Meet Buddy — the librarian for everything you meant to watchHe watches.
You read.
Paste a link. He goes through the whole video — every second, timestamped — and hands you a finished note. Free, every day.
Say hello to Buddy · he follows your cursorYour video librarian
Example video notes
The Fermi Paradox, revisited1:12:40→17 min readKubernetes in 100 minutes1:41:05→22 min readBach — the whole Goldberg lecture58:30→14 min readOrganic Chemistry — carbonyls, week 42:41:30→31 min readWhy We Sleep — full lecture1:52:09→24 min readHow To Build A Business That Works41:20→9 min readAttention is all you need — walkthrough1:05:12→15 min readA 3-hour interview about building alone3:04:55→33 min readThe Fermi Paradox, revisited1:12:40→17 min readKubernetes in 100 minutes1:41:05→22 min readBach — the whole Goldberg lecture58:30→14 min readOrganic Chemistry — carbonyls, week 42:41:30→31 min readWhy We Sleep — full lecture1:52:09→24 min readHow To Build A Business That Works41:20→9 min readAttention is all you need — walkthrough1:05:12→15 min readA 3-hour interview about building alone3:04:55→33 min read
01How it works
Six hours in.
He doesn’t skim and he doesn’t guess from the title. He goes through every second, timestamped, while you do something else.
Buddy is watching
0:00:00
0:00:14For most of history, sweetness was rare enough to be a rumour.
1:12:40Then one crop changed the price of a pleasure.
3:48:05It wasn’t a luxury for very long. It became a wage.
5:57:31And that is why the tax on it started a war.
0:00:006:13:00
Smart note · 58:12The history
of sugar
of sugar
0 transcript lines · 0 chapters0 key points · 0 flashcards19 min read
0h 00mof video, watched for you
0 minof reading, and you’re done
02What he hands backNot a wall of text.
Not a wall of text.
A finished note.
One document with a spine, chapters, and everything you'd have highlighted yourself — in the language the video was in.
TranscriptAccents, jargon, fast talkers, mixed languages.
ChaptersA map of the video. Skip to what matters.
Summary & key pointsTakeaways, each tied to its timestamp.
Flashcards & quizCut from the transcript, scheduled, graded honestly.
Study guide, FAQ, timelineThe full kit, structured — not one long blob.
Action items & postsOnly the sentences that asked you to do something.
ExportPDFMarkdownTXTwith or without timestamps
Smart note · 58:12 · EnglishThe History of Sugar — The Sweet Force That Shaped the World14 chapters · 12 key points · 18 flashcards
Chapter 3 · The triangular trade
“Twelve things mattered. Tap a timestamp — I'll show you the second I heard it.”03Retention · scroll to fast-forward
Day one. He deals five.
Every card is cut from the transcript, not invented. Grade yourself honestly and he schedules the next time you’ll see it.
The History of Sugar
18 cards cut · 5 shown
18 cards cut · 5 shown
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun
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Card 1 · due day 1Why did sugar stop being a luxury?
Card 2 · due day 3Where were the plantations, and who worked them?
Card 3 · due day 7By what decade was it a daily staple in Britain?
Card 4 · due day 14How did the price fall so fast?
Card 5 · due day 28What tax started the argument that started a war?
Day 1first review
Intervals expand when you get it right: 1 · 3 · 7 · 14 · 2804The shelfMost transcribers
Most transcribers
hand you a text file
and leave
VidNotes keeps the note. It goes on a shelf, stays searchable to the second, and the flashcards come back on their own schedule.
Select a spine to preview an example note
RetrievalSearch to the exact secondAsk for “naps” and you get the line, the timestamp, and a jump button — across every note you've made.
41:07…a twenty-minute nap protects the morning…
12:18…I nap between review blocks, which is…
06:02…the “napping is lazy” myth is the…
RetentionThe cards come backSpaced repetition, built in. He deals what's due, grades you honestly, and expands the gap when you get it right.
Why must the interval expand instead of staying fixed?
AgainHardGoodEasy
14 due today · next in 11 daysReuseOne video, a week of contentCreators live here. A thread, a newsletter, a shorts script — all still carrying the timestamp they came from.
Thread · 7 postsNewsletterShorts scriptCaptionsAction items
05 · Explore public videosRead a video note
Read a video note
before you make your own
Browse recent public videos. Read a saved summary when available, then open the video in VidNotes.
Loading public videos…
06For agentsMCP live · hosted · v1Your agent gets
Your agent gets
the same librarian
Claude, Codex, Cursor and Grok call 36 VidNotes tools through one hosted endpoint. No package, no local server — transcripts, summaries, chapters, comparisons, notes, jobs and keys.
claude · mcp.vidnotes.app
4.5
Read all reviews →★★★★★30 US App Store ratings · September 16, 2026
★★★★★“I love transcribing videos to take notes”uncomfortblastaApp Store · Dec 14, 2025
★★★★★“Great app, I like that there's not limit after I've got the app”ljustwanttoreview99App Store · Oct 6, 2025
★★★★★“Great App, would you add other sources like podcasts to translate too?”Emma Loves AIApp Store · Oct 8, 2025
07PricingOne free video a day.
One free video a day.
Forever, no card.
Up to 15 minutes a video, every day, free. Upgrade when that stops being enough.
Free$0one Google tap to start
One note a day · a shelf's worth a week
1 video a day, up to 15 minutesYouTube linksBasic timestampsTXT exportNo summaries or flashcards
Start freeSAVE 58%
Pro$4.17/mo$49.99 billed yearly · 7 days free
Build your video library through the year
Paid transcription and AI tools, plus optional credit packsSummaries, chapters & key pointsFlashcards, quizzes & chatPDF, Markdown & TXT exportAgent access — MCP & API
Review plans and pricesStraight
answers
Do I need an account?On the web, yes — one Google tap, five seconds, no card. The iPhone and Android apps work without an account; sign in only when you want your shelf on every device.
How accurate is it?Top-tier speech-to-text, so clear audio is near-perfect. Where YouTube already has captions we use those. Bad mics are still bad mics.
Which languages?English and 30+ others, including mixed-language videos. Summaries and flashcards come back in the language the video was in.
How long can a video be?The free daily video can be up to 15 minutes. Longer videos require paid access or enough credits.
Where do my notes live?Notes are stored on your device. Account sync also stores notes on our servers. Read our privacy policy for processing details.
Where does it run?iPhone, iPad, Mac and Vision Pro, Android, any browser, a Chrome extension for YouTube — and your agents, over MCP.