org-z

Lightweight, Org-mode flavored zettelkasten links.

org-z is an Emacs global minor mode that enables a lightweight, Org mode style zettelkasten. Unlike a traditional zettelkasten, org-z focuses on headings rather than pages, allowing you to make hyperlinks within a single Org mode document.

By treating headings, rather than pages, as first-class, we can use standard functions that ship with org like org-store-link to maximum effect.

org-z has the following features:

• Insert links to org headings with interactive search (C-c-. by default). Helm and Selectrum are supported.
• Links are managed automatically using org-store-link and org-ids
• Links to new / missing targets auto-create targets in a configurable file location (new.org by default). Creation of the new heading is customizable using a capture template.
• Backlinks

Installation

Install with straight.el:

(use-package org-z
  :straight (org-z :type git :host github :repo "landakram/org-z")
  :config
  (org-z-mode 1))

org-z requires a completion backend. Helm and Selectrum are currently supported. You’ll need to load one of the completion backend packages, in addition to org-z itself:

(use-package org-z-selectrum
  :straight (org-z-selectrum :type git :host github :repo "landakram/org-z"))

Loading the package sets the completion backend by appending to org-z-completion-backends and setting org-z-completion-backend.

A lightweight zettelkasten

I combine org-z with a daily journal, implemented as a file+datetree capture template, and org-z’s support for backlinks.

(setq org-capture-templates
      '(;; ...
        ("j" "Journal entry" entry (file+datetree "~/org/journal.org")
         "* %?\n" :unnarrowed t)))

(use-package org
  :straight org-plus-contrib
  :config
  (require 'org-eldoc))

(use-package org-z
  :straight (org-z :type git :host github :repo "landakram/org-z")
  :general
  (leader-def :infix "o"
    "b" 'org-z-backlinks-at-point)
  :config
  (org-z-mode 1))

As I go about my day, I make journal entries that link to various headings in my collection of org files. I make these links by invoking org-z-insert-link as I write my journal entry. I periodically inspect backlinks using org-z-backlinks-at-point to investigate connections. By enabling org-eldoc, I get to see the # of backlinks for a given heading when I hover over it.

Every once in a while, I review my journal entries and org-refile headings or simply re-organize journal entry knowledge into “longer-term storage” (reference.org or projects.org).

Motivation

I was inspired by org-roam, but wanted something that fit my existing org workflow, which is a handful of files with deep headings rather than a file per topic.