# Notes

Notes are the most flexible place to think in Undra. They're plain Markdown for writing, capturing, and connecting ideas, and they stay readable and portable for as long as you keep them.

Every note is a plain Markdown file in your workspace. You can open it in any editor, sync it with any tool, and keep it for good. Undra adds structure, links, and search on top without locking anything away.

## When to reach for a note

Use a note when you want:

- a durable place to write: meeting notes, a project brief, a decision record, a journal
- lightweight structure without committing to a template or a database
- to connect ideas to projects, plans, and files as you go
- a starting point that can grow into a [plan](/docs/workspace/plans/) when it becomes work to track, or a [canvas](/docs/workspace/canvas/) when it wants space

A note is the lowest-friction surface in Undra. Capture first, shape later.

## Write in Markdown

The editor is live-preview Markdown: you type ordinary Markdown and watch it render inline as you go. Everything below is just text in the file. Try it right here, edit the left, watch the right:

### Headings, emphasis, and lists

```markdown
# Heading 1
## Heading 2

**Bold**, *italic*, `inline code`, and ~~strikethrough~~.

- A bullet point
  - Nested as deep as you like
- [ ] A task you can tick right in the note
- [x] A finished one
```

### Callouts

Pull a point out of the flow with a callout, a blockquote whose first line is `[!type]`:

```markdown
> [!tip] Tip
> Surface a best practice or a shortcut.

> [!warning] Heads up
> Flag something that will bite later.
```

Six styles are built in: `note`, `tip`, `info`, `warning`, `danger`, and `success`, each with its own colour and icon.

### Tables and code

Tables line up as you type, and the header separator controls alignment (`:---` left, `---:` right):

```markdown
| Priority | Task                    |    Due |
|:---------|:------------------------|-------:|
| P0       | Ship launch checklist   | Apr 28 |
| P1       | Record the product tour | Apr 22 |
```

Fenced code blocks are syntax-highlighted by language:

```ts
export function greet(name: string): string {
  if (!name) throw new Error('Name is required')
  return `Hello, ${name}!`
}
```

## Connect a note to everything else

A note becomes far more useful when it points outward. These connections are what turn a folder of files into a workspace:

- **Wikilinks** let you link any item by name: `[[Team handbook]]`. (More in [Wikilinks & Backlinks](/docs/workspace/wikilinks-and-backlinks/).)
- **Aliases** show your own words for a target: `[[Projects/Q2 roadmap|the roadmap]]`.
- **Embeds** render another note inside this one, live and still editable: `![[Keyboard shortcuts]]`.
- **Backlinks** make every link two-way, so any item shows everything that references it, context you never had to file by hand.
- **Images** drop in from your media library: `![A diagram](.undra/data/media/…)`.

The same writing can also detail a [plan](/docs/workspace/plans/), sit on a [canvas](/docs/workspace/canvas/), or become source material for an agent, all from the one file.

## Common workflows

- **Meeting notes that turn into action.** Capture the discussion, tick decisions off as `- [ ]` tasks, and link the project with `[[Project Phoenix Brief]]` so it all stays connected.
- **A brief that drives a plan.** Write the narrative in a note, then attach it to a [plan](/docs/workspace/plans/) as its detail note. The plan header links straight back to the writing.
- **A daily journal.** One note per day, wikilinked to whatever you touched, and the [graph](/docs/undraverse/groups-and-presets/) quietly assembles a map of your week.

## Under the hood

Notes are Markdown files in your workspace folder. Undra keeps filenames natural (`Project Brief.md`) and stores a small YAML frontmatter block between `---` fences: a stable `id`, optional `tags`, and timestamps. The type comes from the `.md` extension, and the title from the first heading or the filename. Markdown you bring from elsewhere works immediately, and frontmatter is added the first time you save through the app.

Here's a real note from the [interactive demo](/demo/), frontmatter then plain Markdown:

```file="Feature tour Notes.md"
---
id: 0fTpi6ow
tags: [tour, notes]
created_at: "2026-04-01T12:00:00.000Z"
updated_at: "2026-04-30T16:31:46Z"
---

# Feature tour: Notes

Undra's note editor is a **live-preview Markdown** editor. You type normal
Markdown and see it rendered inline as you go.

- [x] Open this note
- [ ] Share the demo with someone

Link to any item with a wikilink: [[Knowledge/Team handbook|Team handbook]]
```

## Your work stays safe

- A note **is** the file on disk. There's nothing proprietary in between.
- Because a note is just a file, you can recover earlier versions the same way you protect any file: a backup, a sync service, or version control like Git.
- Search and index caches live outside your notes, so a lost cache triggers a rescan, never data loss.

:::tip Keep filenames human
Name notes the way you'd name a document: `Q2 roadmap`, `Acme QBR`. Undra never needs cryptic ID suffixes in the filename, so your workspace stays readable in Finder, Git, or any other tool.
:::

## Where to go next

- **[Wikilinks & Backlinks](/docs/workspace/wikilinks-and-backlinks/)**: the connective tissue between notes.
- **[Plans](/docs/workspace/plans/)**: for when a note turns into work to track.
- **[Canvas](/docs/workspace/canvas/)**: for when ideas want space instead of a line.