--- title: "tnotes for vim users · tnotes" description: "Terminal Markdown notes for vim users - j/k, gg/G, i/a/o, u and dot-repeat in a TUI, with plain files you can still open in real vim any time." canonical: https://tnotes.app/for/vim-users --- [use cases](/for) / vim-users # tnotes for vim users Terminal Markdown notes for vim users - j/k, gg/G, i/a/o, u and dot-repeat in a TUI, with plain files you can still open in real vim any time. ## The problem You already have an editor. What vim does not give you is the layer around the files: a list of notes sorted by modification time, a filter by `#tag`, a completion popup after `[[`, a panel that shows what links to the note you are in. vimwiki adds a personal wiki inside vim, with its own default syntax and `.wiki` extension unless you switch it to Markdown in your vimrc; that is a good fit if you want everything inside one process, less so if other tools need to read the notes unchanged. tnotes is a separate program with a list, a folder tree and an editor whose keys come from a vim mode, and it stores nothing but `.md` files. When the editing gets heavy, you open the same file in vim. ## Setup in three steps 1. Install (`brew install 0x1ocean/tnotes/tnotes`, `cargo install tnotes`, or a tarball; see [getting started](/docs/getting-started)) and run `tnotes` once to pick a notes directory. 2. Switch the editor to vim keys. Either press `F2` and change it on the settings page, or write it yourself: ``` roots = ["~/notes"] [editor] keys = "vim" autosave_ms = 500 cursor = "block" ``` 3. Learn one key that vim does not have: `esc` in normal mode leaves the editor and returns to the list. Everything else in the list is `j`/`k`. ## Daily workflow The list is the home screen and it already speaks vim: `j`/`k` move, `gg`/`G` jump to top and bottom, `/` filters, `l` or `enter` opens the selected note and pins its tab, `q` quits from the list or tree. `d` trashes a note, `u` undoes the trash, `m` moves it to a folder, `s` changes the sort. In the tree, `h` goes back to the list and `l` filters the list to the selected folder. Inside a note, the vim mode documented in the [keys page](/docs/keys) covers: - entering insert with `i` `a` `I` `A` `o` `O`; - `esc` back to normal, and `esc` again back to the list; - `u` undo, `ctrl+r` redo, `.` repeat; - `/` search in the note, `n` and `N` to step through matches. A typical capture looks like this: `ctrl+t` for a new note, type the title on the first line (the file is named after it), `o` to open a line below, write, `esc` `esc` to drop back to the list. There is no `:w`; the note is written after `autosave_ms` of idle time, and the save is atomic. Links and tags do not need commands. Type `[[` and `tab` to complete a title from the vault, `#` and `tab` for a tag. `alt+enter` on a link follows it and creates the target if it does not exist; `alt+enter` on a line without a link opens the backlinks overlay. Lists continue on `enter`, and `tab` / `shift+tab` nest or un-nest a list item. When a note needs a real editor, open it in vim from another tmux pane. tnotes watches the directory: a clean tab reloads when vim writes the file, and the cursor stays where it was. If the tnotes tab had unsaved edits, they are kept and a `name (conflict