Influxx Note Templates and Export as PDF
Influxx treats templates and portable export as ordinary files—not a proprietary notes vault. Team skeletons live as markdown under .influxx/templates/ in the worktree; finished docs export as PDF from a rendered Rich Editor or Preview, or leave as plain .md already on disk. This guide covers how New Markdown discovers templates, which placeholders expand when a template is applied, why Sidebar Notes skip the picker, and how Export as PDF works (and when it does not).
Templates are files. Exports are either rendered PDF or the markdown you already saved. No bulk import wizard—drop .md where the cockpit and your agents expect it.
Why templates and export matter in a local-first cockpit
Influxx Notes are worktree-local markdown (or floating userData files). Agents, git, and humans share one source of truth. Templates standardize RFCs, bug write-ups, migration checklists, and agent brief formats so every clone starts from the same skeleton. PDF export captures a rendered layout for stakeholders who do not open the cockpit; portable handoff without PDF is simply the .md file itself—copy, commit, or attach it outside Influxx.
This article stays on shipped behavior: the New Markdown template picker, discovery rules under .influxx/templates/, placeholder tokens, Export as PDF from More actions, and the honest limits (Sidebar Notes never open the picker; Source-only documents cannot PDF until Rich or Preview renders them). Related topics—editor modes, wiki links, Sidebar Run, and review notes—are covered in companion Influxx Help articles.
Creating markdown with templates
When you use New Markdown from the tab strip—not Sidebar +—Influxx offers Blank Markdown plus any templates found under the selected worktree.
Open the template picker
From the tab bar, choose + → New Markdown, or press ⌘⇧M / Ctrl+Shift+M. The picker lists Blank Markdown and templates discovered on disk under <worktree>/.influxx/templates/. Pick a skeleton, get a real on-disk untitled (or titled) markdown file, and edit in Source, Rich Editor, or Preview. Open Markdown… (⌘⇧O / Ctrl+Shift+O) opens an existing path without applying a template.
- Path: <worktree>/.influxx/templates/**/* with supported extensions.
- Extensions: .md, .mdx, and .markdown.
- Discovery depth: Walks up to depth 8.
- Cap: At most 100 template files per scan.
- Skipped: .git, node_modules, and symlinks—so scans stay fast and predictable.
Keep team templates in the repo under .influxx/templates/ so every worktree clone shares the same plan skeletons. Because templates are plain files, you review them in pull requests like any other project asset. Decide with your team whether .influxx/ is committed, ignored, or mixed—for example commit templates and shared plans, ignore personal scratch.
Placeholder tokens
When a template is applied, Influxx can expand simple placeholders so titles and timestamps land without manual find-and-replace.
- {{title}}: Inserted title placeholder when the template is applied.
- {{filename}}: File name for the new document.
- {{date}}: Date stamp for logs and daily notes.
- {{time}}: Time stamp for time-boxed plans.
- {{datetime}}: Combined date and time when you want a single token.
Sidebar Notes vs New Markdown
Sidebar Notes always use the fixed “Untitled note” starter body. They do not open the template picker. Use New Markdown when you want a template-backed document, then move or save under .influxx/notes/ if you want it listed as a project plan for Run. That split is intentional: Sidebar + stays instant for agent briefs; tab New Markdown stays the path for structured team formats.
Default Sidebar starter (no template)
Sidebar create writes a real .md immediately. The default body is a short starter heading and prompt so you can type goals and constraints without ceremony:
# Untitled note
Write freely. Run an agent from the tab strip anytime.
Filename rule for sidebar notes: the title is slugified (maximum 48 characters) and combined with a base36 timestamp—for example untitled-note-m1abc2.md. The display title in the sidebar is derived from that filename, turning dashes and underscores into spaces.
Untitled files created from tabs are also real on-disk files. A blank, untouched untitled may be removed when you close the tab so empty stubs do not pile up. After you apply a template and write content, save with ⌘S / Ctrl+S (autosave also applies based on editor settings).
Export as PDF
PDF export captures the rendered document—not a blind dump of raw Source text. You must open the file in Rich Editor or Preview so there is a layout DOM to capture.
Export PDF step by step
Open a markdown file in Rich Editor or Preview. Open More actions on the editor header. Choose Export as PDF. That path captures the rendered document. If Export as PDF is unavailable, switch out of pure Source mode into Rich Editor or Preview first, then try again. Very large or unsupported documents force Source mode for safety; until Rich or Preview can render them, PDF export will not have a layout to capture.
- Required mode: Rich Editor or Preview (rendered DOM).
- Entry point: More actions on the markdown editor header → Export as PDF.
- Source limitation: Pure Source fallback cannot export a layout it has not rendered.
- Portable alternative: Plain markdown is already on disk—copy the .md, commit it, or attach it outside Influxx.
Import and portable markdown (no bulk wizard)
There is no bulk “import notes folder” wizard. To bring plans in from elsewhere, drop .md files into .influxx/notes or open them via Open Markdown…. Templates belong under .influxx/templates/ with .md, .mdx, or .markdown extensions so the next New Markdown scan finds them. Floating Workspace notes live under app userData floating-workspace—promote important floating ideas into a worktree path when you are ready for team-visible templates or Run-as-agent plans.
Preview mode also surfaces table of contents, Mermaid diagrams, local images, and anchors—useful before you export PDF so stakeholders see the same structure you reviewed. Rich Editor round-trips to the same markdown on disk; exporting PDF does not replace the .md as the agent-readable contract.
Team checklist for templates and sharing
Seed a small set of formats under .influxx/templates/ (RFC, bug, migration, agent brief). Document whether templates are committed. Teach the team that Sidebar + skips the picker and New Markdown does not. Use Preview before PDF. Prefer committing shared .md plans when every clone and agent session should see the same acceptance criteria; use floating notes for meeting scratch that is not yet project-shaped.
- Commit strategy: Track .influxx/templates/ (and shared notes) intentionally in git.
- Picker path: New Markdown / ⌘⇧M—not Sidebar +.
- Placeholders: {{title}}, {{filename}}, {{date}}, {{time}}, {{datetime}}.
- Scan limits: Depth 8, max 100 files; skip .git, node_modules, symlinks.
- PDF: Rich or Preview → More actions → Export as PDF.
- Import: Drop .md into .influxx/notes or Open Markdown—no bulk wizard.
Standardize the skeleton in git. Render when you need PDF. Trust the .md on disk for everything else—including the agent that runs your plan.
Summary
New Markdown discovers Blank Markdown plus templates under .influxx/templates/ (.md, .mdx, .markdown; depth 8; max 100; skips .git, node_modules, symlinks) and expands {{title}}, {{filename}}, {{date}}, {{time}}, and {{datetime}}. Sidebar Notes keep a fixed Untitled starter and never open the picker. Export as PDF requires Rich Editor or Preview via More actions; Source-only files cannot export until rendered. Portable handoff without PDF is the markdown file itself—drop or open .md files; there is no bulk import wizard.
For Source · Rich Editor · Preview details and wiki links, see the Influxx markdown editor and wiki links Help article. For line-level review notes, markdown review notes, and worktree card comments, see review notes and workspace comments. For Sidebar Run and .influxx/context/ packs, see Influxx Notes: Local Markdown, Sidebars, and Agent Context.
