Getting started

Select "Space" from the create menu. New spaces are private to you by default. Add team members through the location and access settings when you are ready to share, or restrict access further on individual documents inside the space.

Opening the create menu from inside a space creates a subspace nested under that space. See Nested spaces.

Select "Doc" from the create menu, or from the "+" button on any space home or date in Today. Notes are the default document type for freeform writing, and the create menu, types table, space home buttons, slash command, and AI tool documentation all use the label Doc. The slash-menu aliases "note" and "document" still match the same option, so existing muscle memory keeps working.

When you create a typed entry inline (from the kanban board's "+" buttons or the slash command), the Inline document popover protects in-flight work: while the new doc is still in proposal state, clicking outside or pressing Escape no longer discards what you typed. Only the Create button (to keep it) and the Discard trash icon (to drop it) close the popover. Editing an existing doc is unchanged: outside-click and Escape still dismiss the popover.

The fastest way to create a type is to ask AI. In any AI chat, describe what you want to track ("a Bug type with priority, assignee, and steps to reproduce") and the AI will create it, with fields, workflow, and AI instructions. No templates to pick from, no pre-made catalogue. Every type you need, you can just ask for.

To create one manually, select "Type" from the create menu. Give it a name, add fields, and optionally enable a workflow. Types can live in a space or at the organization level.

The sidebar is the main navigation in Tana. It sits on the left side of the screen as a flat list of destinations: Today, Tasks, People, Browse, and your spaces. A bottom section groups Search, Activity, and Account. There are no tabs.

On wider screens the sidebar is always visible and can be resized by dragging its right edge. On narrower screens it appears as an overlay when opened.

The create menu is accessible from the pencil icon in the sidebar toolbar, or from the "+" button on space home pages and dates in Today. It is a searchable palette with these options:

• Meeting, Doc, Canvas, Task, Chat, Type, Space, Skill
• Custom types: Any types you have defined, grouped by space

When used from a space context, created items are scoped to that space and the Space option is hidden.

Tasks open as inline cards rather than navigating away. Everything else navigates to the new document.

Click the magnifying glass in the sidebar toolbar or navigate to the search page. Type a query for full-text search across your workspace.

Narrow results with filters:

• Space: Show items from a specific space
• Type: Filter by document type or custom entity type (supports multiple types)
• Editor: Show items edited by a specific person

Without a query, the filters act as a browse mode showing recent items that match your criteria.