Is it possible to change filetype to .md in config file?

[vinoff]

Diagnostic output

❯ jrnl --diagnostic
jrnl: v4.0.1
Python: 3.11.5 (main, Sep  2 2023, 14:16:33) [GCC 13.2.1 20230801]
OS: Linux 6.5.5-arch1-1

What are you trying to do?

By default, it seems like new diary/journal entries are saved in .txt. I am using an external editor. Is there any config parameter for the jrnl.yaml that changes the filetype from .txt to .md (markdown)?

What have you tried?

I tried searching the issues but couldnt find anything.

Other Information

No response

[vinoff]

Oh, thank you! I didn´t see file_extension in the user-guide. I searched for that but got no results:

https://jrnl.sh/en/stable/search.html?q=file_extension

[vinoff]

file_extension: .md this does not work. Was I just chatGPTd?

[micahellison]

By default, it seems like new diary/journal entries are saved in .txt. I am using an external editor. Is there any config parameter for the jrnl.yaml that changes the filetype from .txt to .md (markdown)?

Hi @vinoff, it is possible to do what you want through the template config key. You create a template file with the extension that you prefer, then add the template key to your YAML file with the path. Even if it's just a blank file, jrnl will use the template's extension as the extension of the temporary file you're editing.

I'm closing this as resolved, though if you run into any trouble with this approach, feel free to respond here.

@VirbickasGytautas, I am hiding the incorrect answers you posted. Please don't use chatbots to answer questions here.

[vinoff]

@micahellison, thank you for the reply.

I do that and it is not working, it seems. Here is my config:

colors:
  body: none
  date: none
  tags: none
  title: none
default_hour: 9
default_minute: 0
editor: neovide --nofork --multigrid
encrypt: false
highlight: true
indent_character: "|"
journals:
  default: /home/vinoff/docs/journal/
linewrap: 80
tagsymbols: "#@"
template: /home/vinoff/docs/journal/template.md
timeformat: "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M"
version: v4.0.1

As you see, the template has the .md extension. When I do jrnl, it does open an .md file with the appropriate syntax. However, when saved, it saves as .txt.

Can you reproduce?

The issue is that I wanted it saved as .md, not as .txt.

[micahellison]

Hi @vinoff, apologies, I misunderstood the question (now I feel like a chatbot!!!).

When it comes to actual data storage, the file extension can be set to anything for a single-file journal but not a folder journal, which is the type of journal you're using.

We do have an open issue to allow you to do change the extension for a folder journal (#1289), though I'm not sure if the current contributor is actively working on it still. However, you can follow that issue if you'd like to know when you can use this in the future.

[vinoff]

Ah, I see. Thank you @micahellison!