jotx 3.2

Notes that live in your repo — and read like a beautifully designed web page.

jotx is a block editor for VS Code. Write with / commands, drop in live widgets like Kanban boards, timelines and diffs, and keep everything as clean, diff-friendly text files next to your code.

What's new in 3.2

• Tabs. Split a note into pages under one tab bar: an overview, tasks and decisions in one file. Type /tabs, click + to add a tab, double-click a label to rename it, and use ⋯ to move a tab, give it an icon or delete it. Search and the outline find what is inside hidden tabs.
• One-file sites. A note that starts with tabs becomes a whole site in one file: the tabs are its top navigation, with dropdowns, menu links and search. Try examples/mbse-site-example.jot from jotx: Open Help Files.
• Menus. A navigation bar that links notes and web pages, with dropdowns. Type /menu.
• Links between notes open in jotx. A link such as [next](https://github.com/balaji-embedcentrum/jotx-open/blob/HEAD/next.jot) opens that note in the jotx editor.
• One column. Text, tables, diagrams and widgets now share the same left and right edges at the page width you choose.
• Publish a folder as a website with npx @jotx-labs/cli site build: clean addresses, a menu, tag pages, RSS, a sitemap and search.

What's new in 3.1

• Compact syntax. The same notes in about 40% fewer tokens, so AI assistants write, read and edit them for less. def heading "Goals" instead of three lines; list items, table rows and chart data one per line. jotx reads both syntaxes and converts either way: jotx: Convert Workspace Syntax… or jotx migrate notes/ --to compact.
• Animated flow widget. Show how a request, a save or a process moves through a system, step by step.
• Properties is retired. Use a table; existing properties blocks open as one.

What's new in 3.0

• A page, not a form. Notes open like a modern docs site: a reading column for prose, full-width figures for tables, diagrams and widgets, a hero opening, and an On this page rail that tracks where you are.
• 19 new widgets. Kanban, habit tracker, progress, countdown, focus timer, rating, priority matrix, pros & cons, decision records, table of contents, steps, timeline, terminal, API endpoint, file tree, diff, color palette, badges and keyboard shortcuts — plus 2- and 3-column layouts.
• Insert gallery. A floating toolbar with a searchable gallery of every block and widget. The / menu is grouped and ranks results as you type.
• Follows your theme. Colors come from your active VS Code theme — light, dark, high contrast or custom — with one teal accent.
• Every block redesigned. Diagrams, charts, math, code, images, cards, buttons, toggles, sections, links, dialogs, search and the graph view share one design system.
• Smarter text editing. Opening a .jot file as text now gives you full syntax highlighting, completions for every block and property (with snippets), hover docs, and diagnostics on the right line.

Widgets

Type / or press Insert on the toolbar.

Each widget keeps its data as readable text, so it diffs cleanly and AI assistants can write it:

def kanban "Sprint 12"
  board """[Todo]
Write docs
[Done]
Ship widgets"""

def timeline "Roadmap"
  events """2026-10-27 | Widgets & new UI | done
2026-12-01 | Public launch | planned"""

Everything else you'd expect

• 30+ blocks — headings, lists, checklists, quotes, code with highlighting, LaTeX math, Mermaid diagrams, Chart.js charts, tables, callouts, toggles, sections, images, video, file attachments and code references that pull live code from your workspace.
• Knowledge graph — workspace and per-note graphs of every link between notes and blocks.
• Links that know your workspace — [[note]] and block-level jotx links.
• Preview mode — lock a note to read it without accidental edits.
• Export — Markdown, Word and PDF.
• Templates and examples — run jotx: Open Help Files.

The file format

hdef jotx release_plan
  title Release plan
  type roadmap

def heading "Shipping jotx 3.1"

def callout "Everything here is **plain text**: commit it, review it, grep it."

def checklist
  items """[x] Compact syntax
[ ] Launch post"""

.jot files are indentation-based and human-readable. The full reference for people and for AI models ships with the extension (JOTX_FOR_HUMANS.jot, JOTX_FOR_AI.jot).

Getting started

1. Install jotx from the VS Code Marketplace.
2. Run jotx: Create New Note from the Command Palette, or create any .jot file.
3. Type /, or press Insert, and pick a block.

Open examples/widgets-showcase-example.jot from jotx: Open Help Files for a tour of every widget.

Development

git clone https://github.com/balaji-embedcentrum/jotx-open.git
cd jotx
npm install
npm run build                     # all packages + extension
cd packages/vscode-extension && npx vsce package

See docs/ARCHITECTURE.md for how the pieces fit and how to add a widget in two files.

Apache-2.0 · Source on GitHub