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Usage Guide

Complete guide for using PersoNotes - from creating your first note to advanced features.

Table of Contents

Quick Start

The fastest way to get started with PersoNotes:

  1. Open the application at http://localhost:8080
  2. Press Ctrl/Cmd+D to create today's daily note
  3. Start writing - the editor saves automatically with Ctrl/Cmd+S
  4. Press Ctrl/Cmd+K to search your notes anytime

That's it! You're now using PersoNotes.

Daily Notes

Daily notes are the fastest way to capture thoughts, tasks, and reflections.

Creating Today's Note

Option 1: Keyboard Shortcut (Fastest)

  • Press Ctrl/Cmd+D anywhere in the application

Option 2: Header Button

  • Click "📅 Note du jour" in the header

Option 3: Calendar

  • Click the calendar icon
  • Click on today's date

Using the Calendar

Navigate and access daily notes with the interactive calendar:

  • Navigate months: Use ‹ and › arrows
  • Select a date: Click any date to open/create that day's note
  • Visual indicators: Blue dots (●) show existing notes
  • Quick access: "Récentes" tab shows the last 7 days

Daily Note Template

Each daily note is created with a structured template:

---
title: Notes du DD/MM/YYYY
date: YYYY-MM-DD
last_modified: YYYY-MM-DD:HH:MM
tags:
  - daily
---

# Notes du DD/MM/YYYY

## 🎯 Objectifs
- 

## 📝 Notes


## ✅ Accompli
- 

## 💭 Réflexions


## 🔗 Liens
-

Customize your template in docs/DAILY_NOTES.md

Creating & Editing Notes

Creating a New Note

Method 1: Header Button

  1. Click "✨ Nouvelle note" in the header
  2. Enter a filename (e.g., my-note.md or folder/my-note.md)
  3. Click "Créer / Ouvrir"

Method 2: Keyboard Shortcut

  • Press Ctrl/Cmd+N to open the create dialog

Method 3: In a Folder

  1. Navigate to a folder in the sidebar
  2. Click the folder's action button
  3. Create note directly in that folder

Note Structure

Every note includes YAML front matter:

---
title: My Note Title
date: 2025-11-11
last_modified: 2025-11-11:14:30
tags:
  - tag1
  - tag2
---

# Content starts here

Your Markdown content...

Front matter is automatic:

  • title: Extracted from first heading or filename
  • date: Creation date (never changes)
  • last_modified: Updated on every save
  • tags: For organizing and searching

Editing a Note

  1. Open a note: Click it in the sidebar file tree
  2. Edit in left pane: Use the CodeMirror editor
  3. See live preview: Right pane updates in real-time
  4. Save changes: Click "Enregistrer" or press Ctrl/Cmd+S

Editor features:

  • Syntax highlighting for Markdown
  • Line numbers
  • Auto-closing brackets
  • Optional Vim mode
  • Slash commands (type /)

Deleting a Note

  1. Open the note you want to delete
  2. Click the "Supprimer" button
  3. Confirm the deletion

⚠️ Warning: Deletion is permanent and immediate.

Searching Notes

PersoNotes includes a powerful search system with two interfaces.

Quick Search Modal (Recommended)

Open the modal:

  • Press Ctrl/Cmd+K anywhere
  • Results appear instantly as you type

Navigate results:

  • ↑ / ↓ - Move between results
  • Enter - Open selected note
  • Esc - Close modal

Search Syntax

Both search interfaces support advanced syntax:

General Search

Type keywords to search across:

  • Note titles
  • Tags
  • File paths
  • Note content

Example: meeting backend finds notes containing both words

Tag Filter

Use tag:name to filter by specific tags.

Examples:

  • tag:projet - All notes tagged "projet"
  • tag:urgent tag:work - Notes with both tags

Title Filter

Use title:keyword to search only in titles.

Examples:

  • title:meeting - Notes with "meeting" in title
  • title:"daily standup" - Exact phrase in title

Path Filter

Use path:folder to search by file path.

Examples:

  • path:backend - Notes in backend folder
  • path:projets/frontend - Specific subfolder

Quoted Phrases

Use "exact phrase" for exact matches.

Example: "database migration" finds that exact phrase

Combined Queries

Mix syntax for powerful searches:

tag:projet path:backend "API design"

Finds notes tagged "projet", in the backend folder, containing "API design"

Search Results

Results are scored and ranked by relevance:

  • Title matches score highest
  • Tag matches score high
  • Path matches score medium
  • Content matches score lower

This ensures the most relevant notes appear first.

Organizing with Folders

Creating Folders

Method 1: Sidebar Button

  1. Click "📁 Nouveau dossier" at bottom of sidebar
  2. Enter folder path (e.g., projets or work/meetings)
  3. Press Enter

Method 2: Keyboard Shortcut

  • Press Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+F to open folder dialog

Method 3: Create with Note

  • When creating a note, include folder in path: folder/note.md
  • The folder is created automatically

Folder Structure

Organize notes hierarchically:

notes/
├── daily/
│   └── 2025/
│       └── 11/
│           └── 11.md
├── projets/
│   ├── backend/
│   │   ├── api-design.md
│   │   └── database.md
│   └── frontend/
│       └── ui-components.md
└── meetings/
    └── weekly-standup.md

Moving Notes Between Folders

Drag and drop notes in the file tree:

  1. Click and hold a note
  2. Drag to target folder
  3. Release to move

Or rename with path:

  1. Edit the note's front matter
  2. Change the path in the filename
  3. Save the note

Favorites System

Star important notes and folders for quick access.

Adding to Favorites

  1. Hover over any note or folder in the sidebar
  2. Click the ★ icon that appears
  3. The item is added to "⭐ Favoris" section

Accessing Favorites

  • Sidebar section: All favorites appear under "⭐ Favoris"
  • Expandable folders: Click folders to see their contents
  • Quick access: Always visible at top of sidebar

Managing Favorites

  • Remove from favorites: Click the ★ icon again
  • Persistence: Favorites are saved to .favorites.json
  • Sync: Copy .favorites.json to sync across machines

Slash Commands

Insert common Markdown elements quickly with / commands.

Using Slash Commands

  1. Type / at the start of a line in the editor
  2. Command palette appears with available commands
  3. Filter by typing: e.g., /h1, /table
  4. Select command: Use ↑/↓ and Enter or Tab
  5. Snippet inserted at cursor position

Available Commands

Command Description Output
/h1 Heading 1 # Heading
/h2 Heading 2 ## Heading
/h3 Heading 3 ### Heading
/list Bullet list - Item
/date Current date 2025-11-11
/link Link [text](url)
/bold Bold text **bold**
/italic Italic text *italic*
/code Inline code `code`
/codeblock Code block ```\ncode\n```
/quote Blockquote > Quote
/hr Horizontal rule ---
/table Table Full table template

Custom Commands

Slash commands are defined in frontend/src/editor.js.

Add your own by editing the slashCommands array:

{ 
  trigger: '/mycommand', 
  description: 'My custom command',
  template: 'Your template here'
}

Customization & Settings

Access settings by clicking ⚙️ Paramètres in the sidebar.

Theme Selection

Choose from 8 dark themes:

  1. Material Dark (default) - Professional Material Design
  2. Monokai Dark - Classic Monokai colors
  3. Dracula - Elegant purple and cyan
  4. One Dark - Popular Atom theme
  5. Solarized Dark - Scientifically optimized
  6. Nord - Arctic blue tones
  7. Catppuccin - Pastel comfort palette
  8. Everforest - Nature-inspired greens

Changing theme:

  1. Open Settings (⚙️)
  2. Select "Thèmes" tab
  3. Click your preferred theme
  4. Theme applies instantly

Font Customization

Font Family

Choose from 8 fonts:

  • JetBrains Mono (default) - Designed for IDEs
  • Fira Code - Popular with ligatures
  • Inter - Clean and professional
  • Poppins - Modern sans-serif
  • Public Sans - Government-approved readability
  • Cascadia Code - Microsoft's coding font
  • Source Code Pro - Adobe's classic
  • Sans-serif - System fallback

Font Size

Choose from 4 sizes:

  • Small (14px) - Compact view
  • Medium (16px) - Default comfortable reading
  • Large (18px) - Enhanced readability
  • X-Large (20px) - Maximum comfort

Changing font/size:

  1. Open Settings (⚙️)
  2. Select "Polices" tab
  3. Choose font family and size
  4. Changes apply instantly

Editor Settings

Vim Mode

Enable full Vim keybindings in the editor:

Features:

  • hjkl navigation
  • Insert, Normal, and Visual modes
  • All standard Vim commands (dd, yy, p, u, etc.)
  • Vim motions (w, b, $, 0, gg, G, etc.)
  • Search with / and ?
  • Command mode with :

Enabling Vim mode:

  1. Open Settings (⚙️)
  2. Select "Éditeur" tab
  3. Toggle "Mode Vim" switch
  4. Editor reloads with Vim keybindings

Note: Requires @replit/codemirror-vim package (installed with npm install).

Keyboard Shortcuts

Global shortcuts work anywhere in the application (except when typing in input fields).

Complete Shortcut List

Shortcut Action Context
Ctrl/Cmd+K Open search modal Global
Ctrl/Cmd+S Save current note Editor
Ctrl/Cmd+D Open today's daily note Global
Ctrl/Cmd+N Create new note Global
Ctrl/Cmd+H Go to homepage Global
Ctrl/Cmd+B Toggle sidebar Global
Ctrl/Cmd+, Open settings Global
Ctrl/Cmd+P Toggle preview pane Editor
Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+F Create new folder Global
Escape Close any modal Modals

Platform Notes

  • macOS: Use Cmd (⌘)
  • Windows/Linux/FreeBSD: Use Ctrl

Viewing Shortcuts

Access the shortcuts reference:

  • Press Ctrl/Cmd+K to see search shortcuts
  • Click ℹ️ button in sidebar for the About page
  • See full list with descriptions and contexts

Complete documentation: docs/KEYBOARD_SHORTCUTS.md

Tips & Tricks

Productivity Tips

  1. Daily notes habit: Press Ctrl/Cmd+D every morning
  2. Tag consistently: Use consistent tags for better search
  3. Favorite often: Star notes you reference frequently
  4. Use slash commands: Speed up formatting with /
  5. Master search syntax: Learn tag:, title:, path: filters
  6. Keyboard-driven: Use shortcuts instead of clicking

Organization Best Practices

  1. Folder structure: Organize by project/area, not date
  2. Daily notes separate: Keep daily notes in daily/YYYY/MM/ structure
  3. Meaningful names: Use descriptive filenames
  4. Consistent tags: Create a tag system and stick to it
  5. Regular cleanup: Archive or delete outdated notes

Advanced Workflows

Meeting Notes Template

  1. Create folder: meetings/
  2. Use consistent naming: YYYY-MM-DD-meeting-name.md
  3. Tag with participants: tag:john tag:sarah
  4. Link to related notes in content

Project Documentation

  1. Folder per project: projets/project-name/
  2. Index note: index.md with links to all docs
  3. Subfolders: backend/, frontend/, design/
  4. Cross-reference with [link](../other-project/doc.md)

Knowledge Base

  1. Main categories as folders
  2. Index notes with tables of contents
  3. Liberal use of tags for cross-cutting topics
  4. Regular review and updates

Vim Mode Tips

If using Vim mode:

  • i to enter insert mode
  • Esc to return to normal mode
  • :w to save (or Ctrl/Cmd+S)
  • dd to delete line
  • yy to copy line
  • /search to find text

Backup Strategy

  1. Git repository: Initialize Git in notes/ directory
  2. Automated commits: Cron job to commit changes daily
  3. Remote backup: Push to GitHub/GitLab
  4. Export via API: Use REST API to backup programmatically

Example backup script:

#!/bin/bash
cd ~/project-notes/notes
git add .
git commit -m "Auto backup $(date)"
git push origin main

Need Help?

Last updated: November 11, 2025