Basics

Open or create a Vault

A Vault is a directory whose files are managed together. Datalith watches it, builds a catalog, and derives search results, wiki-link connections, and graph views.

• Navigate → Open Vault opens a folder from disk. Your recent Vaults appear in the vault selector at the bottom of the sidebar.
• The first time Datalith runs, it opens the Datalith Documentation Vault you are reading now.

Create a new note

This documentation Vault is read-only. Choose Open a new vault in the vault selector and open a personal folder before creating or editing notes.

Press Cmd/Ctrl+N to create a new file. It is created in the current Vault and immediately renamed, type a name and press Enter. The extension decides the file type:

• My Note.md: a Markdown file, opened in the editor.
• Tasks.todotxt: a todo.txt file, opened in the task editor.
• Library.base: a Base Definition, opened as list, table, cards, or graph views.

You can also right-click in the sidebar and choose New File or New Folder.

Write some content

If you created a Markdown file, you are in edit mode by default. Write normally: headings, lists, bold, code blocks. The formats/Markdown page lists everything supported.

Add properties at the top to tag your note for data-driven views:

---
category: ideas
---

See formats/Properties for the details.

Link your notes

Wiki links are what make a Vault feel connected. In a Markdown file, write [[My Other Note]] to create a link. Datalith resolves it automatically. Use [[My Other Note|display text]] to set a custom label.

Start typing the target to get suggestions from the Vault: the list appears after three characters. Press ↑ / ↓ to move through it, ↩ to insert the selected link, and Esc to dismiss it. Datalith inserts the bare note name when it is unique and a folder-qualified target such as [[projects/Plan]] when several notes share the name.

Links between Markdown files become the edges of a graph view.

Navigate

• Cmd/Ctrl+P opens the quick switcher to jump between open files by name.
• Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+F opens the search palette to find files by name or content.

Edit or view

The eye icon in the top-right of the tab bar toggles between edit mode and view mode, use Cmd/Ctrl+E to switch.

Some files only have a viewer or only an editor. See FileTypes.

What else

• The OS menu bar has File and Navigate menus with all available actions.
• Cmd/Ctrl+Shift+D toggles between light and dark mode. See Settings.
• Right-click any file or folder in the sidebar for: New File, New Folder, Rename, Delete, Duplicate, Open in Explorer, and Copy Path. After Delete, click Undo in the notification, or press Cmd/Ctrl+Z while the sidebar has focus, to restore the item.
• See Shortcuts for the full keybinding reference.