How to
Capacities Quick Capture: How to Capture Notes Faster (iPhone, iPad and Desktop)
The fastest way to capture in Capacities is a quick note. On your phone, long-press the Calendar tab and you’re typing in a new block on today’s daily note. From the Home Screen, the Quick Capture widget does the same job without opening the app first. Everything you capture this way lands in the daily note, and you sort it out later.
That matters because of how Capacities works. Every note is an object of a type: a page, a person, a meeting, a book, a weblink. That structure is why Capacities is good for building a knowledge base. It also means filing something properly takes a few decisions (type, title, tags), and you don’t want to make those decisions while an idea is slipping away. Capacities’ own advice is to skip them: send everything to the daily note and review it later. Its docs put it plainly: “The daily note is the inbox.”
Below are the native capture paths on mobile and desktop, the ones that run without the app, where they fall short, and a few apps that fill the gaps.
How to quick capture in Capacities on iPhone
Quick note from inside the app
- Long-press the Calendar tab at the bottom of the screen.
- Type your thought. It goes into a new block on today’s daily note.
You can also tap the + tab to open the Create sheet and choose Create a quick note. The same sheet lets you take a photo, choose one from your camera roll, upload a file or paste from the clipboard. Long-pressing + creates a new page instead.
To turn a line into its own object later, type # at the end of the block.
Quick Capture widget
On iPhone:
- Touch and hold an empty spot on your Home Screen until the icons jiggle.
- Tap the + button in the corner and search for Capacities.
- Choose Quick Capture, pick a size and tap Add Widget.
- If it asks for a space, long-press the widget and choose Edit Widget.
Other widgets are worth a look too. Daily Note opens today’s page, and Quick Create starts a new object of a type you choose. Capacities says its widgets are still being improved. Sign in and open the app at least once before adding them.
Control Center, Siri and the app icon
- On newer iPhones, add the Capacities Quick Capture control to Control Center. There are also controls for Search, New Task, Daily Note and the AI Assistant.
- Say “Quick capture in Capacities” to Siri, or use the same action in the Shortcuts app.
- Long-press the Capacities app icon for quick actions.
Task capture (New Task, the Tasks widget) and the AI Assistant need Capacities Pro.
Share sheet: links, text, photos and files
- In any app, open the share menu and choose Capacities.
- Pick the space and the destination, for example today’s daily note, a page, or a media type.
- Confirm. Capacities saves in the background, so you stay where you were.
Links are saved as weblink objects. You can share several photos or files at once if the source app allows it. If Capacities doesn’t show up in the iOS share menu, tap Edit or More in the share sheet and turn it on.
How to capture into Capacities on desktop
Capacities on Mac and Windows has no system-wide capture shortcut. Its keyboard shortcuts work while the app is in front:
- Cmd+U (Ctrl+U on Windows) adds new content.
- Ctrl+Cmd+H (Ctrl+Alt+H on Windows) goes to the Calendar. Press it twice to jump to today, then type in the daily note.
For links, install the Capacities Web Extension for Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox. Click it on any page, and it pulls in the title, URL and image. Choose the space, add tags or a note if you like, then save. The page becomes a weblink object.
On a Mac or Windows PC with Raycast, the official Capacities extension (Pro) adds Save to Daily Note and Save Weblink commands you can run from any app. Capacities has to be running in the background.
Capture without opening Capacities: WhatsApp, Telegram and email
These three paths are the most underrated part of Capacities. They’re built in and work from any phone or computer.
- WhatsApp and Telegram: set them up in the Integrations section of Capacities settings, then message the Capacities chat. Every message is appended to your daily note. Voice messages become audio objects. Images and files get their caption as a title.
- Email: send anything to [email protected] from the address you signed up with. It lands in your daily note as a toggle block. Attachments come along, and .md or .txt files become pages.
All three understand the same shortcuts. A #tag adds a tag, and a link on its own line is saved as a weblink. Starting a message with /3 sends it to your third space. [[person/Ada Lovelace]] links to that person, or creates them if they don’t exist yet. That creates a link only. It doesn’t put your message inside the person’s page.
The WhatsApp docs also include an iOS Shortcut recipe. It asks for text and sends it straight to the Capacities chat, so you don’t land in your chat list and its unread messages.
Where Capacities quick capture falls short
Where the real friction is
The friction shows up when what you need doesn’t fit that flow:
- Adding a thought straight to an existing page. If you keep a running “Book ideas” or “Project notes” page, there’s no quick way to append a line to it. Quick notes, messaging and email only go to the daily note. The share sheet can target a page, but typing a new thought into it is clunkier than a quick note.
- Capturing from another app without switching. A quick note opens Capacities, so you leave what you were doing. The share sheet saves in the background, but it’s built for sharing content you already have, such as links, photos and files, rather than typing a new thought.
- No capture shortcut that works anywhere on desktop. Capacities’ keyboard shortcuts only work while the app is in front. A universal quick capture for macOS is marked Planned on the Capacities feedback board. Until then, Raycast or a menu-bar app fills the gap.
- Voice in the app is for Believers. Recording audio inside Capacities is for Believers. The free route is a WhatsApp or Telegram voice message, which means opening a chat app first.
Third-party apps for Capacities quick capture
Capacities has an API (Pro) that lets other apps write to your space, including appending to the daily note. A handful of capture apps use it. Capacities lists them as community integrations. It reviews them, but it doesn’t build or guarantee them.
If you want a third-party app for Capacities, Supasend is the best pick. It sends every kind of capture (text, links, images, files and voice), and is the only option here that can add to an existing page as well as the daily note.
| Built-in capture |  WhatsApp /  Telegram / email |  Quick Notes - Supasend |  Funnel - Quick Capture | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capture without opening the Capacities app | No, except the widget and share sheet | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Destination | Daily note | Daily note | Daily note or an existing page | Daily note |
| Voice | Believers only | Audio object | Yes | Text transcript |
| Needs Capacities Pro | No | No | Yes | Yes |
| Setup | None | Connect in settings | API token | API token and Space ID |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, desktop | Any | iPhone | iPhone |
Quick Notes - Supasend (best third-party pick)
Supasend opens to a blank capture screen and sends text, links, images, files and voice to Capacities without opening it. Unlike the built-in paths, it can add a note to the top or bottom of an existing page as well as the daily note. It also sends to other apps, so tasks can go to your task manager and notes to Capacities from the same screen.
- Capture from the Lock Screen, Home Screen widgets, the Action Button, Control Center, Siri and the share sheet
- A Safari extension that also sends to Capacities
- Widgets can have a destination set in advance
- Setup: generate an API token in Capacities settings and paste it into Supasend
- Trade-offs: needs Capacities Pro, adds another app to your setup, and is iPhone only
Platforms: iPhone.
Funnel - Quick Capture
Funnel is a capture app built around sending to many destinations, and Capacities is one of them. Captures go to your Capacities daily note.
- Text, dictation (saved as a text transcript, not audio) and document scans (text only)
- Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, Shortcuts, Control Center and the share sheet
- Setup: create an API token and copy your Space ID in Capacities, then add Capacities as a destination in Funnel
- Trade-offs: needs Capacities Pro, daily note only, and photos still go through the Capacities share sheet
Platforms: iPhone.
Desktop options
On a Mac, CapNote is a community menu-bar app that opens with a keyboard shortcut and appends to your daily note. It needs Capacities Pro.
For more capture apps that aren’t tied to one notes app, see the best quick capture apps.
Which capture method should you use?
- You’re on your phone and the thought is short: long-press the Calendar tab, or tap the Quick Capture widget.
- You found a link or photo in another app: use the share sheet and pick the daily note.
- You’re on the free plan and want voice: send a WhatsApp or Telegram voice message.
- You’re at your computer in another app: use the web extension for links. For text, use Raycast, CapNote or email if you’re on Pro.
- You want a third-party app for Capacities: go with Supasend. It handles every capture type, can send to a specific page as well as the daily note. Funnel is an option if you only need text and dictation into the daily note.
Capacities quick capture FAQ
What is a quick note in Capacities?
A quick note is a new block at the end of today's daily note, opened with the cursor ready. On mobile, tap the + tab and choose Create a quick note, or long-press the Calendar tab.
Where do quick captures go in Capacities?
Usually to today's daily note. Quick notes, WhatsApp, Telegram, email and Raycast all append there. The share sheet is the exception: you pick the space and the destination, such as the daily note, a page or a media type.
Does Capacities have an inbox?
Not as a separate place. Capacities treats the daily note as the inbox. You capture into it during the day, then review it and turn lines into tasks, objects or tags, or delete them.
Does Capacities have a quick capture widget?
Yes. On iPhone, search for Capacities in the widget gallery and add the Quick Capture widget. There are also Daily Note, Quick Create, Pinned, Recents and Quick Open widgets. Capacities says its widgets are still being improved.
How do I share a link or photo to Capacities from another app?
Open the share menu in the other app and choose Capacities. Pick the space and the destination, then confirm. Capacities saves in the background. If it is missing from the share menu, turn it on through Edit or More in the iOS share sheet.
Can I capture to Capacities from anywhere on my Mac?
Not with the Capacities app on its own. Its keyboard shortcuts work inside the app. For capture from anywhere, Capacities offers a Raycast extension for Pro users, and CapNote is a community menu-bar app that appends to the daily note.
Can I save voice notes to Capacities for free?
Voice recording in the app is for Believers. Voice messages sent through the WhatsApp or Telegram integration are saved as audio objects in your daily note, and those integrations carry no Pro label in the docs.