Foam Notes

Work with Foam note-taking workspaces in VS Code. Foam is a free, open-source personal knowledge management system using standard Markdown files with wikilinks.

Quick Reference

• - Wikilinks: [[note-name]] — connect notes bidirectionally
• Embeds: ![[note-name]] — include content from other notes
• Backlinks: Automatically discovered connections to current note
• Tags: #tag or frontmatter INLINECODE3
• Daily Notes: Alt+D or command "Foam: Open Daily Note"

Configuration

Copy config.json.template to config.json and edit to taste:

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Location: config.json in the skill directory (next to SKILL.md).

Config keys

Key	Type	Default	Description
INLINECODE9	string	INLINECODE10 (auto-detect)	Path to your Foam workspace
INLINECODE11

string | "new-note" | Template for new notes | | default_notes_folder | string | "notes" | Subfolder for new notes | | daily_note_folder | string | "journals" | Subfolder for daily notes | | author | string | "" | Author name for note creation | | wikilinks.title_stopwords | list | [] | Note titles to never match as wikilinks (e.g. "home", "index", "todo"). Add any generic filenames from your workspace that produce false positives. | | wikilinks.suffixes | list | [] | Filename suffixes whose base stem should also register as a match key. For example, if you name your hub/MOC notes docker-hub.md, add "-hub" here so that "docker" in prose matches docker-hub.md. | | wikilinks.min_length | int | 3 | Minimum key length to consider for wikilink matching | | tags.editorial_stopwords | list | [] | Domain-specific words to exclude from tag suggestions (in addition to standard English stopwords). |

Foam root priority order (highest to lowest)

1. 1. --foam-root CLI argument
2. INLINECODE34 environment variable
3. INLINECODE35 in config.json
4. Auto-detect by finding .foam or .vscode directory
5. Current working directory

See references/configuration.md for complete documentation.

Scripts

All scripts support --foam-root to override the workspace path.

init_templates.py

Initialize .foam/templates/ with starter templates from the official Foam template:

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Templates included:

• - new-note.md — Default template for new notes
• INLINECODE41 — Template for daily notes
• INLINECODE42 — Example template demonstrating VS Code snippets

create_note.py

Create a new note from template:

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find_backlinks.py

Find all notes that link to a given note:

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search_tags.py

Find notes by tag:

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list_tags.py

List all tags with usage counts:

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graph_summary.py

Analyze the knowledge graph:

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daily_note.py

Create daily notes:

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suggest_wikilinks.py

Suggest wikilinks by finding text in a note that matches existing note titles:

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The script scans the note content and identifies words/phrases that match existing note titles in the archive. It presents them as a numbered list:

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Wikilink formats:

• - Default: [[target]] — clean, simple links
• With --with-aliases: [[target|display text]] — preserves original text as alias

Respond with:

• - Numbers to implement (e.g., 1 3 5)
• INLINECODE47 to apply all suggestions
• INLINECODE48 to cancel

suggest_tags.py

Suggest tags for a note based on content and existing tags in the archive:

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The script:

1. 1. Extracts keywords from note content
2. Finds matching existing tags (with usage counts)
3. Suggests new tags based on content analysis

Presented as numbered list with two sections:

• - Existing Tags — Already used in your archive
• New Suggestions — Extracted from current note content

Respond with:

• - Numbers (e.g., 1 3 5)
• INLINECODE50 — all suggestions
• INLINECODE51 — only existing tags
• INLINECODE52 — only new suggestions
• INLINECODE53 — cancel
• Or type custom tags: INLINECODE54

delete_note.py

Delete notes with optional backup and automatic backlink handling:

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Features:

• - Backup mode: Moves note to .foam/trash/ instead of permanent deletion
• Backlink detection: Shows which notes link to the one being deleted
• Link fixing: Automatically removes wikilinks from other notes
• Confirmation: Prompts before deletion (skip with --force)

rename_note.py

Rename notes and automatically update all wikilinks:

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Features:

• - Automatic wikilink updates: Finds and updates all [[old-name]] references
• File rename: Changes filename from old-name.md to INLINECODE59
• Title preservation: Keeps note content intact, only updates links
• Confirmation: Shows affected notes before proceeding

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill when:

• - Creating or editing notes in a Foam workspace
• Working with wikilinks, backlinks, or the knowledge graph
• Analyzing note relationships and connections
• Setting up or configuring Foam templates
• Working with daily notes or tags
• Publishing Foam workspaces to static sites

Foam Workspace Structure

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Core Concepts

Wikilinks

Create connections between notes using double brackets:

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• - Autocomplete with [[ + type note name
• Navigate with Ctrl+Click (or Cmd+Click on Mac)
• Create new notes by clicking non-existent links
• Link to sections: INLINECODE63

See references/wikilinks.md for complete documentation.

Backlinks

Backlinks show which notes reference the current note — discovered automatically by Foam.

Access via:

• - Command palette: "Explorer: Focus on Connections"
• Shows forward links, backlinks, or both

Use backlinks for:

• - Finding unexpected connections between ideas
• Identifying hub concepts (notes with many backlinks)
• Building context around ideas across domains

See references/backlinks.md for complete documentation.

Tags

Organize notes beyond wikilinks:

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• - Hierarchical: INLINECODE64
• Browse in Tag Explorer panel
• Search: "Foam: Search Tag"

See references/tags.md for complete documentation.

Daily Notes

Quick daily journaling:

• - Shortcut: INLINECODE65
• Command: "Foam: Open Daily Note"
• Snippets: /today, /yesterday, INLINECODE68

Template: INLINECODE69

See references/daily-notes.md for complete documentation.

Templates

Customize note creation. Foam looks for templates in .foam/templates/.

To initialize starter templates:

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This copies official Foam templates to your workspace:

• - new-note.md — Default template
• INLINECODE72 — Daily notes template
• INLINECODE73 — Example with VS Code snippets

Markdown templates (.md):
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JavaScript templates (.js) — for smart, context-aware templates.

See references/templates.md for complete documentation.

Common Tasks

Creating a New Note

When creating notes programmatically (not via VS Code), always read the workspace template in .foam/templates/new-note.md first and follow its structure exactly.

In VS Code:

1. 1. Use "Foam: Create New Note" for default template
2. Use "Foam: Create New Note From Template" to choose template
3. Or click a non-existent wikilink INLINECODE77

Finding Note Relationships

1. 1. Backlinks: Check Connections panel for linked notes
2. Graph View: Command "Foam: Show Graph" for visual network
3. Tag Explorer: Browse notes by tag

Working with Embeds

Include content from other notes:

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Publishing

Foam can publish to static sites:

• - GitHub Pages (built-in template)
• Netlify
• Vercel
• GitLab Pages
• Custom static site generators (Gatsby, MkDocs, etc.)

See recipes in Foam documentation for publishing options.

Foam vs Obsidian

Feature	Foam	Obsidian
Wikilinks	INLINECODE78	INLINECODE79
Embeds

![[note]] | ![[note]] | | Platform | VS Code | Dedicated app | | Plugin ecosystem | Minimal (VS Code extensions) | Extensive | | File format | Standard Markdown | Markdown with extensions | | Configuration | .vscode/settings.json | .obsidian/ folder | | Price | Free | Freemium |

Both use the same core linking syntax. Foam prioritizes simplicity and standard formats.

Configuration

Key .vscode/settings.json options:

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Foam CLI Commands

Key VS Code commands:

• - Foam: Open Daily Note — Create/open today's note
• INLINECODE86 — Create from default template
• INLINECODE87 — Choose template
• INLINECODE88 — Create new template
• INLINECODE89 — Visualize knowledge graph
• INLINECODE90 — Search for tagged notes
• INLINECODE91 — Show backlinks panel

Reference Documentation

• - foam-overview.md — General Foam introduction and philosophy
• wikilinks.md — Complete wikilinks guide
• backlinks.md — Backlinks and knowledge discovery
• tags.md — Tag organization and filtering
• daily-notes.md — Daily note workflows
• templates.md — Template creation (Markdown and JavaScript)

Read these files for detailed information on specific features.

External Resources

• - Official site: https://foamnotes.com
• GitHub: https://github.com/foambubble/foam
• Discord: https://foambubble.github.io/join-discord/w

Tips

1. 1. Start small: Foam works best with consistent note-taking habits
2. Link liberally: Create wikilinks even to non-existent notes (placeholders)
3. Use the graph: Visualize your knowledge network to find gaps
4. Trust the process: Backlinks reveal connections you didn't plan
5. Keep it standard: Foam uses standard Markdown — your notes remain portable