Protesilaos

Emacs: Denote version 4.2.0

Denote aims to be a simple-to-use, focused-in-scope, and effective note-taking and file-naming tool for Emacs.

Denote is based on the idea that files should follow a predictable and descriptive file-naming scheme. The file name must offer a clear indication of what the contents are about, without reference to any other metadata. Denote basically streamlines the creation of such files or file names while providing facilities to link between them (where those files are editable).

Denote’s file-naming scheme is not limited to “notes”. It can be used for all types of file, including those that are not editable in Emacs, such as videos. Naming files in a constistent way makes their filtering and retrieval considerably easier. Denote provides relevant facilities to rename files, regardless of file type.

Below are the release notes.

Version 4.2.0 on 2026-05-20

This version brings several improvements to the core denote package as well as all the Denote extensions I maintain. The core package is stable, its feature set is rich, and the wider ecosystem of extensions is growing.

Most of the changes documented herein are of interest to experienced users who may be looking for ways to refine their workflow. I recommend that new users start with the basics, as I explained them in the original video demonstration of Denote or as they are documented in the manual’s section for newcomers:

Remember that the release notes are true only at the time of publication. The single source of truth is the official manual.

Core Denote

Overview of the new features

  • The command denote-dired-focus will filter the results of an existing denote-dired buffer. Use this to narrow down the results.

  • In Org files, the denote: link type can now be previewed using the built-in org-link-preview command, starting with Org version 9.8.0.

  • The command denote-link-or-create-with-command extends the existing convenience functions of the “do or create note” kind.

  • The denote-file-prompt uses completion metadata to sort by most recently accessed, group by directory or file extension, and cover packages that display cosmetic icons alongside completion candidates.

  • Denote now enforces a controlled vocabulary for keywords when denote-infer-keywords is set to nil, such that only the denote-known-keywords are provided as an option at the relevant prompts.

  • The mechanism for integrating Denote with org-capture now supports prompting for an signature via denote-org-capture-with-prompts (the signature is an optional, free-form component of the Denote file-naming scheme).

  • Several packages that extend Denote are documented in the manual. If you have a package for Denote, let me know and I will write a section about it.

Focus a denote-dired buffer with denote-dired-focus

The command denote-dired produces a Dired listing of file names that match the given regular expressions. Users can benefit from the Denote file-naming scheme to, for example, include all files that have the keyword _emacs. In the resulting Dired buffer, the new command denote-dired-focus can then be invoked to further narrow down the results, such as to only show files that have 2026 in their file (with default settings, the date is part of the Denote identifier).

I implemented this feature in response to issue 693 by 82Kang: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/issues/693.

Improvements to the file prompt

Various Denote commands prompt for a file name: for instance, denote-link asks which file to link to. This file prompt is now augmented with completion metadata that transform how files look and how the information is organised.

Before, the prompt presented full file names like:

20220610T043241--initial-thoughts-on-the-zettelkasten-method__notetaking.org
20220610T062201--define-custom-org-hyperlink-type__denote_emacs_package.md
20220610T162327--on-hierarchy-and-taxis__notetaking_philosophy.txt

Those same file names are now transformed to look like this:

2022-06-10  initial-thoughts-on-the-zettelkasten-method  notetaking
2022-06-10  define-custom-org-hyperlink-type  denote_emacs_package
2022-06-10  on-hierarchy-and-taxis  notetaking_philosophy

The files will be grouped by file extension or directory (if they are in a subdirectory of the denote-directory). Furthermore, they will be sorted by most recently accessed.

The underlying file names are still available except that their presentation is modified. This means that input at the minibuffer prompt will still match everything they contain.

This completion metadata extends to the packages all-the-icons and nerd-icons, which are now instructed to add the correct file icons to the completion candidates: an Org file will have the unicorn icon beside it, for example.

Users who do not like the new style can revert to the plain presentation by setting denote-file-prompt-extra-metadata to nil.

Advanced users who wish to set up the completion-category-overrides may target the denote-file completion category or, anyhow, modify the denote-file-prompt-extra-metadata.

Link to a file or create a new note using a specific command

Denote provides many “convenience wrapper” commands that do something quickly which can also be achieved with minimal configuration. For example, the denote command may be modified to also prompt for a file type and so the denote-type command is like denote with the addition of the file type prompt. Users can look at the source code of denote-type to write their own small variations (the manual provides several examples as well).

The denote-open-or-create-with-command may then use those to implement its specified behaviour of “open an existing file or create it using a convenience wrapper command”.

Same principle for the new denote-link-or-create-with-command: it makes possible the workflow of “link to an existing file or create a new note with the given command”.

Convenience wrappers are listed in the value of the user option denote-commands-for-new-notes.

Thanks to Matthew Batson for building on top of existing functionality to contribute denote-link-or-create-with-command in pull request 674: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/pull/674. Matthew has assigned copyright to the Free Software Foundation.

Preview denote: links in Org files

Starting with Org version 9.8.0 custom link types such as denote: can implement their own preview mechanism. In practice, this means that denote: links pointing to image files will now work as expected with org-link-preview (remember that the Denote file-naming scheme can be applied to any file and is in no way specific to note-taking—I use it for documents and videos, for example).

Thanks to Samuel W. Flint for the original contribution in pull request 683: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/pull/683, with further changes by me. The original contribution is small, meaning that Samuel does not need to assign copyright to the Free Software Foundation.

Signature support in Org capture

The denote-org-capture-with-prompts function now supports the signature file name component as an additional parameter. This function is meant to be used in tandem with the org-capture mechanism, as shown in the manual.

Thanks to Tobias Lidman-Strauss for the contribution in merge request 2 on the GitLab mirror: https://gitlab.com/protesilaos/denote/-/merge_requests/2. The change is small, meaning that Tobias does not need to assign copyright to the Free Software Foundation.

The denote-fontify-links-mode is only relevant for .txt files

The denote: links are automatically highlighted as links in Org and Markdown bufers. Users who prefer to write notes in plain .txt files must enable the denote-fontify-links-mode to get the same effect.

I have revised denote-fontify-links-mode to only work with .txt as its other users were not necessary. In the process, I have deprecated the denote-fontify-links-mode-maybe function: just use the denote-fonftify-links-mode.

The keys RET and C-c C-o open the link (same keys used by Org and Markdown modes).

Growing ecosystem of Denote packages

In the Denote manual I mention packages that build on top of Denote. There is one section for each package. The manual now includes the following:

  • denote-agenda (by Samuel W. Flint): Use Denote notes as Org agenda files.
  • denote-journal-capture (by Samuel W. Flint): Enhanced journaling workflows.
  • denote-lint (Peter Smith): Checks for inconsistencies in Denote file names and front matter.
  • denote-project-notes (by Samuel W. Flint): Integrate Denote with Emacs’ built-in project support.
  • denote-regexp (by Samuel W. Flint): Search and link notes using regular expressions.
  • denote-review (by Matto Fransen): A package for reviewing notes over time.
  • denote-sections (by Samuel W. Flint): Manage sections within Denote notes.
  • denote-wordcloud (by Alexander Kuzmin): Generate word clouds from Denote notes.

Miscellaneous

  • The command denote-dired (alias denote-sort-dired) is refactored to work as intended in all cases. Thanks to kilesduli for the contribution in pull request 666: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/pull/666. Further changes by me, including the option to maintain many separate denote-dired buffers, which I did in response to issue 693 by 82Kang: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/issues/693.

  • I have revised the denote-grep mechanism and all of its ancillary functions and variables are revised in the interest of consistency and maintainability. Thanks to gnuhack for contributing a macro that was meant to streamline some commands. This was done in pull request 697: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/pull/697. I eventually changed lots of things so that the macro was not relevant anymore, though mine was a change with a wider scope.

  • The Org link storage mechanism (denote-link-ol-store) now works correctly within org-capture buffers, allowing for more flexible linking workflows.

  • Following non-Denote Markdown links no longer result in an error under certain circumstances. Thanks to bplubell for the contribution in pull request 685: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/pull/685. The change is small, meaning that its author does not need to assign copyright to the Free Software Foundation.

  • Retrieving front matter is now more reliable, even when the buffer is unsaved. Thanks to kilesduli for the contribution in pull request 672: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/pull/672. Also thanks to Jean-Philippe GagnĂ© Guay for reviewing the change and for reporting a problem with an earlier version of the code in issue 670: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/issues/670. Further changes by me.

  • The various Denote rename commands that affect the front matter in files no longer change existing spacing. I did this to address the comment posted by Morten Kjeldgaard in issue 703: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/issues/703.

  • Updated the documentation to explain how to automatically encrypt new notes when using a custom file type.

  • Refined the internal helper functions for directory management and identifier validation.

  • Thanks to nescias for fixing three typos in the manual. This was sent to me as a patch, which I installed as commit c772378.

Changes to the extensions of Denote I maintain

This is about packages I maintain. Some of them were originally part of the denote.git repository, but I moved them out into their own packages to make everything easier to reason about.

consult-denote version 0.5.0
denote-merge version 0.1.0

This is an optional extension to the denote package. It provides commands and relevant user options to streamline the work of merging contents from one Denote file to another. This is for users who periodically review their notes to add, remove, or otherwise consolidate their accumulated knowledge.

denote-journal version 0.3.0
  • Package name (GNU ELPA): denote-journal
  • Official manual: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/denote-journal
  • Git repository: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-journal

  • Backronym: Denote… Journaling Obviously Utilises Reasonableness Notwithstanding Affectionate Longing.

  • The user option denote-journal-keyword now supports a nil value, allowing users to create journal entries without a specific keyword. Thanks to nescias for sending me the patch via email, which I installed as commit d4cc501 in denote-journal.git. The change does not require copyright assignment.

  • Fixed an issue about how the function denote-directory-files was used. Thanks to Donald Brady for reporting the bug in issue 656 on the main Denote repository and to kamchy for confirming the problem: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/issues/656. The approach was utlimately revised in denote.git courtesy of a change by Jean-Philippe GagnĂ© Guay in pull request 661: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote/pull/661.
denote-markdown version 0.3.0
  • Package name (GNU ELPA): denote-markdown
  • Official manual: https://protesilaos.com/emacs/denote-markdown
  • Git repository: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-markdown

  • Backronyms: Denote… Markdown’s Ambitious Reimplimentations Knowingly Dilute Obvious Widespread Norms; Denote… Markup Agnosticism Requires Knowhow to Do Only What’s Necessary.

  • The package defines a markdown-obsidian file type which can be used by relevant note-creating commands, such as denote or the convenience wrapper denote-type. This file type is updated to be more robust, in accordance with some changes in core Denote (I am not even documenting those, as they are not intended for users).
denote-org version 0.3.0
denote-silo version 0.3.0

The minibuffer prompt for silo directories uses the corrent completion category (consistent with what I mentioned above about completion metadata). Thanks to Wilf-bog for reporting an error with the completion prompt in issue 1: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-silo/issues/1.

denote-sequence version 0.3.0

This package deserved its own release notes, as I did a lot of work on it. But as this file is already long, I will focus on the essentials:

  • The denote-sequence-scheme used to support a numeric and alphanumeric option. There now is a third one called alphanumeric-delimited. It combines features from the other two and may be better suited for especially long/intricate sequences.

  • The denote-sequence-reparent command now works recursively to produce the desired consequences to all descendants of a given sequence note. Thanks to Peter Prevos for the contribution in pull request 13, which further changes by me: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-sequence/pull/13.

  • The command denote-sequence-view-hierarchy produces a bespoke buffer with all the sequence notes that form a hierarchy. The buffer displays file titles, the concomitant sequence, and file keywords. Each level of depth is expressed by a number of spaces, controlled by the user option denote-sequence-hierarchy-indentation. In the hierarchy buffer, there are commands that move to the next/previous item, or forward/backward at the same level of depth. RET opens the file at point, TAB folds/unfolds the tree. The user option denote-sequence-hierarchy-move-and-open controls whether motion commands should automatically open the file, which by default happens in the other window (users who modify the variable denote-open-link-function will get the specified behaviour in this context as well). The denote-sequence-view-hierarchy can be called with one or two prefix arguments to limit to a given sequence prefix and/or level of depth (something that denote-sequence-dired also supports). In short, this is a way to visualise your sequence notes in a buffer that has a different presentation than Dired.

  • Thanks to alan-w-255 for renaming and refining a prompt that is also used in the hierarchy feature. This was done in pull request 15: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-sequence/pull/15. The change is small, meaning that its author does not need to assign copyright to the Free Software Foundation. Further refinements by me.

  • Thanks to Nicolas Semrau for binding q to quit-window in the denote-sequence-hierarchy-mode-map. This was done in pull request 20: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-sequence/pull/20. The change is small, meaning that Nicolas does not need to assign copyright to the Free Software Foundation.

  • The denote-sequence-file-prompt-extra-metadata is the functional equivalent of the aforementioned denote-file-prompt-extra-metadata.

  • Thanks to liyingzhi for pointing out an inaccurate comment in the docstring of denote-sequence-scheme. This was done in issue 18: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-sequence/issues/18.

  • The denote-sequence-dired is updated to align with the modalities of denote-dired, as noted above. Thanks to juh for reminding me about the need for changes in issue 14: https://github.com/protesilaos/denote-sequence/issues/14.

  • Thanks to Stefan Monnier for pointing out a stylistic mistake in an older version of denote-sequence-dired. This was done on the emacs-devel mailing list: https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2025-11/msg01119.html. Also thanks to Stefan for telling me about some other compiler warnings: https://lists.gnu.org/archive/html/emacs-devel/2025-11/msg01119.html.

Git commits

~/Git/Projects/denote $ git shortlog 4.1.0..4.2.0 --summary --numbered
   184	Protesilaos
     4	duli
     3	Jean-Philippe Gagné Guay
     3	Matthew Batson
     2	alvmts
     2	gnuhack
     1	Alvin Hsu
     1	Matto Fransen
     1	Samuel W. Flint
     1	Tobias Lidman-Strauss
     1	bplubell
     1	gvalson
     1	nescias
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