Editing

n0te edits one block at a time. The block you’re editing shows its markdown, and the rest of the note stays a page around it, so you never lose your place in a wall of syntax.

Edit a block

The block’s source appears in a quiet box. Syntax like **, [[ and - [ ] shows faintly, and the text keeps its rendered size and weight, so a heading still looks like a heading while you type. Only that block is re-read as you type, so editing stays fast in long notes.

Enter on a block that’s only a link follows it instead, and Enter on a foldable callout opens or closes it. e always edits.

Lists and quotes

While editing:

• Enter continues a list or a quote: a new - , 1. , - [ ] or > line. On an empty item it ends the list instead.
• tab nests a list item under the one above; shift tab moves it back out. Its sub-items come along.
• alt ↑ and alt ↓ move the item, with its sub-items, above or below its neighbour.

alt ↑ and alt ↓ (or alt k and alt j) also work while reading, on the list item you’re on.

New blocks

o opens a new, empty block below the current one. In a list, it’s a new item at the same depth, after the current item’s sub-items: a task after a task, the next number after a numbered item.

Links while you type

Type [[ and a list of notes appears at the caret, filtered as you type, and named the way Obsidian names them: the shortest name that’s unique in the vault. [[# lists this note’s headings instead.

↑ ↓ choose, Enter or tab inserts the link, and esc dismisses the list.

Edit the whole note

ctrl e turns the whole note into its source, for changes that span many blocks: select all, delete, rewrite, paste in a draft. esc or ctrl e renders it again. The status line says SOURCE while you’re in it.

Select blocks

V (or v) starts a selection at the current block. j k gg G extend it, then:

A mouse selection works the same way, and it selects every block it touches, even if it’s a single word in one block: d then deletes the whole block and y copies its markdown. The status line says SELECT · 1 block when that’s what will happen. To copy just the selected text, use ctrl c.

Undo

u undoes whole edits: one block edit, one tick, one o, one Uncheck all. It works as a merge, so if the note changed on disk since (Obsidian synced something in, say), those changes stay. History is kept per file for as long as n0te’s service runs, so it survives closing and reopening the note.

Saving

You never save. n0te writes the file a second after you stop typing, when you press esc, when its window loses focus, and when you close it. There’s no dialog and no “unsaved” state to worry about.

ctrl s, while reading or editing, saves at once, even when autosave is paused for a hold.

If a save fails (no permission, a full disk), the status line turns red and says why. Closing the window or leaving the note then takes a second try, and only that drops the change.

Start editing from the command line

n0 -e "Launch plan"      # edit at the end of the note
n0 -e +42 notes.md       # edit at line 42
n0 -e --today            # today's daily note

Leaving while editing

ctrl o, ctrl i, ctrl k, ctrl p and ctrl , finish the edit first, then do what they do. Nothing is lost.