---
title: diaryx
description: CLI frontend
author: adammharris
part_of: '[README](/crates/README.md)'
contents:
- '[README](/crates/diaryx/src/README.md)'
exclude:
- '*.lock'
- '**/*.rs'
---
# Diaryx CLI

A command line interface for the diaryx_core library. Allows command-line journaling.

## Installation

Install via `cargo`:

```bash
cargo install diaryx
```

This default install builds the smallest CLI surface: core file, workspace,
search, export, and navigation commands.

Optional features:

- `cargo install diaryx --features edit` enables `diaryx edit` for the local web editor bridge.
- `cargo install diaryx --features plugins` enables Extism plugin management and plugin-declared CLI commands.
- `cargo install diaryx --features "edit plugins"` enables both optional surfaces.

## A Brief Introduction (to the CLI)

Diaryx saves entries as markdown files in a folder, and provides tools for modifying frontmatter properties. It also provides a "workspace" feature for defining relationships between different entries. In this way it is similar to other "knowledge management" tools like Obsidian. But it differs by defining these relationships primarily in the frontmatter in the form of `part_of` and `contents` properties.

It distinguishes between "index" files and "content" or "leaf" files. An "index" file describes the contents of a certain area of the workspace. A "content" file is simply a regular file that belongs to a group described by an index file. For example:

```bash
> cd ~/path/to/workspace
> diaryx init
✓ Initialized diaryx configuration
  Default workspace: /Users/your_username/diaryx
  Config file: /Users/your_username/<config-path>/diaryx/config.md
✓ Initialized workspace
  Index file: /Users/your_username/diaryx/README.md
> diaryx w info
diaryx - A diaryx workspace
```

`diaryx` has initiated a default workspace with a single index file. You can look at it using `diaryx open README`, which opens the file in your default editor as defined by the `$EDITOR` environment variable:

```md
---
title: diaryx
description: A diaryx workspace
contents: []
---

# diaryx

A diaryx workspace
```

The **frontmatter** is the space at the top enclosed with three-hyphen delimiters (`---`). It describes certain aspects of the file, so it is a kind of readable metadata. Here you see "title" and "description," as well as an empty "contents." These are called **properties**, and there are many more possible properties you could have in a file, but these are enough to get you started.

To add a file, type `diaryx workspace add <filename>.md`, replacing `<filename>` with whatever you want your new file to be called. You can also simply type the letter `w` instead of `workspace` as a shortcut, or alias.

```bash
> diaryx w add test.md
✓ Added 'test.md' to contents of '/Users/adamharris/diaryx/README.md'
✓ Set part_of to 'README.md' in 'test.md'
```

If you look in README, a new property has been added:

```yaml
contents:
  - test.md
```

And you can use `diaryx open test` to look at the new file. It has a corresponding property:

```yaml
part_of: README.md
```

These two properties, `contents` and `part_of`, define a hierarchal relationship. You can see it using `diaryx workspace info`:

```bash
> diaryx workspace info
diaryx - A diaryx workspace
└── test
```

The README file has a title, "diaryx," and a description, "A diaryx workspace." The "test" file does not have a title or description, so it just uses the file name.

These `contents`/`part_of` relationships can be deeply nested, and don't necessarily need folders to function. You can use it for chapters of a book, phases of a project, recipes in a recipe book, or whatever you like!

From here, you can learn about the tool using `--help` menus. Try `diaryx --help`, `diaryx workspace --help`, or `diaryx property --help` to learn more about what you can do with Diaryx.

## Navigation

Interactively browse your workspace hierarchy with a TUI:

```bash
> diaryx nav

┌─────────────── Workspace ───────────────┬─────────────── notes/ideas.md ───────────────┐
│ ▶ README - A diaryx workspace           │                                              │
│   ├── notes - Personal notes            │   Ideas                                      │
│   │   ├── meeting-notes                 │   notes/ideas.md                             │
│   │   └── ideas - Random thoughts       │                                              │
│   └── ▶ projects                        │ # Ideas                                      │
│                                         │                                              │
│                                         │ Random thoughts and ideas go here.           │
├─────────────────────────────────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│ j/k: navigate  h/l: collapse/expand  Enter: open  J/K: scroll preview  q: quit        │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
```

### Key Bindings


| Key                 | Action                          |
| ------------------- | ------------------------------- |
| `j` / `↓`           | Move selection down             |
| `k` / `↑`           | Move selection up               |
| `h` / `←`           | Collapse / Go to parent         |
| `l` / `→`           | Expand / Enter child            |
| `Space` / `Tab`     | Toggle expand/collapse          |
| `J` / `K`           | Scroll preview down/up          |
| `Ctrl+d` / `Ctrl+u` | Page down/up in preview         |
| `Enter`             | Open selected file in `$EDITOR` |
| `q` / `Esc`         | Quit                            |


### Navigation Options

- `diaryx nav` - Start from workspace root
- `diaryx nav .` - Start from current directory's index
- `diaryx nav notes/` - Start from a specific subdirectory

Quickly navigate your workspace hierarchy with fuzzy search:

```bash
> diaryx nav
Navigate to: █
  README - A diaryx workspace
  ├── notes - Personal notes
  │   ├── meeting-notes
  │   └── ideas - Random ideas and thoughts
  └── projects - Active projects
      └── client-a - Client A project

# Type to filter, arrows/j/k to navigate, Enter to open in $EDITOR
```

### Navigation Options

- `diaryx nav .` - Start from current directory's index
- `diaryx nav notes/` - Start from a specific subdirectory
- `diaryx nav --print` - Print selected path instead of opening
- `diaryx nav --absolute` - Print absolute path (for scripting)
- `diaryx nav --properties title,path` - Show specific properties
- `diaryx nav --depth 2` - Limit tree depth

### Shell Integration

```bash
# cd to selected entry's directory
cd "$(dirname "$(diaryx nav --absolute)")"

# Open in VS Code
code "$(diaryx nav --absolute)"

# Alias for quick access
alias dn='diaryx nav'
```
## Workspace Validation

Diaryx can validate your workspace to find broken links and other issues:

```bash
> diaryx workspace validate
✓ Workspace validation passed (5 files checked)
```

If issues are found, it reports them:

```bash
> diaryx workspace validate
Errors (1):
  ✗ Broken part_of: notes/orphan.md -> missing.md
Warnings (2):
  ⚠ Unlisted file: notes/forgot-to-add.md
  ⚠ Missing part_of (orphan): random-file.md

Summary: 1 error(s), 2 warning(s), 5 files checked
```

Use `--fix` to automatically repair issues:

```bash
> diaryx workspace validate --fix
  ✓ Fixed: Removed broken part_of 'missing.md' from notes/orphan.md
  ✓ Fixed: Added 'forgot-to-add.md' to notes/README.md
  ✓ Fixed: Set part_of to 'README.md' in random-file.md

Summary: 3 issue(s) fixed, 5 files checked
```

### Validation Errors

- **BrokenPartOf** - `part_of` points to a non-existent file
- **BrokenContentsRef** - `contents` references a non-existent file
- **BrokenAttachment** - `attachments` references a non-existent file

### Validation Warnings

- **OrphanFile** - Markdown file not in any index's `contents`
- **MissingPartOf** - Non-index file has no `part_of` property
- **NonPortablePath** - Path contains absolute or `.`/`..` components
- **OrphanBinaryFile** - Binary file not in any index's `attachments`
- **MultipleIndexes** - Multiple index files in same directory
- **CircularReference** - Circular reference in hierarchy

### Exclude Patterns

Use the `exclude` frontmatter property to suppress warnings for specific files:

```yaml
exclude:
  - "LICENSE.md"    # Exact match
  - "*.lock"        # Glob pattern
```

Patterns are inherited up the `part_of` hierarchy. Validation matches them
against both basenames and workspace-relative paths, so directory globs like
`**/target` or `build/**` also prune those directories from the validation
scan instead of only hiding the resulting orphan warnings.

Validation also skips common build/dependency directories such as `target`,
`node_modules`, `dist`, `build`, and `.git` even without explicit `exclude`
patterns, which keeps large monorepos responsive during startup validation.

You can also validate specific files or directories:

```bash
> diaryx workspace validate notes/
> diaryx workspace validate notes/my-note.md
> diaryx workspace validate notes/ --recursive
```

## Plugins

Sync, import, publish, and preview are now plugin-provided workflows rather
than built-in CLI modules.

To use them, install the CLI with the `plugins` feature and then install the
relevant plugins:

```bash
cargo install diaryx --features plugins
diaryx plugin install diaryx.sync
diaryx plugin install diaryx.publish
```

Installed plugins can contribute their own CLI subcommands dynamically at
startup, so the exact command surface depends on which plugins are installed.

## roadmap

See [the roadmap document here](../../roadmap.md).

## License

PolyForm Shield 1.0. Read it [here](../../LICENSE.md).
