Organize · Reminders
Reminders on notes: an alert that opens the note you need
Barside puts reminders on notes. Press the bell on any note, pick a date and time, and choose how it alerts you. When it is due, a notification brings you straight back to the note, and the reminder stays until you mark it done or snooze it.
A reminder is most useful when it brings back the thing you need, not just a line of text. Barside puts reminders on notes: press the bell on any note, pick a time, and at that moment a notification takes you straight to the note, with everything you wrote in it. A due reminder does not vanish, either. It waits in the note and in one list until you mark it done or snooze it.
This guide shows how to set, snooze and finish reminders, where to see them all, and how they fit with tasks, meetings and your AI.
Why put reminders on notes
A to-do app says Call Jon. A note says what you want to ask him, what he said last time, and where the proposal lives. When the reminder sits on the note, the alert and the context arrive together: you click the notification, and you are in the note, ready.
A few ways people use it:
- Follow up on a proposal the day before it expires, with the proposal's details and bookmarks in the note.
- Review a draft on Friday morning, in the draft itself.
- Prepare for a call an hour before, from the note that holds the agenda.
- Renew something, like a subscription or a document, from the note that says how.
How to set a reminder on a note
- Open the note and press the bell next to its title (Set reminder).
- In Remind me, pick the Date and time, or use a shortcut: In 15 minutes, In 1 hour or Tomorrow, which means this time tomorrow. A new reminder starts one hour from now.
- Under Alert, choose Notification with sound, Silent notification, or Open note with notification sound.
- Choose Set reminder.
The note now shows a strip above its bookmarks, like Remind me · Oct 1, 9:00 AM, and the bell in its header stays highlighted. The time must be in the future, and it uses your computer's time zone, which the form shows. The same bell works in notes pinned to your desktop.
When a reminder is due
- A notification appears, titled Reminder: and the note's title, with the workspace and time and the words Click to open your note. Click it and the note opens. If the note is pinned to your desktop, its own window opens.
- Open note with notification sound opens the note by itself when the time comes. Silent notification shows the alert without a sound.
- In the note, the strip changes to Reminder due, with two buttons: 10 min snoozes it for ten minutes, and Done completes it.
- In the main window, the bell in the top bar lights up while any reminder is due.
- If Windows cannot show the notification, Barside opens the Reminders list instead. On any system, a due reminder waits in the note and in the list, so nothing is lost.
See every reminder in one list
The Reminders list shows every note and every open task that has a reminder, soonest first. A note shows its workspace, and a task shows Task in and the name of its note. Open it from:
- the bell in Barside's top bar,
- Reminders in the tray menu,
- the search bar: press
Alt+Shift+Spaceand typerem, or Reminders.
Each row has the note's title or the task's words, which open the note, and its reminder. On a note's row, click the time to change it, and use Remove, or 10 min and Done once it is due. On a task's row, Done ticks the task, Remove clears its reminder, and 10 min snoozes it once it is due. With nothing scheduled, the list says No reminders yet. Press the bell on a note, or on a task.
The daily briefing from your notes shows reminders too. Today & overdue lists the ones due today or already late, and the first suggested next action points to your oldest overdue reminder, or to the next one due today.
Change, snooze or finish a reminder
- Change it. Press the bell again (Edit reminder), or click the time in the strip. Pick a new time and choose Update reminder. A note has one reminder, so the new time replaces the old one.
- Snooze it. 10 min sets a due reminder to ten minutes from now.
- Finish it. Done clears a due reminder. Remove clears one that is not due yet.
- Copies and deletes. Duplicating a note gives the copy no reminder, and deleting a note deletes its reminder with it.
Reminders on tasks
A checklist item can have a reminder of its own. Point at the item and press the bell at its end, or press the bell on its card on the task board, then pick In 1 hour, Tomorrow morning or another shortcut, or any date and time. When it is due, a notification titled Task: and the task's words opens the note with the task lit up. Ticking the task ends its reminder. A copy of the task in another note, or in a duplicated note, has no reminder, so nothing rings twice.
Reminders, due dates and meeting alerts
Barside has a few ways to remember things. Each one fits a different job:
| You want | Use | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| An alert about one note at an exact time | A reminder (the bell) | A notification that opens the note |
| An alert about one task at an exact time | The bell on a checklist item | A notification that opens the note at the task |
| A to-do on a board, by day | A due date on a checklist item | It shows on the task board, with no alert |
| A heads-up before a calendar meeting | Remind me before meetings | A silent alert, 2 minutes before by default |
| Alerts for the tasks from a call | Meeting follow-through | Each task you keep becomes a note, with a reminder if you pick a time |
| A note that appears on a schedule | A repeating note | A new note from a template, at a set time |
To plan the week, give checklist items due dates on the task board built from your checklists. To be told before meetings, connect your calendar next to your notes. For notes that should appear by themselves, like a daily journal, see note templates and repeating notes. Video meetings you schedule in Barside remind you five minutes before, on their own; see free video meetings for small groups.
Reminders with your AI
Barside has no AI of its own. Connect Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or OpenRouter in Settings → AI, and a reminder can start as a sentence:
- The assistant. Open it with
Ctrl+Shift+Aand type remind me tomorrow at 9 to send the invoice. It sets the reminder on a note, and makes a note first when the reminder is about something new. See the AI assistant. - Your voice. With voice wake-up turned on, say Hey Barside, pause, then say your request. See Hey Barside voice commands.
- Agents. Scheduled agents and the meeting agent can propose reminders, and each one waits in the approval inbox until you approve it. See AI agents that ask before they act.
- AI apps. Claude Desktop, ChatGPT and other apps connected through AI connections can set a reminder on a note, or on a task with
update_task, when you give them that permission. - After a call. In meeting follow-through, choose a reminder time for each task you keep; a blank time saves the task without an alarm. See meeting follow-up and action items.
Details that matter: timing, sleep and your system
- Keep Barside running. Closing the main window keeps Barside in the tray, where reminders keep working. Turn on Start with Windows in Settings (it is Open at login on Linux and in Barside for Mac) so Barside starts with your computer; it is off by default.
- Barside catches up. After sleep or a restart, the reminders you missed appear when Barside runs again. Barside does not wake a sleeping computer or turn one on.
- Your system shows the alert. Its notification and Do Not Disturb settings apply: Windows' own on Windows, your desktop's on Linux, and, in Barside for Mac, the Mac's. On GNOME, the tray icon needs the AppIndicator extension.
- One reminder per note, in the future. A time that has already passed is refused. Each checklist item in the note can have its own reminder as well.
- Windows, Linux and Mac. Reminders work the same on Windows 10 and 11, on Linux and on Mac. There, Barside waits in the menu bar instead of the tray, and Open at login adds it to your login items.
Barside is a desktop app first: a note with a reminder can also sit at the edge of your screen as a slim tab, so the thing you are waiting on stays in view.
Tips for reminders that work
- Write the next step at the top of the note. When the reminder opens the note, the first line tells you what to do, so you act instead of rereading.
- Pick the alert by how much it matters. Open note with notification sound for things you must not miss, and Silent notification for nudges during focused work or calls.
- Snooze on purpose. 10 min is for "not this second". For another day, press the bell and pick a new time, instead of snoozing again and again.
- Look ahead in the morning. The Today & overdue part of the daily briefing shows what is due today before anything rings, so you can move what will not fit.
Privacy
Reminders are local alerts. Each one is saved with its note on your computer and included in your ZIP backups, and the notification comes from your own system, not from a server. With cloud sync in Barside Plus, reminders travel with their notes to your other computers. Sharing a note to a Space leaves its reminder out. See the privacy guide.
How it compares
Some notes apps leave reminders to a separate to-do app. Barside keeps the alert on the note itself, on your own computer, with no account. If you are comparing notes apps, see the best note-taking apps, or the Evernote alternative and OneNote alternative guides.
Works well with
FAQ
Questions and answers
Will a reminder go off if Barside is closed?
Closing the window keeps Barside running in the tray, and reminders go off on time. If you quit Barside, or your computer was off or asleep, the reminders you missed appear when Barside runs again. Turn on Start with Windows, or Open at login on Linux and in Barside for Mac, so Barside is always ready.
Can a note have more than one reminder?
A note has one reminder of its own, and setting a new time replaces the old one. For more alerts in one note, give its checklist items their own reminders with the bell at the end of each item. They show on the task board and in the Reminders list.
What is the difference between a reminder and a due date?
A reminder is an alert at an exact time, set with the bell on a note or on a checklist item. A due date belongs to a checklist item and places it on the task board under Today, Tomorrow or another day; it does not show an alert. Use a due date to plan and a reminder when you need a nudge.
Do reminders work with Do Not Disturb?
Your system's settings apply. On Windows, notification and Do Not Disturb settings decide whether the alert shows; on Linux, your desktop's notification settings do; and in Barside for Mac, the Mac's own notification settings do. Either way, a due reminder waits in the note and in the Reminders list until you finish or snooze it.
Can I set a reminder by typing a sentence or with my voice?
Yes, with the AI you connect in Settings → AI. Ask the assistant something like remind me tomorrow at 9 to send the invoice, and it sets the reminder on a note, making the note first if needed. With voice wake-up on, say Hey Barside, then your request.
Which time zone do reminders use?
Your computer's time zone. The reminder form names it at the bottom, like America/Toronto, so you always know which clock it uses.
How do I snooze a reminder?
When a reminder is due, press 10 min on the note's reminder strip or in the Reminders list, and it comes back in ten minutes. For a later time, press the bell on the note and pick a new date and time instead.
Are reminders included in backups?
Yes. Reminders are saved with their notes, so your ZIP backups include them. Duplicating a note does not copy its reminder, and sharing a note to a Space leaves the reminder out.