Dnote Notes

Manage a personal knowledge base using Dnote CLI.

Setup

Installation

# macOS/Linux auto-install
curl -s https://www.getdnote.com/install | sh

# Or Homebrew
brew install dnote

# Or download from: https://github.com/dnote/dnote/releases

Configuration

Dnote follows XDG directories:

• Config: ~/.config/dnote/dnoterc
• Database: ~/.local/share/dnote/dnote.db

# Example config file (~/.config/dnote/dnoterc)
editor: vim
apiEndpoint: https://api.dnote.io
enableUpgradeCheck: true

# Or use local-only (no sync)
# No config needed - works offline by default

Sync Setup (Optional)

# To sync across devices
dnote login

# Or local-only mode (no setup required)

Quick Start

# Add a note to a book
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh add cli "git rebase -i HEAD~3"

# Pipe content to a note
echo "docker system prune" | {baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh add docker

# Search all notes
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh find "docker compose"

# View recent notes
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh recent

# List all books
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh books

# View notes in a book
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh view cli

# Get a specific note
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh get cli 1

Commands

Adding Notes

Retrieving Notes

Managing Notes

Sync & Info

Collection IDs / Books

• Use any book name (auto-created on first use)
• Common book names: cli, docker, git, ideas, snippets, journal, inbox
• Books are created automatically when you add the first note

Examples

# Capture a shell one-liner
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh add cli "grep -r pattern . --include='*.py'"

# Save from command output
git log --oneline -10 | {baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh add git

# Quick capture to inbox
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh quick "Remember to update README"

# Search for docker commands
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh find "docker compose"

# Search within a specific book
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh find "config" -b cli

# Get formatted note for AI context
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh get cli 1 --format raw

# Export book for processing
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh export cli --json | jq '.notes[].content'

# Recent notes across all books
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh recent 20

# Search and export results
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh find "postgres" --json

Using Notes in AI Context

Retrieve relevant notes for the current task:

# Search for related knowledge
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh find "python argparse"

# Get full content of a specific note
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh get cli 5

# Export entire book for context
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh export python

Auto-capture useful information:

# Save a discovered solution
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh add docker "Multi-stage builds reduce image size"

# Save with timestamp
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh add journal "$(date): Deployed v2.3 to production"

Patterns

Daily Journal

# Create dated entry
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh add journal "$(date +%Y-%m-%d): Started work on feature X"

# Review recent entries
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh view journal | head -20

Code Snippets

# Save with description
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh add python "List comprehension: [x for x in items if x > 0]"

# Search when needed
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh find "list comprehension"

Command Reference

# Build a CLI reference
curl -s https://api.example.com | {baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh add api

# Quick lookup
{baseDir}/scripts/dnote.sh view api

Integration with Workflows

The skill provides helper functions for common patterns:

Config File

Create ~/.config/dnote/dnoterc:

editor: code --wait      # or vim, nano, subl -w
apiEndpoint: https://api.dnote.io
enableUpgradeCheck: true

Tips

• Use specific book names: python, bash, docker, kubernetes, ideas
• Search is full-text: Works across all note content
• Indexes are 1-based: First note is 1, not 0
• Pipes work great: Capture command output directly
• Sync optional: Works fully offline, sync when ready

Direct Dnote CLI

For operations not covered:

# Interactive edit
dnote edit 5

# Rename book
dnote edit oldname -n newname

# Full sync
dnote sync --full

# Custom DB path
dnote --dbPath /path/to/custom.db view

Docs: https://www.getdnote.com/docs/cli/