Writing notes
Write Markdown in a code-first editor, check the sanitized preview, and export when finished. Edits update immediately and are persisted automatically.
On this page · Note lifecycle · Editor modes · Formatting · Tables · Paste and images · Preview · Export
Note lifecycle
- Press mod N for a new note. From a notebook, it lands there; from All Notes, it uses the default notebook in Preferences → General.
- Duplicate with mod D, or from the editor’s More actions menu.
- Move a note to Trash with mod ⌫ or the editor menu. Trash → Restore… asks for the destination notebook; only Trash → Delete forever permanently removes the note after confirmation.
- Move between notes with mod [ and mod ]; this history is separate from revision history.
Editor modes
| Mode | Shortcut | Use it for |
|---|---|---|
| Edit | mod E | Focused Markdown source. |
| Preview | mod E | Rendered, sanitized output. |
| Side-by-side | mod P | Source and preview together. |
| Distraction-free | mod ⇧ D | Editor only, chrome hidden. |
Toggle the sidebar with mod / and the note list with mod \. Font size and word wrap live under Preferences → Editing.
Formatting
- mod B, mod I, mod ⇧ K, and mod ' apply bold, italic, links, and quotes.
- Type / at the start of an empty line for headings, lists, tasks, quotes, code blocks, dividers, and tables.
- Select text for the floating bubble menu with bold, italic, code, link, and block transforms.
- Press ctrl Space for word/code completion. The editor also suggests fence languages after triple backticks.
- Press mod F to find within the open note. Global library search is mod ⇧ F.
Lint warnings are advisory. The editor flags whitespace, fence, and Markdown-shape issues without changing text.
Tables
- Insert a table from the slash menu.
- Enter continues a table row; an empty new row exits the table.
- Tab and ⇧ Tab move forward and backward between cells; tabbing past the last cell appends a row.
Paste and images
- Pasting an HTTP(S) URL over selected text creates a Markdown link.
- Pasting rich HTML converts it to Markdown.
- Pasting or dropping an image on the desktop app uploads it to
~/devnote/.attachmentsand inserts. Images must be under 10 MiB.
Browser limit: image paste, drop, preview bytes, and zip restore need the desktop app. In a browser, image paste explains the requirement instead of failing silently. See attachments.
Preview
- GitHub-flavored Markdown: tables, task lists, strikethrough, footnotes, alerts, headings, links, and code blocks.
- Code blocks have syntax highlighting and copy buttons.
- Backticked color codes show swatches, for example
#ff6600. - Preview task checkboxes update the underlying Markdown task.
- Clicking a preview heading jumps to that section;
[[wikilinks]]open matching notes, and backlinks are listed in the editor. - Preview HTML is sanitized before display; scripts and unsafe URLs are removed.
Export
From the editor’s More actions menu, export the open note as Markdown, styled HTML, or Print/PDF. Bulk Markdown export for selected notes is in the note-list bulk bar; full-library export and restore are under backup.