README.md

   1
   2 ## Setup
   3
   4 1. Clone this repository.
   5 2. Add `minion/bin` to your `PATH`.
   6
   7 > `/usr/bin/bash` must be available, but does not need to be your default shell.
   8
   9 Create a folder `~/Journal`.
  10
  11 ## Basic Usage
  12
  13 Run `mn TOPIC DESCRIPTION` to start a new note file.
  14 A new file called `~/Jounal/2026/06-TOPIC-DESCRIPTION.md` will be opened in `vim`.
  15
  16 Run `ml TOPIC` to list all notes with `TOPIC` in the file name, under `~/Journal/2026`.
  17
  18 Run `mo TOPIC` to open all `.md` files in `~/Journal/2026` that contain `TOPIC` in the file name.
  19
  20 Use `mla` and `moa` variants to search all year folders in `~/Journal/`. (`~/Journal/2025`, `~/Journal/2026`, etc.)
  21
  22 Run `mh` to see `help` further available commands.
  23
  24 ## Recommended Usage
  25
  26 - For ongoing daily work, I keep one file each month with `mn daily` and `mo 06-daily`.
  27 - For a random meeting, use `mn meeting topic with some key terms` to create `~/Journal/2026/06-meeting-topic-with-some-key-terms.md`
  28 - When too many old files match my favorite search term, I move old ones into `~/Journal/archive/2026`, where `mla` and `moa` can still find them, in a pinch.
  29
  30 ## Customizing
  31
  32 `minion` will respect your `$EDITOR` setting. If `$EDITOR` is not set, `minion` will open files with `nano`.
  33
  34 > `minion` will *not* judge you if $EDITOR is not set to `vi`.
  35
  36 You could modify the scripts to change the journal home folder, which defaults to `$HOME/Journal`.
  37
  38 ## Advanced Features
  39
  40 - To use `mp` to open files as HTML, install [mdtohtml](https://github.com/sgaunet/mdtohtml) and ensure it is on your PATH.
  41 - To use `ms` to run an interactive spelling check on all matching files, install [aspell](https://manpages.debian.org/trixie/aspell/aspell.1.en.html) and ensure it is on your PATH.
  42