Note Taking¶

Complete guide to taking notes with local-work v3.1.1.

Daily Notes¶

Create Daily Note¶

Create a note for today:

note daily

Output:

✓ Daily note created!
  File: /project/.local-work/notes/daily/2025-11-07.md

  Opening in editor...

Daily Note Template¶

---
title: Daily Note - 2025-11-07
date: 2025-11-07
type: daily
tags:
  - daily
---

## Today's Focus

## Notes

## Action Items

- [ ]

Behavior¶

One note per day: Running note daily multiple times on the same day opens the existing note
Auto-naming: File named by date: YYYY-MM-DD.md
Auto-open: Opens in your configured editor (unless --no-edit flag is used)

Use Cases¶

Daily standup notes
Work journal
Daily accomplishments
Tomorrow's planning

Example¶

---
title: Daily Note - 2025-11-07
date: 2025-11-07
type: daily
tags:
  - daily
---

## Today's Focus

- Complete user authentication feature
- Review Sarah's PR on dark mode
- Team retrospective at 3pm

## Notes

- Had productive morning session
- Figured out JWT refresh token implementation
- Team decided to use TypeScript for new services

## Action Items

- [x] Finish auth middleware
- [x] Write auth tests
- [ ] Deploy to staging tomorrow
- [ ] Update API documentation

Meeting Notes¶

Create Meeting Note¶

note meeting "Sprint Planning"

Output:

✓ Meeting note created!
  File: /project/.local-work/notes/meetings/2025-11-07-sprint-planning.md

  Opening in editor...

Meeting Note Template¶

---
title: Sprint Planning
date: 2025-11-07
time: 14:30
type: meeting
attendees: []
tags:
  - meeting
---

## Agenda

## Discussion

## Decisions

## Action Items

- [ ]

File Naming¶

Format: YYYY-MM-DD-meeting-title.md

Example: 2025-11-07-sprint-planning.md

Use Cases¶

Team meetings
Standups
Planning sessions
Retrospectives
Client calls
One-on-ones

Example¶

---
title: Sprint Planning - November 2025
date: 2025-11-07
time: 09:00
type: meeting
attendees:
  - Jonh (Dev)
  - Sarah (Design)
  - Mike (PM)
  - Lisa (QA)
tags:
  - meeting
  - sprint
  - planning
---

## Agenda

1. Review last sprint
2. Plan next sprint goals
3. Estimate stories
4. Assign tasks

## Discussion

### Last Sprint Review

- Completed 12/15 stories
- 2 stories moved to backlog
- Good velocity overall

### Next Sprint Goals

- Focus on authentication feature
- Complete dark mode
- Start OAuth integration

## Decisions

- Use JWT for authentication (not sessions)
- Dark mode toggle in user settings
- OAuth: Support Google and GitHub first

## Action Items

- [ ] Jonh: Implement JWT authentication (5 story points)
- [ ] Sarah: Design OAuth login screens
- [ ] Mike: Create user stories for profile page
- [ ] Lisa: Write test plan for auth feature

Technical Notes (ADR)¶

Create Technical Decision Record¶

note tech "Migration to TypeScript"

Alias: note technical "Migration to TypeScript"

Output:

✓ Technical note created!
  File: /project/.local-work/notes/technical/2025-11-07-migration-to-typescript.md

  Opening in editor...

Technical Note Template¶

---
title: Migration to TypeScript
date: 2025-11-07
type: technical
status: proposed
tags:
  - technical
  - adr
---

## Context

## Decision

## Consequences

## Alternatives Considered

File Naming¶

Format: YYYY-MM-DD-title.md

Can also be named as ADR: ADR-001-title.md

Status Values¶

Common status values for ADRs:

proposed - Under consideration
accepted - Approved and being implemented
rejected - Decided against
deprecated - No longer in use
superseded - Replaced by another decision

Use Cases¶

Architecture decisions
Technology choices
Design patterns
Database schema changes
API design
Security decisions

Example¶

---
title: Migration to TypeScript
date: 2025-11-07
type: technical
status: accepted
tags:
  - technical
  - adr
  - typescript
---

## Context

Our codebase has grown significantly, and we're experiencing:

- Runtime type errors in production
- Difficulty refactoring large files
- Lack of IDE autocomplete for complex objects
- New team members struggling with implicit contracts

We need better type safety and developer experience.

## Decision

We will migrate our entire codebase to TypeScript.

Migration approach:

1. Start with utility functions and types
2. Migrate backend services
3. Migrate frontend components
4. Enable strict mode after 80% migration

Timeline: 3 months

## Consequences

### Positive

- Catch type errors at compile time
- Better IDE support and autocomplete
- Improved code documentation through types
- Easier refactoring
- Better onboarding for new developers

### Negative

- Learning curve for team members unfamiliar with TypeScript
- Initial slowdown in feature development
- Build process becomes more complex
- Need to add types for third-party libraries

## Alternatives Considered

### JSDoc

**Pros:**

- No build step
- Gradual adoption
- Works with existing tooling

**Cons:**

- Verbose syntax
- Not enforced at runtime
- Limited IDE support

**Decision:** Not robust enough for our scale

### Flow

**Pros:**

- Similar to TypeScript
- Good type inference

**Cons:**

- Smaller community
- Less tooling support
- Facebook-centric

**Decision:** TypeScript has better ecosystem

## Resources

- [TypeScript Handbook](https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/)
- [TypeScript Migration Guide](https://www.typescriptlang.org/docs/handbook/migrating-from-javascript.html)

Learning Notes (TIL)¶

Create Learning Note¶

note til "React Server Components"

Alias: note learning "React Server Components"

Output:

✓ Learning note created!
  File: /project/.local-work/notes/learning/2025-11-07-react-server-components.md

  Opening in editor...

Learning Note Template¶

---
title: React Server Components
date: 2025-11-07
type: learning
topic: React
tags:
  - learning
  - til
---

## What I Learned

## Key Takeaways

-

## Resources

-

File Naming¶

Format: YYYY-MM-DD-topic.md

Example: 2025-11-07-react-server-components.md

Use Cases¶

New concepts learned
Technology discoveries
Problem-solving insights
Tutorial notes
Conference takeaways
Book notes

Example¶

---
title: React Server Components
date: 2025-11-07
type: learning
topic: React
tags:
  - learning
  - til
  - react
  - nextjs
---

## What I Learned

React Server Components allow components to render on the server, reducing JavaScript bundle size and improving performance.

Key concepts:

- Server Components render once on the server
- Client Components use 'use client' directive
- Automatic code splitting
- Zero bundle size for Server Components

## Key Takeaways

- Server Components can directly access backend resources (databases, file system)
- Cannot use hooks like useState, useEffect in Server Components
- Client Components can import and render Server Components as children
- Great for data fetching and reducing client bundle size
- Next.js App Router uses Server Components by default

## Example Code

```jsx
// app/page.tsx - Server Component by default
async function Page() {
  const data = await fetch('https://api.example.com/data');
  return <div>{data.title}</div>;
}

// components/Counter.tsx - Client Component
('use client');
import { useState } from 'react';

export function Counter() {
  const [count, setCount] = useState(0);
  return <button onClick={() => setCount(count + 1)}>{count}</button>;
}
```

Resources¶

Follow-up¶

[ ] Try building a blog with Server Components
[ ] Compare bundle sizes: Client vs Server Components
[ ] Learn about streaming and Suspense integration

---

## :material-pencil: Editing Notes

### Edit Existing Note

```bash
note edit <pattern>

Search by filename or pattern:

note edit 2025-11-07              # Edit daily note by date
note edit sprint-planning         # Edit meeting by pattern
note edit ADR-001                 # Edit technical decision
note edit react-server            # Edit learning note by pattern

Output:

✓ Opening note in editor...

Listing Notes¶

List All Notes¶

Show all notes across all types:

note list

Alias: note ls

Output:

Daily Notes (5)
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
◈ 2025-11-07.md
  Date: today

◈ 2025-11-06.md
  Date: yesterday

◈ 2025-11-05.md
  Date: 2 days ago

Meetings (3)
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
◈ 2025-11-07-sprint-planning.md
  Date: today

◈ 2025-11-06-team-standup.md
  Date: yesterday

Technical (2)
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
◈ 2025-11-07-migration-to-typescript.md
  Date: today

◈ 2025-11-05-api-versioning.md
  Date: 2 days ago

Learning (4)
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
◈ 2025-11-07-react-server-components.md
  Date: today

◈ 2025-11-06-postgresql-indexes.md
  Date: yesterday

List by Type¶

Filter notes by specific type:

note list daily
note list meetings
note list technical
note list learning

Example:

note list technical

Output:

Technical (2)
─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
◈ 2025-11-07-migration-to-typescript.md
  Date: today

◈ 2025-11-05-api-versioning.md
  Date: 2 days ago

Searching Notes¶

Search by Term¶

Find notes by searching titles and content:

note search <term>

Alias: note find <term>

Examples:

note search "authentication"
note search "react"
note search "sprint planning"

Output:

Search Results (3)

Searching for: "authentication"

• Implement user authentication
  Type: technical | Date: today | 2025-11-07-user-authentication.md

• Sprint Planning - November
  Type: meetings | Date: 2 days ago | 2025-11-05-sprint-planning.md

• JWT Tokens
  Type: learning | Date: yesterday | 2025-11-06-jwt-tokens.md

Note Directory Structure¶

.local-work/notes/
├── daily/
│   ├── 2025-11-07.md
│   ├── 2025-11-06.md
│   └── 2025-11-05.md
├── meetings/
│   ├── 2025-11-07-sprint-planning.md
│   ├── 2025-11-06-team-standup.md
│   └── 2025-11-05-client-call.md
├── technical/
│   ├── 2025-11-07-migration-to-typescript.md
│   ├── 2025-11-05-api-versioning.md
│   └── ADR-001-database-choice.md
└── learning/
    ├── 2025-11-07-react-server-components.md
    ├── 2025-11-06-postgresql-indexes.md
    └── 2025-11-05-docker-compose.md

Opening Notes Directory¶

Open in File Manager¶

note open              # Open local notes directory
note -g open           # Open global notes directory

Opens the appropriate directory in your system's file manager.

Global vs Local Notes¶

Local Notes (Project-specific)¶

After running task init, notes are project-specific:

note daily
note meeting "Team standup"
note tech "API design"

These create notes in .local-work/notes/ in your project.

Global Notes (Personal)¶

Use -g or --global for personal notes:

note -g daily
note -g til "New concept"

These create notes in your global workspace.

Command Flags¶

--no-edit¶

Create note without opening in editor:

note daily --no-edit
note meeting "Standup" --no-edit
note tech "Decision" --no-edit
note til "Concept" --no-edit

Useful for automation or batch creation.

Tips & Best Practices¶

Daily Notes¶

Best practices:

Write at the start of the day (planning)
Update throughout the day
Review at end of day
Keep it concise but meaningful

Template customization:

## Morning Plan

- Priority tasks
- Meetings

## Progress

- What I worked on
- Blockers encountered

## Evening Review

- Completed items
- Tomorrow's priorities

Meeting Notes¶

Best practices:

Update attendees list
Note meeting time
Capture decisions clearly
Create action items with owners
Link to related tasks

Action item format:

## Action Items

- [ ] @Jonh Implement auth endpoint (TASK-001)
- [ ] @sarah Design login screen
- [ ] @mike Update project timeline

Technical Notes¶

Best practices:

Document context fully
List alternatives considered
Be honest about trade-offs
Update status as decision evolves
Reference related resources

Numbering ADRs:

note tech "ADR-001: Database Choice"
note tech "ADR-002: Authentication Strategy"
note tech "ADR-003: API Versioning"

Learning Notes¶

Best practices:

Write immediately after learning
Include code examples
Add resource links
Note follow-up tasks
Tag by technology/topic

Organize by topic:

---
tags:
  - learning
  - til
  - react
  - performance
  - optimization
---

Integration with Tasks¶

Link Notes to Tasks¶

Reference tasks in notes:

## Action Items

- [ ] Complete TASK-001: Implement auth
- [ ] Review TASK-005: Update docs

Reference notes in tasks:

## Resources

- Meeting notes: 2025-11-07-sprint-planning.md
- Technical decision: ADR-001-database-choice.md

Common Workflows¶

Daily Routine¶

# Morning
note daily
# Plan your day in the note

# Throughout day
# Update progress in daily note

# Evening
# Review and plan tomorrow

After Meetings¶

# Create meeting note
note meeting "Sprint Planning"

# Convert action items to tasks
task new "Implement auth endpoint" -a Jonh -p high
task new "Design login screen" -a sarah -p medium

Learning Something New¶

# Create TIL note
note til "Docker Multi-stage Builds"

# Document what you learned
# Add code examples
# Note resources

# Create task if needed
task new "Refactor Dockerfile to use multi-stage builds"

Making Technical Decisions¶

# Create ADR
note tech "ADR-003: State Management Library"

# Document:
# - Current problem
# - Considered options
# - Decision and rationale
# - Trade-offs

# Create implementation tasks
task new "Implement Redux store" -p high
task new "Update documentation"

Next Steps¶

Task Management Guide - Learn about tasks
Note CLI Reference - Complete command reference
Configuration - Customize note behavior