Functions

Expander supports function expressions for dynamic values. Functions can be chained together.

Quick Reference

Date Functions

Function	Description	Example
`now()`	Current date/time	`now().format("YYYY-MM-DD")`
`today()`	Today at midnight	`today().format("YYYY-MM-DD")`
`date("string")`	Parse date from string	`date("2024-01-15").format("YYYY")`
`.format("pattern")`	Format a date	`now().format("HH:mm")`
`.date()`	Remove time component	`now().date().format("YYYY-MM-DD")`
`.time()`	Extract time as HH:mm:ss	`now().time()`
`.relative()`	Human-readable relative time	`file.mtime.relative()`

String Functions

Function	Description	Example
`upper("text")` or `.upper()`	Convert to uppercase	`upper("hello")` or `file.name.upper()`
`lower("text")` or `.lower()`	Convert to lowercase	`lower("HELLO")` or `file.name.lower()`
`title("text")` or `.title()`	Title Case	`title("hello world")` → “Hello World”
`trim("text")` or `.trim()`	Remove leading/trailing spaces	`trim(" text ")`
`replace("text", "find", "replace")`	Replace all occurrences	`replace("a-b", "-", "_")`
`.slice(start, end?)`	Extract substring	`"hello".slice(0, 3)` → “hel”
`.repeat(n)`	Repeat string N times	`"ab".repeat(3)` → “ababab”
`.reverse()`	Reverse characters	`"hello".reverse()` → “olleh”
`.split(sep, limit?)`	Split to array	`"a,b,c".split(",")` → “a, b, c”

Boolean String Methods

Function	Description	Example
`.startsWith(query)`	Test string beginning	`file.name.startsWith("2024")`
`.endsWith(query)`	Test string ending	`file.name.endsWith("draft")`
`.contains(value)`	Test substring presence	`file.name.contains("daily")`
`.containsAll(val1, val2, ...)`	All substrings present	`file.name.containsAll("a", "b")`
`.containsAny(val1, val2, ...)`	Any substring present	`file.name.containsAny("draft", "wip")`
`.isEmpty()`	Empty check	`file.name.isEmpty()`

Number Functions

Function	Description	Example
`number("value")`	Parse string to number	`number("42").abs()`
`min(val1, val2, ...)`	Get minimum value	`min(5, 3, 8)` → “3”
`max(val1, val2, ...)`	Get maximum value	`max(5, 3, 8)` → “8”
`.abs()`	Absolute value	`number("-5").abs()` → “5”
`.ceil()`	Round up	`number("3.2").ceil()` → “4”
`.floor()`	Round down	`number("3.9").floor()` → “3”
`.round(digits?)`	Round to precision	`number("3.14159").round(2)` → “3.14”
`.toFixed(precision)`	Format decimals	`number("3").toFixed(2)` → “3.00”

Conditional Function

Function	Description	Example
`if(condition, true, false?)`	Conditional value	`if("true", "yes", "no")` → “yes”

Utility Functions

Function	Description	Example
`escapeHTML(text)`	Escape HTML characters	`escapeHTML("<div>")` → “<div>”

File Fields

Field	Description	Type
`file.name`	File name without extension	String
`file.path`	Full path relative to vault	String
`file.folder`	Parent folder path	String
`file.ext`	File extension (without dot)	String
`file.ctime`	Creation time	Date
`file.mtime`	Modification time	Date

Property Keys (prop.*)

Keys starting with prop. automatically update the corresponding frontmatter property when expanded. Unlike regular keys, property keys only update frontmatter — they don’t insert any visible text between the markers.

Example replacement:

Key: prop.updated
Value: now().format("YYYY-MM-DD")

In your note:

---
title: My Note
---

<!-- expand: prop.updated -->

When expanded, this will update (or create) the updated property in frontmatter:

---
title: My Note
updated: 2024-01-15
---

<!-- expand: prop.updated -->

The marker stays as-is (no closing marker needed) — it only triggers the frontmatter update. The mode badge and refresh button are still displayed next to the marker.

This is useful for automatically maintaining metadata like:

prop.updated - Last modification date
prop.created - Creation date (use with once mode)
prop.word-count - Word count or other computed values

File Fields

Access metadata about the current file using file.* fields:

Field	Description	Type
`file.name`	File name without extension	String
`file.path`	Full path relative to vault	String
`file.folder`	Parent folder path	String
`file.ext`	File extension (without dot)	String
`file.ctime`	Creation time	Date
`file.mtime`	Modification time	Date

Examples:

file.name                           → "My Note"
file.path                           → "folder/My Note.md"
file.folder                         → "folder"
file.ctime.format("YYYY-MM-DD")     → "2024-01-15"
file.mtime.format("HH:mm")          → "14:30"

With string functions:

file.name.upper()                   → "MY NOTE"
upper(file.name)                    → "MY NOTE"
file.path.replace("/", " > ")       → "folder > My Note.md"

Date Functions

now()

Returns the current date and time.

now()

today()

Returns today’s date with time set to 00:00:00.

today()

date(string)

Parses a date from a string. Supports various formats:

ISO format: 2024-01-15
Slash format: 2024/01/15
Compact format: 20240115
Extracts dates from longer strings: 2024-01-15 Meeting Notes

date("2024-01-15")
date(file.name)

format(pattern)

Formats a date using a pattern string. Must be chained after now() or today().

now().format("YYYY-MM-DD")
today().format("MM/DD/YYYY")

Pattern tokens: | Token | Output | Example | |——-|——–|———| | YYYY | 4-digit year | 2024 | | YY | 2-digit year | 24 | | MM | Month (zero-padded) | 01-12 | | M | Month | 1-12 | | DD | Day (zero-padded) | 01-31 | | D | Day | 1-31 | | HH | Hour 24h (zero-padded) | 00-23 | | H | Hour 24h | 0-23 | | hh | Hour 12h (zero-padded) | 01-12 | | h | Hour 12h | 1-12 | | mm | Minute (zero-padded) | 00-59 | | m | Minute | 0-59 | | ss | Second (zero-padded) | 00-59 | | s | Second | 0-59 | | A | AM/PM | AM, PM | | a | am/pm | am, pm |

date()

Removes the time component, returning start of day (midnight).

now().date().format("HH:mm:ss")

Result: 00:00:00

time()

Extracts the time portion as a string in HH:mm:ss format.

now().time()

Result: 14:30:45

relative()

Returns a human-readable relative time description.

file.mtime.relative()

Result: 3 days ago or in 2 hours

String Functions

String functions take a text argument and can be chained.

upper(text)

Converts string to uppercase.

upper("hello")

Result: HELLO

lower(text)

Converts string to lowercase.

lower("HELLO")

Result: hello

trim(text)

Removes leading and trailing whitespace.

trim("  hello  ")

Result: hello

replace(text, pattern, replacement)

Replaces all occurrences of a pattern with a replacement string.

replace("hello world", "world", "there")

Result: hello there

title(text)

Converts string to title case (capitalize first letter of each word).

title("hello world")

Result: Hello World

slice(start, end?)

Extracts a substring. Supports negative indices.

upper("hello world").slice(0, 5)
upper("hello world").slice(-5)

Results: HELLO, WORLD

repeat(n)

Repeats the string N times.

upper("ab").repeat(3)

Result: ABABAB

reverse()

Reverses the characters in the string.

upper("hello").reverse()

Result: OLLEH

split(separator, limit?)

Splits a string into an array (displayed as comma-separated).

upper("a,b,c").split(",")

Result: A, B, C

Boolean String Methods

These methods return true or false:

startsWith(query) - Check if string starts with query:

file.name.startsWith("2024")

endsWith(query) - Check if string ends with query:

file.name.endsWith("draft")

contains(value) - Check if string contains substring:

file.name.contains("daily")

containsAll(…values) - Check if all substrings are present:

file.name.containsAll("2024", "meeting")

containsAny(…values) - Check if any substring is present:

file.name.containsAny("draft", "wip", "todo")

isEmpty() - Check if string is empty:

file.name.isEmpty()

Chaining with dates

String functions can be chained after date functions:

now().format("MMMM").upper()

Result: JANUARY

Number Functions

number(value)

Parses a string to a number.

number("42")
number("-3.14")

abs()

Returns the absolute value.

number("-5").abs()

Result: 5

ceil()

Rounds up to the nearest integer.

number("3.2").ceil()

Result: 4

floor()

Rounds down to the nearest integer.

number("3.9").floor()

Result: 3

round(digits?)

Rounds to the nearest integer, or to specified decimal places.

number("3.6").round()
number("3.14159").round(2)

Results: 4, 3.14

toFixed(precision)

Formats with a fixed number of decimal places.

number("3").toFixed(2)

Result: 3.00

min(val1, val2, …)

Returns the minimum value from the arguments.

min(5, 3, 8)

Result: 3

max(val1, val2, …)

Returns the maximum value from the arguments.

max(5, 3, 8)

Result: 8

Conditional Function

if(condition, trueResult, falseResult?)

Returns trueResult if condition is truthy, otherwise falseResult.

Truthy values: non-empty strings (except “false”, “0”, “null”, “undefined”) Falsy values: empty string, “false”, “0”, “null”, “undefined”, whitespace-only

if("true", "yes", "no")
if("", "yes", "no")
if("false", "yes", "no")

Results: yes, no, no

Practical example - Show different text based on file name:

if(file.name.contains("draft"), "DRAFT", "Published")

Utility Functions

escapeHTML(text)

Escapes HTML special characters (<, >, &, ", ').

escapeHTML("<div>Hello</div>")

Result: <div>Hello</div>

Examples

Current date in ISO format:

now().format("YYYY-MM-DD")

Result: 2024-01-15

Current time:

now().format("HH:mm")

Result: 14:30

Date with slashes:

now().format("YYYY-MM-DD").replace("-", "/")

Result: 2024/01/15

Today’s date, midnight:

today().format("YYYY-MM-DD HH:mm:ss")

Result: 2024-01-15 00:00:00

Uppercase text:

upper("hello world")

Result: HELLO WORLD

Chained string operations:

upper("hello").replace("L", "X")

Result: HEXXO

Parse date from string:

date("2024-01-15").format("YYYY")

Result: 2024

Extract year from file name (for a file named “2024-01-15 Meeting Notes”):

date(file.name).format("YYYY")

Result: 2024

Reformat a date:

date("2024-01-15").format("DD/MM/YYYY")

Result: 15/01/2024

Chaining Examples

Functions can be chained in various combinations:

Date + String chaining:

now().format("YYYY-MM-DD").replace("-", "/")

Result: 2024/01/15

Multiple string operations:

trim("  hello world  ").upper().replace(" ", "_")

Result: HELLO_WORLD

File field + multiple operations:

file.name.lower().replace(" ", "-")

Result: my-note-title

Parse date from file name and reformat:

date(file.name).format("DD/MM/YYYY")

Result: 15/01/2024 (for a file named “2024-01-15 Meeting”)

Syntax Variations

String functions support two equivalent syntaxes:

Function syntax (text as first argument):

upper("hello")
lower("HELLO")
trim("  text  ")
replace("a-b-c", "-", "_")

Method syntax (chained after a value):

file.name.upper()
file.name.lower()
file.name.trim()
file.path.replace("/", " > ")

Both syntaxes can be combined:

upper(file.name).replace(" ", "-")

Result: MY-NOTE-TITLE