Workspace & Content Model

The workspace structure

Notara stores multiple kinds of content, but they all orbit the same personal workspace. Based on the current codebase, these are the core entities:

Note: title, markdown content, timestamps, tag list, and pinned state
NoteTag: id, display name, and color
TodoList: title, date, time, and an array of todo items
TodoItem: text, checked state, optional sub-items, and time
VisionBoard: board name and an array of positioned items
VisionBoardItem: text or image content, position, optional size, and optional accent color
AI conversation snapshot: saved assistant session title, created timestamp, and message history

What gets saved where

When the filesystem layer is available, Notara creates a structured workspace under data/ and writes content into readable files:

data/
  ai/
    conversations.json
  media/
  notes/
    notes.json
    tags.json
    markdown/
      note-<id>.md
  settings/
  todos/
    todos.json
  vision-boards/
    vision-boards.json

That means the app does not just save opaque JSON blobs. It also exports notes into individual markdown files with frontmatter metadata for title, timestamps, pinned state, and tag names.

Notes workflow

The note editor is the center of the workspace. Current capabilities include:

live markdown editing with preview
formatting toolbar actions for headings, lists, quotes, links, images, inline styles, color accents, and highlights
save actions from the toolbar, file menu, Ctrl/Cmd+S, and Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+S
pinning from the editor or note list
color-coded tags with management in Settings
syntax-highlighted code and GitHub-flavored markdown rendering

Visual organization

Notara gives you multiple views over the same personal content instead of forcing everything into a single list.

Vision Boards

Vision boards support:

draggable image and text cards
item resizing
inline note editing
per-item color coding
saved color filters per board
direct saves of generated AI images into boards or local media

Calendar

The calendar combines note and todo context with:

an upcoming view for the next five events
a selected-date panel
a quick jump back to today
a narrower right panel designed for faster scanning

Starred and tagged content

Pinned notes surface in navigation and the dedicated starred page, while tags can be created, renamed, recolored, and deleted from the settings flow.

Browser fallback behavior

If Notara cannot access the local filesystem, it falls back to browser storage. The code currently persists notes, tags, and vision boards in localStorage, which keeps the web app usable even without Tauri or File System Access API support.

Why this matters

This content model is what makes Notara portable. You can use the same workspace as:

a desktop-first personal vault
a browser-only notes app
a self-hosted Docker deployment

The interface changes by runtime, but the underlying data shape stays familiar.