Where your notes live
A workspace is a folder on your Mac. Superliner keeps your notes as JSON in that folder, writes a Markdown copy next to them, and stores attachments there too. Knowing what each part is for tells you what to leave alone.
- First workspace
Default.workspace, in the app's own storage- Your notes
state/, which only Superliner writes- Markdown copy
exports/markdown/- Attachments
assets/
What is in the folder
| Item | What it holds | Edit it by hand? |
|---|---|---|
state/ | Your notes: saved snapshots and the history of saved changes. This is the source of truth. | No. Superliner reads and writes it. |
assets/ | Pictures and files you attach, each stored once and named by its SHA-256 hash. | No. Move the whole folder, not single files. |
exports/markdown/ | The Markdown copy of every note, plus an index and the manifests that track it. | No. Edits are not read back. |
backups/ | Copies of the workspace kept before the app upgrades its format. | No. Keep them as they are. |
.writer.lock | A hidden lock held while the workspace is open, so only one window or process writes to it. | No. |
Do not rename these items. Copy the whole folder, not single files.
Where your workspaces are
The first launch creates Default.workspace in the app's own storage. To see it, open the workspace menu at the top of the sidebar and choose Show in Finder. Each other workspace is a folder you choose: File ▸ New Workspace… (⇧⌘N) creates one, and File ▸ Open Workspace… (⌘O) opens one that already exists.
Show the Markdown copy in Finder
Settings ▸ Workspaces has a section named This workspace. Its Markdown export folder row has a Show in Finder button that opens exports/markdown/. See Settings, pane by pane.
Keep one writer on the folder
A workspace folder is for one Mac and one copy of Superliner at a time. Do not keep it in a folder that a cloud sync service also writes from two machines, and do not open the same workspace from two places. Superliner locks a workspace while it is open, so a second window or process cannot write to it at the same time.
Attachments
Attach images and files to a note. They are copied into the workspace folder.
Each file is stored once, in assets/, in a folder named after the first two characters of its hash. Its name is that hash plus its extension. The Markdown copy keeps its own copies in exports/markdown/assets/. See Images and files.
Combine it
- Read the notes in another toolThe Markdown copy is written for other tools to read. Its tags and fields are at the top of each file.
- Protect the folderBack Up Workspace writes a checked copy of the notes and attachments to a folder you choose.
- Know what the status line meansThe status line says whether the latest changes are in the folder, and whether the Markdown copy matches them.
Limits
- Superliner does not encrypt your notes. Anyone who can open the folder can read the JSON and the Markdown copy.
- Superliner does not merge a change you make by hand into its files. A file changed by hand is detected. The workspace then opens read-only, or the Markdown copy stops for that file.
- The Markdown copy is not a second place to write. Change notes in the app.