WorkNotes
WorkNotes is a local-first notes workspace inside Visual Studio Code. It uses a focused three-column layout—navigation, note list, and Markdown editor—while storing every note as an ordinary Markdown file with YAML frontmatter.
Iteration 1 features
- Theme-aware custom editor that follows VS Code colors and typography
- Configurable local notes folder with a first-run folder picker
- Notebooks, tags, inbox/active/archived statuses, and instant search
- Quick capture into the Inbox
- Idempotent daily notes based on the local calendar date
- Markdown task discovery from
- [ ] and - [x] lines
- Starter and user-authored Markdown templates
- Portable Markdown/YAML storage with no database or cloud dependency
Install the VSIX
- Download
worknotes-0.1.0.vsix from the repository release or CI artifact.
- In VS Code, open Extensions, choose Views and More Actions (...), then Install from VSIX....
- Run WorkNotes: Open from the Command Palette.
- Choose the local folder where WorkNotes should keep notes and templates.
To install from a terminal on Windows:
code --install-extension .\worknotes-0.1.0.vsix
Commands
| Command |
Purpose |
WorkNotes: Open |
Open the three-column workspace |
WorkNotes: Quick Capture |
Add a thought to the Inbox and open it |
WorkNotes: Open Daily Note |
Create or open today's daily note |
WorkNotes: Choose Notes Folder |
Change the local notes root |
The selected folder is organized like this:
My WorkNotes/
├─ notes/
│ ├─ 3c7f...md
│ └─ daily/
│ └─ 2026-10-27.md
└─ templates/
├─ blank.md
└─ meeting.md
A note remains readable and editable in any Markdown editor:
---
id: 3c7f...
title: WorkNotes Iteration 1
notebook: Projects
status: active
tags:
- vscode
- planning
created: 2026-10-27T17:00:00.000Z
updated: 2026-10-27T18:30:00.000Z
---
# WorkNotes Iteration 1
- [ ] Package the VSIX
Templates support {{title}}, {{date}}, and {{time}}. Add a Markdown file to templates/, optionally with notebook and tags frontmatter, and it appears in the template picker.
Development
Requirements:
- Windows with Visual Studio Code
- Node.js 24
- pnpm 11.25.0
pnpm install
pnpm test
pnpm run check
pnpm run package
Press F5 in VS Code to launch an Extension Development Host. The packaged extension is written to worknotes-0.1.0.vsix.
Current limitations
Iteration 1 intentionally has no cloud sync, note deletion, rich-text editing, mobile client, or collaboration. Changing a title does not rename the underlying ID-based filename. WorkNotes surfaces file-read and save errors without deleting or rewriting the affected source file.
Privacy and security
Notes stay in the folder you choose. The webview loads only extension-owned local assets, uses a content security policy, validates messages at the extension boundary, and never executes note content.
