just now
Ideas
i want to build an…
i want to build an app for runners… maybe ai, maybe streaks… not sure where to start.
0
fields to fill before you write
1
tap turns a line you wrote into a plan section
5
ways to hand the finished plan off
3
platforms: web today, iOS and Android soon
How it works
From your first thought to a plan you can act on.
Four steps, and you start every one of them. The thought you began with is still there at the end of it.
- 01 Capture Write the thought down as it arrived. No title, no folder, no tags.
- 02 Explore Come back later. ideaboxd works out which questions your note left open, and you answer them beside it. Your original is never edited.
- 03 Shape Choose the parts worth developing. Highlight a line, give it a type, and it becomes a plan section that remembers where it came from.
- 04 Plan Finish it and hand it off, with every section still carrying the words behind it.
Nothing here needs AI. Even the questions in step 02 are worked out by the app itself, from what your note already covers, with no model involved and nothing sent anywhere. Your thinking leads, and Pro adds optional assistance inside these steps, at the moments you ask for it.
Five ways to move an idea forward.
You just watched the first. The other four each get a page of their own, so none of them is a paragraph you have to take on trust.
- 02 A brain dump organises itself Seven scattered notes settle into one inbox, then into folders, then into status. Watch it
- 03 One idea, end to end The same note through Dump, Refine, Plan and Ready, then out as Markdown. Watch it
- 04 AI that asks before it writes One line in, and the questions your note was missing come back out. Watch it
- 05 Search everything you wrote Type, and the inbox narrows, matching on the whole dump, not just the title. Watch it
What stays connected
Every part of the plan still points at the words you wrote.
One sentence, typed badly at a red light, followed the whole way through.
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01 · what you wrote
Original note, unchanged
ok so the idea keeps coming back, weekend ceramics workshops in the old mill space. worried about kiln access. maybe 4 sessions before autumn?
Saved exactly as you typed it. Nothing you do later rewrites this.
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02 · what you picked
Highlight a line, give it a type.
You choose which parts are worth developing. Ten types, from Goal and Problem to Risk and Next Step.
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03 · what it became
Ideaweekend ceramics workshops in the old mill spacefrom original dumpThe section keeps the exact span it came from, and hovering it in Shape lights that line up in your note.
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04 · where it ends up
# Weekend ceramics workshops
> ok so the idea keeps coming back…
## Idea
weekend ceramics workshops in the old mill spaceExport it as Markdown and your original note is quoted at the top of the file, above everything you built from it.
A notes app
Capture → store → find later
The words are kept. What to do with them is still entirely your problem.
A prompt box
Prompt → generate → output
A document arrives fast, and which part of it started as your thinking is anyone's guess.
ideaboxd
Capture → choose → develop → plan
You drive each step, and every piece of the plan keeps a link back to the line it came from.
Why it is different
What happens after you write it down.
Capturing the thought is the easy half. This is the other one.
The thought first, the structure later
Nothing to name, file or tag at the moment you write. Built as a brainstorming app for one messy head, so the thought goes down in the shape it arrived in.
You choose what is worth developing
Nothing is promoted, tidied or summarised on your behalf. You highlight the lines with something in them and develop those into a plan yourself.
The original is never rewritten
Answers you write later sit beside your first note, never inside it. The thought that made the idea interesting is still readable months on.
Every section remembers its source
A promoted line keeps the span it came from, says so on the card, and lights that line up in your note when you hover it.
All four are yours, and none of them needs a model. Pro users can also ask an AI assistant for questions or draft answers at any point, and keep, edit or discard whatever comes back. Your thinking leads. AI helps when you ask.
Privacy
What you write is yours.
No ad profiling, no analytics cookies unless you say yes, no AI running behind your back.
No tracking without consent
This site stores only your choices locally: theme, language hint, and your analytics answer. Analytics run only after you accept.
Essential storage only
AI runs only when you ask
One idea at a time, only on Pro, and never on the original text you wrote.
Opt-in · Pro
Secure, verified sign-in
Email with confirmation, or Google and Apple. Every row is locked to you.
Row level security
Built in the Netherlands
Aurenix Creative Labs, The Hague. EU rules, EU hosting, GDPR rights.
KvK 98214292
Pricing
Free to start. Pro when you outgrow it.
You can develop your ideas yourself on the free plan, start to finish. Three active ideas is the only wall you will hit.
Free no card
€0forever, with an account
- Capture, Explore, Shape and Plan
- 3 active ideas
- Every export format
- Sync across your devices
Pro 7-day free trial
€7.99per month, or €59.99 per year
- Everything in Free
- Unlimited active ideas
- Optional AI assistance, when you ask
- Folders, and six themes or your own
Credits one-off
€2.495 credits · 10 for €3.99 · 20 for €6.99
- 1 credit = 1 extra idea
- Keep the free workflow
- No subscription
Pro is help on top of a product that already works: everything in the four steps is on the free plan, and AI never runs unless you ask it to. Prices include VAT. Pro renews until you cancel, in the App Store, Play Store or your billing portal. Full detail in the Terms and the withdrawal form.
Ratings
What early users say, published unedited.
The praise and the criticism, in the words people wrote them in.
★★★★★
Web app
Starting as a guest is genuinely fast. I reached the idea dashboard without an email address, password, or payment screen.
★★★★★
Web app
The promise “Dump it now. Plan it later.” immediately explains what the product is for, and the examples make the difference from a normal notes app easy to understand.
★★★★★
Web app
The landing page was in English, but the guest app opened in Dutch. That language switch felt unexpected and made the transition into the product less seamless.
★★★★★
Web app
When I tapped the capture prompt, several polished example ideas appeared immediately. They were useful demonstrations, but I was briefly unsure whether they were sample content or ideas already stored in my account.
★★★★★
Web app
The five-step tour explains the workflow clearly, but it delays the first real capture. I wanted to type an idea first and learn the rest when I needed it.
★★★★★
Web app
Keeping the original note untouched while turning parts of it into goals, risks, questions, and next steps feels trustworthy. I can structure the idea without losing the thinking that produced it.
★★★★★
Web app
The landing page presents five export formats as a key benefit, but guest mode asked me to create an account before exporting. That limitation should be stated earlier so the final step does not feel like a surprise.
Questions
Everything else.
What is ideaboxd?
A place to develop your own ideas, for makers with more ideas than time: indie
hackers, developers, designers and anyone building on the side. You write a raw
thought in seconds, choose the parts worth developing, and
build them into a structured plan (goal,
problem, risks, next steps) while every part of it stays linked to the line you
wrote. It runs in any browser today, with the iOS and Android
apps arriving soon.
How do I see where part of my plan came from?
Every section you promote keeps the exact span of text it was made from. The card
says whether it came from your original note or from something you wrote while
exploring, hovering a section lights that line up in the note itself, and the
lines you have already used stay shaded in the dump so you can see what is left.
If you edit the note, the links move with your text; if a quoted line is deleted,
the section keeps your words and drops the link rather than pointing at the wrong
place.
How is ideaboxd different from a notes app?
A notes app is where thinking is stored. ideaboxd is where it is developed. Your
first note is locked and never rewritten, the plan is built beside it, and each
section carries a visible link back to the exact line it came from, so a finished
plan can always be read back to the thought that started it. More on this on our
idea management app page.
Can ideaboxd organize a brain dump?
Yes, and organising it is only the start. Highlight any sentence in your dump and
promote it into a typed plan section, ten types in all, from Goal and Problem to
Risk and Next Step. The dump itself stays exactly as you wrote it, and each section
keeps a link to the sentence it was made from.
Do I need AI to use ideaboxd?
No. Capture, Explore, Shape and Plan are all yours to do by hand, on the free plan.
You write the note, you decide which lines are worth developing, you promote them
into plan sections and you finish the plan. Even the questions ideaboxd asks in the
Explore step are worked out in the app, from which of the essentials your note
already covers, with no model and no request leaving your device. Nothing is
generated for you unless you go looking for it.
What does the optional AI assistance actually do?
It is a Pro feature, it never runs on its own, and it never touches your original
note. When you tap “Draft with AI” on the Refine step, that idea's text goes to
Google Gemini, which drafts answers to the questions your note left open. Each draft
arrives as an ordinary note you can edit, keep or discard. It is a second opinion,
not a replacement for your thinking, and the plan is still built by you.
Can I turn ideas into plans?
Yes, and you are the one turning them. An idea moves through Dump, Refine, Plan and
Ready. When it is finished you can export it as Markdown, plain text, a checklist, a
project brief or a PDF, each with a live preview, and the Markdown export keeps your
original note quoted at the top of the file, above everything you built from it.
Do I need an account to try it?
No. Start as a guest and take one real idea the whole way: capture it, refine it, shape it
into a plan and mark it ready. It stays on this device and is not synced or backed
up. A second idea and export need a free account, which carries everything you
built across when you sign up.
Is my data private?
Guest ideas never leave your device. With an account, your ideas sync to EU-hosted
storage where every row is locked to you, and nothing is sent to an AI model unless
you are on Pro and tap to send it. There are no advertising cookies and no ad profiling (this
site measures visits anonymously and only sets an analytics cookie if you
accept one), and you can export or delete everything from inside the app. Details in the
Privacy Policy.
Is ideaboxd free?
Free covers 3 active ideas and every step of the workflow. Pro is €7.99/month or
€59.99/year with a 7-day free trial, and adds unlimited active ideas, optional AI
assistance, folders and extra themes. If you would rather not subscribe, credit
bundles start at €2.49 for 5 and buy extra ideas. See pricing and the
Terms.
Can I use ideaboxd on mobile and desktop?
Yes. Today that means any browser, on a phone or a desktop. The iOS and Android apps are
built from the same codebase and launch soon. Sign in on each device and the same
library, plans and exports follow you.
Does it work offline?
Yes. Writing saves immediately with no connection, and so does everything you do
with it by hand. Sync, backup and the optional AI assistance are the parts that need
one.
Who's behind it?
ideaboxd is built and operated by Aurenix Creative Labs, a registered business in The
Hague, the Netherlands (KvK 98214292). Questions and complaints go to
hello@aurenix-cl.com.
You’ve had three ideas since you started reading