How Cleft Works
Capture your brilliant ideas the way your brain actually works
Ready to go deeper with Cleft? This guide builds on our Quick Start Guide with detailed instructions, platform-specific features, and advanced techniques to get the most from Cleft.
If you prefer video, check out our video tutorial playlist.
Capture Your Brilliant Ideas Without Breaking Flow
Let the ideas flow
Tap the + button and start talking—no need to organize your thoughts first
Pause if you need to gather your thoughts
Tap the pause button if you need a moment to think before continuing your creative flow
Resume when you're ready to continue
Tap resume to continue capturing your thoughts without starting a new note
Wrap it up when you're ready
Tap the stop button when you’ve captured your thought burst. Keep Cleft open as it works its magic.
Need to cancel? No problem
Started recording at the wrong time? Simply cancel and start fresh
Track your recording time
Keep an eye on your recording time with the built-in timer
First-time setup: Cleft will ask for microphone access—just one quick permission and you’re set for all future idea explosions.
If Cleft can’t hear you, check that you’ve selected the right microphone and granted proper permissions
New: Process Notes as You Record
See your thoughts organized in real-time as you speak with Cleft’s new process-as-you-go feature
When design thinking gets deep, Plus gives you 6x more recording time for those complex UX brainstorms.
Let the ideas flow
Tap the + button and start talking—no need to organize your thoughts first
Pause if you need to gather your thoughts
Tap the pause button if you need a moment to think before continuing your creative flow
Resume when you're ready to continue
Tap resume to continue capturing your thoughts without starting a new note
Wrap it up when you're ready
Tap the stop button when you’ve captured your thought burst. Keep Cleft open as it works its magic.
Need to cancel? No problem
Started recording at the wrong time? Simply cancel and start fresh
Track your recording time
Keep an eye on your recording time with the built-in timer
First-time setup: Cleft will ask for microphone access—just one quick permission and you’re set for all future idea explosions.
If Cleft can’t hear you, check that you’ve selected the right microphone and granted proper permissions
New: Process Notes as You Record
See your thoughts organized in real-time as you speak with Cleft’s new process-as-you-go feature
When design thinking gets deep, Plus gives you 6x more recording time for those complex UX brainstorms.
Let the ideas flow
Hit the new note + button or press ⌘ + N and start talking—no need to organize your thoughts first
Wrap it up when you're ready
Click the stop button or press ↵ when you’ve captured your thought burst. Keep Cleft open as it works its magic.
Watch your thoughts transform
See your scattered ideas take shape as Cleft organizes them into a coherent structure
First-time setup: Cleft will ask for microphone access—just one quick permission and you’re set for all future idea explosions.
Need more time for complex design thoughts? Plus gives you 6x more recording time for those deep design explorations.
For Those “Can’t Talk Right Now” Moments: Text Notes
Type when speaking isn't an option
Long press the + button and choose “New Text Note” – perfect for capturing ideas during those silent meetings
Turn your text chaos into clarity
Tap Save when your thoughts are captured, and let Cleft work its organizing magic
Your design commute companion: Capture those brilliant design solutions that hit you on the train without disturbing your fellow commuters.
UX research tip: Copy and paste user feedback or design critique text directly into Cleft to transform it into organized insights.
Type when speaking isn't an option
Long press the + button and choose “New Text Note” – perfect for capturing ideas during those silent meetings
Turn your text chaos into clarity
Tap Save when your thoughts are captured, and let Cleft work its organizing magic
Your design commute companion: Capture those brilliant design solutions that hit you on the train without disturbing your fellow commuters.
UX research tip: Copy and paste user feedback or design critique text directly into Cleft to transform it into organized insights.
Type your thoughts as they come
Click the + button & select new text note (⌘ + T) and let your fingers capture what’s in your head
Transform your text into organized thoughts
Click Save or press ⌘ + ⏎ when you’ve brain-dumped everything. Watch as Cleft turns your scattered thoughts into something structured.
Perfect for your focused moments: When you’re in a quiet space or your thoughts are racing faster than you can speak them, text notes give you the same organizing power without making a sound.
Design hack: Paste in text snippets from user interviews or design feedback to quickly transform raw feedback into actionable insights.
Reshaping Your Thoughts: Editing Notes
Dive back into your ideas
Open your note and tap the Write tab to revisit and reshape your thinking
Refine your thought constellation
Mold your ideas with these simple creative tools:
- Highlight key concepts: Use double asterisks for bold
- Add nuance: Use single asterisks for italics
- Create visual hierarchy: Add # for main ideas, ## for supporting ones
- Group related thoughts:
- Cluster with bullet points using dashes (-)
- Sequence with numbers (1., 2., etc.)
Mark special elements:With backticks (`)- Bridge ideas together: Create links with descriptive text
Preserve your creative refinements
Tap Save when your thoughts feel right
Discover even more ways to visualize your ideas in the full transcriptions guide.
Dive back into your ideas
Open your note and tap the Write tab to revisit and reshape your thinking
Refine your thought constellation
Mold your ideas with these simple creative tools:
- Highlight key concepts: Use double asterisks for bold
- Add nuance: Use single asterisks for italics
- Create visual hierarchy: Add # for main ideas, ## for supporting ones
- Group related thoughts:
- Cluster with bullet points using dashes (-)
- Sequence with numbers (1., 2., etc.)
Mark special elements:With backticks (`)- Bridge ideas together: Create links with descriptive text
Preserve your creative refinements
Tap Save when your thoughts feel right
Discover even more ways to visualize your ideas in the full transcriptions guide.
Jump into your thought constellation
Open your note and click the Write tab – think of it as jumping back into your brain’s creative space
Sculpt your ideas with creative freedom
Reshape your thoughts using simple formatting tools that don’t get in your way:
- Make it pop with bold: Use double asterisks or press
⌘+B - Add emphasis with italics: Use single asterisks or press
⌘+I - Create hierarchy: Add # symbols for headings (# for big ideas, ## for supporting concepts)
- Cluster related thoughts:
- Group with bullet points using dashes (-)
- Create sequences with numbers (1., 2., etc.)
Highlight technical bits:With backticks (`)- Connect ideas: Add links with descriptive text
Lock in your improvements
Click Save when you’ve shaped your ideas just right
Want to get really creative with your transcriptions? Check out even more formatting options in the transcriptions guide.
Accessing Your Raw Thoughts: Working with Transcriptions
Access your voice note
Open any note created with voice input
Reveal your verbal stream of consciousness
Tap the “Transcript” toggle at the top of your note
See your thoughts, untouched
View and review the raw transcript of exactly what you said
Polish if needed
Make any edits or corrections to the transcript text
Refresh your organized note
After editing, you can regenerate your note to incorporate your changes
On-the-go improvements: Edit transcripts between meetings to clarify technical terms or names that might have been misheard.
Access your voice note
Open any note created with voice input
Reveal your verbal stream of consciousness
Tap the “Transcript” toggle at the top of your note
See your thoughts, untouched
View and review the raw transcript of exactly what you said
Polish if needed
Make any edits or corrections to the transcript text
Refresh your organized note
After editing, you can regenerate your note to incorporate your changes
On-the-go improvements: Edit transcripts between meetings to clarify technical terms or names that might have been misheard.
Open any note
Select a note you’ve created with voice input
Find your raw thought stream
Look for the “Transcript” toggle at the top of the note
View your unfiltered ideas
Click the toggle to see the raw transcript of your recording—exactly what you said, before Cleft organized it
Refine your raw material
Edit the transcript directly if you notice any misinterpretations or want to make changes
Regenerate your organized note
When finished editing, you can regenerate just the transcription or both the transcript and summary note
Design thinking hack: Compare your raw transcript to the organized note to see how your ideas evolved—this can reveal insights about your thought process!
How Cleft Transcriptions Work Behind the Scenes
Cleft uses the state-of-the-art Whisper model to transcribe your voice notes locally on your device, ensuring both privacy and accuracy.
Creation Process
- As soon as you finish recording, Cleft immediately transcribes your audio using the Whisper model right on your device
- This one-time process creates the base transcript that powers all future interactions with your note
For Future Updates and Edits
When you:
- Regenerate a note
- Merge notes
- Add new content
- Make manual edits
Cleft works with the text-based transcript rather than re-processing the original audio, making everything faster and more flexible.
Benefits of Working with Your Transcripts
The Whisper model provides industry-leading transcription quality, even with specialized terminology.
Scan through your thoughts visually instead of listening to the entire audio recording.
Make changes directly to the text without altering your original recording.
Find specific information in your notes with text search rather than scrubbing through audio.
Pro Tips for Transcripts
For cleaner transcripts: Speak at a moderate pace in a quiet environment, especially when using technical terms or unusual names.
Review soon after recording: A quick glance can catch any misinterpretations while the context is still fresh in your mind.
Compare for insight: Looking at both your raw transcript and the organized note can reveal interesting patterns in your thinking process.
While Whisper offers exceptional accuracy, it may occasionally misinterpret specialized terminology or speech in noisy environments. A quick review helps ensure your ideas are captured perfectly.