Daily-notes.nvim is a Neovim plugin designed for effortless time-based journaling and planning. It enables users to quickly create and access daily, weekly, monthly, or quarterly notes based on the current date, using fuzzy finding for easy navigation. The plugin supports custom date formats, integrates with the Telescope fuzzy finder, and offers features like opening notes for specific dates or creating notes if they don't exist. It aims to provide a streamlined and efficient workflow for maintaining a structured journal or planner within Neovim.
Francis Davies has introduced "daily-notes.nvim," a Neovim plugin designed to streamline the creation, navigation, and management of daily journal entries and planning documents. This plugin leverages the power of fuzzy finding to quickly locate and open notes based on date, even with partial or imprecise date input. It provides a configurable framework for users to define their preferred daily notes file format and storage location. This means users are not locked into a specific directory structure or naming convention, offering flexibility in integrating the plugin with existing workflows.
The plugin offers commands to open today's note, yesterday's note, tomorrow's note, or a note for any specific date. The fuzzy finding functionality comes into play when searching for notes, making it easy to access past entries even if the exact date is forgotten. Users can configure the default template for new daily notes, ensuring consistency and pre-populating information as needed. This templating system could incorporate things like headings, checklists, or any other desired boilerplate text.
Beyond simple note creation and retrieval, daily-notes.nvim also integrates with the larger Neovim ecosystem. It leverages the telescope.nvim fuzzy finder for its search functionality, providing a smooth and familiar user experience for those already using this popular plugin. The integration with telescope.nvim enhances the search experience by providing real-time feedback and filtering as the user types. This facilitates quick navigation through a potentially large collection of daily notes. The plugin aims to be lightweight and fast, minimizing overhead and ensuring a responsive editing experience. It is written in Lua, taking advantage of Neovim's modern scripting capabilities.
Summary of Comments ( 17 )
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=42988946
Hacker News users generally praised the daily-notes.nvim plugin for its simplicity and speed compared to alternatives like Obsidian. Several commenters appreciated its integration with Telescope.nvim for fuzzy finding. Some suggested improvements, including the ability to specify a custom date format and integration with the calendar.vim plugin. One commenter pointed out the potential benefit of using a simpler file naming convention for improved compatibility with other tools. Another user mentioned using a similar setup with plain Vim and expressed interest in trying the plugin. There was some discussion on the benefits of plain text notes versus a database-driven system, with proponents of plain text highlighting its flexibility and longevity.
The Hacker News post for "Show HN: Daily-notes.nvim – fuzzy time journal and planning plugin" generated a moderate amount of discussion, with several commenters expressing interest and offering their perspectives.
One of the more compelling comments highlights the overlap in functionality with the popular Obsidian note-taking application, particularly its daily notes feature. The commenter appreciates the minimalist approach of the Neovim plugin compared to Obsidian, preferring the lightweight nature and tight integration with their existing Neovim setup. This sentiment is echoed by other users who value a streamlined journaling experience within their coding environment.
Another commenter points out the existing landscape of daily notes plugins for Neovim, questioning the necessity of another similar tool. They acknowledge the clean interface and functionality but wonder about the plugin's differentiating features compared to established alternatives. This prompts the original author (OP) to respond, explaining their motivation for creating the plugin stemmed from dissatisfaction with the existing options, specifically citing limitations in customizability and the desire for a more focused, less cluttered interface. The OP clarifies that their plugin prioritizes simplicity and rapid access to daily notes, emphasizing the fuzzy search feature for quickly jumping to specific dates.
Further discussion revolves around specific features and potential improvements. One user suggests the inclusion of week or month notes, expanding the scope beyond daily entries. Another commenter inquires about the plugin's handling of note creation – whether it creates notes automatically or requires manual initiation. The OP responds confirming manual note creation, explaining their rationale for avoiding potentially unwanted file generation.
The overall tone of the comments is positive, with several users expressing their intent to try the plugin. While some question the need for another daily notes plugin, many appreciate the minimalist approach and tight Neovim integration, showcasing a preference for lightweight, focused tools within their development workflow. The discussion reveals a diverse set of user needs and preferences within the note-taking space, with some prioritizing feature richness while others value simplicity and speed.