Notes for developers in the browser: commands, code and notes at hand
You work in GitHub, Jira, your cloud console and the docs, all in the browser. Here's how to keep your commands and technical notes right there, instead of searching five different places.
That command to check the production logs, the staging URL, the config snippet you always copy from the same place, the decision your team made in the last meeting. You use them every week, but every time you have to go looking: in a text file, in an old Slack message or in your memory.
Almost all your work already happens in the browser, so it makes sense for your technical notes to live there too. We look at where people usually keep this stuff, with the pros and cons, and how to do it with NexoPad: long notes with code blocks, commands as text shortcuts and links that open a ticket with one word.
What developers keep at hand
- Commands you can't remember: the one for the logs, the one to restart a service, the one to create a branch in your team's format.
- Environment URLs: development, staging, production, the database dashboard, the cloud console.
- Code and config snippets: a sample API call, a SQL query you use to check data, a block of configuration.
- Links to tickets and pull requests: the number changes, but the address is always the same.
- Decisions and context: why a library was chosen, what was agreed in the review, what's left to do on a task.
Where it lives today (and the downsides)
A text or Markdown file. Fast, free and you open it in your editor. The downside is that it lives on one computer and, while you're working in the browser, you have to switch windows, search and copy.
Notion or another notes app. Great for organizing long notes and easy to share. But it's another tab or another app: to copy a command you have to open it, find the page and come back.
GitHub Gists. Very handy for code snippets, and they keep a history. Careful though: according to GitHub's own documentation, a secret gist isn't private, and anyone with the URL can see it. They're not the place for sensitive internal notes.
Messages to yourself in Slack or Teams. Always open, but over time they get lost between conversations and are hard to find.
GitHub saved replies. Reusable text for issues, pull requests and discussions, tied to your personal account. They work well, but only inside GitHub: no use in Jira or in chat.
Technical notes in the Notebook
Open it with Alt+Q
From any page, press Alt+Q to open the NexoPad Notebook: a full page for writing long notes, with all your notes on the left.
Paste commands into a code block
Write the normal text of the note and, for commands, use the Code Block (Console) button in the formatting toolbar. The line turns into a code block, in its own box, that stands out from the rest and copies cleanly. For a variable or file name inside a sentence, there's the inline code button.
Organize with folders and tags
Put the note in a folder per project or client and add tags like vps, deploy or error. Then find it from the Notebook search or with Ctrl+K on any page.
Save what you find in the docs
If you come across a useful command on a documentation page, select it and press Alt+C. It's saved as a note in the Clips folder, with the name and link of the page it came from, so you know where you got it.
Commands and templates as snippets
Anything you type over and over deserves a shortcut. In NexoPad, a snippet is saved text with a short shortcut, like /deploy: you type it in a text field and it turns into the full text. If the idea is new to you, it's explained in text snippets.
The parts that change go in variables. For example, the /deploy snippet could be: "Deploying {{input:Branch}} to {{dropdown:Environment|staging|production}} on {{date}}". When you type the shortcut, NexoPad asks you for the branch, lets you pick the environment and fills in today's date. Handy for letting the team know in chat or leaving a record in a GitHub comment.
More ideas: /logs with the logs command you always forget, /pr with your pull request description template (what changes, how to test it, {{input:Ticket}}), or /review with your code review checklist. If you can't remember a shortcut, type // in the field and search for it right there.
Ctrl+K and paste it.Open a ticket with sys and %s
Save the link with %s
Open the popup with Ctrl+Space, click + and choose Create manual link. Call it "Open ticket" and enter the address https://jira.example.com/browse/%s. The %s marks where the ticket number goes.
Add a word in Tags
In the Tags field, type jira and click Save. If you also want it in the right-click menu, tick Show in context menu (Right click).
Type sys in the address bar
Type sys, press the space bar and type jira PROJ-123. When you press Enter, https://jira.example.com/browse/PROJ-123 opens in a new tab.
Or select the number on any site
If someone writes "PROJ-123" in chat, select it, right-click and choose NexoPad > Open ticket. The address opens with the selected text in place of %s.
The same works for pull requests (https://github.com/your-company/web/pull/%s with the tag pr) or for searching your internal docs. If you type sys and a word you haven't saved, nothing opens. The full walkthrough is in how to open your sites by typing one word.
Which option should you pick?
| Where you use it | Pros | Cons | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Text file | In your editor, on one computer | Fast and fully under your control | You switch windows to copy |
| Notion or another notes app | In its own tab or app | Good for long documentation | You have to open it and search every time |
| GitHub Gists | On gist.github.com | Made for code, with history | A secret gist is visible to anyone with the URL |
| Messages to yourself in chat | In Slack or Teams | Always open | Gets lost between conversations |
| GitHub saved replies | Issues, pull requests and discussions | Built into GitHub | Only inside GitHub |
| NexoPad | On any site in the browser | Notes, snippets and links one shortcut away | Only inside the browser |
What NexoPad doesn't do
- It doesn't work outside the browser: your shortcuts don't expand in the system terminal or in desktop editors.
- It isn't a password manager. Notes are stored as plain text, so don't keep tokens, API keys or passwords in them.
- It doesn't export your notes to files.
- It doesn't attach notes to a specific URL: your notes live in the Notebook and the popup, not pinned to each page.
- It doesn't have task checkboxes inside notes.
FAQ
Where can I save code snippets in the browser?
In a note in the NexoPad Notebook (Alt+Q), using the Code Block (Console) button for each block. If you type the snippet often, give it a shortcut and turn it into a snippet.
Do snippets work in the terminal or in VS Code?
Not in the desktop versions. NexoPad only works inside the browser. In editors or terminals that open in a web page, it may not expand either; copy the text from the popup or with Ctrl+K.
Can I store passwords or tokens in my notes?
We don't recommend it. Notes are stored as plain text. Use a password manager for that.
How do I open a Jira ticket by typing just its number?
Save a link with the address https://jira.example.com/browse/%s and the tag jira. Then type sys jira PROJ-123 in the address bar and press Enter.
Which browsers does it work in, and how much is it?
NexoPad works in Chrome, Edge, Firefox, Opera and Brave, and it's free.
Published on October 22, 20267 min read
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