Papyrus CLI

Terminal-first journaling for developers. Pairs with the Papyrus Claude Code plugin.

What is Papyrus?

Papyrus is a markdown-based journaling system for developers. The CLI handles writing, browsing, and cloud sync — the journaling habit itself. AI-powered career skills (resume bullets, promotion docs, standup notes, interview stories) live in the Papyrus Claude Code plugin and read the same journal files this CLI writes.

Key Features:

• 📝 Quick Journaling - Write journal entries in your favorite editor (vim, nano, VS Code)
• 📅 Date-based Organization - Entries organized by date (YYYYMMDD format)
• 🔍 Interactive Browser - Browse and read journals with vim-style navigation
• ☁️ Cloud Sync - Sync journals across devices
• 🔐 Secure - JWT authentication with local token storage
• 💾 Local-First - All journals stored locally in markdown format
• 🎨 Terminal UI - React-based interface rendered in your terminal

Installation

# Install globally
npm install -g @rewrlution/papyrus-cli

# Or with pnpm
pnpm add -g @rewrlution/papyrus-cli

# Or with yarn
yarn global add @rewrlution/papyrus-cli

Quick Start

1. Register an Account

papyrus register

Follow the interactive prompts to create an account.

2. Log In

papyrus login

Enter your email and password.

3. Create Your First Journal Entry

papyrus add

This opens your default editor. Write your thoughts, save, and close.

4. Browse Your Journals

papyrus app

Use arrow keys or j/k to navigate, press Enter to read an entry.

5. Sync to Cloud

papyrus sync

Your journals are now backed up and available on other devices!

Commands

Journal Commands

papyrus add [-d <date>]

Create a new journal entry.

# Create entry for today
papyrus add

# Create entry for specific date
papyrus add -d 20260104
papyrus add -d yesterday
papyrus add -d tomorrow

What it does:

• Opens your default editor ($EDITOR, $VISUAL, or fallback)
• Creates a new markdown file in ~/.local/share/papyrus/journals/
• Filename format: YYYYMMDD.md

papyrus amend [-d <date>]

Modify an existing journal entry.

# Amend today's entry
papyrus amend

# Amend specific date
papyrus amend -d 20260103

What it does:

• Opens existing journal in your editor
• Fails if entry doesn't exist (use add to create)

papyrus show [-d <date>]

Display a journal entry in the terminal.

# Show today's entry
papyrus show

# Show specific date
papyrus show -d 20260101
papyrus show -d yesterday

Features:

• Scrollable viewer with line numbers
• Vim-style navigation (j/k, g/G, h/l)
• Horizontal panning for long lines
• Progress indicator

Keyboard Shortcuts:

• ↑/↓ or j/k - Scroll up/down
• ←/→ or h/l - Pan left/right
• PgUp/PgDn or Space - Page up/down
• g or Home - Jump to top
• G or End - Jump to bottom
• 0 - Jump to start of line
• q or Esc - Quit

papyrus app

Launch the Papyrus TUI to browse and read journal entries interactively.

papyrus app

Features:

• Virtual scrolling (handles 1000+ entries smoothly)
• Circular navigation (wraps at top/bottom)
• Today marker (blue dot)
• Selection indicator

Keyboard Shortcuts:

• ↑/↓ or j/k - Navigate list
• Enter or Space - Open entry in reader
• q or Esc - Quit (in list view) or return to list (in reader)

papyrus sync

Sync journals with the cloud.

papyrus sync

What it does:

• Compares local and remote journals using content hashes
• Uploads new/modified entries
• Downloads remote changes
• Resolves conflicts automatically (merges both versions)
• Shows progress with real-time updates

Requires: Authentication (run papyrus login first)

Authentication Commands

papyrus register

Create a new account.

papyrus register

Interactive prompts:

1. Email address
2. Password (min 8 chars, uppercase, lowercase, number, special char)
3. Confirm password

papyrus login

Log in to your account.

papyrus login

Interactive prompts:

1. Email address
2. Password

What it does:

• Authenticates with the server
• Stores JWT token locally in ~/.config/papyrus/token
• Token expires after 7 days (configurable)

papyrus logout

Log out and clear stored token.

papyrus logout

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details.

Support

• Email: [email protected]

Made with ❤️ by developers, for developers.

Happy journaling! 📝