\input texinfo @c -*- texinfo -*- @c %**start of header @setfilename org-roam.info @settitle Org-roam User Manual @documentencoding UTF-8 @documentlanguage en @c %**end of header @copying @quotation Copyright (C) 2020-2025 Jethro Kuan You can redistribute this document and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This document is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE@. See the GNU General Public License for more details. @end quotation @end copying @dircategory Emacs @direntry * Org-roam: (org-roam). Roam Research for Emacs. @end direntry @finalout @titlepage @title Org-roam User Manual @subtitle for version 2.3.1 @author Jethro Kuan @page @vskip 0pt plus 1filll @insertcopying @end titlepage @ifnottex @node Top @top Org-roam User Manual @noindent This manual is for Org-roam version 2.3.1. @quotation Copyright (C) 2020-2025 Jethro Kuan You can redistribute this document and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version. This document is distributed in the hope that it will be useful, but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE@. See the GNU General Public License for more details. @end quotation @end ifnottex @menu * Introduction:: * Target Audience:: * A Brief Introduction to the Zettelkasten Method:: * Installation:: * Getting Started:: * Customizing Node Caching:: * The Org-roam Buffer:: * Node Properties:: * Citations:: * Completion:: * Encryption:: * The Templating System:: * Extensions:: * Performance Optimization:: * The Org-mode Ecosystem:: * FAQ:: * Developer's Guide to Org-roam:: * Appendix:: * Keystroke Index:: * Command Index:: * Function Index:: * Variable Index:: @detailmenu --- The Detailed Node Listing --- Installation * Installing from MELPA:: * Installing from Source:: Getting Started * The Org-roam Node:: * Links between Nodes:: * Setting up Org-roam:: * Creating and Linking Nodes:: * Customizing Node Completions:: Customizing Node Caching * How to cache:: * What to cache:: * When to cache:: The Org-roam Buffer * Navigating the Org-roam Buffer:: * Configuring what is displayed in the buffer:: * Configuring the Org-roam buffer display:: * Styling the Org-roam buffer:: Node Properties * Standard Org properties:: * Titles and Aliases:: * Tags:: * Refs:: Citations * Using the Cached Information:: Completion * Completing within Link Brackets:: * Completing anywhere:: The Templating System * Template Walkthrough:: * Org-roam Template Expansion:: Extensions * org-roam-protocol:: * org-roam-graph:: * org-roam-dailies:: * org-roam-export:: org-roam-protocol * Installation: Installation (1). * The roam-node protocol:: * The roam-ref protocol:: Installation * Linux:: * Mac OS:: * Windows:: org-roam-graph * Graph Options:: org-roam-dailies * Configuration:: * Usage:: Performance Optimization * Garbage Collection:: The Org-mode Ecosystem * Browsing History with winner-mode:: * Versioning Notes:: * Full-text search with Deft:: * Org-journal:: * Org-download:: * mathpix.el: mathpixel. * Org-noter / Interleave:: * Bibliography:: * Spaced Repetition:: FAQ * How do I have more than one Org-roam directory?:: * How do I create a note whose title already matches one of the candidates?:: * How can I stop Org-roam from creating IDs everywhere?:: * How do I migrate from Roam Research?:: * How to migrate from Org-roam v1?:: * How do I publish my notes with an Internet-friendly graph?:: How do I publish my notes with an Internet-friendly graph? * Configure org-mode for publishing:: * Overriding the default link creation function:: * Copying the generated file to the export directory:: Developer's Guide to Org-roam * Org-roam's Design Principle:: * Building Extensions and Advanced Customization of Org-roam:: Building Extensions and Advanced Customization of Org-roam * Accessing the Database:: * Accessing and Modifying Nodes:: * Extending the Capture System:: Appendix * Note-taking Workflows:: * Ecosystem:: @end detailmenu @end menu @node Introduction @chapter Introduction Org-roam is a tool for networked thought. It reproduces some of @uref{https://roamresearch.com/, Roam Research's} @footnote{To understand more about Roam, a collection of links are available in @ref{Note-taking Workflows}.} key features within @uref{https://orgmode.org/, Org-mode}. Org-roam allows for effortless non-hierarchical note-taking: with Org-roam, notes flow naturally, making note-taking fun and easy. Org-roam augments the Org-mode syntax, and will work for anyone already using Org-mode for their personal wiki. Org-roam leverages the mature ecosystem around Org-mode. For example, it has first-class support for @uref{https://github.com/jkitchin/org-ref, org-ref} for citation management, and is able to piggyback off Org's excellent @LaTeX{} and source-block evaluation capabilities. Org-roam provides these benefits over other tooling: @itemize @item @strong{Privacy and Security:} Your personal wiki belongs only to you, entirely offline and in your control. Encrypt your notes with GPG@. @item @strong{Longevity of Plain Text:} Unlike web solutions like Roam Research, the notes are first and foremost plain Org-mode files -- Org-roam simply builds an auxiliary database to give the personal wiki superpowers. Having your notes in plain-text is crucial for the longevity of your wiki. Never have to worry about proprietary web solutions being taken down. The notes are still functional even if Org-roam ceases to exist. @item @strong{Free and Open Source:} Org-roam is free and open-source, which means that if you feel unhappy with any part of Org-roam, you may choose to extend Org-roam, or open a pull request. @item @strong{Leverage the Org-mode ecosystem:} Over the decades, Emacs and Org-mode has developed into a mature system for plain-text organization. Building upon Org-mode already puts Org-roam light-years ahead of many other solutions. @item @strong{Built on Emacs:} Emacs is also a fantastic interface for editing text, and Org-roam inherits many of the powerful text-navigation and editing packages available to Emacs. @end itemize @node Target Audience @chapter Target Audience Org-roam is a tool that will appear unfriendly to anyone unfamiliar with Emacs and Org-mode, but it is also extremely powerful to those willing to put effort in mastering the intricacies. Org-roam stands on the shoulders of giants. Emacs was first created in 1976, and remains the tool of choice for many for editing text and designing textual interfaces. The malleability of Emacs allowed the creation of Org-mode, an all-purpose plain-text system for maintaining TODO lists, planning projects, and authoring documents. Both of these tools are incredibly vast and require significant time investment to master. Org-roam assumes only basic familiarity with these tools. It is not difficult to get up and running with basic text-editing functionality, but one will only fully appreciate the power of building Roam functionality into Emacs and Org-mode when the usage of these tools become more advanced. One key advantage to Org-roam is that building on top of Emacs gives it malleability. This is especially important for note-taking workflows. It is our belief that note-taking workflows are extremely personal, and there is no one tool that's perfect for you. Org-mode and Org-roam allows you to discover what works for you, and build that perfect tool for yourself. If you are new to the software, and choose to take this leap of faith, I hope you find yourself equally entranced as Neal Stephenson was. @quotation Emacs outshines all other editing software in approximately the same way that the noonday sun does the stars. It is not just bigger and brighter; it simply makes everything else vanish. – Neal Stephenson, In the Beginning was the Command Line (1998) @end quotation @node A Brief Introduction to the Zettelkasten Method @chapter A Brief Introduction to the Zettelkasten Method Org-roam provides utilities for maintaining a digital slip-box. This section aims to provide a brief introduction to the ``slip-box'', or ``Zettelkasten'' method. By providing some background on the method, we hope that the design decisions of Org-roam will become clear, and that will aid in using Org-roam appropriately. In this section we will introduce terms commonly used within the Zettelkasten community and the Org-roam forums. The Zettelkasten is a personal tool for thinking and writing. It places heavy emphasis on connecting ideas, building up a web of thought. Hence, it is well suited for knowledge workers and intellectual tasks, such as conducting research. The Zettelkasten can act as a research partner, where conversations with it may produce new and surprising lines of thought. This method is attributed to German sociologist Niklas Luhmann, who using the method had produced volumes of written works. Luhmann's slip-box was simply a box of cards. These cards are small -- often only large enough to fit a single concept. The size limitation encourages ideas to be broken down into individual concepts. These ideas are explicitly linked together. The breakdown of ideas encourages tangential exploration of ideas, increasing the surface for thought. Making linking explicit between notes also encourages one to think about the connections between concepts. At the corner of each note, Luhmann ascribed each note with an ordered ID, allowing him to link and jump between notes. In Org-roam, we simply use hyperlinks. Org-roam is the slip-box, digitalized in Org-mode. Every zettel (card) is a plain-text, Org-mode file. In the same way one would maintain a paper slip-box, Org-roam makes it easy to create new zettels, pre-filling boilerplate content using a powerful templating system. @strong{Fleeting notes} A slip-box requires a method for quickly capturing ideas. These are called @strong{fleeting notes}: they are simple reminders of information or ideas that will need to be processed later on, or trashed. This is typically accomplished using @code{org-capture} (see @ref{Capture,,,org,}), or using Org-roam's daily notes functionality (see @ref{org-roam-dailies}). This provides a central inbox for collecting thoughts, to be processed later into permanent notes. @strong{Permanent notes} Permanent notes are further split into two categories: @strong{literature notes} and @strong{concept notes}. Literature notes can be brief annotations on a particular source (e.g. book, website or paper), that you'd like to access later on. Concept notes require much more care in authoring: they need to be self-explanatory and detailed. Org-roam's templating system supports the addition of different templates to facilitate the creation of these notes. For further reading on the Zettelkasten method, ``How to Take Smart Notes'' by Sonke Ahrens is a decent guide. @node Installation @chapter Installation Org-roam can be installed using Emacs' package manager or manually from its development repository. @menu * Installing from MELPA:: * Installing from Source:: @end menu @node Installing from MELPA @section Installing from MELPA Org-roam is available from Melpa and Melpa-Stable. If you haven't used Emacs' package manager before, you may familiarize yourself with it by reading the documentation in the Emacs manual, see @ref{Packages,,,emacs,}. Then, add one of the archives to @samp{package-archives}: @itemize @item To use Melpa: @end itemize @lisp (require 'package) (add-to-list 'package-archives '("melpa" . "http://melpa.org/packages/") t) @end lisp @itemize @item To use Melpa-Stable: @end itemize @lisp (require 'package) (add-to-list 'package-archives '("melpa-stable" . "http://stable.melpa.org/packages/") t) @end lisp Org-roam also depends on a recent version of Org, which can be obtained in Org's package repository (see @ref{Installation,,,org,}). Once you have done that, you can install Org-roam and its dependencies using: @example M-x package-install RET org-roam RET @end example @node Installing from Source @section Installing from Source You may install Org-roam directly from the repository on @uref{https://github.com/org-roam/org-roam, GitHub} if you like. This will give you access to the latest version hours or days before it appears on MELPA, and months (or more) before it is added to the Debian or Ubuntu repositories. This will also give you access to various developmental branches that may be available. Note, however, that development version, and especially any feature branches, may not always be in working order. You'll need to be prepared to do some debugging, or to manually roll-back to working versions, if you install from GitHub. Installing from GitHub requires that you clone the repository: @example git clone https://github.com/org-roam/org-roam.git /path/to/org/roam @end example where @code{./path/to/org/roam} is the location you will store your copy of the code. Next, you need to add this location to your load path, and @code{require} the Org-roam library. Add the following code to your @code{.emacs}: @lisp (add-to-list 'load-path "/path/to/org/roam") (require 'org-roam) @end lisp You now have Org-roam installed. However, you don't necessarily have the dependencies that it requires. These include: @itemize @item dash @item f @item s @item org @item emacsql @item magit-section @end itemize You can install this manually as well, or get the latest version from MELPA@. You may wish to use @uref{https://github.com/jwiegley/use-package, use-package}, @uref{https://github.com/raxod502/straight.el, straight.el} to help manage this. If you would like to install the manual for access from Emacs' built-in Info system, you'll need to compile the .texi source file, and install it in an appropriate location. To compile the .texi source file, from a terminal navigate to the @code{/doc} subdirectory of the Org-roam repository, and run the following: @example make infodir=/path/to/my/info/files install-info @end example Where @code{/path/to/my/info/files} is the location where you keep info files. This target directory needs to be stored in the variable `Info-default-directory-list`. If you aren't using one of the default info locations, you can configure this with the following in your @code{.emacs} file: @lisp (require 'info) (add-to-list 'Info-default-directory-list "/path/to/my/info/files") @end lisp You can also use one of the default locations, such as: @itemize @item @emph{usr/local/share/info} @item @emph{usr/share/info} @item @emph{usr/local/share/info} @end itemize If you do this, you'll need to make sure you have write-access to that location, or run the above @code{make} command as root. Now that the info file is ready, you need to add it to the corresponding @code{dir} file: @example install-info /path/to/my/info/files/org-roam.info /path/to/my/info/files/dir @end example @node Getting Started @chapter Getting Started @menu * The Org-roam Node:: * Links between Nodes:: * Setting up Org-roam:: * Creating and Linking Nodes:: * Customizing Node Completions:: @end menu @node The Org-roam Node @section The Org-roam Node We first begin with some terminology we'll use throughout the manual. We term the basic denomination in Org-roam a node. We define a node as follows: @quotation A node is any headline or top level file with an ID@. @end quotation For example, with this example file content: @example :PROPERTIES: :ID: foo :END: #+title: Foo * Bar :PROPERTIES: :ID: bar :END: @end example We create two nodes: @enumerate @item A file node ``Foo'' with id @code{foo}. @item A headline node ``Bar'' with id @code{bar}. @end enumerate Headlines without IDs will not be considered Org-roam nodes. Org IDs can be added to files or headlines via the interactive command @code{M-x org-id-get-create}. @node Links between Nodes @section Links between Nodes We link between nodes using Org's standard ID link (e.g. @code{id:foo}). While only ID links will be considered during the computation of links between nodes, Org-roam caches all other links in the documents for external use. @node Setting up Org-roam @section Setting up Org-roam Org-roam's capabilities stem from its aggressive caching: it crawls all files within @code{org-roam-directory}, and maintains a cache of all links and nodes. To start using Org-roam, pick a location to store the Org-roam files. The directory that will contain your notes is specified by the variable @code{org-roam-directory}. Org-roam searches recursively within @code{org-roam-directory} for notes. This variable needs to be set before any calls to Org-roam functions. For this tutorial, create an empty directory, and set @code{org-roam-directory}: @lisp (make-directory "~/org-roam") (setq org-roam-directory (file-truename "~/org-roam")) @end lisp The @code{file-truename} function is only necessary when you use symbolic links inside @code{org-roam-directory}: Org-roam does not resolve symbolic links. One can however instruct Emacs to always resolve symlinks, at a performance cost: @lisp (setq find-file-visit-truename t) @end lisp Next, we setup Org-roam to run functions on file changes to maintain cache consistency. This is achieved by running @code{M-x org-roam-db-autosync-mode}. To ensure that Org-roam is available on startup, place this in your Emacs configuration: @lisp (org-roam-db-autosync-mode) @end lisp To build the cache manually, run @code{M-x org-roam-db-sync}. Cache builds may take a while the first time, but subsequent builds are often instantaneous because they only reprocess modified files. @node Creating and Linking Nodes @section Creating and Linking Nodes Org-roam makes it easy to create notes and link them together. There are 2 main functions for creating nodes: @itemize @item @code{org-roam-node-insert}: creates a node if it does not exist, and inserts a link to the node at point. @item @code{org-roam-node-find}: creates a node if it does not exist, and visits the node. @item @code{org-roam-capture}: creates a node if it does not exist, and restores the current window configuration upon completion. @end itemize Let's first try @code{org-roam-node-find}. Calling @code{M-x org-roam-node-find} will show a list of titles for nodes that reside in @code{org-roam-directory}. It should show nothing right now, since there are no notes in the directory. Enter the title of the note you wish to create, and press @code{RET}. This begins the note creation process. This process uses @code{org-capture}'s templating system, and can be customized (see @ref{The Templating System}). Using the default template, pressing @code{C-c C-c} finishes the note capture. Now that we have a node, we can try inserting a link to the node using @code{M-x org-roam-node-insert}. This brings up the list of nodes, which should contain the node you just created. Selecting the node will insert an @code{id:} link to the node. If you instead entered a title that does not exist, you will once again be brought through the node creation process. One can also conveniently insert links via the completion-at-point functions Org-roam provides (see @ref{Completion}). @node Customizing Node Completions @section Customizing Node Completions Node selection is achieved via the @code{completing-read} interface, typically through @code{org-roam-node-read}. The presentation of these nodes are governed by @code{org-roam-node-display-template}. @itemize @item Variable: org-roam-node-display-template Configures display formatting for Org-roam node. Patterns of form ``$@{field-name:length@}'' are interpolated based on the current node. Each ``field-name'' is replaced with the return value of each corresponding accessor function for org-roam-node, e.g. ``$@{title@}'' will be interpolated by the result of org-roam-node-title. You can also define custom accessors using cl-defmethod. For example, you can define: (cl-defmethod org-roam-node-my-title ((node org-roam-node)) (concat ``My '' (org-roam-node-title node))) and then reference it here or in the capture templates as ``$@{my-title@}''. ``length'' is an optional specifier and declares how many characters can be used to display the value of the corresponding field. If it's not specified, the field will be inserted as is, i.e. it won't be aligned nor trimmed. If it's an integer, the field will be aligned accordingly and all the exceeding characters will be trimmed out. If it's ``*'', the field will use as many characters as possible and will be aligned accordingly. A closure can also be assigned to this variable in which case the closure is evaluated and the return value is used as the template. The closure must evaluate to a valid template string. @end itemize If you're using a vertical completion framework, such as Ivy and Selectrum, Org-roam supports the generation of an aligned, tabular completion interface. For example, to include a column for tags up to 10 character widths wide, one can set @code{org-roam-node-display-template} as such: @lisp (setq org-roam-node-display-template (concat "$@{title:*@} " (propertize "$@{tags:10@}" 'face 'org-tag))) @end lisp @node Customizing Node Caching @chapter Customizing Node Caching @menu * How to cache:: * What to cache:: * When to cache:: @end menu @node How to cache @section How to cache Org-roam uses a SQLite database to perform caching. This integration is managed by the @uref{https://github.com/magit/emacsql, emacsql} library. It should ``just work''. @node What to cache @section What to cache By default, all nodes (any headline or file with an ID) are cached by Org-roam. There are instances where you may want to have headlines with ID, but not have them cached by Org-roam. To exclude a headline from the Org-roam database, set the @code{ROAM_EXCLUDE} property to a non-nil value. For example: @example * Foo :PROPERTIES: :ID: foo :ROAM_EXCLUDE: t :END: @end example One can also set @code{org-roam-db-node-include-function}. For example, to exclude all headlines with the @code{ATTACH} tag from the Org-roam database, one can set: @lisp (setq org-roam-db-node-include-function (lambda () (not (member "ATTACH" (org-get-tags))))) @end lisp Org-roam relied on the obtained Org AST for the buffer to parse links. However, links appearing in some places (e.g. within property drawers) are not considered by the Org AST to be links. Therefore, Org-roam takes special care of additionally trying to process these links. Use @code{org-roam-db-extra-links-elements} to specify which additional Org AST element types to consider. @itemize @item Variable: org-roam-db-extra-links-elements The list of Org element types to include for parsing by Org-roam. By default, when parsing Org's AST, links within keywords and property drawers are not parsed as links. Sometimes however, it is desirable to parse and cache these links (e.g. hiding links in a property drawer). @end itemize Additionally, one may want to ignore certain keys from being excluded within property drawers. For example, we would not want @code{ROAM_REFS} links to be self-referential. Hence, to exclude specific keys, we use @code{org-roam-db-extra-links-exclude-keys}. @itemize @item Variable: org-roam-db-extra-links-exclude-keys Keys to ignore when mapping over links. The car of the association list is the Org element type (e.g. keyword). The cdr is a list of case-insensitive strings to exclude from being treated as links. @end itemize @node When to cache @section When to cache By default, Org-roam is eager in caching: each time an Org-roam file is modified and saved, it updates the database for the corresponding file. This keeps the database up-to-date, causing the least surprise when using the interactive commands. However, depending on how large your Org files are, database updating can be a slow operation. You can disable the automatic updating of the database by setting @code{org-roam-db-update-on-save} to @code{nil}. @itemize @item Variable: org-roam-db-update-on-save @end itemize If t, update the Org-roam database upon saving the file. Disable this if your files are large and updating the database is slow. @node The Org-roam Buffer @chapter The Org-roam Buffer Org-roam provides the Org-roam buffer: an interface to view relationships with other notes (backlinks, reference links, unlinked references etc.). There are two main commands to use here: @itemize @item @code{org-roam-buffer-toggle}: Launch an Org-roam buffer that tracks the node currently at point. This means that the content of the buffer changes as the point is moved, if necessary. @item @code{org-roam-buffer-display-dedicated}: Launch an Org-roam buffer for a specific node without visiting its file. Unlike @code{org-roam-buffer-toggle} you can have multiple such buffers and their content won't be automatically replaced with a new node at point. @end itemize To bring up a buffer that tracks the current node at point, call @code{M-x org-roam-buffer-toggle}. @itemize @item Function: org-roam-buffer-toggle Toggle display of the @code{org-roam-buffer}. @end itemize To bring up a buffer that's dedicated for a specific node, call @code{M-x org-roam-buffer-display-dedicated}. @itemize @item Function: org-roam-buffer-display-dedicated Launch node dedicated Org-roam buffer without visiting the node itself. @end itemize @menu * Navigating the Org-roam Buffer:: * Configuring what is displayed in the buffer:: * Configuring the Org-roam buffer display:: * Styling the Org-roam buffer:: @end menu @node Navigating the Org-roam Buffer @section Navigating the Org-roam Buffer The Org-roam buffer uses @code{magit-section}, making the typical @code{magit-section} keybindings available. Here are several of the more useful ones: @itemize @item @code{M-@{N@}}: @code{magit-section-show-level-@{N@}-all} @item @code{n}: @code{magit-section-forward} @item @code{}: @code{magit-section-toggle} @item @code{}: @code{org-roam-buffer-visit-thing} @end itemize @code{org-roam-buffer-visit-thing} is a placeholder command, that is replaced by section-specific commands such as @code{org-roam-node-visit}. @node Configuring what is displayed in the buffer @section Configuring what is displayed in the buffer There are currently 3 provided widget types: @table @asis @item Backlinks View (preview of) nodes that link to this node @item Reference Links Nodes that reference this node (see @ref{Refs}) @item Unlinked references View nodes that contain text that match the nodes title/alias but are not linked @end table To configure what sections are displayed in the buffer, set @code{org-roam-mode-sections}. @lisp (setq org-roam-mode-sections (list #'org-roam-backlinks-section #'org-roam-reflinks-section ;; #'org-roam-unlinked-references-section )) @end lisp Note that computing unlinked references may be slow, and has not been added in by default. For each section function, you can pass args along to modify its behaviour. For example, if you want to render unique sources for backlinks (and also keep rendering reference links), set @code{org-roam-mode-sections} as follows: @lisp (setq org-roam-mode-sections '((org-roam-backlinks-section :unique t) org-roam-reflinks-section)) @end lisp The backlinks section @code{org-roam-backlinks-section} also supports a predicate to filter backlinks, @code{:show-backlink-p}. This can be used as follows: @lisp (defun my-org-roam-show-backlink-p (backlink) (not (member "daily" (org-roam-node-tags (org-roam-backlink-source-node backlink))))) (setq org-roam-mode-sections '((org-roam-backlinks-section :unique t :show-backlink-p my-org-roam-show-backlink-p) org-roam-reflinks-section)) @end lisp @node Configuring the Org-roam buffer display @section Configuring the Org-roam buffer display Org-roam does not control how the pop-up buffer is displayed: this is left to the user. The author's recommended configuration is as follows: @lisp (add-to-list 'display-buffer-alist '("\\*org-roam\\*" (display-buffer-in-direction) (direction . right) (window-width . 0.33) (window-height . fit-window-to-buffer))) @end lisp Crucially, the window is a regular window (not a side-window), and this allows for predictable navigation: @itemize @item @code{RET} navigates to thing-at-point in the current window, replacing the Org-roam buffer. @item @code{C-u RET} navigates to thing-at-point in the other window. @end itemize For users that prefer using a side-window for the org-roam buffer, the following example configuration should provide a good starting point: @lisp (add-to-list 'display-buffer-alist '("\\*org-roam\\*" (display-buffer-in-side-window) (side . right) (slot . 0) (window-width . 0.33) (window-parameters . ((no-other-window . t) (no-delete-other-windows . t))))) @end lisp @node Styling the Org-roam buffer @section @strong{TODO} Styling the Org-roam buffer @node Node Properties @chapter Node Properties @menu * Standard Org properties:: * Titles and Aliases:: * Tags:: * Refs:: @end menu @node Standard Org properties @section Standard Org properties Org-roam caches most of the standard Org properties. The full list now includes: @itemize @item outline level @item todo state @item priority @item scheduled @item deadline @item tags @end itemize @node Titles and Aliases @section Titles and Aliases Each node has a single title. For file nodes, this is specified with the `#+title` property for the file. For headline nodes, this is the main text. Nodes can also have multiple aliases. Aliases allow searching for nodes via an alternative name. For example, one may want to assign a well-known acronym (AI) to a node titled ``Artificial Intelligence''. To assign an alias to a node, add the ``ROAM@math{_ALIASES}'' property to the node: @example * Artificial Intelligence :PROPERTIES: :ROAM_ALIASES: AI :END: @end example Alternatively, Org-roam provides some functions to add or remove aliases. @itemize @item Function: org-roam-alias-add alias Add ALIAS to the node at point. When called interactively, prompt for the alias to add. @item Function: org-roam-alias-remove Remove an alias from the node at point. @end itemize @node Tags @section Tags Tags for top-level (file) nodes are pulled from the variable @code{org-file-tags}, which is set by the @code{#+filetags} keyword, as well as other tags the file may have inherited. Tags for headline level nodes are regular Org tags. Note that the @code{#+filetags} keyword results in tags being inherited by headers within the file. This makes it impossible for selective tag inheritance: i.e. either tag inheritance is turned off, or all headline nodes will inherit the tags from the file node. This is a design compromise of Org-roam. @node Refs @section Refs Refs are unique identifiers for nodes. These keys allow references to the key to show up in the Org-roam buffer. For example, a node for a website may use the URL as the ref, and a node for a paper may use an Org-ref citation key. To add a ref, add to the ``ROAM@math{_REFS}'' property as follows: @example * Google :PROPERTIES: :ROAM_REFS: https://www.google.com/ :END: @end example With the above example, if another node links to @uref{https://www.google.com/}, it will show up as a “reference backlink”. These keys also come in useful for when taking website notes, using the @code{roam-ref} protocol (see @ref{org-roam-protocol}). You may assign multiple refs to a single node, for example when you want multiple papers in a series to share the same note, or an article has a citation key and a URL at the same time. Org-roam also provides some functions to add or remove refs. @itemize @item Function: org-roam-ref-add ref Add REF to the node at point. When called interactively, prompt for the ref to add. @item Function: org-roam-ref-remove Remove a ref from the node at point. @end itemize @node Citations @chapter Citations Since version 9.5, Org has first-class support for citations. Org-roam supports the caching of both these in-built citations (of form @code{[cite:@@key]}) and @uref{https://github.com/jkitchin/org-ref, org-ref} citations (of form cite:key). Org-roam attempts to load both the @code{org-ref} and @code{org-cite} package when indexing files, so no further setup from the user is required for citation support. @menu * Using the Cached Information:: @end menu @node Using the Cached Information @section Using the Cached Information It is common to use take reference notes for academic papers. To designate the node to be the canonical node for the academic paper, we can use its unique citation key: @example * Probabilistic Robotics :PROPERTIES: :ID: 51b7b82c-bbb4-4822-875a-ed548cffda10 :ROAM_REFS: @@thrun2005probabilistic :END: @end example or @example * Probabilistic Robotics :PROPERTIES: :ID: 51b7b82c-bbb4-4822-875a-ed548cffda10 :ROAM_REFS: [cite:@@thrun2005probabilistic] :END: @end example for @code{org-cite}, or: @example * Probabilistic Robotics :PROPERTIES: :ID: 51b7b82c-bbb4-4822-875a-ed548cffda10 :ROAM_REFS: cite:thrun2005probabilistic :END: @end example for @code{org-ref}. When another node has a citation for that key, we can see it using the @code{Reflinks} section of the Org-roam buffer. Extension developers may be interested in retrieving the citations within their notes. This information can be found within the @code{citation} table of the Org-roam database. @node Completion @chapter Completion Completions for Org-roam are provided via @code{completion-at-point}. Org-roam currently provides completions in two scenarios: @itemize @item When within an Org bracket link @item Anywhere @end itemize Completions are installed locally in all Org-roam files. To trigger completions, call @code{M-x completion-at-point}. If using @code{company-mode}, add @code{company-capf} to @code{company-backends}. Completions respect @code{completion-styles}: the user is free to choose how candidates are matched. An example of a completion style that has grown in popularity is @uref{https://github.com/oantolin/orderless, orderless}. @menu * Completing within Link Brackets:: * Completing anywhere:: @end menu @node Completing within Link Brackets @section Completing within Link Brackets Completions within link brackets are provided by @code{org-roam-complete-link-at-point}. The completion candidates are the titles and aliases for all Org-roam nodes. Upon choosing a candidate, a @code{roam:Title} link will be inserted, linking to node of choice. @node Completing anywhere @section Completing anywhere The same completions can be triggered anywhere for the symbol at point if not within a bracketed link. This is provided by @code{org-roam-complete-everywhere}. Similarly, the completion candidates are the titles and aliases for all Org-roam nodes, and upon choosing a candidate a @code{roam:Title} link will be inserted linking to the node of choice. This is disabled by default. To enable it, set @code{org-roam-completion-everywhere} to @code{t}: @lisp (setq org-roam-completion-everywhere t) @end lisp @itemize @item Variable: org-roam-completion-everywhere @end itemize When non-nil, provide link completion matching outside of Org links. @node Encryption @chapter Encryption Emacs has support for creating and editing encrypted gpg files, and Org-roam need not provide additional tooling. To create encrypted files, simply add the @code{.gpg} extension in your Org-roam capture templates. For example: @lisp (setq org-roam-capture-templates '(("d" "default" plain "%?" :target (file+head "$@{slug@}.org.gpg" "#+title: $@{title@}\n") :unnarrowed t))) @end lisp Note that the Org-roam database stores metadata information in plain-text (headline text, for example), so if this information is private to you then you should also ensure the database is encrypted. @node The Templating System @chapter The Templating System Org-roam extends the @code{org-capture} system, providing a smoother note-taking experience. However, these extensions mean Org-roam capture templates are incompatible with @code{org-capture} templates. Org-roam's templates are specified by @code{org-roam-capture-templates}. Just like @code{org-capture-templates}, @code{org-roam-capture-templates} can contain multiple templates. If @code{org-roam-capture-templates} only contains one template, there will be no prompt for template selection. @menu * Template Walkthrough:: * Org-roam Template Expansion:: @end menu @node Template Walkthrough @section Template Walkthrough To demonstrate the additions made to org-capture templates. Here, we explain the default template, reproduced below. You will find most of the elements of the template are similar to @code{org-capture} templates. @lisp (("d" "default" plain "%?" :target (file+head "%<%Y%m%d%H%M%S>-$@{slug@}.org" "#+title: $@{title@}\n") :unnarrowed t)) @end lisp @enumerate @item The template has short key @code{"d"}. If you have only one template, org-roam automatically chooses this template for you. @item The template is given a description of @code{"default"}. @item @code{plain} text is inserted. Other options include Org headings via @code{entry}. @item Notice that the @code{target} that's usually in Org-capture templates is missing here. @item @code{"%?"} is the template inserted on each call to @code{org-roam-capture-}. This template means don't insert any content, but place the cursor here. @item @code{:target} is a compulsory specification in the Org-roam capture template. The first element of the list indicates the type of the target, the second element indicates the location of the captured node, and the rest of the elements indicate prefilled template that will be inserted and the position of the point will be adjusted for. The latter behavior varies from type to type of the capture target. @item @code{:unnarrowed t} tells org-capture to show the contents for the whole file, rather than narrowing to just the entry. This is part of the Org-capture templates. @end enumerate See the @code{org-roam-capture-templates} documentation for more details and customization options. @node Org-roam Template Expansion @section Org-roam Template Expansion Org-roam's template definitions also extend org-capture's template syntax, to allow prefilling of strings. We have seen a glimpse of this in @ref{Template Walkthrough, , Template Walkthrough}. Org-roam provides the @code{$@{foo@}} syntax for substituting variables with known strings. @code{$@{foo@}}'s substitution is performed as follows: @enumerate @item If @code{foo} is a function, @code{foo} is called with the current node as its argument. @item Else if @code{org-roam-node-foo} is a function, @code{foo} is called with the current node as its argument. The @code{org-roam-node-} prefix defines many of Org-roam's node accessors such as @code{org-roam-node-title} and @code{org-roam-node-level}. @item Else look up @code{org-roam-capture--info} for @code{foo}. This is an internal variable that is set before the capture process begins. @item If none of the above applies, read a string using @code{completing-read}. @enumerate @item Org-roam also provides the @code{$@{foo=default_val@}} syntax, where if a default value is provided, will be the initial value for the @code{foo} key during minibuffer completion. @end enumerate @end enumerate One can check the list of available keys for nodes by inspecting the @code{org-roam-node} struct. At the time of writing, it is: @lisp (cl-defstruct (org-roam-node (:constructor org-roam-node-create) (:copier nil)) "A heading or top level file with an assigned ID property." file file-hash file-atime file-mtime id level point todo priority scheduled deadline title properties olp tags aliases refs) @end lisp This makes @code{$@{file@}}, @code{$@{file-hash@}} etc. all valid substitutions. @node Extensions @chapter Extensions @menu * org-roam-protocol:: * org-roam-graph:: * org-roam-dailies:: * org-roam-export:: @end menu @node org-roam-protocol @section org-roam-protocol Org-roam provides extensions for capturing content from external applications such as the browser, via @code{org-protocol}. Org-roam extends @code{org-protocol} with 2 protocols: the @code{roam-node} and @code{roam-ref} protocols. @menu * Installation: Installation (1). * The roam-node protocol:: * The roam-ref protocol:: @end menu @node Installation (1) @subsection Installation To enable Org-roam's protocol extensions, simply add the following to your init file: @lisp (require 'org-roam-protocol) @end lisp We also need to set up @code{org-protocol}: the instructions for setting up @code{org-protocol} are reproduced here. On a high-level, external calls are passed to Emacs via @code{emacsclient}. @code{org-protocol} intercepts these and runs custom actions based on the protocols registered. Hence, to use @code{org-protocol}, once must: @enumerate @item launch the @code{emacsclient} process @item Register @code{org-protocol://} as a valid scheme-handler @end enumerate The instructions for the latter for each operating system is detailed below. @menu * Linux:: * Mac OS:: * Windows:: @end menu @node Linux @unnumberedsubsubsec Linux For Linux users, create a desktop application in @code{~/.local/share/applications/org-protocol.desktop}: @example [Desktop Entry] Name=Org-Protocol Exec=emacsclient %u Icon=emacs-icon Type=Application Terminal=false MimeType=x-scheme-handler/org-protocol @end example Associate @code{org-protocol://} links with the desktop application by running in your shell: @example xdg-mime default org-protocol.desktop x-scheme-handler/org-protocol @end example To disable the ``confirm'' prompt in Chrome, you can also make Chrome show a checkbox to tick, so that the @code{Org-Protocol Client} app will be used without confirmation. To do this, run in a shell: @example sudo mkdir -p /etc/opt/chrome/policies/managed/ sudo tee /etc/opt/chrome/policies/managed/external_protocol_dialog.json >/dev/null <<'EOF' @{ "ExternalProtocolDialogShowAlwaysOpenCheckbox": true @} EOF sudo chmod 644 /etc/opt/chrome/policies/managed/external_protocol_dialog.json @end example and then restart Chrome (for example, by navigating to ) to make the new policy take effect. See @uref{https://www.chromium.org/administrators/linux-quick-start, here} for more info on the @code{/etc/opt/chrome/policies/managed} directory and @uref{https://cloud.google.com/docs/chrome-enterprise/policies/?policy=ExternalProtocolDialogShowAlwaysOpenCheckbox, here} for information on the @code{ExternalProtocolDialogShowAlwaysOpenCheckbox} policy. @node Mac OS @unnumberedsubsubsec Mac OS For Mac OS, we need to create our own application. @enumerate @item Launch Script Editor @item Use the following script, paying attention to the path to @code{emacsclient}: @end enumerate @lisp on open location this_URL set EC to "/usr/local/bin/emacsclient --no-wait " set filePath to quoted form of this_URL do shell script EC & filePath & " &> /dev/null &" tell application "Emacs" to activate end open location @end lisp @enumerate @item Save the script in @code{/Applications/OrgProtocolClient.app}, changing the script type to ``Application'', rather than ``Script''. @item Edit @code{/Applications/OrgProtocolClient.app/Contents/Info.plist}, adding the following before the last @code{} tag: @end enumerate @example CFBundleURLTypes CFBundleURLName org-protocol handler CFBundleURLSchemes org-protocol @end example @enumerate @item Save the file, and run the @code{OrgProtocolClient.app} to register the protocol. @end enumerate To disable the ``confirm'' prompt in Chrome, you can also make Chrome show a checkbox to tick, so that the @code{OrgProtocol} app will be used without confirmation. To do this, run in a shell: @example defaults write com.google.Chrome ExternalProtocolDialogShowAlwaysOpenCheckbox -bool true @end example If you're using @uref{https://github.com/railwaycat/homebrew-emacsmacport, Emacs Mac Port}, it registered its `Emacs.app` as the default handler for the URL scheme `org-protocol`. To make @code{OrgProtocol.app} the default handler instead, run: @example defaults write com.apple.LaunchServices/com.apple.launchservices.secure LSHandlers -array-add \ '@{"LSHandlerPreferredVersions" = @{ "LSHandlerRoleAll" = "-"; @}; LSHandlerRoleAll = "org.yourusername.OrgProtocol"; LSHandlerURLScheme = "org-protocol";@}' @end example Then restart your computer. If you're using the @uref{https://formulae.brew.sh/formula/emacs, Emacs Homebrew formula}, you may need one of the following additional configurations: @enumerate @item Add option `-c` to `emacsclient` in the script, and start emacs from command line with `emacs --daemon` @end enumerate @lisp on open location this_URL set EC to "/usr/local/bin/emacsclient -c --no-wait " set filePath to quoted form of this_URL do shell script EC & filePath & " &> /dev/null &" tell application "Emacs" to activate end open location @end lisp @enumerate @item Add `(server-start)` in .emacs (in this case you do not need option `-c` for `emacsclient` in the script, and you do not need to start emacs with `emacs --daemon` @end enumerate @itemize @item @anchor{Testing org-protocol}Testing org-protocol To test that you have the handler setup and registered properly from the command line you can run: @example open org-protocol://roam-ref\?template=r\&ref=test\&title=this @end example If you get an error similar too this or the wrong handler is run: @quotation No application knows how to open URL org-protocol://roam-ref?template=r&ref=test&title=this (Error Domain=NSOSStatusErrorDomain Code=-10814 ``kLSApplicationNotFoundErr: E.g. no application claims the file'' UserInfo=@{@math{_LSLine}=1489, _LSFunction=runEvaluator@}). @end quotation You may need to manually register your handler, like this: @example /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Versions/A/Support/lsregister -R -f /Applications/OrgProtocolClient.app @end example Here is a link to the lsregister command that is really useful: @uref{https://eclecticlight.co/2019/03/25/lsregister-a-valuable-undocumented-command-for-launchservices/} @end itemize @node Windows @unnumberedsubsubsec Windows For Windows, create a temporary @code{org-protocol.reg} file: @example REGEDIT4 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\org-protocol] @@="URL:Org Protocol" "URL Protocol"="" [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\org-protocol\shell] [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\org-protocol\shell\open] [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\org-protocol\shell\open\command] @@="\"C:\\Windows\\System32\\wsl.exe\" emacsclient \"%1\"" @end example The above will forward the protocol to WSL@. If you run Emacs natively on Windows, replace the last line with: @example @@="\"c:\\path\\to\\emacs\\bin\\emacsclientw.exe\" \"%1\"" @end example After executing the .reg file, the protocol is registered and you can delete the file. @node The roam-node protocol @subsection The roam-node protocol The roam-node protocol opens the node with ID specified by the @code{node} key (e.g. @code{org-protocol://roam-node?node=node-id}). @code{org-roam-graph} uses this to make the graph navigable. @node The roam-ref protocol @subsection The roam-ref protocol This protocol finds or creates a new note with a given @code{ROAM_REFS}: @image{images/roam-ref,,,,gif} To use this, create the following @uref{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bookmarklet, bookmarklet} in your browser: @example javascript:location.href = 'org-protocol://roam-ref?template=r&ref=' + encodeURIComponent(location.href) + '&title=' + encodeURIComponent(document.title) + '&body=' + encodeURIComponent(window.getSelection()) @end example or as a keybinding in @code{qutebrowser} in , using the @code{config.py} file (see @uref{https://github.com/qutebrowser/qutebrowser/blob/master/doc/help/configuring.asciidoc, Configuring qutebrowser}): @example config.bind("", "open javascript:location.href='org-protocol://roam-ref?template=r&ref='+encodeURIComponent(location.href)+'&title='+encodeURIComponent(document.title)") @end example where @code{template} is the template key for a template in @code{org-roam-capture-ref-templates} (see @ref{The Templating System}). @node org-roam-graph @section org-roam-graph Org-roam provides basic graphing capabilities to explore interconnections between notes, in @code{org-roam-graph}. This is done by performing SQL queries and generating images using @uref{https://graphviz.org/, Graphviz}. The graph can also be navigated: see @ref{org-roam-protocol}. The entry point to graph creation is @code{org-roam-graph}. @itemize @item Function: org-roam-graph & optional arg node @end itemize Build and display a graph for NODE@. ARG may be any of the following values: @itemize @item @code{nil} show the full graph. @item @code{integer} an integer argument @code{N} will show the graph for the connected components to node up to @code{N} steps away. @end itemize @itemize @item User Option: org-roam-graph-executable Path to the graphing executable (in this case, Graphviz). Set this if Org-roam is unable to find the Graphviz executable on your system. You may also choose to use @code{neato} in place of @code{dot}, which generates a more compact graph layout. @item User Option: org-roam-graph-viewer Org-roam defaults to using Firefox (located on PATH) to view the SVG, but you may choose to set it to: @enumerate @item A string, which is a path to the program used @item a function accepting a single argument: the graph file path. @end enumerate @code{nil} uses @code{view-file} to view the graph. If you are using WSL2 and would like to open the graph in Windows, you can use the second option to set the browser and network file path: @lisp (setq org-roam-graph-viewer (lambda (file) (let ((org-roam-graph-viewer "/mnt/c/Program Files/Mozilla Firefox/firefox.exe")) (org-roam-graph--open (concat "file://///wsl$/Ubuntu" file))))) @end lisp @end itemize @menu * Graph Options:: @end menu @node Graph Options @subsection Graph Options Graphviz provides many options for customizing the graph output, and Org-roam supports some of them. See @uref{https://graphviz.gitlab.io/_pages/doc/info/attrs.html} for customizable options. @itemize @item User Option: org-roam-graph-filetype The file type to generate for graphs. This defaults to @code{"svg"}. @item User Option: org-roam-graph-extra-config Extra options passed to graphviz for the digraph (The ``G'' attributes). Example: @code{'~(("rankdir" . "LR"))} @item User Option: org-roam-graph-node-extra-config An alist of options to style the nodes. The car of the alist node type such as @code{"id"}, or @code{"http"}. The cdr of the list is another alist of Graphviz node options (the ``N'' attributes). @item User Option: org-roam-graph-edge-extra-config Extra options for edges in the graphviz output (The ``E'' attributes). Example: @code{'(("dir" . "back"))} @end itemize @node org-roam-dailies @section org-roam-dailies Org-roam provides journaling capabilities akin to Org-journal with @code{org-roam-dailies}. @menu * Configuration:: * Usage:: @end menu @node Configuration @subsection Configuration For @code{org-roam-dailies} to work, you need to define two variables: @itemize @item Variable: @code{org-roam-dailies-directory} Path to daily-notes. This path is relative to @code{org-roam-directory}. @item Variable: @code{org-roam-dailies-capture-templates} Capture templates for daily-notes in Org-roam. @end itemize Here is a sane default configuration: @lisp (setq org-roam-dailies-directory "daily/") (setq org-roam-dailies-capture-templates '(("d" "default" entry "* %?" :target (file+head "%<%Y-%m-%d>.org" "#+title: %<%Y-%m-%d>\n")))) @end lisp See @ref{The Templating System} for creating new templates. @node Usage @subsection Usage @code{org-roam-dailies} provides these interactive functions: @itemize @item Function: @code{org-roam-dailies-capture-today} &optional goto Create an entry in the daily note for today. When @code{goto} is non-nil, go to the note without creating an entry. @item Function: @code{org-roam-dailies-goto-today} Find the daily note for today, creating it if necessary. @end itemize There are variants of those commands for @code{-yesterday} and @code{-tomorrow}: @itemize @item Function: @code{org-roam-dailies-capture-yesterday} n &optional goto Create an entry in the daily note for yesterday. With numeric argument @code{n}, use the daily note @code{n} days in the past. @item Function: @code{org-roam-dailies-goto-yesterday} With numeric argument N, use the daily-note N days in the future. @end itemize There are also commands which allow you to use Emacs’s @code{calendar} to find the date @itemize @item Function: @code{org-roam-dailies-capture-date} Create an entry in the daily note for a date using the calendar. Prefer past dates, unless @code{prefer-future} is non-nil. With a 'C-u' prefix or when @code{goto} is non-nil, go the note without creating an entry. @item Function: @code{org-roam-dailies-goto-date} Find the daily note for a date using the calendar, creating it if necessary. Prefer past dates, unless @code{prefer-future} is non-nil. @item Function: @code{org-roam-dailies-find-directory} Find and open @code{org-roam-dailies-directory}. @item Function: @code{org-roam-dailies-goto-previous-note} When in an daily-note, find the previous one. @item Function: @code{org-roam-dailies-goto-next-note} When in an daily-note, find the next one. @end itemize @node org-roam-export @section org-roam-export Because Org-roam files are plain org files, they can be exported easily using @code{org-export} to a variety of formats, including @code{html} and @code{pdf}. However, Org-roam relies heavily on ID links, which Org's html export has poor support of. To fix this, Org-roam provides a bunch of overrides to better support export. To use them, simply run: @lisp (require 'org-roam-export) @end lisp @node Performance Optimization @chapter Performance Optimization @menu * Garbage Collection:: @end menu @node Garbage Collection @section Garbage Collection During the cache-build process, Org-roam generates a lot of in-memory data-structures (such as the Org file's AST), which are discarded after use. These structures are garbage collected at regular intervals (see @ref{Garbage Collection,info:elisp#Garbage Collection,,elisp,}). Org-roam provides the option @code{org-roam-db-gc-threshold} to temporarily change the threshold value for GC to be triggered during these memory-intensive operations. To reduce the number of garbage collection processes, one may set @code{org-roam-db-gc-threshold} to a high value (such as @code{most-positive-fixnum}): @lisp (setq org-roam-db-gc-threshold most-positive-fixnum) @end lisp @node The Org-mode Ecosystem @chapter The Org-mode Ecosystem Because Org-roam is built on top of Org-mode, it benefits from the vast number of packages already available. @menu * Browsing History with winner-mode:: * Versioning Notes:: * Full-text search with Deft:: * Org-journal:: * Org-download:: * mathpix.el: mathpixel. * Org-noter / Interleave:: * Bibliography:: * Spaced Repetition:: @end menu @node Browsing History with winner-mode @section Browsing History with winner-mode @code{winner-mode} is a global minor mode that allows one to undo and redo changes in the window configuration. It is included with GNU Emacs since version 20. @code{winner-mode} can be used as a simple version of browser history for Org-roam. Each click through org-roam links (from both Org files and the backlinks buffer) causes changes in window configuration, which can be undone and redone using @code{winner-mode}. To use @code{winner-mode}, simply enable it, and bind the appropriate interactive functions: @lisp (winner-mode +1) (define-key winner-mode-map (kbd "") #'winner-undo) (define-key winner-mode-map (kbd "") #'winner-redo) @end lisp @node Versioning Notes @section Versioning Notes Since Org-roam notes are just plain text, it is trivial to track changes in your notes database using version control systems such as @uref{https://git-scm.com/, Git}. Simply initialize @code{org-roam-directory} as a Git repository, and commit your files at regular or appropriate intervals. @uref{https://magit.vc/, Magit} is a great interface to Git within Emacs. In addition, it may be useful to observe how a particular note has evolved, by looking at the file history. @uref{https://gitlab.com/pidu/git-timemachine, Git-timemachine} allows you to visit historic versions of a tracked Org-roam note. @node Full-text search with Deft @section Full-text search with Deft @uref{https://jblevins.org/projects/deft/, Deft} provides a nice interface for browsing and filtering org-roam notes. @lisp (use-package deft :after org :bind ("C-c n d" . deft) :custom (deft-recursive t) (deft-use-filter-string-for-filename t) (deft-default-extension "org") (deft-directory org-roam-directory)) @end lisp The Deft interface can slow down quickly when the number of files get huge. @uref{https://github.com/hasu/notdeft, Notdeft} is a fork of Deft that uses an external search engine and indexer. @node Org-journal @section Org-journal @uref{https://github.com/bastibe/org-journal, Org-journal} provides journaling capabilities to Org-mode. A lot of its functionalities have been incorporated into Org-roam under the name @ref{org-roam-dailies, , @code{org-roam-dailies}}. It remains a good tool if you want to isolate your verbose journal entries from the ideas you would write on a scratchpad. @lisp (use-package org-journal :bind ("C-c n j" . org-journal-new-entry) :custom (org-journal-date-prefix "#+title: ") (org-journal-file-format "%Y-%m-%d.org") (org-journal-dir "/path/to/journal/files/") (org-journal-date-format "%A, %d %B %Y")) @end lisp @node Org-download @section Org-download @uref{https://github.com/abo-abo/org-download, Org-download} lets you screenshot and yank images from the web into your notes: @float Figure @image{images/org-download,,,,gif} @caption{org-download} @end float @lisp (use-package org-download :after org :bind (:map org-mode-map (("s-Y" . org-download-screenshot) ("s-y" . org-download-yank)))) @end lisp @node mathpixel @section mathpix.el @uref{https://github.com/jethrokuan/mathpix.el, mathpix.el} uses @uref{https://mathpix.com/, Mathpix's} API to convert clips into latex equations: @float Figure @image{images/mathpix,,,,gif} @caption{mathpix} @end float @lisp (use-package mathpix.el :straight (:host github :repo "jethrokuan/mathpix.el") :custom ((mathpix-app-id "app-id") (mathpix-app-key "app-key")) :bind ("C-x m" . mathpix-screenshot)) @end lisp @node Org-noter / Interleave @section Org-noter / Interleave @uref{https://github.com/weirdNox/org-noter, Org-noter} and @uref{https://github.com/rudolfochrist/interleave, Interleave} are both projects that allow synchronised annotation of documents (PDF, EPUB etc.) within Org-mode. @node Bibliography @section Bibliography Org 9.5 added native citation and bibliography functionality, called ``org-cite'', which org-roam supports. @uref{https://github.com/org-roam/org-roam-bibtex, org-roam-bibtex} offers tight integration between @uref{https://github.com/jkitchin/org-ref, org-ref}, @uref{https://github.com/tmalsburg/helm-bibtex, helm-bibtex} and @code{org-roam}. This helps you manage your bibliographic notes under @code{org-roam}. For example, though helm-bibtex provides the ability to visit notes for bibliographic entries, org-roam-bibtex extends it with the ability to visit the file with the right @code{ROAM_REFS}. @node Spaced Repetition @section Spaced Repetition @uref{https://www.leonrische.me/fc/index.html, Org-fc} is a spaced repetition system that scales well with a large number of files. Other alternatives include @uref{https://orgmode.org/worg/org-contrib/org-drill.html, org-drill}, and @uref{https://github.com/abo-abo/pamparam, pamparam}. To use Anki for spaced repetition, @uref{https://github.com/louietan/anki-editor, anki-editor} allows you to write your cards in Org-mode, and sync your cards to Anki via @uref{https://github.com/FooSoft/anki-connect#installation, anki-connect}. @node FAQ @chapter FAQ @menu * How do I have more than one Org-roam directory?:: * How do I create a note whose title already matches one of the candidates?:: * How can I stop Org-roam from creating IDs everywhere?:: * How do I migrate from Roam Research?:: * How to migrate from Org-roam v1?:: * How do I publish my notes with an Internet-friendly graph?:: @end menu @node How do I have more than one Org-roam directory? @section How do I have more than one Org-roam directory? Emacs supports directory-local variables, allowing the value of @code{org-roam-directory} to be different in different directories. It does this by checking for a file named @code{.dir-locals.el}. To add support for multiple directories, override the @code{org-roam-directory} variable using directory-local variables. This is what @code{.dir-locals.el} may contain: @lisp ((nil . ((org-roam-directory . "/path/to/alt/org-roam-dir") (org-roam-db-location . "/path/to/alt/org-roam-dir/org-roam.db")))) @end lisp Note @code{org-roam-directory} and @code{org-roam-db-location} should be an absolute path, not relative. Alternatively, use @code{eval} if you wish to call functions: @lisp ((nil . ((eval . (setq-local org-roam-directory (expand-file-name (locate-dominating-file default-directory ".dir-locals.el")))) (eval . (setq-local org-roam-db-location (expand-file-name "org-roam.db" org-roam-directory)))))) @end lisp All files within that directory will be treated as their own separate set of Org-roam files. Remember to run @code{org-roam-db-sync} from a file within that directory, at least once. @node How do I create a note whose title already matches one of the candidates? @section How do I create a note whose title already matches one of the candidates? This situation arises when, for example, one would like to create a note titled ``bar'' when ``barricade'' already exists. The solution is dependent on the mini-buffer completion framework in use. Here are the solutions: @table @asis @item Ivy call @code{ivy-immediate-done}, typically bound to @code{C-M-j}. Alternatively, set @code{ivy-use-selectable-prompt} to @code{t}, so that ``bar'' is now selectable. @item Helm Org-roam should provide a selectable ``[?] bar'' candidate at the top of the candidate list. @end table @node How can I stop Org-roam from creating IDs everywhere? @section How can I stop Org-roam from creating IDs everywhere? Other than the interactive commands that Org-roam provides, Org-roam does not create IDs everywhere. If you are noticing that IDs are being created even when you don't want them to be (e.g. when tangling an Org file), check the value you have set for @code{org-id-link-to-org-use-id}: setting it to @code{'create-if-interactive} is a popular option. @node How do I migrate from Roam Research? @section How do I migrate from Roam Research? Fabio has produced a command-line tool that converts markdown files exported from Roam Research into Org-roam compatible markdown. More instructions are provided @uref{https://github.com/fabioberger/roam-migration, in the repository}. @node How to migrate from Org-roam v1? @section How to migrate from Org-roam v1? Those coming from Org-roam v1 will do well treating v2 as entirely new software. V2 has a smaller core and fewer moving parts, while retaining the bulk of its functionality. It is recommended to read the documentation above about nodes. It is still desirable to migrate notes collected in v1 to v2. To migrate your v1 notes to v2, use @samp{M-x org-roam-migrate-wizard}. @uref{https://d12frosted.io/posts/2021-06-11-path-to-org-roam-v2.html, This blog post} provides a good overview of what's new in v2 and how to migrate. Essentially, to migrate notes from v1 to v2, one must: @enumerate @item Add IDs to all existing notes. These are located in top-level property drawers (Although note that in v2, not all files need to have IDs). @item Update the Org-roam database to conform to the new schema. @item Replace @code{#+ROAM_KEY} into the @code{ROAM_REFS} property @item Replace @code{#+ROAM_ALIAS} into the @code{ROAM_ALIASES} property @item Move @code{#+ROAM_TAGS} into the @code{#+FILETAGS} property for file-level nodes, and the @code{ROAM_TAGS} property for headline nodes @item Replace existing file links with ID links. @end enumerate @node How do I publish my notes with an Internet-friendly graph? @section How do I publish my notes with an Internet-friendly graph? The default graph builder creates a graph with an @uref{https://orgmode.org/worg/org-contrib/org-protocol.html, org-protocol} handler which is convenient when you're working locally but inconvenient when you want to publish your notes for remote access. Likewise, it defaults to displaying the graph in Emacs which has the exact same caveats. This problem is solvable in the following way using org-mode's native @uref{https://orgmode.org/manual/Publishing.html, publishing} capability: @enumerate @item configure org-mode to publish your org-roam notes as a project. @item create a function that overrides the default org-protocol link creation function(@samp{org-roam-default-link-builder}). @item create a hook that's called at the end of graph creation to copy the generated graph to the appropriate place. @end enumerate The example code below is used to publish to a local directory where a separate shell script copies the files to the remote site. @menu * Configure org-mode for publishing:: * Overriding the default link creation function:: * Copying the generated file to the export directory:: @end menu @node Configure org-mode for publishing @subsection Configure org-mode for publishing This has two steps: @enumerate @item Setting of a @emph{roam} project that publishes your notes. @item Configuring the @emph{sitemap.html} generation. @item Setting up @samp{org-publish} to generate the graph. @end enumerate This will require code like the following: @lisp (defun roam-sitemap (title list) (concat "#+OPTIONS: ^:nil author:nil html-postamble:nil\n" "#+SETUPFILE: ./simple_inline.theme\n" "#+TITLE: " title "\n\n" (org-list-to-org list) "\nfile:sitemap.svg")) (setq my-publish-time 0) ; see the next section for context (defun roam-publication-wrapper (plist filename pubdir) (org-roam-graph) (org-html-publish-to-html plist filename pubdir) (setq my-publish-time (cadr (current-time)))) (setq org-publish-project-alist '(("roam" :base-directory "~/roam" :auto-sitemap t :sitemap-function roam-sitemap :sitemap-title "Roam notes" :publishing-function roam-publication-wrapper :publishing-directory "~/roam-export" :section-number nil :table-of-contents nil :style ""))) @end lisp @node Overriding the default link creation function @subsection Overriding the default link creation function The code below will generate a link to the generated html file instead of the default org-protocol link. @lisp (defun org-roam-custom-link-builder (node) (let ((file (org-roam-node-file node))) (concat (file-name-base file) ".html"))) (setq org-roam-graph-link-builder 'org-roam-custom-link-builder) @end lisp @node Copying the generated file to the export directory @subsection Copying the generated file to the export directory The default behavior of @samp{org-roam-graph} is to generate the graph and display it in Emacs. There is an @samp{org-roam-graph-generation-hook} available that provides access to the file names so they can be copied to the publishing directory. Example code follows: @lisp (add-hook 'org-roam-graph-generation-hook (lambda (dot svg) (if (< (- (cadr (current-time)) my-publish-time) 5) (progn (copy-file svg "~/roam-export/sitemap.svg" 't) (kill-buffer (file-name-nondirectory svg)) (setq my-publish-time 0))))) @end lisp @node Developer's Guide to Org-roam @chapter Developer's Guide to Org-roam @menu * Org-roam's Design Principle:: * Building Extensions and Advanced Customization of Org-roam:: @end menu @node Org-roam's Design Principle @section Org-roam's Design Principle Org-roam is primarily motivated by the need for a dual representation. We (humans) love operating in a plain-text environment. The syntax rules of Org-mode are simple and fit snugly within our brain. This also allows us to use the tools and packages we love to explore and edit our notes. Org-mode is simply the most powerful plain-text format available, with support for images, @LaTeX{}, TODO planning and much more. But this plain-text format is simply ill-suited for exploration of these notes: plain-text is simply not amenable for answering large-scale, complex queries (e.g. how many tasks do I have that are due by next week?). Interfaces such as Org-agenda slow to a crawl when the number of files becomes unwieldy, which can quickly become the case. At its core, Org-roam provides a database abstraction layer, providing a dual representation of what's already available in plain-text. This allows us (humans) to continue working with plain-text, while programs can utilize the database layer to perform complex queries. These capabilities include, but are not limited to: @itemize @item link graph traversal and visualization @item Instantaneous SQL-like queries on headlines @itemize @item What are my TODOs, scheduled for X, or due by Y@? @end itemize @item Accessing the properties of a node, such as its tags, refs, TODO state or priority @end itemize All of these functionality is powered by this database abstraction layer. Hence, at its core Org-roam's primary goal is to provide a resilient dual representation that is cheap to maintain, easy to understand, and is as up-to-date as it possibly can. Org-roam also then exposes an API to this database abstraction layer for users who would like to perform programmatic queries on their Org files. @node Building Extensions and Advanced Customization of Org-roam @section Building Extensions and Advanced Customization of Org-roam Because Org-roam's core functionality is small, it is possible and sometimes desirable to build extensions on top of it. These extensions may use one or more of the following functionalities: @itemize @item Access to Org-roam's database @item Usage/modification of Org-roam's interactive commands @end itemize Org-roam provides no guarantees that extensions will continue to function as Org-roam evolves, but by following these simple rules, extensions can be made robust to local changes in Org-roam. @enumerate @item Extensions should not modify the database schema. Any extension that requires the caching of additional data should make a request upstream to Org-roam. @item Extensions requiring access to the database should explicitly state support for the database version (@code{org-roam-db-version}), and only conditionally load when support is available. @end enumerate @menu * Accessing the Database:: * Accessing and Modifying Nodes:: * Extending the Capture System:: @end menu @node Accessing the Database @subsection Accessing the Database Access to the database is provided singularly by @code{org-roam-db-query}, for example: @lisp (org-roam-db-query [:select * :from nodes]) @end lisp One can refer to the database schema by looking up @code{org-roam-db--table-schemata}. There are multiple helper functions within Org-roam that call @code{org-roam-db-query}, these are subject to change. To ensure that extensions/customizations are robust to change, extensions should only use @code{org-roam-db-query}, and perhaps replicate the SQL query if necessary. @node Accessing and Modifying Nodes @subsection Accessing and Modifying Nodes The node interface is cleanly defined using @code{cl-defstruct}. The primary method to access nodes is @code{org-roam-node-at-point} and @code{org-roam-node-read}: @itemize @item Function: org-roam-node-at-point &optional assert Return the node at point. If ASSERT, throw an error if there is no node at point. @item Function: org-roam-node-read &optional initial-input filter-fn sort-fn require-match Read and return an `org-roam-node'. INITIAL-INPUT is the initial minibuffer prompt value. FILTER-FN is a function to filter out nodes: it takes a single argument (an @code{org-roam-node}), and when nil is returned the node will be filtered out. SORT-FN is a function to sort nodes. See @code{org-roam-node-read-sort-by-file-mtime} for an example sort function. If REQUIRE-MATCH, the minibuffer prompt will require a match. @end itemize Once you obtain the node, you can use the accessors for the node, e.g. @code{org-roam-node-id} or @code{org-roam-node-todo}. It is possible to define (or override existing) properties on nodes. This is simply done using a @code{cl-defmethod} on the @code{org-roam-node} struct: @lisp (cl-defmethod org-roam-node-namespace ((node org-roam-node)) "Return the namespace for NODE. The namespace is the final directory of the file for the node." (file-name-nondirectory (directory-file-name (file-name-directory (org-roam-node-file node))))) @end lisp The snippet above defines a new property @code{namespace} on @code{org-roam-node}, which making it available for use in capture templates. @node Extending the Capture System @subsection Extending the Capture System Org-roam applies some patching over Org's capture system to smooth out the user experience, and sometimes it is desirable to use Org-roam's capturing system instead. The exposed function to be used in extensions is @code{org-roam-capture-}: @itemize @item Function: org-roam-capture- &key goto keys node info props templates Main entry point. GOTO and KEYS correspond to `org-capture' arguments. INFO is a plist for filling up Org-roam's capture templates. NODE is an `org-roam-node' construct containing information about the node. PROPS is a plist containing additional Org-roam properties for each template. TEMPLATES is a list of org-roam templates. @end itemize An example of an extension using @code{org-roam-capture-} is @code{org-roam-dailies} itself: @lisp (defun org-roam-dailies--capture (time &optional goto) "Capture an entry in a daily-note for TIME, creating it if necessary. When GOTO is non-nil, go the note without creating an entry." (org-roam-capture- :goto (when goto '(4)) :node (org-roam-node-create) :templates org-roam-dailies-capture-templates :props (list :override-default-time time)) (when goto (run-hooks 'org-roam-dailies-find-file-hook))) @end lisp @node Appendix @chapter Appendix @menu * Note-taking Workflows:: * Ecosystem:: @end menu @node Note-taking Workflows @section Note-taking Workflows @table @asis @item Books @itemize @item @uref{https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/34507927-how-to-take-smart-notes, How To Take Smart Notes} @end itemize @item Articles @itemize @item @uref{https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/NfdHG6oHBJ8Qxc26s/the-zettelkasten-method-1, The Zettelkasten Method - LessWrong 2.0} @item @uref{https://reddit.com/r/RoamResearch/comments/eho7de/building_a_second_brain_in_roamand_why_you_might, Building a Second Brain in Roam@dots{}And Why You Might Want To : RoamResearch} @item @uref{https://www.nateliason.com/blog/roam, Roam Research: Why I Love It and How I Use It - Nat Eliason} @item @uref{https://twitter.com/adam_keesling/status/1196864424725774336?s=20, Adam Keesling's Twitter Thread} @item @uref{https://blog.jethro.dev/posts/how_to_take_smart_notes_org/, How To Take Smart Notes With Org-mode · Jethro Kuan} @end itemize @item Threads @itemize @item @uref{https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22473209, Ask HN: How to Take Good Notes} @end itemize @item Videos @itemize @item @uref{https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvWic15iXjk, How to Use Roam to Outline a New Article in Under 20 Minutes} @end itemize @end table @node Ecosystem @section Ecosystem @node Keystroke Index @appendix Keystroke Index @printindex ky @node Command Index @appendix Command Index @printindex cp @node Function Index @appendix Function Index @printindex fn @node Variable Index @appendix Variable Index @printindex vr Emacs 30.1 (Org mode 9.7.29) @bye