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How it works

Deja New is a single chat box that quietly keeps your thinking in order. It is free to use, because it runs on your own Anthropic key rather than a subscription we resell. Here is exactly what that means.

What Deja New does

You talk to it in plain English. Share a thought, paste a link, drop in a video — Deja New writes it up, files it under the right category, tags it, and tells you what it saved. When you want something back, you simply ask, and it searches everything you have kept.

Deja New was built on Lovable.

Choose how you want to capture

Deja New has two capture modes. AI mode does the filing for you and needs an Anthropic API key. Manual mode is a plain form that costs nothing and needs no key at all.

AI mode

Requires an Anthropic API key.

Pros

  • Just talk naturally — no forms to fill in.
  • Automatically categorises and tags your notes.
  • Natural-language search — ask “what do I have on X” instead of guessing keywords.
  • Paste a link with a comment and it files itself.
  • Distil and summarise features as they are added.

Cons

  • Requires setting up an Anthropic API key — a small extra step, covered below.
  • A small ongoing cost per use, paid to Anthropic directly.
  • Categorisation is the AI’s best guess and occasionally needs correcting.
  • Depends on the Anthropic API being available.

Manual mode

No API key, no cost, ever.

Pros

  • Completely free, with nothing to set up.
  • You decide exactly how everything is categorised and tagged.
  • No dependency on any third-party AI service.
  • Predictable — the same input always produces the same result.

Cons

  • You do the categorising and tagging yourself.
  • Search is keyword-only, so you need to search the words you actually used, not just the idea.
  • No auto-detection beyond simple link and video pattern matching.
  • No summarisation features.

You can switch mode at any time from your profile settings, so neither choice is permanent.

Why it is free

Most AI apps charge a monthly fee because they pay for the AI on your behalf. Deja New does not run its own AI subscription. Instead you connect your own Anthropic key, and your usage is billed to your Anthropic account rather than ours. No middle layer, no markup, and no monthly fee from us.

What an API key actually is

Think of it as a personal password that lets an app make AI requests on your behalf. It is separate from a normal account login: you never sign in to Anthropic through Deja New, you simply give it permission to ask questions using your account. It is also not a subscription — you pay only for what you use, and for personal note-taking that is usually a few pennies per conversation.

How to get one

  1. Create a free account at console.anthropic.com.
  2. Add your billing details there. Anthropic charges per use, and a small starting balance goes a long way for personal use.
  3. Go to Get your API key from Anthropic and create a new key. Copy it straight away — Anthropic shows it only once.
  4. Paste it into your Deja New account settings and select “Save key”.
  5. Head back to the chat and start capturing. That is the whole setup.

What we do and do not see

Your key is encrypted before it is stored, and it is only ever used for your own requests. We never display it back to you in full, never share it, and never use it for anyone else’s usage. Your notes and conversations stay private to your account. If you change your mind, you can remove or replace the key at any time from your account settings.