Writing in the editor

inkwell’s editor is built on CodeMirror 6. It reads and writes plain markdown, but looks like a finished document while you type.

Choose Normal or Markdown mode

Every note can be shown in one of two modes.

Mode	What you see
Normal	A single pane. Markdown symbols such as # and ** are hidden, so the note looks formatted. Move the cursor onto a line and its symbols appear so you can edit them.
Markdown	Two panes side by side: the raw markdown source on the left and a rendered preview on the right. Drag the divider between them to resize; the panes scroll together.

To switch, click the Switch to Markdown mode button (two columns icon) in the top-right of the note. Click it again to go back to Normal mode.

New notes open in Normal mode. To change that default, go to Settings → Editor → Default note mode.

Format text

Select some text, then use the floating toolbar at the bottom of the editor, or use a shortcut.

Format	Toolbar button	Shortcut	Markdown
Bold	B	⌘BCtrl+B	**bold**
Italic	I	⌘ICtrl+I	_italic_
Underline	U	⌘UCtrl+U	<u>underline</u>
Strikethrough	S	⌘⇧SCtrl+Shift+S	~~strikethrough~~
Inline code	</>	–	`code`
Headings	H1, H2, H3	–	#, ##, ###

Using a format twice on the same text turns it off again. If you click a button with nothing selected, inkwell adds the markers and leaves the cursor between them.

Highlights and colours

The toolbar has three colour menus. Each offers eight colours (gray, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and pink) and a button to clear the colour:

• Highlight text wraps the selection in a coloured highlight.
• Text color changes the colour of the selected text.
• Bullet color changes the bullet or number of the selected list items.

You can also write a plain highlight yourself with ==double equals==.

Insert blocks with / commands

On an empty line, type / to open a menu of things you can insert. Keep typing to narrow the list, then press EnterEnter to choose one.

Command	Inserts
/heading1, /heading2, /heading3	A large, medium or small heading
/bullet	A bulleted list
/numbered	A numbered list
/todo	A to-do item with a checkbox
/quote	A blockquote
/code	A fenced code block
/table	A customisable table, like Notion
/mdtable	A plain three-column markdown table
/highlight	==highlighted text==
/divider	A horizontal rule
/bold, /italic	Bold or italic markers with the cursor inside
/video	A video embed from YouTube, Vimeo or Loom
/board	A Kanban board from your Board view
/task	A single task from a board
/brainstorm	A live, read-only outline of a brainstorm
/chart	A chart: pick a type and fill in data

The slash menu only opens when / is the first thing on a line.

Lists and to-dos

Write - [ ] Buy milk (or use /todo) and the box becomes a clickable checkbox. Click it to tick it off; inkwell changes [ ] to [x] in the file for you.

Code blocks

Fence code with three backticks and name the language after them. inkwell colours it to match your theme:

```js
const greeting = "hello";
```

Mention another note

Type @ and start typing a note’s title. Pick it from the list and inkwell inserts a link to that note and records it on the Links panel. Hold ⌘Ctrl and click a mention to jump to that note.

Expand shortcuts with abbreviations

Type a trigger character (: by default) followed by a keyword and inkwell expands it:

Type	You get
:today	Today’s date, like 2026-05-14
:tomorrow	Tomorrow’s date
:nextweek	The date seven days from now
:nextmonth	The same date next month
:now	The current time, like 14:30

You can add your own, and change the trigger, in Settings → Abbreviations. See the settings reference.

Add images and files

Paste an image straight into a note, or use the toolbar’s Insert image from URL, Upload image from computer and Attach file or document buttons. See Attachments and media.

Find text in a note

1. Press ⌘FCtrl+F to open Find in note… at the top of the editor.
2. Type what you’re looking for. Matches are highlighted.
3. Press EnterEnter for the next match or ⇧EnterShift+Enter for the previous one.
4. Press EscEsc to close it.

To search across every note, use vault search instead.

Jump around with the outline

Notes with headings get a slim outline along the right edge: one bar per heading (levels 1 to 3). The bar for the section you’re reading is highlighted. Hover a bar to see the heading’s name, and click it to scroll straight there.

Edit with Vim keys

Prefer modal editing? Turn on Settings → Editor → Vim mode to use Vim keybindings, including motions and : commands.

Undo and redo

⌘ZCtrl+Z undoes, and ⌘⇧ZCtrl+Shift+Z redoes.