pwdNote

What’s new in v0.3.8

• Added explicit and conservative shell selection.
• Clarified that direct paste supports Zsh on macOS and Linux.
• Added shell support reporting and safer unsupported-shell errors.

$ pwdnote shell support
$ pwdnote shell install zsh
$ pwdnote shell status zsh
$ pwdnote paste 2

Direct paste in Zsh

Direct paste requires Zsh and works on macOS and Linux systems running Zsh. Install the integration first:

$ pwdnote shell install zsh

Important: The integration is not active in an already-open terminal until you run source ~/.zshrc or restart the terminal.

Activate the integration immediately by reloading your Zsh configuration:

$ source ~/.zshrc

Alternatively, close and reopen the terminal; the new Zsh session will load the integration. You only need to do this after installation or after changing the shell integration.

Then insert an item directly into your prompt:

$ pwdnote paste 2

The selected list item is inserted into the next Zsh command line, ready to edit or execute. It is not executed automatically. pwdnote cat and pwdnote copy do not require the Zsh integration.

pwdnote paste still says the Zsh integration is required

Reload the configuration, then verify that pwdnote is a shell function:

$ source ~/.zshrc
$ type pwdnote

Expected output should indicate:

pwdnote is a shell function

Then retry direct paste:

$ pwdnote paste 2

To check whether the integration file and the .zshrc source block are installed, run:

$ pwdnote shell status zsh

What is a .pwdnote.enc file?

A .pwdnote.enc file is the encrypted project note file created by pwdnote. It stores ciphertext, not readable plaintext, so it contains no human-readable content on its own.

The pwdnote.enc file is designed to live next to your code. Because it cannot be read without the local key, you can commit it to Git safely — these are Git-friendly encrypted notes that travel with your repository.

To open or edit it, install pwdnote and run commands like:

$ pwdnote
$ pwdnote edit
$ pwdnote read

That is all you need to know about how to open a .pwdnote.enc file: the pwdnote CLI handles decryption locally with your key.

Motivation

pwdnote started as a simple way to keep personal project notes close to my code, without worrying about accidentally committing plaintext secrets or overcomplicating the workflow.

Features

• CLI note-taking
• Encrypted by default
• Project-local notes
• Git-friendly
• Works from nested directories
• Lightweight
• Local-first
• Official VS Code integration

Example

$ pwdnote init
$ pwdnote edit
$ pwdnote
$ pwdnote add "Remember to rotate AWS credentials"

Security

• Notes are encrypted on disk.
• Git stores ciphertext, not readable plaintext.
• The encryption key stays local.
• You can now export and import your key to securely move your encrypted notes between trusted devices.

Note: pwdnote is not a password manager. It keeps your project notes private, not your credentials.

Configuration

pwdnote supports:

• Lightweight TOML configuration.
• Custom initial note template.
• Editor override.
• Optional auto-gitignore behavior.
• Future key backends may be added.

VS Code extension

The official VS Code extension is now available. It provides:

• Open encrypted notes directly inside VS Code.
• Edit and save notes without leaving the editor.
• Uses the same encrypted .pwdnote.enc format as the CLI.

All encryption and decryption continues to be handled by the pwdnote CLI for VS Code encrypted notes.

FAQ

• Can I commit .pwdnote.enc? Yes. It holds only ciphertext, so committing it to Git is safe.
• How do I open a .pwdnote.enc file? Install pwdnote and run pwdnote, pwdnote edit, or pwdnote read.
• How do I update pwdnote?

  $ uv tool upgrade pwdnote

• How do I move my notes to another computer?
  1. Export your key.

     $ pwdnote key export > pwdnote-key.backup

  2. Copy the backup securely to your new trusted device.
  3. Import it.

     $ cat pwdnote-key.backup | pwdnote key import

• Is pwdnote a password manager? No. It keeps your project notes private, not your credentials.
• Do I need both the CLI and the VS Code extension? Yes. The VS Code extension is a graphical frontend for the pwdnote CLI. Install the CLI first with uv tool install pwdnote, then install the official VS Code extension from the Marketplace. The extension automatically detects and uses the CLI.