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Folder notes integration

Daily Notes NG integrates with LostPaul’s Folder Notes plugin to create periodic notes that act as folders — allowing attachments, sub-notes, and related files to nest directly under each note.

Why folder notes?

Without folder notes, attachments for a daily note go to a global attachments folder:

Journal/Daily/
├── 2026-03-24.md
├── 2026-03-25.md
_attachments/
├── screenshot-20260324.png    ← Which note does this belong to?
├── meeting-notes.pdf
└── diagram.excalidraw

With folder-note mode, each note IS a folder, and attachments live right under it:

Journal/Daily/
├── Daily.base                   ← Auto-generated MOC (dashboard)
├── 2026-03-24/
│   ├── 2026-03-24.md            ← The daily note (click folder to open)
│   ├── screenshot.png           ← Belongs to this day
│   └── meeting-notes.pdf
└── 2026-03-25/
    ├── 2026-03-25.md
    └── diagram.excalidraw

Setup

Step 1: Install Folder Notes

Install Folder Notes from Community Plugins if you haven’t already.

Step 2: Enable folder-note mode in Daily Notes NG

Go to Settings > Daily Notes NG > Folder notes and enable:

  • Folder-note mode — changes note creation from YYYY-MM-DD.md to YYYY-MM-DD/YYYY-MM-DD.md
  • Auto-generate periodic index — creates a .base MOC in each periodic folder

Step 3: Configure Folder Notes plugin

Go to Settings > Folder Notes and verify these settings:

SettingRecommended valueWhy
Auto createOffPrevents duplicate “File already exists” errors. Daily Notes NG creates its own folder notes.
Storage locationInside folderDefault — folder note lives inside its folder
Folder note name{{folder_name}}Default — matches folder name
Supported file typesmd, canvas, baseMust include base so .base MOCs are recognized as folder notes
Hide folder noteOnDefault — hides the folder note from the file explorer (click folder to open it)

Important: Keep Auto create OFF. When it’s on, Folder Notes tries to create a folder note for each new subfolder that Daily Notes NG creates. Since our plugin already creates the note with that name, you’ll get “File already exists” errors. They’re non-fatal but noisy.

Step 4: Configure Obsidian attachment folder (optional)

For attachments to land inside the note’s folder, set Obsidian’s attachment folder to use the current note’s folder:

  1. Go to Settings > Files and links
  2. Set Default location for new attachments to Same folder as current file

Now when you paste an image or drag a file into a daily note, it lands in 2026-03-24/ alongside the note.

How it works

The .base MOC

When you create your first periodic note in a folder, Daily Notes NG auto-generates a .base file (e.g., Daily.base). This file:

  • Acts as the folder note for the periodic folder (Folder Notes opens it when you click the folder)
  • Shows a table view of all notes in that folder with columns for day of week, estimated word count, and creation date
  • Shows a cards view as an alternative layout
  • Uses file.inFolder(this.file.folder) — completely portable, no hardcoded paths

The .base MOC is a standard Obsidian Bases file. You can customize it freely — add filters, change columns, add views.

Fallback path resolution

Daily Notes NG always checks both flat and folder-note paths when looking for existing notes:

1. Try current mode's path:  Journal/Daily/2026-03-24/2026-03-24.md
2. Fallback to other mode:   Journal/Daily/2026-03-24.md

This means you can toggle folder-note mode at any time without losing access to existing notes. Notes created in flat mode are still found after switching to folder-note mode, and vice versa.

New notes are always created in the currently configured mode.

Workflow paths

Path A: Simple (no Folder Notes plugin)

Just use Daily Notes NG with default settings. Notes are flat files:

Journal/Daily/
├── Daily.base            ← Auto-generated index
├── 2026-03-24.md
└── 2026-03-25.md

Best for: users who don’t need per-note attachments, prefer simplicity.

Path B: Folder notes + attachments

Install Folder Notes, enable folder-note mode:

Journal/Daily/
├── Daily.base            ← Click "Daily" folder → opens this dashboard
├── 2026-03-24/
│   ├── 2026-03-24.md     ← Click "2026-03-24" folder → opens this note
│   ├── photo.jpg
│   └── meeting.pdf
└── 2026-03-25/
    └── 2026-03-25.md

Best for: heavy daily note users who attach files, screenshots, PDFs to their notes.

Path C: Multi-user + folder notes

Enable both identity and folder-note mode:

Journal/
├── Alice Smith/
│   ├── Alice Smith.base  ← Alice's MOC (auto-generated)
│   ├── Daily/
│   │   ├── Daily.base    ← Daily index for Alice
│   │   └── 2026-03-24/
│   │       ├── 2026-03-24.md   ← creator: [[Alice Smith]]
│   │       └── lab-results.pdf
│   └── Weekly/
│       ├── Weekly.base
│       └── 2026-W13/
│           └── 2026-W13.md
└── Bob Jones/
    ├── Bob Jones.base
    └── Daily/
        ├── Daily.base
        └── 2026-03-24/
            └── 2026-03-24.md   ← creator: [[Bob Jones]]

Best for: shared vaults (teams, families, research groups) where each person has their own journal with attachments.

Companion plugins

These plugins work well alongside Daily Notes NG + Folder Notes:

PluginWhat it addsNotes
Folder NotesClick-to-open folder notes, file explorer integrationKeep Auto create OFF
TemplaterAdvanced template syntax (<% %> tags)Enable Trigger on new file creation for auto-processing
DataviewQuery periodic notes with DQL/JSSees all notes including folder-note pattern
LinterAuto-format frontmatter, headingsMay conflict with frontmatter date tracking — use one or the other
Update Frontmatter Modified DateConservative modified-date trackingDisable Daily Notes NG’s built-in tracking if using this instead

Troubleshooting

”File already exists” error

Cause: Folder Notes plugin has Auto create enabled. When Daily Notes NG creates 2026-03-24/2026-03-24.md, Folder Notes also tries to create a folder note for the 2026-03-24/ folder.

Fix: Disable Auto create in Folder Notes settings.

.base file not showing as folder note

Cause: Folder Notes doesn’t have base in its supported file types.

Fix: Go to Settings > Folder Notes > Supported file types and ensure base is listed (it is by default since v1.8.17).

Template variables not resolved ({{title}} appears literally)

Cause: Templater is installed but Trigger on new file creation is off. Daily Notes NG detects Templater and expects it to process the template, but Templater never runs.

Fix: Either:

  • Enable Trigger on new file creation in Templater settings (so Templater processes our templates), or
  • Daily Notes NG automatically falls back to its built-in engine when this setting is off (fixed in v0.1.0+)

Attachments going to wrong folder

Cause: Obsidian’s attachment folder is set to a global path instead of relative.

Fix: Set Settings > Files and links > Default location for new attachments to Same folder as current file.