Halcyon documentation

How to use Halcyon. If you're new, start with Getting started, then open your first vault.

For what Halcyon is and how to get it, see halcyonnotes.com.

Find what you need

If you want to	Read
Know what it runs on and how it updates	Getting started
Open a folder of notes	Your first vault
Understand the three-pane window	The three panes
Switch between editing and preview	The editor
Know which markdown Halcyon renders	Markdown Halcyon renders
Use the vim layer properly	Vim
Rename, move, pin, or trash notes	Notes and folders
Link notes to each other	Linking notes together
Search your vault	Finding things
Work in several windows	Windows, vaults and files
Keep two Macs in step	Halcyon Sync
Look up a shortcut	Keyboard shortcuts
Change a setting or rebind a key	Settings
Open notes from the terminal	The halcyon command
Know where your files are	Where your files live

The one thing worth knowing up front

Your .md files are the truth. Halcyon keeps a search index beside them, and that index is disposable: delete it and the app rebuilds it from the files on the next launch. Delete a note file and the note is gone, because the file was the note.

Everything else in these pages follows from that. Editing your vault in Neovim while Halcyon is open works, and the note list updates on its own. mkdir in a terminal makes a folder that shows up in the sidebar. Moving a note in Finder behaves exactly like moving it in the app. There is no import step and no proprietary format to escape from later.

Note

Halcyon is macOS only, and Apple Silicon only.