MicroJournal

MicroJournal is a distraction-free terminal writing environment.

It is built to run well in a normal terminal first. The UI can use a richer display backend when available, but the core app stays usable in mock mode without any special hardware setup.

Install

uv tool install microjournal

If you want local voice dictation, install the optional dictation extra:

uv tool install "microjournal[dictation]"

If you want spaCy-powered NLP, install the optional NLP extra:

uv tool install "microjournal[nlp]"

The voice extra is kept as a compatibility alias for the same dictation stack. Both skip faster-whisper on Linux armv6l, because the upstream wheel stack is not available there.

Local development

uv run microjournal

Commands

• microjournal launches MicroJournal
• microjournal run launches MicroJournal explicitly
• microjournal setup runs first-time configuration
• microjournal config edits settings
• microjournal sync syncs notes
• microjournal export exports notes
• microjournal pack export writes a shareable visual pack JSON file
• microjournal pack load applies a visual pack from a JSON file
• microjournal doctor checks hardware and dependencies
• microjournal dictate runs push-to-talk local speech-to-text
• microjournal service install writes the systemd service
• microjournal service enable enables and starts the service
• microjournal service disable stops and disables the service
• microjournal service status prints systemd status
• microjournal service logs prints recent service logs
• microjournal boot enable enables direct boot into MicroJournal
• microjournal boot disable disables direct boot

Storage

• Notes are stored as Markdown in ~/MicroJournal/journal
• Config is stored in ~/.config/microjournal/config.toml
• Autosave is enabled by default and runs every 5 seconds

First run

1. Run microjournal setup
2. Launch microjournal run
3. Optionally enable direct boot with microjournal boot enable
4. Reboot if you want the service to start automatically

Editor shortcuts

• Ctrl+S save
• Ctrl+N new note
• Ctrl+F search notes
• Ctrl+P command palette
• Ctrl+T theme maker
• Ctrl+R view note stats
• Ctrl+E export note stats
• F8 toggle voice recording
• Ctrl+Q quit

NLP stats

• The footer shows live writing stats plus spaCy-powered NLP stats when the optional nlp extra is installed
• Note stats export creates a companion *.ner.md file with entities and summary stats
• If you install the optional nlp extra and the en_core_web_sm model is available, named-entity results are richer

Voice dictation

• The prototype uses the optional dictation extra, or the voice compatibility alias, with faster-whisper plus microphone capture, all locally
• Dictated text is inserted into the editor at the cursor
• Voice mode is push-to-talk: press Voice or F8 to start, then press it again to stop

Accessibility

• Large UI mode increases spacing, sidebar width, and footer breathing room
• The app does not force terminal font size; that is still controlled by your terminal emulator
• Visual packs let you share a theme, palette, and display setup as a JSON file
• Use the command palette to open the in-app Theme Maker, tweak a pack, and export it for sharing

Roadmap

• Typing telemetry for sparklines and dashboards, focused on aggregated local writing data rather than raw keystrokes
• More visual pack presets for cyberdeck-style builds
• Better export/share flows for Reddit-ready screenshots and pack files