Philo stores all your journal entries as plain markdown files on your local filesystem. Your data never leaves your device.
Storage Location
Default Directory
Philo stores journal entries in your application data directory:
Development:
~/Library/Application Support/com.philo.dev/journal/
~/Library/Application Support/philo/journal/
src/services/paths.ts:27-36
Custom Vault Directory
You can configure a custom vault directory in Settings (⌘,). This is useful for:
- Storing notes in an existing Obsidian vault
- Syncing notes via Dropbox or iCloud
- Organizing notes in a specific location
When a vault directory is set, journal files are stored in:
{vaultDir}/{dailyLogsFolder}/
src/services/paths.ts:43-60
Filename Pattern
By default, journal files use the pattern {YYYY}-{MM}-{DD}.md:
2026-03-04.md
2026-03-03.md
2026-03-02.md
{YYYY} - Four-digit year{MM} - Two-digit month{DD} - Two-digit day
Common patterns:
Flat structure:
{YYYY}-{MM}-{DD}
→ 2026-03-04.md
{YYYY}/{YYYY}-{MM}-{DD}
→ 2026/2026-03-04.md
{YYYY}/{MM}/{YYYY}-{MM}-{DD}
→ 2026/03/2026-03-04.md
src/services/paths.ts:124-140
Markdown Structure
Each daily note is a standard markdown file with optional frontmatter:
---
city: San Francisco
---
## Morning
- [ ] Meditate #daily
- [x] Review yesterday's notes
Started working on the new feature...
## Afternoon
Calorie tracker for lunch
Frontmatter
Philo supports an optional city field in YAML frontmatter to track your location:
---
city: San Francisco
---
---
city: San Francisco → New York
---
src/services/storage.ts:8-23
Tasks use standard markdown checkboxes:
- [ ] Unchecked task
- [x] Completed task
- [ ] Recurring task #daily
- [ ] Another recurring task #weekly
#daily - Repeats every day#weekly - Repeats every week#monthly - Repeats every month#2days - Repeats every 2 days#3weeks - Repeats every 3 weeks
Widgets are stored as HTML div elements with data attributes:
<div data-widget=""
data-id="550e8400-e29b-41d4-a716-446655440000"
data-prompt="Calorie tracker for lunch"
data-spec='{"type":"calculator","props":{}}'
data-saved="true"></div>
src/components/editor/extensions/widget/WidgetExtension.ts:61-69
Additional Folders
Assets Folder
Pasted images are saved to the assets folder:
or if configured:
Location: src/services/paths.ts:96-107
Excalidraw Folder
If you use Excalidraw embeds, they’re stored in:
{vaultDir}/{excalidrawFolder}/
src/services/paths.ts:109-117
File Operations
Reading Notes
Philo reads markdown files using the Tauri filesystem API:
const raw = await invoke<string | null>("read_markdown_file", {
path: filepath
});
src/services/storage.ts:36-46
Writing Notes
When you edit a note, Philo:
- Converts editor JSON to markdown
- Adds frontmatter if a city is set
- Writes to disk with automatic directory creation
await invoke("write_markdown_file", {
path: filepath,
content: buildFrontmatter(note.city, body)
});
src/services/storage.ts:25-34
File Permissions
Philo uses Tauri’s scoped filesystem access. On first launch, you may need to grant permission to access your chosen vault directory.
Location: src/services/paths.ts:66-94
Data Migration
Changing Storage Location
Changing the vault directory or filename pattern does not move or rename existing files. You’ll need to manually move files if you want to migrate your journal.
Obsidian Compatibility
Philo can detect and use Obsidian vault settings:
- Daily notes folder
- Filename pattern
- Excalidraw folder
- Assets folder
Location: src/services/obsidian.ts 
