id: configuration title: Configuration sidebar_label: Configuration sidebar_position: 6 description: Reference for configuration locations, defaults, and options.#

Configuration#

Noteleaf stores its configuration in a TOML file. The configuration file location depends on your operating system and can be overridden with environment variables.

Configuration File Location#

Default Paths#

Linux:

~/.config/noteleaf/.noteleaf.conf.toml

macOS:

~/Library/Application Support/noteleaf/.noteleaf.conf.toml

Windows:

%APPDATA%\noteleaf\.noteleaf.conf.toml

Environment Variable Override#

Set NOTELEAF_CONFIG to use a custom configuration file location:

export NOTELEAF_CONFIG=/path/to/custom/config.toml

File Structure#

Configuration is stored as TOML. Each key maps 1:1 with the fields shown by noteleaf config show. A minimal file looks like:

date_format = "2006-01-02"
color_scheme = "default"

There is no required ordering—the parser loads the file, applies defaults for missing keys, and writes a normalized version whenever you run noteleaf config set .... This means you can edit the file manually or stick entirely to CLI helpers.

Configuration Options#

General Settings#

date_format#

Format for displaying dates throughout the application.

Type: String Default: "2006-01-02" (ISO 8601) Example:

date_format = "2006-01-02"

Common formats:

• "2006-01-02" - ISO format: 2024-03-15
• "01/02/2006" - US format: 03/15/2024
• "02-Jan-2006" - Short month: 15-Mar-2024

color_scheme#

Color scheme for terminal output.

Type: String Default: "default" Example:

color_scheme = "default"

default_view#

Default view mode for interactive lists.

Type: String Default: "list" Example:

default_view = "list"

default_priority#

Default priority for new tasks when not specified.

Type: String Default: None Options: "low", "medium", "high", "urgent" Example:

default_priority = "medium"

editor#

Text editor for editing notes and tasks. Falls back to $EDITOR environment variable if not set.

Type: String Default: None (uses $EDITOR) Example:

editor = "vim"

Data Storage#

database_path#

Custom path to SQLite database file. Leave empty to use default location.

Type: String Default: Platform-specific data directory Example:

database_path = "/custom/path/noteleaf.db"

data_dir#

Directory for storing application data (articles, notes, attachments).

Type: String Default: Platform-specific data directory Example:

data_dir = "/custom/data/directory"

You can also use the NOTELEAF_DATA_DIR environment variable:

export NOTELEAF_DATA_DIR=/custom/data/directory

articles_dir#

Directory for storing saved articles.

Type: String Default: <data_dir>/articles Example:

articles_dir = "/path/to/articles"

notes_dir#

Directory for storing notes.

Type: String Default: <data_dir>/notes Example:

notes_dir = "/path/to/notes"

Archive and Export#

auto_archive#

Automatically archive completed tasks after a specified period.

Type: Boolean Default: false Example:

auto_archive = true

export_format#

Default format for exporting data.

Type: String Default: "json" Options: "json", "csv", "markdown" Example:

export_format = "json"

Synchronization#

Synchronization features are planned for future releases.

sync_enabled#

Enable synchronization with remote server.

Type: Boolean Default: false Example:

sync_enabled = false

sync_endpoint#

URL of the synchronization server.

Type: String Default: None Example:

sync_endpoint = "https://sync.example.com/api"

sync_token#

Authentication token for synchronization.

Type: String Default: None Example:

sync_token = "your-secret-token"

API Keys#

movie_api_key#

API key for movie database services (future feature).

Type: String Default: None Example:

movie_api_key = "your-api-key"

book_api_key#

API key for book database services. Currently uses Open Library which doesn't require an API key.

Type: String Default: None Example:

book_api_key = "your-api-key"

AT Protocol / Bluesky Integration#

Configuration for publishing content to Bluesky/AT Protocol.

atproto_did#

Your Decentralized Identifier (DID) on the AT Protocol network.

Type: String Default: None Example:

atproto_did = "did:plc:abcd1234efgh5678"

atproto_handle#

Your Bluesky/AT Protocol handle.

Type: String Default: None Example:

atproto_handle = "username.bsky.social"

atproto_pds_url#

Personal Data Server URL.

Type: String Default: None Example:

atproto_pds_url = "https://bsky.social"

atproto_access_jwt#

Access token for authentication (managed automatically).

Type: String Default: None Example:

atproto_access_jwt = "eyJhbGc..."

atproto_refresh_jwt#

Refresh token for authentication (managed automatically).

Type: String Default: None

atproto_expires_at#

Token expiration timestamp (managed automatically).

Type: String (ISO8601) Default: None

Editor Integration#

The editor key wires Noteleaf into your preferred text editor. Resolution order:

1. editor inside .noteleaf.conf.toml
2. $EDITOR environment variable
3. System default (usually vi on Unix)

Where it is used:

• noteleaf note edit <id> always opens the configured editor.
• noteleaf note create -e or --editor lets you capture inline text and immediately refine it in the editor.
• Interactive creation (noteleaf note create -i) respects the same setting when you choose to open the note.

Example configuration:

editor = "nvim"

If you frequently switch editors, leave the config empty and export $EDITOR before launching Noteleaf:

EDITOR="zed" noteleaf note edit 5

Managing Configuration#

View Current Configuration#

noteleaf config show

Set Configuration Value#

noteleaf config set <key> <value>

Examples:

noteleaf config set editor "nvim"
noteleaf config set default_priority "high"
noteleaf config set date_format "01/02/2006"

Get Configuration Value#

noteleaf config get <key>

Example:

noteleaf config get editor

Example Configuration#

Complete example configuration with common settings:

# General settings
date_format = "2006-01-02"
color_scheme = "default"
default_view = "list"
default_priority = "medium"
editor = "vim"

# Data storage
# database_path = ""  # Use default location
# data_dir = ""       # Use default location

# Archive and export
auto_archive = false
export_format = "json"

# Synchronization (future feature)
sync_enabled = false
# sync_endpoint = ""
# sync_token = ""

# API keys (optional)
# movie_api_key = ""
# book_api_key = ""

# AT Protocol / Bluesky (optional)
# atproto_did = ""
# atproto_handle = ""
# atproto_pds_url = "https://bsky.social"

Environment Variables#

Environment overrides are resolved before configuration values. Set them when you need temporary behavior (CI jobs, alternate workspaces, etc.).

Usage example:

export NOTELEAF_CONFIG=~/.config/noteleaf/work.conf.toml
export NOTELEAF_DATA_DIR=~/Sync/workspace-data
export EDITOR=helix

Because NOTELEAF_DATA_DIR cascades to the article and note directories, a single export is all you need to relocate the entire knowledge base.

Customization#

Themes and Colors#

The color_scheme option controls how Fang (the underlying Cobra replacement) styles command help and certain UI components. Right now the only valid value is "default", which maps to Noteleaf’s Iceberg-inspired palette. Future releases will add explicit light/dark options; until then customization requires overriding your terminal theme or building Noteleaf from source with changes in internal/ui/palette.go.

color_scheme = "default"  # leave blank to adopt upcoming auto-mode

Keyboard Shortcuts#

All interactive views share the same key map:

Press ? inside any list/table to confirm the bindings—this uses Bubble Tea’s built-in help component so it always reflects the current screen.

Output Formats#

• export_format sets the default for future export commands (currently json).
• Task commands support JSON today: noteleaf todo view 12 --json or noteleaf todo list --static --json.
• The --format flag on noteleaf todo view switches between detailed and brief layouts, which is handy when scripting.

Examples:

noteleaf todo view 12 --format brief --json | jq '.status'
noteleaf todo list --static --json > tasks.json
noteleaf config set export_format "csv"   # prepare for upcoming exporters

Even when there is no dedicated exporter yet, the SQLite database lives in the open, so you can always run your own SELECT ... queries or use sqlite-utils to produce CSV/JSON.