YouTube to notes, in about a minute
Paste a lecture, tutorial, or podcast link. Penwell reads the transcript and gives you organised notes, with timestamps you can click to jump back into the video.
Free: 5 notebooks a month. No card.
How it works
- 1
Paste the link
Any YouTube lecture, tutorial, talk, or podcast link. Public videos only.
- 2
Pick a style
Cornell, mind map, exam sheet, and more. You can restyle later for free.
- 3
Read, review, revise
You get organised notes with timestamps you can click, plus flashcards and a quiz from the same notebook.
What you get from one video
- Notes in the style you pick: Cornell, mind map, exam sheet, and others.
- Timestamps on every section. Click one and the video opens at that moment.
- Flashcards and a short quiz built from the same notes.
- Export when you are done, so the notes live where you study.
Who uses it
- Students
- Turn a 90 minute lecture into a one page revision sheet the night before the exam.
- Developers
- Pull the steps and commands out of a long tutorial, so you do not scrub the video three times.
- Podcast listeners
- Keep the ideas from an episode in notes you can search later.
- Researchers
- Skim a conference talk, then jump to the exact minute that matters.
What to expect
Notes are only as good as the transcript. Clear speech and good captions give the best results. Very noisy audio, heavy accents, or videos that are mostly slides with no speech will come out thinner. Private and members-only videos cannot be read. Always skim the notes before you rely on them for an exam.
Questions
Is the YouTube to notes tool free?
Yes, to start. Every account gets 5 notebooks a month for free, no card needed. Pro is $1.49 a month if you want unlimited notebooks and clean exports.
How long does it take?
Most videos finish in under a minute. A long lecture can take a bit more, because the transcript has to be read first. You can leave the tab open and the notebook opens when it is ready.
What if the video has no captions?
Penwell uses the captions when they exist, which is the fastest route. Without captions it transcribes the audio instead, and that takes longer.
Can I use it for podcasts or my own recordings?
Yes. Paste a direct podcast or mp4 link, or upload an audio or video file (mp3, m4a, wav, mp4, mov, webm) up to 500 MB.
Can I get flashcards or Cornell notes from a video?
Yes. Pick a notebook style before you start, such as Cornell, mind map, or exam sheet. Flashcards and quizzes come from the same notebook.
Does this replace watching the video?
No. Use it to review and revise, or to find the part of a long video you need. The timestamps take you straight back to that moment.
Try it on a video you have open right now
Takes under a minute. No card.