Show HN: I built a system for active note-taking in regular meetings like 1-1s

by davnicwil on 12/8/2025, 10:21:26 PM

Hey HN! Like most here regular meetings have always been a big part of my work.Over the years I've learned the value of active note taking in these meetings. Meaning: not minutes, not transcriptions or AI summaries, but me using my brain to actively pull out the key points in short form bullet-like notes, as the meeting is going on, as I'm talking and listening (and probably typing with one hand). This could be agenda points to cover, any interesting sidebars raised, insights gotten to in a discussion, actions agreed to (and a way to track whether they got done next time!).It's both useful just to track what's going on in all these different meetings week to week (at one point I was doing about a dozen 1-1s per week, and it just becomes impossible to hold it in RAM) but also really valuable over time when you can look back and see the full history of a particular meeting, what was discussed when, how themes and structure are changing, is the meetings effective, etc.Anyway, I've tried a bunch of different tools for taking these notes over the years. All the obvious ones you've probably used too. And I've always just been not quite satisfied with the experience. They work, obviously (it's just text based notes at the end of the day) but nothing is first-class for this usecase.So, I decided to build the tool I've always felt I want to use, specifically for regular 1-1s and other types of regular meetings. I've been using it myself and with friends for a while already now, and I think it's got to that point where I actually prefer to reach for it over other general purpose note taking tools now, and I want to share it more widely.There's a free tier so you can use it right away, in fact without even signing up.If you've also been wanting a better system to manage your notes for regular meetings, give it a go and let me know what you think!

https://withdocket.com

Comments

by: raw_anon_1111

Well to address the elephant in the room. There is no world that I wouldn’t or shouldn’t be automatically fired for putting notes between myself and my employer in a none approved website I found on the web.

12/9/2025, 7:35:33 AM

by: epec254

I LOVE this, exactly what I’ve been looking for.Here’s the issue - all my meetings have confidential, sensitive info. I can’t use a version you host (or well, I could, but you won’t be willing to do the 6 month security review I need).Can you give me a version I can host (or run locally) and I give you some $ one time or per year?

12/9/2025, 6:07:23 AM

by: jherbkersman

Love it, great idea. My humble advice: you’re on the top of HN right now—make it completely free. Overnight you could get some serious adoption (strike while the iron is hot!) Then build a few more features that people won’t be able to live without and THAT can be your paid tier.

12/9/2025, 5:17:38 AM

by: gppmad

Thanks for sharing it! What are the advantages of using the tool instead opening a simple google docs?

12/9/2025, 6:22:19 AM

by: guessmyname

As much as people like to criticize Microsoft Teams, it actually offers a feature called Facilitator [1][2][3] that, to my knowledge, works very well. I say this based on both my own experience and feedback from friends who use it in their day-to-day work.That said, I, of course, always welcome competition.[1] <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMoGOWOBicY" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PMoGOWOBicY</a>[2] <a href="https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/facilitator-in-microsoft-teams-meetings-37657f91-39b5-40eb-9421-45141e3ce9f6" rel="nofollow">https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/facilitator-in-mi...</a>[3] <a href="https://aka.ms/facilitator" rel="nofollow">https://aka.ms/facilitator</a>

12/9/2025, 8:25:58 AM

by: tdi

Instead of taking the money you should be paying customers for giving you training data set

12/9/2025, 8:06:33 AM

by: kgthegreat

Nice concept! I wrote this tool a while back which provides a bit more structure to your 1:1s including bubbling up latest topic to the top - <a href="https://meeteffective.com/" rel="nofollow">https://meeteffective.com/</a>

12/9/2025, 7:24:12 AM

by: pillefitz

Wait, do I overlook something or is it just a shareable text file?

12/9/2025, 7:03:31 AM

by: voxelv

The very first sentence in the "about" page has a typo (extra "and": ... meetings, and you <and> want to...):You're in a ton of regular meetings, and you and want to take notes and actions to keep track of what's going on in them week to week.

12/9/2025, 7:03:56 AM

by: Simplita

Interesting idea. The hardest part with systems like this is getting people to actually use them week after week. Curious how you solved the adoption problem.

12/9/2025, 7:29:23 AM

by: jimkleiber

I like the concept but feel kinda dumb: how do I add an action?I'd love a help button or keyboard shortcut to show keyboard shortcuts.Thanks!edit: I figured out the action, with putting [] first. But that was an educated guess based on some other comment here that said actions were checkboxes and me knowing more about Markdown than maybe your average meeting notetaker.

12/9/2025, 7:45:54 AM

by: dotancohen

This looks great.Almost as good as Emacs Org mode. I use Org mode with Evil, to get VIM keybindings. This way I can quickly navigate and edit the document, not just append to the end of it. And of course, Emacs is completely local.I suppose there is supposed to be a collaborative element that Emacs won't provide. In my experience people in meetings already have workflows and are seldom interested in using the tool somebody else asks them to.

12/9/2025, 7:12:07 AM

by: thesamurai97

Already exists better to free and see the other one <a href="https://www.notetimeapp.com/diaries" rel="nofollow">https://www.notetimeapp.com/diaries</a>

12/9/2025, 5:22:43 AM

by: crashabr

What does this add compared to Logseq's default journal view?

12/9/2025, 8:41:34 AM

by: janijarvinen

Thanks for sharing! I like the clean interface. Does Docket have a feature to export all your notes into some file with one go? Assuming I would use the system for a couple of years, I'd prefer to have a (local) backup of all the notes I've written.

12/9/2025, 5:49:08 AM

by: hberg

Thanks for sharing your work. I'm not sure I have a particular use for it at the moment, but it's well executed.One point of (hopefully) constructive feedback is that it wasn't obvious from my first interaction with the temporary doc that I was able to create checklists and bullet points. Once I saw that those are possible, I quickly guessed the keystrokes, but it might be helpful to add some graphical guidance.

12/9/2025, 5:42:04 AM

by: hamburglar

Chiming in to say I also love this app and will give it a try to see if it improves my workflow. Best of luck with it. This sort of small targeted saas is the dream.

12/9/2025, 7:24:32 AM

by: Spare_account

For some reason I can't paste my email address into the email address field when I try to sign up

12/9/2025, 7:47:09 AM

by: delis-thumbs-7e

I don’t want to put anybody down, but I don’t get this. What does this do that sai Apple’s Notes doesn’t? Or million other applications? And why on Earth is this hosted on web, this is something you clearly do not want to leave you device?Also, I use pen and a notebook. It is better than anything electronic, since we are monkeys and using our eye-hand coordination has proven effects on concentration and learning.

12/9/2025, 8:43:59 AM

by: throwaway81523

I've been using a Mead pen-based tablet with paper-like display for that. It has some disadvantages but it's been rock solid, no firmware patches or security exploits so far, and maintains state ridiculously long without needing battery recharges.

12/9/2025, 5:44:07 AM

by: fkarg

Personally I just take notes in Obsidian

12/9/2025, 8:03:18 AM

by: Kmaschta

It's looking nice! Is it open-source?

12/9/2025, 6:04:31 AM

by: brutal_chaos_

Why does it need to be on the web? Maybe I've missed something, can I run this locally?

12/9/2025, 5:59:45 AM

by: asura5

This is really great, I love it already. I'm a convert from Google Note, which feels far inferior. Good luck with the project mate!

12/9/2025, 7:07:08 AM

by:

12/9/2025, 5:23:15 AM

by: vasco

The best thing for this is pen and paper. Sophisticated mechanical hand movements associated with writing help memorize things much easier than pressing fingers on a keyboard.

12/9/2025, 6:50:57 AM

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