I Built a Terminal Journal Because Browsers Are Distraction Machines

Description and use

The author built a terminal CLI called jerd to automate journal file management. Entries are stored as plain Markdown files sorted into year/month/day folders, with support for tags, search, and mood tracking. It runs locally with no account or internet required and works in editors like VS Code.

Problem

Manual file organization for a personal journal (naming files, sorting into folders, keeping entries findable) was tedious and distracting, consuming energy that should go to writing.

Outcome

jerd automates journal file management so the author can focus on writing; it runs locally, needs no account or internet, and works with any editor including VS Code.

Workflow

• Open Neovim and write a daily entry as a plain Markdown file.
• Use jerd CLI to create an entry, which automatically sorts it into year/month/day folders.
• Add tags to group entries by topic.
• Search for specific entries across months.
• Track mood over time on a calendar view.

Evidence

Every day, I'd open Neovim and write down what was on my mind: thoughts, emotions, whatever the day had thrown at me. All in plain Markdown files.

Source

The annoying part was everything around it: naming files, sorting them into folders, keeping things in some kind of order so I could actually find them later. I was doing all of it by hand, and it felt a bit ridiculous to spend my energy organizing the one thing that was supposed to clear my head.

Source

Every entry is a plain .md file, sorted into year/month/day folders automatically. There's no database and no lock-in, so you can open your journal in any editor. Nano, Vim, Neovim and VS Code all work.

Source

It runs entirely on your machine, needs no account or internet connection, and never uploads your entries anywhere.

Source

npm i -g jerd jerd

Source

npx jerd

Source

github.com/shamimbinnur/jerd

Source