Create Note Template

Create custom Templater-compatible note templates via interactive wizard.

Overview

The /para-obsidian:create-note-template command helps you create new note templates for non-inbox note types like projects, areas, resources, or custom workflows.

Unlike inbox classifiers (which process incoming documents), these templates are for manually creating notes via the create --template command or MCP tools.

When to Use

Use this command to create templates for:

PARA core types: project, area, resource notes
Journal types: daily notes, weekly reviews, retrospectives
Custom workflows: meeting notes, book summaries, habit trackers
Any structured note type you create regularly

Wizard Flow

The command runs an interactive wizard with these steps:

1. Template Metadata

Template name (kebab-case): custom-project
Display name: Custom Project
Note type (frontmatter type field): custom-project
Template version: 1

2. Frontmatter Fields

For each field, specify:

Field name: camelCase identifier (e.g., projectStatus)
Display name: Human-readable prompt text (e.g., "Project Status")
Type: string, number, date, array, wikilink, or enum
Required: Whether field is mandatory
Default value: For optional fields
Auto-fill: For computed fields (e.g., current date)
Enum values: For enum type (comma-separated list)

Example field definitions:

{
  name: "title",
  displayName: "Title",
  type: "string",
  required: true
}

{
  name: "created",
  displayName: "Created",
  type: "date",
  required: true,
  autoFill: 'tp.date.now("YYYY-MM-DD")'
}

{
  name: "status",
  displayName: "Status",
  type: "enum",
  required: true,
  enumValues: ["active", "on-hold", "completed"],
  default: "active"
}

{
  name: "area",
  displayName: "Area",
  type: "wikilink",
  required: true
}

3. Body Sections

For each section, specify:

Heading: Section heading text (e.g., "Why This Matters")
Has prompt: Whether to include interactive prompt
Prompt text: Text to show user (if has prompt)

Example section definitions:

{
  heading: "Why This Matters",
  hasPrompt: true,
  promptText: "What is the goal?"
}

{
  heading: "Success Criteria",
  hasPrompt: true,
  promptText: "How will you know it's done?"
}

{
  heading: "Next Actions",
  hasPrompt: false  // Static section, no prompt
}

Generated Template

Example Output

Given the configuration above, the wizard generates:

---
title: "<% tp.system.prompt("Title") %>"
created: <% tp.date.now("YYYY-MM-DD") %>
status: "<% tp.system.prompt("Status", "active") %>"
area: "[[<% tp.system.prompt("Area") %>]]"
template_version: 1
---

# <% tp.system.prompt("Title") %>

## Why This Matters

<% tp.system.prompt("What is the goal?") %>

## Success Criteria

<% tp.system.prompt("How will you know it's done?") %>

## Next Actions

Template Syntax

The generated templates use Templater plugin syntax:

Interactive prompts: <% tp.system.prompt("Label", "default?") %>
Auto-fill dates: <% tp.date.now("YYYY-MM-DD") %>
Wikilinks in YAML: Quoted to preserve [[ ]] brackets

Validation

After generation, the template is validated for:

✅ Valid YAML frontmatter (with --- delimiters)
✅ Balanced Templater tags (<% %>)
✅ Balanced quotes in frontmatter
✅ Balanced wikilink brackets ([[ ]])
✅ Valid Templater function calls

Warnings (non-blocking):

⚠️ Missing template_version field (recommended for migrations)

File Location

Templates are saved to your vault's Templates directory:

${PARA_VAULT}/Templates/{template-name}.md

Overwrite behavior: If a template with the same name exists, you'll be prompted to confirm overwrite.

Usage After Creation

Via CLI

bun run src/cli.ts create --template custom-project "My New Project"

Via MCP Tool

await para_create({
  path: "Projects/My New Project.md",
  template: "custom-project"
});

Field Types Reference

Type	Description	Example
string	Text value	`"My Project"`
number	Numeric value	`42`
date	Date string	`2025-12-16`
array	Comma-separated list	`["tag1", "tag2"]`
wikilink	Note reference	`[[Area/Health]]`
enum	Predefined values	`"active"` or `"on-hold"`

Best Practices

Frontmatter Fields

✅ Use type field to match note type
✅ Include created date with auto-fill
✅ Add template_version for migration support
✅ Use wikilinks for relationships (area, projects)
✅ Use enums for status/state fields

Body Sections

✅ Start with context section (Why This Matters)
✅ Include outcome definition (Success Criteria)
✅ Add action tracking (Next Actions, Tasks)
✅ Keep prompts focused and actionable
✅ Use static sections for structured content (no prompt)

Template Naming

✅ Use kebab-case: custom-project, weekly-review
✅ Match template name to note type
✅ Be specific: client-meeting not just meeting

Examples

Minimal Template

// Metadata
name: "simple-note"
displayName: "Simple Note"
noteType: "note"
version: 1

// Fields
[
  { name: "title", displayName: "Title", type: "string", required: true },
  { name: "created", displayName: "Created", type: "date", required: true,
    autoFill: 'tp.date.now("YYYY-MM-DD")' }
]

// Sections
[
  { heading: "Notes", hasPrompt: true, promptText: "Content" }
]

Rich Project Template

// Metadata
name: "project"
displayName: "Project"
noteType: "project"
version: 2

// Fields
[
  { name: "title", displayName: "Project Title", type: "string", required: true },
  { name: "created", displayName: "Created", type: "date", required: true,
    autoFill: 'tp.date.now("YYYY-MM-DD")' },
  { name: "status", displayName: "Status", type: "enum", required: true,
    enumValues: ["planning", "active", "on-hold", "completed", "cancelled"],
    default: "planning" },
  { name: "area", displayName: "Area", type: "wikilink", required: true },
  { name: "dueDate", displayName: "Target Completion (YYYY-MM-DD)",
    type: "date", required: false },
  { name: "tags", displayName: "Tags", type: "array", required: false }
]

// Sections
[
  { heading: "Why This Matters", hasPrompt: true,
    promptText: "What is the desired outcome?" },
  { heading: "Success Criteria", hasPrompt: true,
    promptText: "How will you know it's done?" },
  { heading: "Context & Background", hasPrompt: true,
    promptText: "What's the background or motivation?" },
  { heading: "Resources & References", hasPrompt: false },
  { heading: "Next Actions", hasPrompt: false },
  { heading: "Notes", hasPrompt: false }
]

Troubleshooting

Template Not Found

Error: Template "my-template" not found

Solution: Ensure template exists in ${PARA_VAULT}/Templates/ directory.

Templater Prompts Don't Appear

Problem: When creating notes, Templater doesn't show prompts.

Solutions:

Enable Templater plugin in Obsidian
Configure Templater: Settings → Templater → Template folder location → Templates
Ensure Obsidian Templater is set to trigger on manual file creation

Invalid YAML

Error: Template validation fails with quote/bracket errors.

Solution: Check the generated template for:

Unbalanced quotes in frontmatter
Missing [[ or ]] in wikilinks
Unclosed <% %> tags

Wikilinks Not Working

Problem: Area/project links don't resolve in Obsidian.

Solution: Ensure wikilink fields use proper quoting:

# ✅ Correct (quoted)
area: "[[<% tp.system.prompt("Area") %>]]"

# ❌ Wrong (unquoted)
area: [[<% tp.system.prompt("Area") %>]]

Related Commands

/para-obsidian:create - Create a note from template
/para-obsidian:create-classifier - Create inbox classifier with template
/para-obsidian:list-templates - View available templates
/para-obsidian:validate-template - Validate existing template syntax

/create-note-template