README.md

The vim-zettel package

This is a Vim plugin that implements ideas of the Zettelkasten method using Vimwiki. This is a work in progress and it has just a basic features ATM. It supports both Vimwiki and Markdown syntaxes.

Install

Using Vundle:

Plugin 'vimwiki/vimwiki'
Plugin 'junegunn/fzf'
Plugin 'junegunn/fzf.vim'
Plugin 'michal-h21/vim-zettel'

Silver Searcher is used for searching in the notes by default. The used command can be changed by setting the g:zettel_fzf_command variable.

Configuration

First of all, it is necessary to configure Vimwiki, as Vim-zettel builds on top of it.

" Settings for Vimwiki
let g:vimwiki_list = [{'path':'~/scratchbox/vimwiki/markdown/','ext':'.md','syntax':'markdown', 'zettel_template': "~/mytemplate.tpl"}, {"path":"~/scratchbox/vimwiki/wiki/"}]

To open the index page of your wiki, invoke Vim with the following parameters:

vim -c VimwikiIndex

Vim-zettel also provides some custom configurations. The following sample contains default values for available settings. It is not necessary to use them in your .vimrc unless you want to use a different value.

" Filename format. The filename is created using strftime() function
let g:zettel_format = "%y%m%d-%H%M"
" command used for VimwikiSearch 
" possible values: "ag", "rg", "grep"
let g:zettel_fzf_command = "ag"
" Disable default keymappings
let g:zettel_default_mappings = 0 
" This is basically the same as the default configuration
augroup filetype_vimwiki
  autocmd!
  autocmd FileType vimwiki imap <silent> [[ [[<esc><Plug>ZettelSearchMap
  autocmd FileType vimwiki nmap T <Plug>ZettelYankNameMap
  autocmd FileType vimwiki xmap z <Plug>ZettelNewSelectedMap
  autocmd FileType vimwiki nmap gZ <Plug>ZettelReplaceFileWithLink
augroup END

" Set template and custom header variable for the second Wiki
let g:zettel_options = [{},{"front_matter" : {"tags" : ""}, "template" :  "~/mytemplate.tpl"}]

Usage

Vim-zettel adds some commands and mappings on top of Vimwiki. See Vimwiki documentation on how to set up a basic wiki and navigate it.

Commands available in the Vimwiki mode

• :ZettelNew command – it will create a new wiki file named as %y%m%d-%H%M.wiki (it is possible to change the file name format using g:zettel_format variable). The file uses basic template in the form

  %title Note title
  %date current date
  

• :ZettelBackLinks command – insert list of notes that link to the current note.

• :ZettelInbox command – insert list of notes that no other note links to.

• :ZettelGenerateLinks command – insert list of all wiki pages in the current page. It needs updated tags database. The tags database can be updated using the :VimwikiRebuildTags command.

• :ZettelGenerateTags command – insert list of tags and pages that used these tags in the current page. It needs updated tags database. The tags database can be updated using the :VimwikiRebuildTagsh command.

• z command in the visual mode – create a new wiki file using selected text for the note title

• [[ command in the insert mode – create a link to a note. It uses FZF for the note searching.

• T command in the normal mode – yank the current note filename and title as a Vimwiki link

• gZ command in the normal mode – replace file path under cursor with Wiki link

Useful Vimwiki commands

• :VimwikiBacklinks - display files that link to the current page
• :VimwikiCheckLinks- display files that no other file links to

Import text from the command line

• :ZettelCapture - create a new Zettel from a file. This command is useful for scripting. It can be used in the following way:

  vim -c ZettelCapture filename
  

  The original file contents will be replaced with a path to the new wiki file. It should be used with temporary files!

Related packages

The following packages may be useful in conjunction with Vimwiki and Vim-zettel:

• Notational FZF - fast searching notes with preview window.

To search in the Zettelkasten, set the following variable with path to the Zettelkaster direcory in .vimrc:

let g:nv_search_paths = ['/path/to/zettelkasten/dir']

• Vimwiki-sync - automatically commit changes in wiki and synchronize them with external Git repository.