Workspaces for projects: notes, links and a color for each

A project rarely lives in one file. There are notes, links, tasks, meeting notes and the odd screenshot, and they drift apart. Barside gives each project a workspace. Workspaces for projects hold the notes, a bookmark bar and the tasks for one piece of work, in one color that follows those notes to their cards, the editor and the tabs on your desktop. There is no limit on how many you create, and they all live on your computer.

This guide shows what a workspace holds, how to set one up, and how workspaces connect to the rest of Barside.

What a workspace holds

• Notes. Every note belongs to one workspace. Choose a workspace in the sidebar to see its notes; the number next to its name is how many it has. Important notes can stay at the top: press the arrow on a note card, or open Note options and choose Pin to the top. They show in a Pinned to the top group above the other notes of the workspace and in All notes.
• Workspace bookmarks. A bookmark bar above the workspace's notes, for the links the whole project uses, in named groups. Notes have their own bookmark bars too. See the bookmark manager for your projects.
• Tasks. Every checklist item in its notes is a task on the task board built from your checklists. Tasks you add on the board itself go into a Tasks note in the workspace you pick; that note stays out of your notes list but shows on the board.
• A color. Each workspace has one, and its notes and bookmark bar wear it.

Other features can file their notes into a workspace you choose: meeting notes from your calendar, repeating notes from a template, notes you import, and the articles you save to Reading.

Colors you can spot from across the screen

Barside gives each new workspace a distinct color on its own. You can pick one of eight, Violet, Blue, Green, Orange, Pink, Amber, Cyan or Coral, or any custom color with the palette button.

Notes take their workspace's color: the note cards, the accents in the editor, and the tabs of notes pinned to your desktop. Change a workspace's color and its notes follow right away. A single note can stand out with a color of its own: open Note options and pick one under Note color. To go back, choose the button that uses the workspace color, like Use Studio's workspace color.

Themes never change your workspace colors. Each color has a light and a dark version that follows the theme you pick from the 25 desktop themes.

How to create and manage workspaces

1. In the sidebar, under Workspaces, press + (New workspace), or open the workspace menu and choose New workspace.
2. Type a Workspace name, like Side projects. It can be up to 100 characters.
3. Under A little color, pick a color, or the palette button for a custom one.
4. Choose Create workspace. Barside opens the new workspace, ready for its first note.

The sidebar shows one row for the workspace you are in, and the arrows at the end of the row open a menu with All workspaces (every note) and each workspace, with a box to find one by name when you have seven or more. To rename or recolor a workspace later, press the … next to its name in that menu. Or choose Workspaces in the top bar: Manage workspaces lists every workspace with its note count and an Edit and a Delete button. Save changes keeps your edits.

Delete asks first, because the workspace and all of its notes, tasks and workspace bookmarks will be permanently deleted. Choose Keep it or Delete permanently. Barside always keeps at least one workspace, so create another before you delete the last one.

Move notes between workspaces

Open a note and use the folder selector above it, Move note to workspace. The note moves at once and takes the color of its new workspace, unless you gave it a color of its own. Links to the note keep working, because a link points to the note, not to its folder.

New notes go where you are. With a workspace selected, Create and then New note, or Ctrl+N, makes the note there. On the desktop bar, the Create button's tooltip names the workspace that new notes go into.

Workspaces on your desktop

Barside is a desktop app first, and workspaces are part of that. See the native desktop app at the edge of your screen.

• The desktop bar shows each workspace as a colored button. Click one for its menu: a search box (Find a note or bookmark…), the Workspace bookmarks and the workspace's notes. From there you can open a note, open a link, or save the page open in your browser to the workspace or to one note. Manage workspaces is on the bar too.
• Pinned notes can come from any workspace, on any monitor. Each docked tab shows the note's title and workspace name, in the workspace color, and switching workspaces leaves pinned notes where they are.
• The search bar finds workspaces by name. Press Alt+Shift+Space in any app, type a few letters, and press Enter to open the workspace. Press Ctrl+D on a result to keep it as a favorite. See the search bar and hotkeys.

Views that look across workspaces

• All notes shows every workspace at once, sorted by Last edited or Title A–Z.
• Tasks and the Note map have a workspace filter: All workspaces, or one of them. See the note graph view.
• Bookmarks collects every workspace's bookmark bar and every note that has links.
• The daily briefing covers every workspace you include, and says how many. See the daily briefing from your notes.

Ways to set up workspaces for projects

• Freelancers and consultants: one workspace per client. A Project brief note from the templates, meeting notes from your calendar moved in with the workspace selector, the client's dashboards in the workspace bookmarks with the login account you use there, and deliverables as a checklist with due dates.
• Students: one workspace per course, with lecture notes, readings in the bookmark bar, and assignment deadlines as dated checklist items on the task board.
• Team leads: a Team workspace with a One-on-one note per person and a repeating Weekly review every Friday. See note templates and repeating notes.
• Writers and researchers: a Research workspace for sources, highlights and drafts, with articles saved through the read-it-later inbox.
• Everyone: a Life workspace for the rest.

A simple rule keeps a library calm: one workspace per project or area of your life, not per topic. Five to ten are easy to scan. When an idea belongs to two projects, keep it in one and link to it from the other by typing [[. See linked notes and backlinks.

Moving in from another app? Import your notes into a new workspace per source, then sort them into projects.

Workspaces, AI, sharing and sync

• Keep a workspace out of Library AI. In Library & briefing, open Sources, then Choose included workspaces & notes, and untick the workspace. It stays out of Library answers, screenshot reading, meeting analysis, briefings and scheduled agents. See ask your notes a question.
• AI apps see only what you choose. When you connect Claude Desktop, ChatGPT or another app through AI connections, each connection covers the workspaces you pick. The one-click Add to Claude Desktop covers every workspace, and can read and add but never delete.
• Sharing goes through Spaces. Workspaces are personal. Share a note or bookmark to a Space for your team or community, and members can save a copy into a workspace of their own. See team chat and paid communities.
• Sync is optional. With Barside Plus, cloud sync keeps your workspaces, notes and templates the same on all of your computers. Without it, everything stays on the computer you use. See local-first storage and backups.

Details that matter

• There is no limit on workspaces or notes; one workspace always remains.
• A workspace name can be up to 100 characters.
• Every workspace, with its notes and bookmarks, is in your ZIP backups.
• In modes that hide notes, the workspace list hides too; the search bar still finds your workspaces. See app modes.
• Workspaces work the same on Windows 10 and 11, on Linux and on Mac.

Privacy

Workspaces are local. Your notes, bookmarks and media live in Barside's data folder on your computer, you need no account, and nothing leaves your computer unless you use an online feature on purpose: a Space, a share link, the AI you connect, or cloud sync and backup with Barside Plus. Read more in the privacy guide.

How it compares

Cloud workspace apps keep your projects on their servers. Barside keeps each project on your own computer by default, in color, at the edge of your screen, and shares only what you choose to send. If you are comparing, read the Notion alternative guide and the list of the best second brain apps.

Works well with