Configuration
Configure Journal Bases via Settings > Journal Bases.
Period Type Settings
Each period type (daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly) has these settings:
| Setting | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Enabled | Toggle this period type on/off | true |
| Folder | Where notes are stored | Journal/Daily |
| Format | Filename format using Moment.js tokens | YYYY-MM-DD |
| Template | Path to Templater template file (optional) | Templates/Daily.md |
Date Format Tokens
Uses Moment.js format tokens:
| Token | Output | Example |
|---|---|---|
YYYY | 4-digit year | 2025 |
MM | 2-digit month | 01-12 |
MMMM | Full month name | January |
MMM | Short month name | Jan |
DD | 2-digit day | 01-31 |
dddd | Full weekday name | Saturday |
ddd | Short weekday name | Sat |
gggg | ISO week year | 2025 |
ww | ISO week | 01-53 |
[Q] | Literal “Q” | Q |
Q | Quarter | 1-4 |
[text] | Literal text | text |
Decorative tokens such as the weekday name (dddd) and a month name combined with the month number (YYYY-MM-MMMM) are supported — for example YYYY-MM-DD-dddd produces 2025-01-15-Wednesday.md.
Note: A month name (
MMMM/MMM) is only recognised in English unless the format also carries a numeric month (MM). Prefer a format that includesMM(e.g.YYYY-MM-MMMM) so notes are detected regardless of language. A name-only format such asYYYY-MMMMworks for English month names but not localized ones.
Default Formats
| Period | Format | Example Output |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | YYYY-MM-DD | 2025-01-15.md |
| Weekly | gggg-[W]ww | 2025-W03.md |
| Monthly | YYYY-MM | 2025-01.md |
| Quarterly | YYYY-[Q]Q | 2025-Q1.md |
| Yearly | YYYY | 2025.md |
Nested Folder Formats
Formats can include path separators to organize notes in subfolders:
| Format | Result |
|---|---|
YYYY/MM/YYYY-MM-DD | 2025/01/2025-01-15.md |
YYYY/YYYY-[Q]Q | 2025/2025-Q1.md |
YYYY/MM/YYYY-MM | 2025/01/2025-01.md |
Folders are created automatically if they don’t exist.
View-Specific Options
View options are configured per Base instance via the view options menu (gear icon).
Periodic Notes View Options
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Period type | Select | Daily | Which period type to display |
| Future periods | Slider | 1 | Future periods to show (0-12) |
| Expand first card | Toggle | true | Auto-expand newest note |
| Show missing periods | Toggle | true | Show create buttons for gaps |
Periodic Review View Options
| Option | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Show daily | Toggle | true | Show daily column |
| Show weekly | Toggle | true | Show weekly column |
| Show monthly | Toggle | true | Show monthly column |
| Show quarterly | Toggle | true | Show quarterly column |
| Show yearly | Toggle | true | Show yearly column |
| Column width | Slider | 400 | Column width in pixels (300-600) |
Periodic Review Settings
Configured globally in Settings > Journal Bases > Periodic Review:
| Setting | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Collapse frontmatter | Toggle | true | Fold a note’s YAML frontmatter when it opens in a review column. |
| Remember column state | Toggle | true | Remember each column’s collapsed/expanded state in the Base file and restore it. |
Troubleshooting Settings
Configured globally in Settings > Journal Bases > Troubleshooting:
| Setting | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Debug logging | Toggle | false | Write detailed plugin activity to the developer console. |
The plugin is silent by default. Turn Debug logging on only when investigating a problem, then open the developer console (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + I) to read the output. The change takes effect immediately — no reload needed. Turn it back off when you are done: verbose logging adds noise to the console for every other plugin too.
Periodic Notes Plugin Sync
When the Periodic Notes plugin is enabled:
- Journal Bases automatically syncs settings from Periodic Notes
- Settings in Journal Bases become read-only (indicated in UI)
- Make changes in the Periodic Notes settings instead
- If Periodic Notes is disabled later, settings become editable again
Sync requirements: Periodic Notes must have at least one period type enabled with a non-empty folder.
Template Configuration
To use templates:
- Install and enable the Templater plugin
- Create template files for each period type
- Set the template path in Journal Bases settings
Template path examples:
Templates/Daily Note.md_templates/weekly.mdMy Templates/Journal/Monthly.md
Templates are processed by Templater when creating new notes.