Jot

Jot, a single-purpose tool for capturing a thought before it disappears.

jot-is-live.mp4

Features

• 📝 Title-based notes: Optional markdown title with automatic filename generation
• 💾 Smart saving: Save to ~/Documents/Jot/ or keep editing existing files in place
• 🎨 Theme integration: Automatically syncs with your theme colors
• ⌨️ Keyboard shortcuts: Ctrl+S to save, Escape to close
• 📂 File management: Open existing .md and .txt files from any location
• 🔄 Live preview: Real-time character and word count in status bar
• 🎯 Zero friction: Clean, distraction-free interface

Installation

yay -S jot-git

Development

Dependencies

Make sure you have GJS and GTK4 installed:

# Arch Linux
sudo pacman -S gjs gtk4 libadwaita

Setup

1. Clone or download this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/jot.git
   cd jot

2. Make the script executable:

   chmod +x jot.js

3. (Optional) Create a symlink for easy access:

   sudo ln -s $(pwd)/jot.js /usr/local/bin/jot

4. (Optional) Install desktop entry:

   mkdir -p ~/.local/share/applications
   cp jot.desktop ~/.local/share/applications/
   # Update the Exec path in jot.desktop to match your installation location

Usage

Running Jot

Run directly:

./jot.js

Or if you created the symlink:

jot

Open a specific file:

./jot.js ~/Documents/notes/mynote.md

Launch from your application menu after installing the desktop entry.

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Ctrl+S or Ctrl+Enter: Save note (keeps app open)
• Escape: Close application
• + button: Open existing file

Interface

• Title field: Optional markdown title (prefixed with #)
• Text area: Main content area with word wrap and scrolling
• Status line: Shows character count, word count, file path, and action buttons

Setting Up Global Hotkey

Configure a global hotkey in your desktop environment to launch Jot:

Omarchy:

# ~/.config/hypr/bindings.conf
bindd = SUPER SHIFT, J, Jot, exec, uwsm app -- jot

File Organization

Default Location

New notes are saved to ~/Documents/Jot/ with the following naming convention:

• With title: title-in-lowercase.md
• Without title: jot-YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS.md

File Format

Notes are saved in markdown format with metadata:

# Your Title Here

*Created: 2025-09-30 18:30:45*

Your note content goes here.

Opening Existing Files

Click the + button in the status line to open existing .md or .txt files from anywhere. When you save, the file will be updated in its original location.

Theme Integration

Jot automatically reads colors from your Alacritty theme configuration:

Theme file: ~/.config/omarchy/current/theme/alacritty.toml

The app watches for changes and reloads the theme automatically. If the theme file is not found, it falls back to sensible defaults.

Color mapping:

• Background: colors.normal.black
• Text: colors.normal.white
• Save button: colors.normal.green
• Selection: colors.normal.blue

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

License

MIT

Credits

Built with:

• GJS - GNOME JavaScript bindings
• GTK4 - The GTK toolkit
• Libadwaita - GNOME design patterns