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Getting Started with Incremental RemNote

Welcome to Incremental RemNote! This guide will walk you through the basics of making Rems incremental, reviewing them, and managing your learning workflow.

What is Incremental Learning?

Incremental learning transforms how you acquire knowledge. Instead of reading a book from cover to cover or watching a full lecture, you break content into smaller pieces and review them over time—interleaved with flashcards and other material.

Key Benefits: - Process 1000+ sources in parallel without losing track - Prioritize ruthlessly to focus on what matters most - Build lasting knowledge by converting passive reading into active flashcards

For a deeper understanding, see What is Incrementalism?.

Installation

  1. Open the RemNote Plugin Store
  2. Search for "Incremental RemNote"
  3. Click Install

The Incremental RemNote Panel

Once installed, the plugin adds a small Incremental RemNote 🌐 panel at the bottom of the left sidebar. It is the one fixed place to reach the plugin from, and where the onboarding tips live.

In the header:

Control What it does
⚙ Opens the plugin's settings popup — every setting the plugin owns, grouped
? Opens this documentation, at the home page
✕ Hides the panel for this session — it is back next time you open RemNote. To bring it back sooner, run the Show Incremental RemNote Panel command

Shortcut buttons:

  • ⌨ — the Keyboard Shortcuts page.
  • Sorting — the flashcard/incremental mix and randomness for your queue.
  • Priority Review — creates a Priority Review Document, scoped to the document you currently have open. This is the same as using Create Priority Review Document in the document menu, without having to open the menu; the scope it will use is named under the button. With no document open, it falls back to the whole knowledge base.

Tips

The panel shows one tip per session, drawn at random from the tips you have not retired yet. Answer it and the tip area is done until the next time you open RemNote — it will not hand you another one. Each tip has three answers:

  • I Got It — you know this one. It is never shown again. This is remembered per knowledge base and syncs across your devices.
  • ✕ — not now. The tip stays in the pile and can resurface later; the panel also goes quiet for two hours, so a reload does not immediately produce another one.
  • Learn More — opens the documentation section for the feature the tip is about. Tips that are habits rather than features have no such button.

When you have answered I Got It to every tip, the tip area disappears for good and the panel keeps only its shortcuts.

Making a Rem Incremental

The first step is to convert a Rem, PDF, or website into an "Incremental Rem" so it will appear in your queue.

Method 1: Slash Command

  1. Focus on any Rem in the editor
  2. Type /Make Incremental (Extract) and select the command
  3. The Rem is now tagged with the Incremental powerup

Method 2: Keyboard Shortcut

Extract Selection Demo

Method 3: Document Menu

  1. Click the ⋮ (three dots) menu at the top-right of any document
  2. Select "Toggle Incremental Rem"
  3. The priority popup will open automatically

What Happens When You Make a Rem Incremental?

  1. The Rem receives the Incremental powerup tag
  2. A "Made Incremental" event is recorded in the repetition history
  3. The Rem is scheduled for its first review (based on your Initial Interval setting, default: 1 day)
  4. The Rem will now appear in your queue, interleaved with flashcards

Reviewing Incremental Rems in the Queue

When you enter the queue, your Incremental Rems appear alongside your flashcards. The Answer Buttons bar at the bottom provides your main actions:

Button Shortcut What it does
Next — Marks item as reviewed, schedules next repetition
Reschedule Ctrl+J Manually set the next review date
Dismiss — Finishes the item, removes Incremental tag
Change Priority Alt+P Opens priority popup
Review & Open — Reviews the item AND opens it in the editor

The "One Memory, One Action" Principle

Before clicking "Next," always perform at least one productive action: - Extract a key sentence as a new Incremental Rem - Create a flashcard from important information - Rephrase a confusing passage - Highlight essential content

Avoid "futile reviews" where you just glance at content without engaging.

For more details, see Reviewing Items in the Queue.

Dismissing an Incremental Rem (Dismiss Button)

When you've fully processed an item and extracted all valuable knowledge:

  1. Click the "Dismiss" button in the queue, OR
  2. Manually remove the Incremental tag in the editor

What Happens When You Dismiss?

  1. The Rem's complete repetition history is preserved in a Dismissed powerup
  2. The Incremental tag is removed
  3. A yellow left border appears in the editor to indicate the Rem has preserved history
  4. The item no longer appears in your queue

Yellow left border visual indicator for dismissed Rems

Visual Settings: - Show Yellow Left Border for Dismissed Rems — Toggle the visual indicator (default: on) - Hide Dismissed Tag in Editor — Reduce clutter by hiding the tag (default: on)

Re-activating a Dismissed Rem

If you want to review a dismissed item again:

  1. Make the Rem incremental again using Alt+X or the slash command
  2. The old history is automatically restored and merged
  3. A "Made Incremental" marker is added to distinguish the new learning session

This allows you to: - See your complete learning journey across multiple sessions - Resume where you left off with preserved context - Analyze your long-term engagement with material

Repetition History & Statistics

The plugin offers two powerful views to analyze your learning progress: the Single History View for individual items and the Aggregated History View for entire folders and knowledge trees.

1. Single History View

Gives you detailed insights into your review history for any specific Incremental Rem.

What it shows: * Stats Row: Total reps, total time spent, age since first review * Next Review: Scheduled date with days late/early indicator * History Table: Date, time spent, interval, priority, and status for each repetition

Repetition History Popup

2. Aggregated History View

Gives you a high-level overview of progress stats for a Rem and all its descendants. Perfect for checking your progress on a specific book, course, or topic.

What it shows: * Tree-View Hierarchy: Displays a hierarchical tree of your Incremental Rems, sorted exactly as they appear in your document. * Aggregated Metrics: Shows total repetitions, time spent, and item counts for the current selection plus all its descendants.

Aggregated Repetition History

How to Access (Smart Routing)

There is a single unified command: Open IncRem Repetition History.

  • Keyboard Shortcut: Ctrl+Shift+H (works in both Queue and Editor)
  • In the Queue: Click the 📊 icon in the Answer Buttons info bar

Smart Behavior: * If you select an Incremental Rem (or one with history), it opens the Single History View. * If you select a Folder (that has Incremental descendants), it automatically opens the Aggregated History View.

Switching Views

You can easily toggle between views using the button in the window header: * Click "Show Aggregated" from the Single View to see the tree stats. * Click "Show Single" from the Aggregated View to focus on the specific item.

Event Markers

The history includes special event markers:

Marker Meaning
▶ Made Incremental When the Rem was first made (or re-made) incremental
⏸ Dismissed When the Rem was dismissed via the Dismiss button

These markers help you understand your learning timeline and distinguish between different review sessions. Each banner shows the date and the time of day (Aug 13, 2026 · 09:44) it was recorded — the same wall-clock detail the repetition rows carry — so a day holding several lifecycle events (made incremental → dismissed → made incremental again) still reads in order.

Setting Priorities

Priority is crucial for managing information overload. Lower numbers = higher priority.

Priority Meaning
0-20 Critical, must review frequently
20-50 Important, regular review
50-80 Moderate, occasional review
80-100 Low priority, review when time permits

Quick Methods

For comprehensive details, see Prioritization & Sorting.

Next Steps

Now that you understand the basics, explore these topics:

Happy Incremental Learning! 🚀