How Note-Taking Works in Mochi

Updated

Mochi is a spaced-repetition flashcard app that treats notes as the foundation of study. You write notes in Markdown, then turn them into flashcards and review them on a spaced schedule. Note-taking in Mochi is built around four things: Markdown formatting, two-way references, tags, and filters/search. If you want a single place to capture reading notes or research and later drill them as cards, this is the intended workflow.

Writing notes in Markdown

Notes are written in Markdown, so headings, lists, code blocks, and other standard formatting render as you type. The same note can hold both the reference material and the card content, which means you don't maintain a separate document and a separate deck.

A practical pattern:

  • Write the concept as a Markdown note with a heading and a short explanation.
  • Add a list of key points underneath.
  • Turn the points you want to memorize into cards, leaving the surrounding context in the note.

Because cards are made from notes, editing the note updates the source material your cards draw on.

Connecting notes with references and backlinks

Mochi supports references that link notes both ways. When note A references note B, B shows the connection back to A, so relationships build into a connected web rather than a pile of isolated files. This is the mechanism behind "discover new relationships" — you find related notes by following links rather than searching for them.

For example, a note on a grammar rule can reference notes containing example sentences, and each example note will show that it belongs to the rule. Reviewing one card surfaces the others.

Organizing with tags

Tags categorize and group notes. They are described as simple and flexible, so you can apply several to one note and navigate by tag instead of by folder. Tags work well for cross-cutting categories (a topic, a source, a status) that don't fit a single hierarchy.

Finding notes with filters, views, and search

Mochi provides customizable filters, saved views, and search. Filters narrow the note list by criteria you set; saved views keep a particular filter configuration available so you can return to it; search locates specific content. Together these are how you get back to a note once your collection grows past the point where browsing works.

How notes and study connect

The note layer and the review layer are the same system. Notes hold the material; spaced repetition schedules when you see the cards made from them. Mochi also offers AI-generated text for example sentences or study prompts, which can be added to notes when you want more practice material without writing it yourself.

Where to start

  1. Create a note in Markdown for a topic you're studying.
  2. Add headings and a list of the points you want to remember.
  3. Turn those points into cards.
  4. Add tags for the topic and source.
  5. Reference related notes so backlinks form.
  6. Save a filtered view for the tags you review most.

Mochi is available for Mac, Windows, Linux, iOS, and Android, with a web version to try online, and data is stored locally on your device and synced when you're online.