Help

Urth keeps notes as plain text files, written in Markdown, in a folder in your iCloud Drive (or one you choose). The Mac and iPhone apps show the same folder. This page is the whole manual.

On this site

Two small tools, no account and no upload — everything stays in your browser: Write (Markdown styled as you type, or a dropped file; a link that holds the text, slides, a PDF) and Themes (Urth's themes, a few more, and a maker).

Writing

Type Markdown and Urth styles it as you go, keeping the marks visible but quiet. The first line is the note's title, and the file is named after it.

Tables are edited as tables: tap or click one. Tidy Up (the sparkle) straightens lists, numbering, blank lines and quotes. Smart quotes and dashes are on unless you turn them off.

Finding things

• Search or create. One box at the top: type to search every note; press Return to open the note with that exact name, or make it.
• Tags. #tag anywhere. Type # in the search box to browse them. is:untagged finds notes without one.
• Links and backlinks. [[Note name]] links to a note (type [[ for suggestions). Backlinks lists every note that mentions this one.
• Find & Contents (in the ⋯ menu): the note's headings, and find within it.
• Tasks. Search "[ ]" for every unticked box.

Daily notes

Today opens today's note, making it if needed, with your weather and the day's events if you've turned those on, and the notes you edited today listed at the end.

• Daily tasks and habits (Settings → Daily Notes) appear in each new day. Once the day is over, the ones left unticked become plain list items, so the day keeps a record without piling up.
• Move a task to another day. On any unfinished task: right-click it (Mac) or select a word in it (iPhone), then Move to Tomorrow or Move to Date…. It waits, and goes into that day's note when the note is made, with a link back to where it came from. Settings → Daily Notes → Waiting shows what's waiting; you can reschedule or put a task back.
• Previous and next day, and a calendar, from the ⋯ menu or ⌥⌘[ ⌥⌘].

Looking at a note

• Preview: the note as a finished page, in your theme, in SF Pro or New York. Boxes tick and links work. ⌥⌘P.
• Arrange: the note as cards, to drag into a new order. A heading brings its section.
• History: slide back through a note's earlier versions and restore one. Versions are kept for a month.
• Pictures: paste or drop one in (Mac), or pick one with the bar's Picture button (iPhone). The file is saved beside the note in an Attachments folder.

Sharing

• Share Urth Link. The whole note, inside a link. Someone with Urth taps it and the note opens in theirs, ready to add. Anyone else sees it on this site, in your theme. Nothing is stored anywhere: the note is the link, so anyone who has it can read it, now or later. Notes up to about 20,000 words fit.
• Send it back. On the shared page, Edit and save lets the reader change the note; saving makes a new link for them to send you. Open it in Urth and it shows what changed next to your copy, with Replace Mine, Combine or Add as Copy. Collaboration by passing links, no accounts.
• Themes. Make your own from five colours (Settings → Themes) and share it by link. It travels with the notes you share. The themes page has the built-in ones, a few more, and a maker.
• Present. The note as slides: the title first, then one per heading. iPhone: ⋯ → Share & Export → Present; Mac: View → Present (⌥⌘↩). Arrows, space, a tap or a swipe move; Esc, ✕ or a swipe down leave. A long slide shrinks to fit.
• Export as PDF or HTML, copy as rich text, or just open the file: it's text.
• From other apps. Share a page from Safari and Urth saves it as a clean note. From any browser on the Mac, use the bookmarklet.

Quick Capture, Siri and Shortcuts

• Mac: ⌃⌥⌘N from anywhere opens a small window; what you type goes into today's note.
• iPhone: press and hold the icon for Quick Capture, Today's Note and New Note; or add the widget.
• Siri: “Quick capture in Urth”, “Add to today in Urth”, “Open today in Urth”, “Open Groceries in Urth”, “Create a note in Urth”. No set-up needed.
• Shortcuts app: the same actions, plus Append to Note, Find Notes, Get Note Text, Get Link to Note (the Share Urth Link link, for automations) and Archive Done Tasks.

Keyboard

On the Mac, Help → Cheatsheet (⇧⌘/) lists everything. On iPhone, Settings → Markdown & Shortcuts. The most used:

With a keyboard on an iPad or iPhone, the same shortcuts work.

Your files

Notes are .txt (or .md) files in your notes folder. Urth's own bits live in a hidden .urth folder inside it: deleted notes (kept 30 days), history, pins, themes and settings. Move the folder, back it up, open it in another app: it's all just files.

Support

Questions, problems or ideas: send them through the contact form. A person reads it.