FAQ — Frequently Asked Questions

Quick answers to the most common questions about Freshbase.

Quick answers to the most common questions about Freshbase. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, check out the how-to guides or contact support.

Getting started

What is Freshbase and what is it for?

Freshbase is an intelligent platform for the discovery and planning phase of software projects. It helps you think before you build: define requirements, break large tasks into smaller pieces, document decisions, and extract knowledge from meetings.

The core principle is: specifications are the new code. Instead of jumping straight into programming, Freshbase helps you structure and organize your ideas first.

Does Freshbase generate code?

No. Freshbase is not a coding agent, copilot, or programming tool. It specializes in helping you plan and document. The AI assistant helps refine requirements, create specifications, organize ideas, and process meetings — all in natural language, no code involved.

How do I create my account and organization?

When you access Freshbase for the first time, the system guides you through an onboarding process:

1. Welcome

   A quick introduction to the platform
2. Create organization

   Set your company or team name and a slug (URL identifier)
3. Create your first Base

   Give your first project a name
4. Initial conversation

   The assistant asks questions to understand the context of your Base
5. Google Calendar

   Connect your calendar (optional, you can do this later)
6. Invite your team

   Add colleagues’ email addresses (optional)
7. Integrations

   See available integrations (Linear, transcription, calendar)

You can skip optional steps and configure them later in Settings.

What is a “Base”? How do I create my first one?

A Base is the space that brings together everything about a project or initiative: documents, conversations with the assistant, meeting transcriptions, and settings. Think of it as a “smart folder” for a project.

During onboarding, you create your first Base automatically. To create new Bases later, go to Settings > Bases > New Base.

How to create your first Base

See the complete guide

What is the difference between a personal workspace and a team workspace?

• Personal workspace: Created automatically for you. Only you have access. Ideal for personal notes and drafts.
• Team workspace: Shared with colleagues. Created when you set up an organization. This is where your team’s Bases live, with collaboration, participant tracking, and a shared Glossary.

Conversations with the assistant (Chat)

How do I start a conversation with the assistant?

Click Chat in the left sidebar. You’ll see the conversations screen. Click New conversation or start typing in the message box. The assistant responds in real time.

The first time, the screen shows suggestions to help you get started:

• Explore the Base — requests a summary of documents and topics
• Organize ideas — helps structure requirements
• Create document — generates a new specification document
• Review tasks — identifies decisions and pending tasks

What kind of questions can I ask?

You can ask for help with any planning and documentation task:

• “Break this epic into user stories”
• “Which requirements are still ambiguous?”
• “Create a specification for the login feature”
• “What was decided in the latest meetings about project X?”
• “Help me organize the brainstorming ideas”

The assistant has access to the documents in your Base and can read, create, and edit documents.

How does the assistant create documents? Do I need to approve them?

When the assistant suggests creating or editing a document, it shows you the proposal before applying it. You can:

• Approve — the changes are saved
• Request adjustments — ask for modifications in the same conversation
• Cancel — nothing is changed

You always stay in control of what gets saved to the Base.

Can I choose between different AI models?

Yes. In Chat, you can select between two modes:

• Fast — quicker responses, ideal for simple tasks
• Pro — more detailed responses, ideal for complex tasks

Can I use the assistant to analyze meeting transcriptions?

Yes. After importing a transcription in the Meetings section, the assistant can:

• Summarize the key points of the meeting
• Identify decisions and pending action items
• Extract mentioned requirements
• Create documents from the discussed content

Automatic extractions appear in the Inbox for your review.

Inbox

What shows up in the Inbox?

The Inbox receives items that need your attention — typically suggestions and extractions made by the AI. For example:

• Decisions identified in meetings
• Tasks and follow-ups extracted from transcriptions
• Suggestions for new Glossary terms
• Document organization recommendations

Each item comes with context about where it originated (which meeting, which conversation).

What do the Inbox tabs mean?

• Open — items awaiting your action
• Later — items you postponed for later review
• Done — items already processed (approved, rejected, or archived)

How do I approve or reject a suggestion?

For each item in the Inbox, you have these actions:

• Approve — accepts the suggestion, which becomes part of the Base (a document, a task, a Glossary term)
• Reject — discards the suggestion (kept on record for audit purposes)
• Snooze — moves it to the “Later” tab for review whenever you want
• Archive — removes it from the active list without approving or rejecting

What happens when I approve an item?

The approved item becomes permanent knowledge in your Base. Depending on its type, it may become a document, a Glossary entry, a Linear issue (if integrated), or another artifact. The origin of the item (which meeting or conversation it came from) is always recorded.

How to review items in the Inbox

See the complete guide

Meetings and transcriptions

How do I import a meeting transcription?

In the Meetings section, you can import transcriptions from different sources:

• Direct upload of transcription files
• Import from Granola, Fireflies, Tactiq, or Notes
• Direct recording via Google Meet (Chrome extension)

After import, the AI automatically processes the transcription, identifies participants, and extracts elements that appear in the Inbox.

How to import meetings

See the complete guide

Does Freshbase record meetings automatically?

Freshbase offers a Google Chrome extension that records Google Meet meetings. The extension:

• Captures the meeting audio
• Visually identifies who is speaking
• Sends it for automatic processing
• Generates a transcription with participant names

To use it, install the extension and activate recording during the meeting.

How does participant identification work?

Freshbase uses the Team Roster to identify who is who in transcriptions. It recognizes name variations — for example, “John”, “JP”, and “John Paul” can all be the same person.

To improve identification:

1. Register team members in Settings > Team
2. Add nicknames and name variations
3. The system learns over time from new transcriptions

What is the Glossary and how does it improve transcriptions?

The Glossary is a list of terms from your business domain. When Freshbase processes a transcription, it uses the Glossary to:

• Recognize technical or project-specific terms
• Correct words that the transcription system misheard
• Maintain terminology consistency

Example: If “provisioning” is a term in your domain, the Glossary helps the AI recognize it even when the transcription records “provisionamento” or “activation”.

Knowledge Base (documents)

How do I create and edit documents?

In the Knowledge > Documents section, you can:

• Click Create document to create a new one
• Upload existing documents
• Edit documents directly in the platform’s editor

The assistant in Chat can also create documents for you — just ask.

How to manage documents

See the complete guide

What is Canvas?

Canvas is a collaborative visual editor within Freshbase. It allows you to:

• Create and refine documents with AI assistance
• Work in a more visual and interactive way
• Edit specific parts of a document with the assistant’s help

It’s accessible under Knowledge > Canvas.

How do I organize my documents?

Documents are organized in a file structure within each Base. You can:

• Create folders to group documents by topic
• Browse the file tree in the sidebar
• Ask the assistant to suggest an organization scheme

Can I export documents?

All documents in Freshbase are in Markdown (plain text) format. This means they are portable and can be:

• Copied and pasted into any tool
• Opened in text editors
• Versioned like code

Settings and integrations

How do I connect with Linear (task management)?

1. Access integrations

   Go to Settings > Integrations > Linear
2. Connect

   Click Connect Linear
3. API Key

   Enter your Linear API Key (available in Linear’s settings)
4. Test

   Click Test to verify the connection
5. Save

   Click Save

With the integration active, you can create Linear issues directly from conversations and meetings in Freshbase.

How to set up integrations

See the complete guide

How do I set up Google Calendar?

1. Go to Settings > Integrations > Google Calendar
2. Click Connect Google Calendar
3. Authorize access in the Google window that opens
4. Done — your meetings will be synced

The calendar helps Freshbase suggest contacts to invite to your workspace and can facilitate automatic transcription creation.

How do I invite members to my team?

1. Go to Settings > Team > Team members
2. Click Invite member
3. Enter the person’s email address
4. Send the invitation

You can also invite people during onboarding or via Google Calendar suggestions.

How to invite team members

See the complete guide

How do I change the theme (light/dark)?

1. Go to Settings > Appearance > Theme
2. Choose between:
   • System — follows your operating system setting
   • Light — light theme
   • Dark — dark theme

You can also customize the accent color (Neutral, Olive, Ocean) and the fonts used in the interface.

Account and security

How do I change my profile information?

1. Go to Settings > Profile
2. Update your name or profile picture
3. Click Save profile

The account email cannot be changed from this screen.

What are MCP Keys?

MCP Keys are access keys that allow you to connect external tools (such as Claude Code) to your Base in Freshbase. Each key:

• Is linked to a specific Base
• Can be revoked individually
• Has usage tracking (creation date and last use)

To create an MCP Key:

1. Go to Settings > Security > MCP Key
2. Click New MCP Key
3. Select the linked Base
4. Copy the generated key (it is only shown once)

Who can see my projects?

• Personal workspace: Only you have access.
• Team workspace: All workspace members can see shared Bases. Each member can have different access levels:
  • Owner — full control
  • Editor — can edit documents and use the assistant
  • Viewer — can only view content

How do I configure language, time zone, and date format?

Go to Settings > General:

• Language — choose between Portuguese (pt-BR) and English (en-US)
• Time zone — set it for correct date display
• Date format — choose how dates are presented

Does Freshbase have accessibility options?

Yes. In Settings > Appearance > Accessibility you’ll find:

• High contrast — improves readability
• Reduce motion — disables animations and transitions