Getting Started

A vault is just a folder on your computer. Create one and you’re already using Nolagmind — there’s no account to create and nothing to configure before you start writing.

Your first vault

The first time you launch the app, you’re asked to create a new vault: pick a name and a folder location. Nolagmind creates that folder and fills it with a short set of welcome notes you can delete whenever you’re done.

Opening a folder of notes you already have is a later step — from the vault switcher, not from first launch. See Bring your notes.

You can make as many vaults as you want — a separate one for work and personal life, or a single vault where everything can link together. Switch between them anytime from the vault button at the bottom of the sidebar, or the vault: search command (more in Search & Colon Commands).

Creating a note, folder, mind map, or board

From Cmd+N (or from search, when you type a name that doesn’t exist yet):

• Type a name, hit Enter → new Markdown note
• End the name with / → new folder
• End the name with /mindmap or /m → new mind map
• End the name with /board or /b → new board

Notes, mind maps, boards, and folders all live in the sidebar. Toggle it with Cmd+B. Folders can nest: create one, then move another folder into it with Shift+Cmd+M.

If you’d rather skip naming altogether, Shift+Cmd+N creates a note called “Untitled” (or “Untitled 1”, “Untitled 2”…) instantly, no prompt.

Names cannot contain / \ : * ? " < > | — the app rejects those characters instead of silently rewriting the filename. See Organizing Notes.

Renaming, moving, and deleting

• Rename — click the title at the top of an open note and type a new one, or right-click the note in the sidebar → Rename. (Shift+Cmd+R does the same from the keyboard.) Renaming a note also rewrites every wikilink that pointed at the old name.
• Move — right-click in the sidebar → Move, or Shift+Cmd+M with the note open.
• Delete — right-click → Delete, or Shift+Cmd+D with the note open.

Everything here is undoable — Cmd+Z / Shift+Cmd+Z covers note and folder changes, not just text edits.

Your first wikilink

Type [[ inside any note and start typing a note’s name — an autocomplete drops down, ranked by the same fuzzy matching that powers the main search bar (see Search & Colon Commands). Pick an existing note to link to it, or type a name that doesn’t exist yet and the app offers to create it for you on the spot (the same /m and /b suffixes work here too).

Once you have a link, you don’t need the mouse to use it:

1. Use the arrow keys to move the highlight onto a link.
2. Hit Cmd+Enter to open it. (Shift+Cmd+Enter or Cmd+Click opens it in a new split instead — see Workspace: Tabs & Splits.)

Every note also keeps track of which other notes link back to it — see Linking Notes for backlinks, display text, and everything else linking can do.

A couple of basics worth knowing right away

• Cmd+F finds text inside the open note; Shift+Cmd+F finds and replaces — same as any text editor. Find works in notes, boards, and mind maps.
• Cmd+O or Cmd+K opens search from anywhere, so you’re never more than a keystroke from any note. Head to Search & Colon Commands next, or jump straight to Keyboard Shortcuts for the full list.