jrnl

Collect your thoughts and notes without leaving the command line.

Runs as jrnl|macOS, Linux, Windows|jrnl.sh

Open form in Otty otty.toml

Command form

ai-draft · 3 tasks · 10 fields

Add an entry with the text field, or read entries back in a chosen format. The single-dash date filters (-from, -to, -on) and encryption commands are left out.

Opens the form; the finished command lands at your prompt, unrun

Run in Otty

otty gui jrnl

Write or search journalExample values, fixed in this page — nothing here reaches a terminal

Basic

Entry text or journal name*

string

TasksEach one presets the form for one job

Write an entry

text

Show recent entries

limitshort

List tags

tags

ParametersOnly these flags are editable in the form

Entry text or journal name

Words after jrnl are written as a new entry; a leading journal name selects that journal.
string · positional 0 · repeatable

Maximum entries to show

integer

-n

Dates and titles only

boolean

--short

List tags with counts

boolean

--tags

Output format

Open set; see the jrnl formats page (for example json, markdown, text).
string

--format

Write output to file

path

--file

Edit in editor

boolean

--edit

Delete entries (interactive)

boolean

--delete

Config file

path

--config-file

Debug output

boolean

--debug

SourcesEvery flag above is checked against these

ref

usage: jrnl [--debug] [--help] [--version] [--list] [--encrypt] [--decrypt] [--import] [-on DATE] [-today-in-history] [-month DATE] [-n [NUMBER]] [-not [TAG]] [--edit] [--delete] [--format TYPE] [--tags] [--short] [--config-override CONFIG_KEY CONFIG_VALUE] [--config-file CONFIG_FILE_PATH] ### --edi…

manual2026-10-27

jrnl.sh

Before it fills your prompt, Otty checks the installed jrnl against its version. A form that does not match your version is not offered.