node-note-cli

A lightning-fast, zero-dependency CLI tool for managing personal notes directly from your terminal.

Installation

Install globally via npm:

npm install -g node-note-cli

Or run directly without installing:

npx node-note-cli

Usage

| Command | Description | | :--------------------------------- | :------------------------------------------------------ | | note <title...> | Quickly add a note | | note add <title...> | Explicitly add a note (avoids keyword collisions) | | note | List all notes (newest first) | | note list -n <count> | List the most recent <count> notes | | note find <query> | Search notes by substring (displays global [#index]) | | note edit <index> <new title...> | Update note title at specified index | | note rm <index> [-y] | Delete a note (prompts confirmation unless -y passed) | | note clear [--yes] | Delete all notes | | note -v, --version | Display installed version | | note -h, --help | Show command usage and options |

Examples

1. Adding Notes

note Buy groceries
# Output: Added: Buy groceries

# To add notes starting with commands like 'clear', 'find', etc., use `add`:
note add clear the desk
# Output: Added: clear the desk

2. Listing Notes

note

Output:

#1  clear the desk  ·  just now
#2  Buy groceries  ·  5m ago
#3  Finish weekly report  ·  2d ago

Limit displayed notes:

note list -n 2

3. Searching Notes

Search results display the note's global index in brackets ([#index]), making it safe to edit or delete directly:

note find groceries

Output:

[#2]  Buy groceries  ·  5m ago

4. Editing a Note

note edit 2 Buy groceries and fruits

Output:

Updated: Buy groceries and fruits

5. Deleting a Note

# Interactive confirmation prompt:
note rm 1
# Output: Delete "clear the desk"? (y/N) y
# Output: Deleted: clear the desk

# Or skip prompt with -y / --yes:
note rm 1 -y
# Output: Deleted: Buy groceries and fruits

6. Clearing All Notes

note clear --yes
# Output: All notes cleared.

Storage & Configuration

By default, notes are stored locally in standard OS data directories:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/note/notes.json
• Linux: ~/.local/share/note/notes.json (respects $XDG_DATA_HOME)
• Windows: %APPDATA%\note\notes.json

Custom Storage Location

You can customize where notes are stored using environment variables:

# Use a custom directory:
export NOTE_DIR="$HOME/Dropbox/notes"

# Or point to a specific file:
export NOTES_FILE="$HOME/.my-notes.json"

Programmatic API

node-note-cli can also be required as a standard Node.js module:

const { addNote, listNotes, findNotes, deleteNote } = require("node-note-cli");

// Add note
addNote("Review pull request");

// List notes sorted newest-first
const all = listNotes({ limit: 5 });

// Search notes
const matches = findNotes("review");

Development & Testing

Run the automated test suite (uses Node's native test runner, zero dependencies required):

npm test

License

ISC © Imran Pollob