SideNote ProGetting started with SideNote Pro
From a fresh install to a working assistant takes about five minutes, and most of that is creating an API key with your provider. This walks through the whole path once, so you do not have to guess at any step.
Before you start
You need Windows 11 x64, and an account with an AI provider. If you do not have one yet, the OpenAI API key guide is the shortest path. If you would rather run models on your own hardware, start with Ollama or LM Studio instead.
SideNote Pro is self-contained. There is no separate runtime to install and no Visual Studio requirement.
First launch and the trial
- Launch SideNote ProA first-use screen appears. Nothing has been activated and no trial has started yet.
- Confirm to start the 30-day trialThe trial begins only after you confirm. It is authorized by the licensing service rather than issued locally, so this step needs an internet connection. The full assistant is available for the trial period.
- You land in an empty conversationA quiet empty state with the composer at the bottom, and one restrained Set up an AI provider action, because without a provider there is nothing to send a message to.
The trial is tied to your Windows installation rather than to the application folder. Reinstalling resumes the original trial instead of starting a new one, so there is no need to reinstall in the hope of extra days.
Configuring your AI provider
Open Settings, then AI providers. Settings opens as its own window, with icon navigation on the left and the selected page on the right. Ctrl+S saves and Esc cancels.
- Add a profile from a presetOpenAI, Ollama, LM Studio or custom OpenAI-compatible. The preset fills in the base URL that service normally uses.
- Add your API key if the provider needs oneHosted providers do; local ones usually do not. The key is encrypted for your Windows account and never written into
settings.json. - Choose a modelUse the connection test first: it calls the provider's models route, and where that works the discovered model IDs fill a searchable picker. Where it does not, type the model ID by hand. A new OpenAI profile starts on
gpt-5-mini. - Test the connectionThis is the step worth not skipping. It catches a base URL missing its version segment, a mistyped key and a local server that is not running, before you are trying to work out why a message failed.
- Save
Ctrl+S, or the footer action. Settings are stored locally and applied on save.
Leave Reasoning effort on *Provider default* for now. It is the most compatible setting, and reasoning effort explains when to change it.
Your first request
Type into the composer and press Enter. Shift+Enter inserts a newline instead. The response streams in as it arrives, and the send button becomes a stop button while it does.
The compact picker in the composer names which provider profile and model is about to receive the request. Glance at it before sending anything sensitive; it is the fastest way to avoid sending a confidential document to a hosted provider when you meant to use a local one.
The shortcut and the drawer
Press Ctrl+Shift+Space from any application to summon SideNote Pro. That is the default, changeable in Settings, Keyboard to any modifier combination with Space, a letter or a number.
With drawer mode on, which is the default for new installations, the assistant docks to the right edge of your display. Pressing Esc or closing the window retracts it into a slim leash on that edge rather than hiding it entirely; clicking the leash brings it back at the size and position you left. Full detail in the Windows AI sidebar.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
Ctrl+Shift+Space | Summon from anywhere |
Enter / Shift+Enter | Send / newline |
Ctrl+N | New conversation |
Ctrl+H | Conversation history |
Esc | Retract or hide |
Where your conversations go
Conversations are saved locally, on your machine, with generated titles. Ctrl+H opens history with full-text search, pinning, rename, delete and Markdown export. Nothing is uploaded and there is no account holding a copy.
History can be turned off, given a retention period, or encrypted for your Windows account in Settings, History and context. See managing conversations.
Where to go next
- Set up selected-text actions. The biggest single workflow change, covered in AI actions on selected text.
- Understand model choice. Choosing the right AI model is the difference between a fast cheap assistant and a slow expensive one.
- Point it at a folder. Using AI with a local folder is the feature people are most surprised by.
- Read the privacy boundary. BYOK and privacy sets out exactly what goes where.