Journaling in plain Markdown files

A journal in Coffee is one Markdown file a day, in a folder you choose. Press ⌘T on the Mac and today's note is there, with your calendar and reminders already in it.

Today's note, one key away

Choose File > Today's Note, or press ⌘T. If today's note exists, Coffee opens it. If not, it makes one from the Daily note template and puts the cursor on the first task. The file is named with the date written the long way, such as 8 November 2026. This is the template as it ships:

# {{title}}

{{weekday}}, {{date}}

## Agenda

{{agenda}}

## Today

- [ ] {{cursor}}
{{reminders}}

## Notes

Your calendar and reminders in the note

On the Mac, {{agenda}} becomes the day's events from Calendar, all-day ones first, and {{reminders}} becomes the open reminders due by the end of the day, as tasks, with overdue ones marked. The Mac asks before Coffee reads either. Note > Insert Today's Agenda puts the same at the cursor in any note, and Note > Send Task to Reminders (⌃⌘R) turns the task on the cursor's line into a reminder, due when the line names a date.

Templates you can change

A template is a .md file in the Templates folder of your library, with the date filled in when a note is made from it. Coffee starts you with five, including Daily note and Meeting. Click "Edit templates…" at the bottom of the template list (⇧⌘N) and edit them like any other note.

Sums for spending and habits

Write a sum in plain words and the answer appears beside the line. It never goes into the file. Total adds up the list directly above it:

## Spent

- Lunch: €12
- Train: €4
- Coffee: €3
Total

Here Coffee shows €19 beside Total. Lines like 3h 20min + 45 min, 5 km in miles and today + 2 weeks work too. More in the calculations guide.

Private entries with Touch ID

On the Mac, lock a note and it's encrypted on disk, opened with Touch ID, and hidden from search and AI. Every note also keeps a version history, so an entry you cut too far can come back.

Writing on iPhone and iPad

Keep your journal folder in iCloud Drive and Coffee for iPhone and iPad opens the same files. Today's note there is named as the Mac names it and made from the same Daily note template. Sums, links, tags and photos work there too, and a Shortcuts and Siri action opens today's note.

What Coffee doesn't do

• Ticking a task in the note doesn't complete the reminder. Nothing is linked back to Reminders.
• Today's Note goes by the long date. Notes renamed to a year-first date like 2026-11-08 aren't recognised as today's.
• Calendar events, reminders, private notes and version history are on the Mac. On iPhone and iPad the agenda and reminders stay empty, and private notes don't open there.
• A private note isn't a plain file any more, so other apps can't read it.
• Coffee has no sync of its own. iCloud Drive or another synced folder does that.

Further reading

• A daily note template in Markdown
• Calendar events and reminders in a Markdown daily note on a Mac
• Password-protecting notes on a Mac: your options compared
• A monthly budget in plain text

Questions

Where are journal entries stored?

In ordinary .md files in a folder you choose, one per day, named with the date. Any other editor can open them.

Can I write in my journal on iPhone?

Yes. Keep the folder in iCloud Drive and Coffee for iPhone and iPad opens the same files, with today's note made from the same template.

How much does Coffee cost?

14 days free, with no card or account. Then €3 a month, €29 a year, or €79 once with two years of updates. One purchase covers the Mac, iPhone and iPad.

14 days free, with no card and no account. Then €3 a month, €29 a year, or €79 once with two years of updates. One purchase covers your Mac, iPhone and iPad. macOS 15 or later, iOS 18 or later. See pricing.