Getting set up — FieldNotes

FieldNotes runs on Claude, made by a company called Anthropic. To keep your clients' material private, nothing goes through us — it goes straight from your browser to Claude, using one key that belongs only to you.

Why a key, in plain terms. Think of it as your own private line to Claude. Because the line is yours, nothing you write about a session passes through us or anyone else. The trade is that you set the line up once. There's nothing to break, and it's free to start.

What you'll do

One key, four short steps: make an account, add a little credit, create the key, paste it in. About five minutes.

Make an Anthropic account

Open the Anthropic Console and sign up with your email or a Google account.

Open the Anthropic Console →

It opens in a new tab, so this page stays here beside you.

Add a little credit

Your key only works once there's credit on the account. Go to Settings → Billing, add a card, and put on a small amount — $5 is plenty and lasts a long time.

Go to Billing →

New accounts are sometimes offered a little free credit to begin with (you may be asked for a phone number). If you see that, you can try it before adding a card.

Create your key

Go to Settings → API Keys and choose Create Key. Name it anything — "FieldNotes" works well.

Go to API Keys →

Important: Anthropic shows the key only once. Copy it straight away (a long line starting sk-ant-). If you lose it, no harm — delete it there and make another.

Paste it into FieldNotes

Come back, open FieldNotes, and paste your key into the box. It's kept only in your own browser, on your own device — never sent to us, and removable any time with one click.

Open FieldNotes →

The questions people ask

Is this safe? Your key lives only in your browser. Your sessions are never stored anywhere — close the page and they're gone. The one thing to keep in mind: the words you type are sent to Claude to be read, so write the least that lets you think — a code or initials rather than full names.

What does it cost? You pay Anthropic directly, only for what you use. FieldNotes runs on Claude Opus, the strongest model; a set of notes plus a reflection is usually a few cents, and you can set a monthly spending cap in Billing so it never surprises you.

What if I get stuck? Nothing here can be broken. If a key won't work, it's almost always because credit hasn't been added yet (step 2).

Got your key?

Open FieldNotes