Three steps make ntropy ready to use: install it, tell it which editor to open, and create a vault for your notes.
Install
ntropy is published on crates.io:
cargo install ntropy
On macOS and Linux it also installs from the Homebrew tap:
brew install jakobwesthoff/tap/ntropy
The formula also installs typst, which rendering a PDF needs, and the
shell script that defines ncd, a command that changes into your vault.
It needs one source line in your shell's startup file, given in
Shell integration.
Each release also ships binaries on the GitHub Releases page, for macOS (Apple Silicon and Intel) and Linux (x86_64 and aarch64, statically linked).
Note
ntropy supports macOS and Linux. Windows is not supported; the reason is in Limitations. To build ntropy from source, see Development.
Set your editor
ntropy opens a note in the editor that $VISUAL names, or else
$EDITOR. With neither set, new, today and search cannot open a
note and stop with an error. Set one in your shell's startup file, such
as ~/.zshrc or ~/.bashrc:
export EDITOR=nvim
Tip
The value may carry arguments, as in EDITOR="code -w".
Configuration has the
details.
Create a vault
A vault is a directory that holds your notes. Create one and change into it:
ntropy init ~/notes
cd ~/notes
init creates all-notes/ for the notes, a by-tag view that files
them by tag, a README.md, and .ntropy/ with the vault's settings and
templates. Inside the vault, or in any directory below it, every command
finds it on its own.
Tip
ntropy init ~/notes --set-default also makes it the default vault,
which commands use wherever no other vault is found.
Finding the vault
has the rules.