Skip to content

Digitize handwritten notes

Photo of notes turned into searchable text.

Photo of notes turned into searchable text. The tools below run on your computer. Most of them are free, and the work stays on your machine.

Scan

Works offline · Free options

Easiest way to start

olmOCR + olmOCR 2 7B

Allen AI's document reader. It turns a PDF or a scan into text, including tables.

Will it run on my computer?

Check my computer
4 shown

Most tools here are free.

How to do it in 3 steps

  1. Install olmOCR from its official guide: olmOCR on GitHub.
  2. Open the olmOCR 2 7B page and check the traffic light for a few kinds of computer.
  3. Follow that official guide. This site does not add its own install steps.

Questions

Does this upload my files?
No. The tools on this page are meant to run on your computer.
What does it cost?
Most options are free. A few apps are a one-time purchase, and a few models need a computer with more memory.
What if it will not fit?
Use Check my computer, or turn on the lighter memory filters. A red light on the model page means the file is too big.

Not into local AI? Try these instead

Ordinary apps for study & school. The links use a placeholder referral code and may pay us.

  • Anki

    Flashcards with spaced repetition for facts you want to keep.

    Anki · #ad

  • GoodNotes

    Handwritten notes and marked-up PDFs on a tablet.

    GoodNotes · #ad

  • Zotero

    A reference library for papers, citations, and bibliographies.

    Zotero · #ad

Related tasks