Headings and Comments

Headings

Use the # character to indicate a heading line. Heading lines are emboldened and do not display an answer (even if there are numbers in the heading).

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Calculation example

Calculation	Result
1# Heading 1
2## Heading 2
3### Heading 3
4#### Heading 4
5##### Heading 5
6###### Heading 6

Comments

If you want to add a comment to your notes, use the // characters. Comments are not evaluated and do not display an answer.

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Calculation example

Calculation	Result
1// This is a comment
2// Comments can also start after an expression
32 // the number of apples	2

Quoted notes

Text in double quotes is a note, not part of the calculation. You can use as many quoted notes as you like on one line.

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Calculation example

Calculation	Result
11 + 1 "two"	2
21 "a" + 2 "b"	3
3"just a quote line"

A // comment always wins, even over a quote that opens before it: in "a // b" + 1 everything from // onwards is a comment, so nothing is left to calculate and the line stays blank.

Labels

Start a line with a few words followed by a colon and a space to label it. The label is ignored, and the rest of the line is calculated as usual.

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Calculation example

Calculation	Result
1Total: 42	42
2Rent: 100 + 50	150
3Tip: 20%	20%
4Label with number 5: 10 + 1	11
514: 45	45

The space after the colon is what makes it a label:

• 14:45 is a time, not a label: there is no space after the colon.
• Total:100 isn’t a label either, so the line stays blank.
• A ternary’s colon is never read as a label: shipping = express ? 15 : 5 still calculates (see Conditionals).
• Only the first label on a line is stripped.

Notes in brackets

Anything in brackets that isn’t a valid calculation is treated as a note and ignored:

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Calculation example

Calculation	Result
1100 (rent) + 200 (food)	300
2999 (for iPhone 16)	999
31 (a (b) c) + 1	2
4(just a note)

Brackets that do contain a calculation keep their usual meaning: they group it, and a group written next to a value multiplies:

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Calculation example

Calculation	Result
1100 * (2 + 3)	500
25 (2+3)	25

See Operators for that multiplication shorthand.

An unfinished bracket or quote

A line you are still typing isn’t thrown away: if the only problem is an unclosed bracket or quote, the best answer available is shown.

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Calculation example

Calculation	Result
11 (unbalanced	1
21+(2	3
3(2	2
41 + "oops	1

Plain prose with nothing to calculate still shows no answer.