Start restore and confirm. The device's learning data is replaced by the remote copy, then the local search index is rebuilt.

Git troubleshooting