Review changes

A common way to use Etonym: let a program write in your folder, then read what it wrote, fix what needs fixing, and commit only what you want to keep. The program is often an AI command-line tool, but the steps are the same for a script, a site generator or a git pull of a colleague’s work.

1. Let the program write

Open a terminal with Ctrl+` and run the program there. Etonym saves your open note before the terminal opens, so the program starts from what you see.

Before you start, it helps to commit your own work first. Then the Git tab shows only what the program changed.

2. See what changed

Etonym watches the folder and picks up changes in under a second, while you stay in the terminal:

• New, renamed and deleted files appear in the file tree.
• The Git tab’s Changes list shows each changed file with M, A or D. The count next to the tab’s name tells you how many.
• Commits made in the terminal update the Git tab too.

Etonym does not watch files and folders whose names start with a dot, such as .git.

3. Read the changes

Choose a file in Changes to see its diff in place of the note: removed lines first, then added lines. Choose Close diff, or switch the side panel to Files or Search, to go back. For a new file, open it from the file tree and read it as a note, with diagrams and tables drawn.

To see how a note looked before, choose Note history on the path line. Changes shows what each commit changed in that note; Content shows the whole note at that commit.

4. Fix or throw away

• Fix: open the note and edit it. Etonym saves as you type.
• Throw away one file: open its diff and choose Discard changes, then Discard. This puts back the last committed version and cannot be undone. A file that was never committed goes to the Recycle Bin instead.
• Go back to an older version of one note: in Note history, choose Restore this version. The old text goes into the editor; nothing is committed until you commit.

5. Commit what you keep

In the Git tab, uncheck the files you do not want in this commit, type a message and choose Commit. See Commit and push.

When a note you are editing changes on disk

If the program changes the note that is open in Etonym:

• With no unsaved edits, Etonym loads the new version.
• With unsaved edits, Etonym stops saving and shows This note changed on disk while you were editing. Your edits are not saved yet. Choose Show differences to see the lines that differ, marked + for yours and − for the disk’s. Then choose Keep mine to save your text over the file, or Use disk version to load the file instead. Nothing is merged on its own, and you cannot switch notes until you choose.
• If the note was deleted, Etonym keeps your text and offers Save again or Close.
• If the note was renamed or moved with the same content, Etonym follows it to the new place.

Etonym never saves over a file that changed on disk without asking.

To avoid this, close the note or let it save before the program runs, or work on another note while it writes.