buff docs › Capture from anywhere

You don’t have to open buff to save a note. These ways all file the note under today (or the day you shared it), exactly like typing it in the app.

Share sheet

In any app, tap Share → buff. Add #tags if you like, then tap ↑ Save. Shared notes are filed under the day you shared them the next time you open buff.

Siri

Say “Add to buff” (or “Save to buff”, “Add a note to buff”). Siri asks “What should I save to buff?”: say your note. buff saves it without opening, then Siri reads it back with the people and projects it was filed under and any todo it added, and shows it on a small card.

  • Say the phrase first and the note after Siri asks. “Save to buff, I need more water” in one breath doesn’t work: Siri doesn’t let any app take free text inside the phrase.
  • The first time, Siri may ask whether to set up Add to buff. Say yes.
  • If Siri doesn’t recognise buff, check Settings → Apps → buff → Siri is on, and open buff once.
  • Prefer typing? With Type to Siri turned on (in your iPhone or iPad Siri settings), you can type your answer to “What should I save to buff?”.

Type in buff

Say “Type in buff” (or “Write in buff”). buff opens with the keyboard already up, ready for a longer note. It’s also an action in the Shortcuts app, so you can put it on the Action button or Back Tap.

A keyboard shortcut on iPad

With a keyboard attached you can save a note from any app with one key combination:

  1. In Shortcuts, make a new shortcut with the action Add to buff, and set its Text to Ask Each Time.
  2. In Settings → Accessibility → Keyboards → Full Keyboard Access, turn it on, tap Commands, find your shortcut and press the keys you want (for example ⌥⌘B).
  3. Anywhere, press those keys, type your note and press Return.

Full Keyboard Access also turns on keyboard navigation across iPadOS (Tab moves between controls). Without any setup, ⌘Space, then “add to buff” and Return, does the same from Spotlight.

Shortcuts

buff adds an Add to buff action to the Shortcuts app. It takes the text to save and, optionally, a day (leave it empty for today). Some useful shortcuts:

  • Instant capture: Dictate Text → Add to buff. Then run it from Settings → Accessibility → Touch → Back Tap (tap the back of your iPhone), or put it on the Action button.
  • One-tap share: Receive text and URLs from Share Sheet → Add to buff. Shows up in the share sheet and saves straight away, without the editor.

These instructions are also in the app under Options → Capture from anywhere.

Documents

/ingest lets you pick a document (PDF, plain text, Word and other common formats). buff converts it to markdown and keeps it in the sources/ folder, with the original file saved alongside in sources/_originals/.

  • Tag it as you add it: /ingest #project-atlas.
  • /sources lists documents you’ve added, newest first. /sources #project-atlas or /sources budget narrows the list.
  • /find searches documents as well as notes, and /ask can cite them.