Templates

Overview

Templates define the structure and optional starter content for entries. Each template can have properties (fields), content, an icon, a color, and a cover image. When you create an entry from a template, it inherits the template's structure and content.

Templates also support variables — placeholders that get filled in automatically or prompted when you create an entry from the template.

Creating a Template

From Settings

1. Go to Settings > Templates
2. Click New Template
3. Give it a name, icon, and color
4. Add property fields
5. Optionally add starter content and variables
6. Click Save

From an Existing Entry

1. Open any entry in the editor
2. Click More Options (three-dot menu) in the entry header
3. Select Save as Template
4. Give the template a name
5. Click Save

The template captures the entry's current content, properties, icon, and cover image. The original entry becomes the first entry of the new template (its template_id is set to the new template). Changes to the original entry after saving don't affect the template.

Creating Entries from Templates

When creating a new entry, you can choose a template:

From the Sidebar

Click the + button in the sidebar toolbar to open a template picker — select which template to create an entry from. In grouped mode, you can also click the + button next to a specific template header to create an entry with that template directly.

From Quick Capture

1. Press Cmd+E or click the Quick Capture button
2. Select a template from the list, or create a plain entry
3. If the template has custom variables, a prompt dialog appears asking you to fill them in

Template Variables

Variables are placeholders in a template's content that get resolved when an entry is created. They appear as amber-colored chips in the editor when template mode is active.

Built-in Variables

Built-in variables are resolved automatically — no user input needed.

Custom Variables

Custom variables have a name you define (e.g., \{\{client_name\}\}, \{\{project_code\}\}). When someone creates an entry from the template, they're prompted to fill in each custom variable before the entry is created.

Inserting Variables

1. Open a template entry and enable template mode by clicking the braces icon (\{\}) in the editor header
2. Type / to open the slash menu
3. Select a built-in variable or Custom Variable to insert one
4. For custom variables, enter a name when prompted

Variables only appear in the slash menu when template mode is active.

Applying Templates to Existing Entries

You can apply a template to an entry that already has content:

1. Open the entry
2. Click More Options > Switch To Template
3. Select a template from the list
4. Choose a content mode:
   • Replace — replaces the entry's content entirely with the template's content
   • Keep — appends the template's content below the entry's existing content

Properties from the template are merged into the entry's empty fields only — existing property values are not overwritten. The icon and cover image are applied only if the entry doesn't already have them.

Applying templates is not available during real-time collaboration sessions.

Hiding Templates

You can hide a template from the sidebar without deleting it. Hidden templates and their entries won't appear in the sidebar's grouped or flat views, but entries remain accessible via search, direct links, and template pages.

To hide a template:

• Right-click a template header in the sidebar and select Hide from sidebar
• Or click the ... menu on a template header and select Hide from sidebar

If the template has entries, a confirmation dialog warns that those entries won't be visible in grouped sidebar mode until the template is shown again.

To show a hidden template again, go to Settings > Templates and click the eye icon on the hidden template (marked with a "Hidden" badge).

Deleting Templates

When you delete a template that has entries, you'll see a dialog with three options:

• Reassign — move all entries to a different template
• Convert to plain entries — detach entries from the template (assigns the default Entry template). Properties are merged into the entry's content as formatted text, and the property values are kept as a hidden snapshot for potential future reassignment
• Delete all entries — permanently delete the template and all its entries. This action is irreversible

System templates (like the default Entry template) cannot be deleted — the delete option is not shown for these templates. You can still hide them from the sidebar.

Editing Template Content

You can edit a template's full content, properties, icon, and cover image.

1. Go to Settings > Templates
2. Click the Edit button on any template
3. The template opens in the full editor where you can:
   • Change the template name
   • Edit the content using the block editor
   • Modify properties
   • Update the icon or cover image
   • Insert or remove template variables (template mode is enabled automatically)
4. Changes are saved automatically — a status indicator shows "Unsaved changes" or the last save time

Icon Picker

Templates and entries support two kinds of icons: emoji and Lucide icons. When you click the icon area on a template or entry, a picker opens with:

• Full Lucide catalog — browse all ~4,000 icons from the Lucide library
• Search — type to filter by icon name or related tags (e.g., searching "document" finds file-related icons)
• Emoji support — switch to the emoji tab to pick an emoji instead
• Quick select — press Enter while searching to select the first result

Icons are lazy-loaded for performance, so the picker stays responsive even with thousands of options.

Tips

• Templates are great for recurring structures — meeting notes, weekly reviews, project briefs, bug reports
• Use \{\{date\}\} and \{\{user\}\} to auto-stamp entries with context
• Custom variables work well for fields that change every time but follow a pattern (e.g., client name, sprint number)
• The plain entry option is always available when creating entries, even if templates exist