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Philo offers several ways to customize your journaling experience.

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Theme

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Dark Mode

Philo automatically follows your system theme preference: macOS:
System Settings → Appearance → Light/Dark Automatic switching: Philo uses CSS media queries to detect and apply dark mode: 
@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark) {
  /* Dark theme styles */
}
The theme switches instantly when you change your system preference, with no app restart required. Colors: Light mode:
  • Background: White
  • Text: Gray-900
  • Accents: Violet-600
Dark mode:
  • Background: Gray-900
  • Text: White
  • Accents: Violet-400

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File Organization

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Filename Patterns

Customize how your daily notes are organized with filename patterns. Access: Settings (⌘,) → Filename Pattern Available tokens:
  • {YYYY} - Year (e.g., 2026)
  • {MM} - Month (e.g., 03)
  • {DD} - Day (e.g., 04)
Examples: Chronological hierarchy: 
{YYYY}/{MM}/{DD}
→ 2026/03/04.md
Month names (requires custom token): 
{YYYY}/{MM}-March/{YYYY}-{MM}-{DD}
→ 2026/03-March/2026-03-04.md
Project-based: 
Journal/{YYYY}/{YYYY}-{MM}-{DD}
→ Journal/2026/2026-03-04.md
Location: src/services/paths.ts:124-140

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Folder Structure

Organize your vault with custom folders: 
Vault/
├── Daily Notes/     ← dailyLogsFolder
├── Excalidraw/      ← excalidrawFolder
├── assets/          ← assetsFolder
├── Projects/
├── Archive/
└── Templates/
Configure in Settings (⌘,):
  • Daily logs folder
  • Excalidraw folder
  • Assets folder
Location: src/services/settings.ts:85-98

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Storage Location

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Custom Vault Directory

Store your journal in any location: Use cases:
  • Sync via Dropbox: ~/Dropbox/Journal/
  • iCloud Drive: ~/Library/Mobile Documents/com~apple~CloudDocs/Journal/
  • Existing Obsidian vault: ~/Documents/Obsidian/MyVault/
  • Network drive: /Volumes/NAS/Journal/
How to change:
  1. Open Settings (⌘,)
  2. Click Choose… next to Vault Location
  3. Select directory
  4. Configure Daily logs folder
  5. Click Save
Location: src/services/paths.ts:43-60

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Obsidian Integration

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Using Philo with Obsidian

Philo can work alongside Obsidian in the same vault: Setup:
  1. Point Philo’s vault to your Obsidian vault
  2. Set Daily logs folder to match Obsidian’s daily notes folder
  3. Philo will auto-detect other settings
Compatible features:
  • Daily notes
  • Task lists
  • Images
  • Frontmatter
  • Excalidraw embeds
Widgets: Widgets are stored as HTML and won’t render in Obsidian. They appear as empty div elements. Location: src/services/obsidian.ts

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Obsidian Auto-Detection

When you select an Obsidian vault, Philo automatically detects: From .obsidian/daily-notes.json:
  • Daily notes folder
  • Filename format (converted to Philo pattern)
From .obsidian/plugins/obsidian-excalidraw-plugin/data.json:
  • Excalidraw folder
From .obsidian/app.json:
  • Assets folder
Location: src/components/settings/SettingsModal.tsx:77-93

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Editor Customization

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Fonts

Philo uses carefully selected fonts: Body text:
  • System font stack for optimal readability
Headings:
  • Instrument Serif (italic) for date headers
  • Creates a distinctive journal aesthetic
Code & settings:
  • IBM Plex Mono for monospaced content
  • Used in settings, filenames, and code blocks

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Bubble Menu

The bubble menu appears when you select text, offering:
  • Bold
  • Italic
  • Strikethrough
  • Code
  • Build (⌘↵)
Customize which formatting options appear by editing: Location: src/components/editor/EditorBubbleMenu.tsx

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Tasks

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Recurring Task Intervals

Create custom recurring tasks with flexible intervals: Supported formats:
  • #daily - Every day
  • #weekly - Every week
  • #monthly - Every month
  • #2days - Every 2 days
  • #3weeks - Every 3 weeks
  • #45days - Every 45 days
How it works:
  1. Add a task: - [ ] Exercise #daily
  2. Check it off: - [x] Exercise #daily
  3. On next app launch, it reappears unchecked
Location: src/services/tasks.ts

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Task Rollover

Unchecked tasks automatically move to today’s note on app launch. Example: Yesterday’s note: 
- [x] Morning pages
- [ ] Call dentist
- [ ] Review budget
Today’s note (after rollover): 
- [ ] Call dentist
- [ ] Review budget
Location: src/services/tasks.ts

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Widgets

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Widget Library

Save and reuse your favorite widgets:
  1. Generate a widget (⌘↵)
  2. Click Save to library
  3. Access anytime with ⌘J
  4. Insert into any note
Storage: Widgets are saved in: 
~/Library/Application Support/philo/library.db

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Widget Behavior

Temporary by default: Generated widgets are disposable unless you explicitly save them. Save to library: Click the save button to add a widget to your permanent library. Reuse: Press ⌘J to browse saved widgets and insert them anywhere.

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Advanced Customization

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Settings File

Direct access to settings JSON: 
~/Library/Application Support/philo/settings.json
Edit manually: 
{
  "anthropicApiKey": "sk-ant-...",
  "vaultDir": "/Users/you/Documents/Journal",
  "dailyLogsFolder": "Daily Notes",
  "filenamePattern": "{YYYY}/{MM}/{YYYY}-{MM}-{DD}",
  "excalidrawFolder": "Excalidraw",
  "assetsFolder": "assets"
}
Edit settings.json while Philo is closed to avoid conflicts. Changes take effect on next launch.
Location: src/services/settings.ts:36-57

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File System Scope

Philo uses Tauri’s scoped filesystem access. When you change vault directory, Philo automatically extends its permissions. Manual scope extension: If you move files outside Philo, you may need to reset the vault directory in settings to grant permissions. Location: src/services/paths.ts:66-94

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UI Customization

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Window Opacity (macOS)

Philo supports window opacity customization on macOS: Implementation: 
await invoke("set_window_opacity", { opacity: 0.95 });
Location: src-tauri/src/lib.rs:20-31
This feature is macOS-only and requires custom implementation in your fork.

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Floating Today Button

The “Go to Today” button appears when you scroll away from today’s note: Behavior:
  • Appears when scrolled to past notes
  • Hides when viewing today
  • Smooth scroll to today on click
Customize appearance: Edit button styles in the main layout component. Location: src/components/layout/AppLayout.tsx

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