User Guide

Installation

Leaf Note is a Windows desktop application distributed as a standard MSI installer.

1. 1
   Download the installerClick Download for Windows on the homepage. The file is named Leaf Note_1.3.1_x64_en-US.msi.
2. 2
   Run the installerDouble-click the MSI. Windows may show a SmartScreen prompt — click More info → Run anyway. The installer takes about 30 seconds.
3. 3
   Launch Leaf NoteFind it in your Start Menu or on your Desktop. Your data is stored locally — nothing is sent anywhere.

First Launch

When you open Leaf Note for the first time you'll see an empty workspace. Here's the fastest way to get oriented:

1. 1
   Create your first BranchClick the + button next to "Branches" in the sidebar. Give it a name — "Work", "Personal", "Side Project", whatever fits.
2. 2
   Add a LeafWith your branch selected, click + Leaf in the top-right. Type a title and pick a type, then hit Enter.
3. 3
   Open the editorDouble-click any leaf in the list to open the full-screen editor. Start writing — it saves automatically.

App Overview

Leaf Note has three main areas visible at the same time:

Double-clicking a leaf opens the full-screen editor — a distraction-free Lexical editor that overlays the whole window. This is where all your writing happens.

Branches

Branches are your top-level containers. Think of them as projects, clients, categories, or any grouping that makes sense to you. Each branch has its own list of leaves and a pastel color for quick identification.

Creating a branch

Click the + icon next to "Branches" in the sidebar. A new branch appears immediately with a default name — click on it to rename it.

Renaming & reordering

Click the Edit button in the sidebar header to enter edit mode. You can then rename any branch inline, delete it, or drag branches to reorder them. Click Done when finished.

Color coding

Each branch is automatically assigned one of the pastel theme colors (mint, periwinkle, salmon, peach, sage). These colors appear as dot indicators throughout the app — in the sidebar, the items table, and the dashboard — so you can instantly recognize which branch a leaf belongs to.

Leaves

A leaf is a single work item or note inside a branch. It has a title, a type, status, priority, tags, an optional follow-up date, comments, and a full rich-text body.

Creating a leaf

With a branch selected, click + Leaf in the top-right of the items table. A dialog appears where you type a title and pick a type. Press Enter or click Create.

Selecting a leaf

Click once on any row in the items table to select it and open the detail panel on the right. Double-click to open the full-screen editor.

Context menu

Right-click any leaf in the table for quick actions: open in editor, open in new window, duplicate, set follow-up date, change status, or delete.

Opening in a new window

Right-click a leaf and choose Open in new window (or use the icon in the detail panel header) to pop it out into its own window — great for side-by-side work.

Leaf Types

Every leaf has a type — a label with a custom color that categorizes it visually. Leaf Note ships with a starter set, and you can create unlimited custom types in Settings.

To change a leaf's type, open the detail panel and click the type badge. A dropdown shows all available types. You can also set a default type in Settings so new leaves always start with your preferred type.

See Managing Types to create, rename, or delete types.

Status Workflow

Leaf Note uses a 13-status system across 5 categories to represent where a piece of work is at any point in time.

Idea

Pending

In Progress

Paused

Done

Change status from the detail panel (click the status badge) or right-click any leaf in the table for a quick-change submenu.

You can filter the items table and the dashboard by status using the Filter popover.

Priority

Priority ranks how urgent a leaf is. It appears as a colored dot in the items table and is searchable via the query language.

Set priority in the detail panel or through the filter/sort controls in the table header.

Tags

Tags let you group and filter leaves across branches. There are two ways to add tags to a leaf:

1. 1
   Detail panel tag inputClick the tag input in the right panel. Type a tag name and press Enter or comma to add it.
2. 2
   Hashtag in the editorType #tagname anywhere inside the editor body. The tag is detected automatically and synced to the leaf's tag list.

Tags added via #hashtag in the editor are shown in the detail panel and are fully searchable. If you remove a tag from the detail panel, its # mention in the editor body is also cleaned up automatically.

Follow-up Dates

Assign a follow-up date to any leaf and it will appear in the Dashboard grouped by urgency: Overdue, Today, Tomorrow, This Week, and Later.

Set a date from the detail panel (click the calendar icon next to "Follow-up") or right-click a leaf in the table and choose Set follow-up date.

To clear a date, open the calendar picker and select the currently-set date again, or use the clear button.

Comments

Each leaf has a comments section in the detail panel — a lightweight thread for your own notes, decisions, or context that doesn't belong in the main body.

1. 1
   Add a commentScroll to the bottom of the detail panel. Type in the comment box and press Ctrl + Enter or click Send.
2. 2
   Edit or deleteHover over any comment to reveal edit and delete icons. Click edit to modify the text inline, then save.

The comments section scrolls independently — it won't push the rest of the panel out of view.

Text Formatting

The full-screen editor opens when you double-click a leaf. It's powered by Lexical — Meta's open source rich-text engine. Auto-saves after every change.

Formatting toolbar

The toolbar at the top of the editor provides quick access to all formatting. You can also use keyboard shortcuts for everything.

Markdown shortcuts

Type these at the start of a new line and they convert automatically:

Type	Result
#	Heading 1
##	Heading 2
- or *	Unordered list
1.	Ordered list
[]	Checklist item
>	Blockquote
```	Code block
---	Horizontal rule
**text**	Bold
*text*	Italic
~~text~~	Strikethrough

Code Blocks

Insert a code block via the { } button in the toolbar, or type ``` at the start of a line. The editor supports 50+ languages via the Shiki syntax highlighting engine.

1. 1
   Insert a code blockClick { } in the toolbar or type ``` and press Space.
2. 2
   Set the languageClick the language label in the top-right corner of the block. Type to search — it supports TypeScript, Python, Rust, Go, SQL, Bash, and 45+ more.
3. 3
   Copy the codeClick the copy icon that appears on hover to copy the block's content to your clipboard.

Content Blocks

Beyond text, the editor supports a full range of structural content blocks available from the toolbar or via / commands:

Embeds

Paste a URL into the editor and Leaf Note will detect it and offer to embed it as a rich preview.

Note References

Link any leaf to another leaf using an inline reference. Type /ref anywhere in the editor and a searchable popup appears listing all your leaves — across all branches.

1. 1
   Type /refIn the editor, type /ref and a picker popup appears.
2. 2
   Search and selectStart typing the leaf title to filter the list. Click or press Enter to insert the reference.
3. 3
   Hover to previewHover over any inserted reference pill to see a live preview of the linked leaf: title, status, type, and the first few lines of content.

References work across branches. Click a reference pill to jump directly to that leaf.

Editor Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
Formatting
Ctrl+B	Bold
Ctrl+I	Italic
Ctrl+U	Underline
Ctrl+Shift+S	Strikethrough
Ctrl+Shift+H	Highlight
Ctrl+E	Inline code
Structure
Tab	Indent list item / navigate table cell
Shift+Tab	Outdent list item / previous table cell
Enter (in checklist)	New checklist item
Ctrl+Enter	Exit current block / submit comment
Editing
Ctrl+Z	Undo
Ctrl+Y or Ctrl+Shift+Z	Redo
Ctrl+A	Select all

Dashboard

Click Dashboard at the top of the sidebar to open the follow-up view. It groups all leaves that have a follow-up date assigned, sorted by urgency:

Use the All Branches dropdown to filter by a specific branch, and the All Statuses filter to focus on leaves with particular statuses. Clicking any item jumps directly to that leaf.

All Leafs

Click All Leafs in the sidebar to see every leaf across every branch in a single table. The table includes a Branch column so you can see at a glance where each item lives.

All the same sorting, filtering, and selection features from the branch view work here too. This view is useful for global searches and cross-branch reviews.

Search

The search bar is in the top-left of the sidebar. Start typing to instantly filter leaves across the current branch. For more powerful queries, use the built-in query language:

Syntax	What it does	Example
#tag	Filter by tag name	#auth
@branch	Filter by branch name	@client-work
status:	Filter by status	status:blocked
priority:	Filter by priority level	priority:high
type:	Filter by leaf type	type:bug
from:	Leaves updated after this date	from:2026-04
to:	Leaves updated before this date	to:2026-06-30

Combine multiple operators in one query:

Results display in a slide-out panel over the current view. Click any result to jump to that leaf.

Managing Types

Open Settings (gear icon at the bottom of the sidebar) and go to the Leaf Types tab.

1. 1
   Create a typeClick + New Type. Enter a name and pick a color. The type is immediately available across the whole app.
2. 2
   Edit a typeClick the pencil icon next to any type to rename it or change its color. Changes apply to all existing leaves with that type.
3. 3
   Set a default typeClick the star icon next to a type to make it the default for all new leaves.
4. 4
   Delete a typeClick the trash icon. Leaves previously assigned that type will show "None" and retain their content.

Storage Location

By default Leaf Note stores its SQLite database in your AppData folder. You can move it to any location — a cloud-synced folder, an external drive, or a network share.

1. 1
   Open Settings → StorageClick the gear icon, then the Storage tab.
2. 2
   Choose a new locationClick Change location and pick a folder. Leaf Note will copy the database to the new location and restart.

Import & Export

Leaf Note uses an open .alx format (JSON-based) for backups and migration.

Exporting

In Settings → Import/Export, click Export all data to save a complete .alx file to your chosen location. You can also export a single branch by right-clicking it in the sidebar and choosing Export branch.

Importing

Click Import and select an .alx file. Leaf Note will merge the imported branches and leaves into your existing workspace — existing data is not overwritten.

Keyboard Shortcuts

Global shortcuts work anywhere in the app, not just in the editor.

Shortcut	Action
Global
Ctrl+Space	Open OmniSearch — search branches, create new items
Ctrl+F	Focus the search bar
Escape	Close modal / collapse detail panel / cancel edit
Navigation
↑ / ↓	Move selection up/down in the items table
Enter	Open selected leaf in full-screen editor
Tab	Jump from note title field to editor body
Items table
Delete	Delete selected leaf (with confirmation)
Right-click	Open context menu on any leaf
Editor
Ctrl+B	Bold
Ctrl+I	Italic
Ctrl+U	Underline
Ctrl+Shift+S	Strikethrough
Ctrl+Z	Undo
Ctrl+Y	Redo
Tab	Indent / table cell navigation
Ctrl+Enter	Exit code block / submit comment