---
title: "How to turn a lecture into notes | ToolSugar"
description: "Turn a recorded class into a summary, notes, a quiz and flashcards. Learn what is uploaded, how long a lecture can be and how to check the output."
canonical: https://toolsugar.com/blog/how-to-turn-a-lecture-into-notes
image: https://toolsugar.com/og.png
---

# Turn a recorded lecture into notes, a quiz and flashcards

Updated 2026-11-09

To turn a lecture into notes, transcribe the recording and ask a language model to organize the text. Lecture to Notes does both. The speech is transcribed in your browser, then a small writing model on your device writes a summary, notes, a quiz and flashcards. Nothing is uploaded. Download the results as Markdown and CSV.

[Open Lecture to Notes](https://toolsugar.com/tools/lecture-to-notes)

## Turn a lecture into notes in four steps

Audio and video both work, and only the sound is used.

1. Add the recording of your class.
2. Wait for the first download of the speech and writing models.
3. Choose the spoken language, or leave it on automatic detection.
4. Press Make study notes, then open the Summary, Notes, Quiz and Flashcards tabs and download what you want.

## What you get from one recording

You get a summary, Markdown notes, a quiz with answers, flashcards and the full transcript. The quiz tells you straight after each pick whether you were right, and shows the answer if you were not. Flashcards download as a CSV file, the notes as Markdown and the transcript as plain text.

The CSV imports into a spaced repetition app, so you can load a deck the night before an exam.

## Where your recording goes

Nowhere. The recording stays in your browser. The first run downloads a speech model of about 77 MB, or 206 MB with WebGPU, and a writing model of about 786 MB (Qwen2.5-0.5B). Your browser keeps both.

A long lecture can take many minutes, depending on your device. This tool shares the same 5 free AI runs per rolling 24 hours as the other AI tools.

## How long a lecture can be

The transcript can hold 60,000 characters, about 75 minutes of talk. A longer one is too big for one set of notes. You still get the full transcript, and the tool suggests cutting the recording into parts with Audio Cutter.

## Check the output before you study from it

A small language model reads an automatic transcript, so a misheard word or an invented fact can slip in. Treat the quiz as a study aid and check anything important against your course material.

## Questions

### Can I use the flashcards in another app?

Yes. They download as a CSV file, which most flashcard and spaced repetition apps can import.

### Does a slide deck or a PDF work as the source?

No. The tool takes a recording. To listen to slides or a reading list, use PDF to Audio.

### Why did the run stop with a limit message?

You used the 5 free AI runs shared across tools in a rolling 24 hours. The message says when the next run opens.

[Open Lecture to Notes](https://toolsugar.com/tools/lecture-to-notes)

## Related guides

- [How to transcribe audio to text](https://toolsugar.com/blog/how-to-transcribe-audio-to-text)
- [How to listen to a PDF](https://toolsugar.com/blog/how-to-listen-to-a-pdf)
- [How to cut an audio file to the part you need](https://toolsugar.com/blog/how-to-cut-an-audio-file)
- [How to extract audio from a video](https://toolsugar.com/blog/how-to-extract-audio-from-a-video)

## Comparisons

- [Otter.ai alternative](https://toolsugar.com/alternatives/otter-ai-alternative)