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Quick Start

Get up and running with NoteParser in just a few minutes!

1. Installation

First, install NoteParser:

pip install noteparser

For all features (recommended):

pip install noteparser[all]

System Dependencies

For OCR and media processing, install system dependencies:

sudo apt-get install tesseract-ocr ffmpeg poppler-utils

brew install tesseract ffmpeg poppler

choco install tesseract ffmpeg poppler

2. Your First Parse

Let's convert a document to Markdown:

# Parse a PDF to Markdown
noteparser parse lecture.pdf

# Parse with specific output format
noteparser parse notes.docx --format latex --output notes.tex

# Parse with metadata extraction
noteparser parse handout.pdf --metadata

3. Initialize Your Project

Set up NoteParser in your study directory:

# Navigate to your notes directory
cd /path/to/your/notes

# Initialize configuration
noteparser init

# This creates .noteparser-org.yml with default settings

4. Batch Processing

Process multiple documents at once:

# Process all files in a directory
noteparser batch documents/

# Process only PDFs recursively
noteparser batch semester-notes/ --pattern "*.pdf" --recursive

# Process to LaTeX format
noteparser batch input/ --format latex --output-dir latex-output/

5. Web Dashboard

Start the web interface for easy management:

noteparser web

Then open your browser to http://localhost:5000 to:

  • Browse your documents
  • Parse files through the web interface
  • Search across all notes
  • Manage plugins and settings

6. Organization Sync

Sync your parsed notes to a study repository:

# Sync specific files
noteparser sync output/*.md --target-repo study-notes --course CS101

# Sync all markdown files
noteparser sync *.md

Common Workflows

📖 Daily Student Workflow

# 1. Convert today's lecture slides
noteparser parse "CS101_Lecture_15.pdf"

# 2. Sync to your study repository
noteparser sync output/cs101-lecture-15.md --course CS101

# 3. View in web dashboard
noteparser web

🏫 Course Setup

# 1. Initialize in course directory
cd ~/courses/fall2024/cs101
noteparser init

# 2. Process all existing materials
noteparser batch course-materials/ --recursive

# 3. Generate course index
noteparser index --format json > course-index.json

👥 Study Group Collaboration

# 1. Process shared materials
noteparser parse "Group_Study_Notes.docx"

# 2. Commit to shared repository
git add output/group-study-notes.md
git commit -m "Add processed study notes"
git push

Python API Quick Start

Use NoteParser programmatically:

from noteparser import NoteParser
from noteparser.integration import OrganizationSync

# Initialize parser
parser = NoteParser()

# Parse a document
result = parser.parse_to_markdown("lecture.pdf")
print(result['content'])
print(result['metadata'])

# Batch processing
results = parser.parse_batch("notes/", output_format="markdown")

# Organization sync
org_sync = OrganizationSync()
sync_result = org_sync.sync_parsed_notes(
    source_files=["note1.md", "note2.md"],
    target_repo="study-notes",
    course="CS101"
)

Configuration Basics

Create .noteparser-org.yml in your project root:

organization:
  name: "my-study-notes"
  base_path: "."

repositories:
  study-notes:
    type: "notes"
    auto_sync: true
    formats: ["markdown", "latex"]

plugins:
  math_processor:
    enabled: true
    config:
      equation_numbering: true

  cs_processor:
    enabled: true
    config:
      code_line_numbers: true

Plugin System

Enable course-specific processing:

# List available plugins
noteparser plugins

# Plugins are automatically applied based on:
# - File content
# - Course metadata
# - File extensions

Built-in plugins include:

  • Math Processor: Enhanced equation handling
  • CS Processor: Code block improvements
  • Chemistry Processor: Chemical formula formatting

GitHub Actions Integration

Automate processing with GitHub Actions:

# .github/workflows/parse-notes.yml
name: Parse Notes
on:
  push:
    paths: ['input/**']

jobs:
  parse:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4
      - name: Setup Python
        uses: actions/setup-python@v4
        with:
          python-version: '3.11'
      - name: Install NoteParser
        run: pip install noteparser[all]
      - name: Parse documents
        run: noteparser batch input/ --format markdown
      - name: Sync to study repo
        run: noteparser sync output/*.md --target-repo study-notes

Tips for Success

File Organization

Organize your files with clear naming: 

semester-notes/
├── CS101/
│   ├── lectures/
│   ├── assignments/
│   └── exams/
├── MATH201/
└── output/

Metadata Enhancement

Include course info in filenames: - CS101_Lecture_05_DataStructures.pdf - MATH201_Assignment_03_Calculus.docx

Regular Syncing

Set up automatic syncing to keep your notes organized across repositories.

What's Next?

Now that you're up and running:

Need Help?