---
title: "Glossary · tnotes"
description: "Short definitions of note-taking terms: Backlink, Daily note, Front matter, Markdown, Plain-text notes, Tag (#tag), TUI (text-based user interface), Vault, Wiki"
canonical: https://tnotes.app/glossary
---

# \# Glossary

The vocabulary of plain-text note-taking, one page per term, each ending with how tnotes handles it.

-   [BacklinkA backlink is an inbound link: the list of notes that link to the note you are reading, computed by the tool rather than written by hand.](/glossary/backlink)
-   [Daily noteA daily note is one note per calendar day, named by date (2026-09-22), used as a running log and inbox from which durable notes are linked out.](/glossary/daily-note)
-   [Front matterFront matter is a metadata block at the top of a Markdown file, usually YAML between two --- lines, holding fields like title, date and tags.](/glossary/frontmatter)
-   [MarkdownMarkdown is a plain-text formatting syntax (# headings, - lists, \*\*bold\*\*) designed to be readable as-is and convertible to HTML.](/glossary/markdown)
-   [Plain-text notesPlain-text notes are notes stored as ordinary text files on disk, readable and editable by any program, with no database or proprietary container.](/glossary/plain-text-notes)
-   [Tag (#tag)A tag is a keyword attached to a note, usually written inline as #word, that groups notes across folders and can be filtered on.](/glossary/tag)
-   [TUI (text-based user interface)A TUI is a full-screen program that draws panes, lists and editors with characters inside a terminal, taking keyboard and often mouse input.](/glossary/tui)
-   [VaultA vault is the folder on disk that holds a set of notes; the tool indexes it, links resolve inside it, and its subfolders are the note hierarchy.](/glossary/vault)
-   [WikilinkA wikilink is a link written as \[\[Page title\]\] that points to another note by its title instead of a URL or file path.](/glossary/wikilink)
-   [ZettelkastenA Zettelkasten is a note system of small, single-idea notes, each with a fixed address, connected by explicit links rather than filed under topics.](/glossary/zettelkasten)