Notes

Elftia includes a fully featured Markdown note system based on the Zettelkasten methodology. It provides three note types, YAML metadata, rich-text editing, folder organization, a tag system, Wiki links with backlinks, and knowledge graph visualization.

Use Cases

• Capture inspirations and ideas at any time during a conversation (fleeting notes)
• Organize articles and papers you've read and record source references (literature notes)
• Distill accumulated knowledge into permanent reference material (permanent notes)
• Build a personal knowledge network through bidirectional links
• Use the knowledge graph to visually see connections between notes
• Organize notes along multiple dimensions using tags and folders

Three Note Types

Elftia's note system is based on the Zettelkasten methodology and provides three note types:

Type	ID	Purpose	Best For
Fleeting	fleeting	Quickly capture temporary thoughts and inspirations	Off-the-cuff ideas, sparks during conversations, fragments to organize later
Literature	literature	Record key points and notes from reading material	Article summaries, paper notes, book reflections — usually with a source URL
Permanent	permanent	Distilled, lasting knowledge	Summarized knowledge entries, methodologies, best practices

Suggested Workflow

Reading / conversation / inspiration → Fleeting note (quick capture)
       ↓
  Organize source references → Literature note (link to source)
       ↓
   Distill core knowledge → Permanent note (persist for the long term)

Creating Notes

Steps

1. Open the Notes page (from the sidebar)
2. Click the + button to create a new note
3. Enter the note title
4. Select the note type (Fleeting / Literature / Permanent)
5. (Optional) Select a folder to place it in
6. (Optional) Add tags
7. Write content in the editor
8. Content is auto-saved

Note Metadata (YAML Frontmatter)

Each note file includes YAML-format metadata at the top:

---
id: a1b2c3d4-e5f6-7890-abcd-ef1234567890
type: permanent
tags:
  - AI
  - machine-learning
created: 2026-04-14T10:30:00.000Z
source_url: https://example.com/article
---

Field	Description	Required
id	Unique identifier for the note (UUID)	Auto-generated
type	Note type: fleeting, literature, permanent	Default: fleeting
tags	Tag list	Optional
created	Creation time (ISO 8601)	Auto-generated
source_url	Source URL (common for literature notes)	Optional

:::tip Auto-managed Metadata You do not need to edit the YAML frontmatter manually. When you change the note type, tags, or other information in the editor, the system automatically updates the corresponding metadata fields. :::

Editor

The note editor provides three modes that you can switch between freely:

Mode	Description
WYSIWYG	Rich-text visual editing with live format preview
Markdown source	Edit Markdown raw text directly
Read-only	View mode; displays content in rendered format

Mode Switching

• The editor mode persists — switching notes does not reset it
• Click the mode toggle button in the editor toolbar

Markdown Support

The editor fully supports Markdown syntax:

• Headings (# to ######)
• Bold, italic, strikethrough
• Ordered and unordered lists
• Code blocks and inline code
• Blockquotes
• Links and images
• Tables
• Task lists (checkboxes)

Folder Organization

Notes are organized by folder hierarchy in the local file system.

Operations

• Create folder — click the folder create button in the notes sidebar
• Rename folder — right-click a folder and select rename
• Delete folder — right-click a folder and select delete (confirmation required)
• Move note — move a note to a different folder
• Folder filter — click a folder in the sidebar to show only notes within it

Vault Path

Notes are stored in a directory on the local file system (called the Vault):

• Default path — the notes folder under the app data directory
• Custom path — you can change the Vault path in settings to store notes in a directory of your choice

Tag System

Tags provide an additional dimension beyond folders for organizing and retrieving notes.

Operations

• Add tag — add a tag while editing a note
• Tag management — manage all tags centrally in the Tag Management view on the notes page
• Tag color — set a color for tags for easy visual distinction (a preset color palette is provided)
• Filter by tag — click a tag to quickly filter notes that have that tag

Preset Tag Colors

Tags support visual distinction using preset colors. You can select a color for each tag in tag management.

Wiki Links and Bidirectional Links

Notes can be linked to one another using Wiki link syntax. The system automatically maintains bidirectional reference relationships.

Wiki Link Syntax

Use double square brackets in note content to create a link:

See [[Another Note Title]] for more information.

When you type [[, the editor shows a note list for you to select from.

Backlinks

When note A links to note B, note B's detail panel automatically displays the backlink from note A, including:

• The title of the linking source note
• The context snippet where the link appears
• The type of the source note

Outlinks

The note detail panel also shows a list of all links in the current note that point to other notes.

Unlinked Mentions

The system detects when another note's content mentions the current note's title as text without a Wiki link. These "unlinked mentions" are listed in the links panel, and you can convert them to formal links with a single click.

Knowledge Graph

The knowledge graph is a visual network diagram of note connections, helping you intuitively understand how notes are linked.

How to View

1. Switch to the Graph tab on the notes page
2. View the force-directed knowledge graph layout

Graph Elements

Element	Description
Nodes	Each node represents a note; size may be related to the number of connections
Edges	Lines between nodes represent Wiki link relationships

Interaction

• Drag nodes to adjust the layout
• Click a node to jump to the corresponding note
• Zoom and pan to view the full graph

Search

Enter keywords in the search box at the top of the notes sidebar to quickly search your notes:

• Search covers note titles and content
• Search results update in real time
• Supports multiple sort options

Sort Options

Sort Method	Description
By update time	Most recently modified notes appear first
By creation time	Most recently created notes appear first
By title	Sorted alphabetically by title

Other Features

Feature	Description
Favorites	Mark frequently used notes as favorites for quick access
Rebuild index	Manually rebuild the index after notes are modified externally
Open in file manager	Quickly locate where a note file is on disk
File watcher	Automatically detects external modifications to note files and syncs the index

Note Storage Architecture

Notes use a file-first storage architecture:

• Note content is stored as .md files on the local disk
• The database serves only as an index and cache to speed up search and relational queries
• You can edit note files directly with any Markdown editor (such as Obsidian or VS Code)
• External modifications are automatically detected by the file watcher and synced to the index

FAQ

Problem	Solution
Note content was not saved	Note content is auto-saved; check whether there are file system permission issues
Wiki link does not navigate	Confirm the target note exists and the title is spelled correctly
Knowledge graph is empty	At least two notes must have a Wiki link between them before anything is displayed
Backlinks not showing	Confirm the source note uses the correct [[title]] syntax
Index not updated after external editing	Use the rebuild index feature to refresh manually
Tag color not showing	Confirm you have set a color for the tag in tag management
Notes disappeared after changing the Vault path	After changing the Vault path, you need to move the note files to the new path

Related Links

• Chat — reference note content in conversations
• Prompts — manage prompt templates
• Agent — Agents can read and create notes