ntropy

Commands

The reference starts with every command on one page: what it does and the flags that matter, then the flags every command accepts. ntropy <command> --help lists all options of a command, and a bare ntropy prints the overview.

Commands

Command What it does
init [path] Create a vault at path, or add what an existing vault lacks; it never touches what exists. Without path it uses --vault, or else the current directory; passing both is an error. --set-default records the vault as the global default. --encrypted creates an encrypted vault, see Encrypted vaults.
new <title> Create a note from a template and open it in your editor. -t/--template <name> picks the template. --empty creates the file with no content, for a script that writes the note itself. -p/--print prints the path instead of opening the editor. See Templates and daily notes.
today Open today's note, created from the today template on first use that day. -p/--print prints the path instead.
write <id|filename|path> Replace one note's whole text with what stdin holds, then realign the filename and refresh the views. It names its target, so it never searches or prompts. It works in an encrypted vault, a locked one included.
search [id|query] List, filter, full-text search and open notes; list is an alias. It takes a query or a full ULID. One match opens in your editor, several open the picker. Under -n the matches print as a table. -p/--print prints the chosen note's path instead, and -P/--print-content its text, for exactly one note. See Finding notes and Query language.
delete <id|query> Delete exactly one note and refresh the views. It asks first; -f/--force skips the question, and under -n it is required. Several matches open the picker, and under -n they are an error.
render [id|query] Render one note, chosen as search chooses. --to picks the format: pdf (the default, needs typst on PATH), typst, html (with a <stem>_files/ directory beside the page) or ansi. -o names the artifact, by default ./<slug>.<ext>. --force replaces an existing artifact, and -p prints its path. --theme overrides the vault's theme, --engine the format's engine. See Rendering to PDF and HTML.
show [id|query] Print one note drawn for the terminal, chosen as render chooses, at the terminal's width (--width sets another). A note taller than the screen opens in $PAGER, or less -R; -n never pages. Into a pipe it is plain text.
site -o <dir> [query] Export the vault as a static website that works from disk. A query restricts the exported notes. --force empties a non-empty <dir>, --theme overrides the site theme, and -p prints the front page's path. site theme init <name> copies the built-in theme into the vault. See Exporting a website.
reconcile Catch up after editing files outside ntropy. It gives a copied note a ULID of its own, renames files whose slug no longer matches the title, and rewrites links to the old names. Then it re-syncs the views and brings .gitignore in line with them.
view list|add|remove Manage views, as in ntropy view add by-status --field status. remove leaves the view's directory on disk. See Materialized views.
tags List every tag with its note count.
info Show the active vault and how it was found, the global default, and statistics of the vault: counts of notes, tags, views and templates, skipped-note warnings, the span of creation dates, the top tags and the template names. -p/--print prints the vault's path alone.
unlock / lock Store or forget an encrypted vault's key, so ordinary commands need no passphrase.
vault encrypt|decrypt|rekey|passphrase Convert a vault to encrypted storage and back, re-encrypt it to a fresh key, or change the passphrase. encrypt, decrypt and rekey rewrite every note and ask first; -y skips the question, and under -n it is required. --resume finishes an interrupted run. rekey and passphrase take --new-passphrase-file.
lsp Run the language server for your editor, over stdin and stdout. See Language server.

Global flags

These work on any command:

Flag What it does
--vault <path> Operate on the vault at this path. It overrides every other way of finding the vault, see Finding the vault.
-n, --non-interactive Plain behaviour even on a terminal: no picker, no editor, no prompts. Without a controlling terminal, as under cron and CI, this is automatic.
--strict Treat malformed or badly named notes, and views skipped for an invalid name, as errors instead of warnings.
-i, --identity <path> Use this age identity file instead of the OS credential store. Without the flag, $NTROPY_IDENTITY is read.
--passphrase-file <path> Read the vault passphrase from the first line of this file wherever one would otherwise be typed. On vault passphrase it is the current passphrase.

-V/--version prints the version and -h/--help the help.